Curiosity Kills the Cat

Ever since Dad left, Mom and I lived normally as ever. Or, at least, that was how I saw it. We didn’t have any financial problems or anything, but I suppose some odd ink stains were covering some parts of our past, ones that I never cared enough to clean and find out. I mean, why bother? We were living normally, and I was fine with that.

Except, one outsider thought otherwise.

“Ehh, but why did your parents divorce?” Maria curiously asked, her chin on her intertwined hands. She sat on a desk next to mine, her usual spot in this journalism club.

“Mmm, I don’t know,” I said, shrugging. “I guess they didn’t get along anymore.”

She tilted her head. “But you said your dad’s nice, right? He didn’t do anything wrong, did he?”

I pondered for a moment before shrugging again. “Eh, Mom never tells me anything. Don’t worry about it—we’re fine now. Anyway, check this out!” I whipped out my phone and shoved it into her face. “There’s this cool mystery anime I’ve found! I think you might like it!”

She blinked at me before her attention finally switched to my phone. “Ohh, a mystery? Okay!”

…Maria sure loved to pry on other people’s business, which probably explained why she signed up for the journalism club. Of course, I had no problem with her asking about my life, but she wouldn’t accept normalcy as an answer. Sure, my parents had their mysteries, but that past was about them, not me.

As for me, I simply signed up for this club because I heard there’d sometimes be free drinks and snacks, which was true. Even then, Maria thought I joined because I might be interested in the print media, which I wouldn’t wholly deny. I’d admit the thought even sounded kind of fun.

“Hey, Blanche? Did you sign up for this club to hear about the latest school dramas or learn how to share them?” Maria asked, munching on a cookie.

“Hm? What do you mean?” I tilted my head “Aren’t we doing both?”

“Mmm, yeah. But what do you like more? Find stories? Or share them?”

I hummed and tapped my chin. “Uh, if I had to choose, then… I’d prefer to share them.”

“Ooh, why?”

I blinked at her and tossed another casual shrug. “Because I don’t really know what counts as a good story to share. Anyway, what about you? What do you prefer?”

Maria grinned and said, “Uncovering the juiciest drama, of course! The whole point of this club is to seek the truth and share them, y’know!”

“Pfft, do you like playing detective?” I teased.

“Hehe, was it obvious?” She stretched her smile and confessed, “That’s my dream job!”

***

I stared blankly at the grandfather clock ticking close to a quarter past eleven, lost in my thoughts as old memories played on their own.

Despite looking totally normal, Maria can be… unpredictable. I didn’t think of it as bad before, but after running around looking for her and Ray, I could see why I didn’t like it anymore.

“Ugh, just where did everyone go?” I grumbled, massaging my legs. “I could’ve sworn we've looked everywhere in the house by now! And not to mention seeing only dozens of spirits and no humans!”

“I believe it’s safe to assume most humans have already perished,” said Crowley, snickering away.

“Right…” Made sense. We were at the final hour of Halloween now, and time had long passed since then. Most of those poor humans probably thought the spirits were innocent people but died at their hands, confused by this whole ordeal until the end… Thank god I had an ally from the dead.

I swallowed as the worst thoughts began to haunt my mind, so I nervously asked, “C-Can you tell if there are any survivors?”

“Hmm, yes, I can,” said Crowley. “And wouldn’t you know it—they’re outside.”

“What? We can go outside?”

“Why, of course. I don’t recommend it though. You see that fog out there?”

I glanced at the windows, staring at the thick fog outside. “Yeah, what about it?”

Crowley let out a malicious snicker. “Let’s just say… that’s no ordinary fog. Once you venture out too far, you might end up getting yourself a one-way ticket to the afterlife.”