Ghost Hound

Inspired from Ghost Hound.

The village where I lived in was a peaceful one. It was a tiny village, where anyone knew everyone who has ever lived. It was located nearby a forest, and a river where lots of people take a swim there. The river was very wide and very long. No one was brave enough to swim across it because it dipped in the middle, with the undercurrents strong enough to drag an elephant down. It was one of the local legends that have been proven true. The old lady who lived by the giant oak tree likes to scare us with stories about it.

Our houses were not unlike a shack. They were made from wood, and the roof was made using hays. The wealthier ones had their houses built from bricks. The only rich man in the village even owns a car he got when he left the village years ago.

People liked to gush over the magnificent vehicle. It was so unusual in a village like his. People often flock to it and the man. I was never interested in it. I was always more interested in drawing. Either with pencils, sticks, sand, or a chalk, I love drawing people. It was something of my doing, something I have control over, something I can be proud of with no shame.

I am with my friends now. We all go to the same school. There were only two schools in my village, and both consist of only ten to twelve children. I have never visited the other school, but mine was located nearby a crossroad that led to either my village's square, or the long open road. There were a lot sand and grass and dirt. The boys liked to play in dirt. The girls prefer sitting on the grass. I liked to draw on the sand with a long stick. I spotted a dog and I draw it. I spotted a bird and I draw it, enlarged. This time I picked one of the girls to be my object of drawing.

My friends and two girls saw me and cheered me on. They were standing behind me to get the best look over my drawing. I smiled as I began to draw the girl's face. My friends called out my name. But all I could think was where I should put down my name in the drawing that won't mess it up. Only the right eye is left. It was only when their cry sounded distressed did I turned around, and I saw a boy from my rival school behind me. His hand shot up and I was too late to avoid it. He shoved my shoulder hard and it made me step back. He mocked me for drawing, and jeered that I messed up. But when I looked at my drawing I saw that the girl's left eye wasn't ruined. I smiled in relief. My friends taunted him back until the boy left us.

After I finished drawing from whatever media I can use, I would usually go back home with my friends. But today I decided to go for a swim with my friends. We're going to swim in the river, but only at the shallow parts. Before the point where the undercurrents are too dangerous to swim, there was a bridge we can climb up on.

There was a loud honking noise that I don't recognize. But my friends did. It was the rich man's car, driving on the side road, with no fence helping it from plunging into the river on the other side. I wonder what would happen if he was crazy and vicious and decided on a whim to run us over with his white car. Fortunately, the man was a good driver, and doesn't drive too close to the edge that might get his wheels to tumble down the short hill and fell into the river.

I dipped my feet in the river and my body followed. The water stopped just beneath my neck. My friends followed me and we swam forward. We couldn't keep up with the car. The river was as tall as me but I can still breathe as long as I stand on my toes. Some points were deeper and at one point my entire head is wet. I can hear my friends behind me but they just sound buzzing beside me. Something like a giant's face was staring at me under the water. It looked like it wants to kill me. Can I kill it first? If I do, what would I do next? It's strange, how at first you'll convince yourself that your terrible deed is not so terrible, after all, a lot of people kill so you can't be the only one. Then… then...

I sluggishly climbed up the bridge using the ladder. A wooden bridge was built across the middle of the river for sightseeing, and as a safe zone for dare devil kids like me and my friends before our feet gets caught by the deadly undercurrents. The part of the bridge we climbed up was the shortest point. The wooden bridge goes a long way, and slowly sloped up until it passed through an old building right behind the tallest hill near my village. That hill protected our village from any sudden flood. It was very cold because it reached the clouds. We can't climb up on the other side because it was too steep. We have to use the long bridge to go there. I used to go there to get the best view of my village. I still go there, even after I saw my sister walk ahead.

I saw my sister up ahