So I was there, deep in the forest, picking up mushrooms like I do on a regular mushroom season.

Then I heard some rustling behind me. I readied a bottled explosive on one hand while slowly approaching the source of it. I don't know why, but I did and did it as quietly as possible, ze.

I could've blasted it, ze. I could've just chucked the explosive I have in my hand, daze! Damn! At least threw a stone at it!

Because, you know, it could probably be a youkai. Or a really dangerous human. A group of dangerous youkai? Or humans?

I don't know.

So anyway, I got near it and moved the leaves out of the way. But then I found this little girl, about 6 or 7 years of age, standing there smiling at me. She has a short brown hair and she's wearing a pure white robe. So, I was like, 'What's this child doing out here, daze?'

And then another weird thing happened. I was reverted back into a child, daze! I'm almost the same age as the child in front of me. And I wasn't even surprised, ze! And I'm wearing like a white Sunday dress

I went up to her and playfully asked her, 'Hey, are you lost?'

She shook head and answered, 'No. I just wanted to play here!'

And then I said, 'Well that sounds fun, but this is a really dangerous place, daze.'

She giggled and did in a cute way and said, 'Well, you're here too.' And she looked at me in a playfully intimidating way.

I scratched the back of my head and I felt like I was backed in a corner. But I regained my confidence and answered, 'Then you must not know me, daze! I'm the mad witch of this forest! No one can stand against me, ze!'

She just laughed at me and said, 'Mad witch? You won't even pass for an ordinary witch.'

I didn't mind but I want to talk to her more so I said, 'Oh yeah? How can you say that?'

She took a second to answer. She told me, 'You know, blonde hair, golden pair of eyes. You're like an angel. Witches are ugly! They are really scary and...'

Most of what she said just went over my head. I am so embarrassed, I felt as if my head was gonna explode, ze.

I snapped out of my hazy state when she held my hand and asked, 'Hey! Are you listening to me?'

It took me quite some time before I responded, 'Uh, yeah! Well, most of it. I kinda remembered something, ze.'

She suddenly pulled me off and said, 'Come on! Let's go have some fun!'

I just asked 'Where? Do you know this place?'

She just kept running and said, 'Nope! But we're going to find out!'

And we just kept running forward. Crawling under fallen trees, crossing water streams, walking through tall grass. It was pretty exciting for a child, ze.

And then we reached a wall of rocks. It's about 6 or 7 feet high. Not that tall but we still felt really excited. She started climbing up and when she's about to reach the top, she called out, 'Come on! This is gonna be fun!'

I didn't hesitate at all and started reaching for a foot hold, ze. But when I'm about to climb up, I heard another girl shouting and telling me not to go.

I turned around and found Alice. And I mean Alice as a child. And she's wearing that dress with her blue apron. You remember, right? And she looked really worried too.

So I went to her and asked, 'What's wrong?'

She just grabbed my hand, her eyes welling with tears, she said, 'We have to leave this place! It's really dangerous!' And she kept tugging on me. Somehow, I felt like I have to listen to her and get away as far as we could, ze.

Then this other girl was already on top of the wall with the sunlight behind her and she asked me in an eerie voice, 'Where are you going?'

I looked at her but the light behind her is really bright, ze. So I just said to her, 'I really should be going home now. It has been fun but I really have to go now, daze.'

And then she said, 'You can't leave me. You can't.'

I just looked at her and said, 'I'm sorry.'

Then she just fell off the wall like a rag doll and hit the ground head first. Her head was... Should I be telling you this? Are you fine with- Oh to hell with it. I don't really need to be specific with you, ze. She died on her fall. She didn't move after her fall and there's blood around her, especially her head.

But that wasn't really what's disturbing though, ze. The disturbing part was I didn't even care. I was like, 'Oh, she died. Well better get home.' But I didn't say that, daze! I just looked at her dead body and turned away. I started walking home with Alice and everything went black.

~~()~~

'And that's what happened to me in my dream.' Said the ordinary witch.

The shrine maiden looks at her friend as if she heard the most ridiculous story in her life. 'Are you eating strange mushrooms again, Marisa?' she asked.

'Hmm~ That's possible. But seriously, ze! I have that same dream for like 3 or 4 times already.' the witch said.

'And I can't help you with your problem!' her friend replied.

'I know! But, you know, you're my best friend, ze. So I wanted to tell you right away.'

This surprised the shrine maiden for a second and got her flustered. But she felt really happy when she heard those words from the witch.

'W-well, I'm very touched. But it doesn't help us with your problem. Why don't you go to Eirin? She's selling dream pills, right? She definitely has some explanation for your case.' she said.

The witch just dumped her head on the table with a troubled look on her face. 'Well, I considered going to her but I'm worried that she might mess with my head.'

Her friend snorted at the comment and said, 'Well, you still have to give it a try.'

'Yeah, I guess.' With that, the witch stood up and picked up her witch hat off the table and smacked it back to her head.

'Oh, you're going now?' the shrine maiden asked.

'Hmm~ The earlier, the better. That's what I'm thinking right now, ze.' The witch said.

The shrine maiden just smiled and poured tea on her cup once more and with an almost inaudible sound she said, 'So, you're leaving me again?'

The witch heard her made a sound but didn't understand what she said. 'Huh? Did you say something?' She asked.

'You're leaving again. Just like before.' the shrine maiden said. Her voice apparently sounds very off. It sounded like the voice of the child on the witch's dream.

'Uh, Reimu? What are you-?' Her words were cut off when she saw the blood running down from her friend's forehead almost covering half of her face.

With a terrified look on her face, she tripped and was unable to move from her spot as her friend took off in the air and pounced on her making her unable to escape. 'Wait! What?', Is all she can say as her friend's bloodied face drew closer and closer to her face.

'What are you doing, Reimu? What are you talking about?' She asked.

'You left me for that miserable puppeteer! How could you? I thought you were my friend!' The shrine maiden ranted with her voice sounding like it's coming from another person.

'I don't understand! When did I leave you? And what's Alice had to do with this?' She asked.

Then she remembered someone, the child in her dream. She has a short brown hair and wears a white robe. She closely resembles the shrine maiden if she turns back into a child!

Her face shows pure distraught when the thought came to her 'Don't tell me you're the- the young girl!'

Showing no emotion, her friend just asked in an eerie voice 'Why did you have to leave me, Marisa?'

'I'm sorry! I really am!' She begged but her friend doesn't seem to care.

The shrine maiden lifted her left hand on the air and swung it across the witch's face as hard as she can.

~~()~~

"And I finally woke up, ze!" Marisa shouted.

Rinnosuke seems really worried for the well-being of the young witch. He puts down the morning paper on his store counter and says to the witch, "I know this may sound like from your dream, bu are you sure you didn't take any poisonous mushroom?"

This got the witch annoyed. "If anyone knows more than anything about mushrooms, then that person would be me. And I'm sure, and I'm saying that I am pretty sure I wasn't poisoned or anything."

This didn't give the half-youkai store owner any assurance at all. "Alright, then how about your health? Are you working late at night? Any injuries? Did you got sick recently? Any-"

"Stop!" The witch shouted extending her arm outward with her hand suggesting that the store owner must stop whatever he is doing.

"Ok, first of all, I am completely healthy, daze! I don't have any injuries or whatever." She explained sternly. Then she sheepishly added, "Though the working late at night might be an issue."

Somehow relieved though still worried, this has drawn a smile on Rinnosuke's face. "I suggest the same thing from your dream. Have Dr. Yagokoro check on you. She does have an idea on dreams as she makes those dream pills." says the store owner.

"Bah! That's as much as I thought." The witch replied. She picked up her broom and started pacing towards the door. Half-way her pace she threw a single hand wave and said "Well, I'll see you later, Kourin!"

Rinnosuke just smiled and picked up the morning paper and started looking for the page he was reading a while ago. Marisa was already outside the store when he added. "Though you're definitely acting strange today."

The thieving witch halted and turned to face the half-youkai with a puzzled look on her face. In her confusion, she was only able to say, "Huh?"

Rinnosuke closes the morning paper in his hand once more and adjusted his glasses "You see, I'm really cannot recall a time that you told me about your problems. That's very unusual of you." He said.

Marisa just smiled as she slowly closes the door and says, "If it seems weird then, you must be dreaming, daze." Then the door soundly shuts.


Hi dear readers!

So I strike this question unto you!

"Who is the crazy one?"

The answer would be me!

*Crazy laugh*

I'm sorry, it's been a long time...

So yeah, I've been trying to write some decent novel, apparently my ideas were like 'Oh, you're such a slow writer so were gonna leave you behind!'

An~d yeah well, I'm having a hard time...

At least a short novel would be fine! Dammit!

So my earlier ideas were all cut short like I wrote the start and I can no longer add anything else... Funny... I thought I had it...

And again! All the better ideas are gone... What's left is the crazy one... And here I present the product of my rehabilitation program... Which took me only two days because I might also lose this one...

*Ahem!* So I'm hoping that I'll be able to add more contents in the future...

Oh, and thank you for stopping by and reading this! Hope this has been really entertaining for you...

And stay safe everyone...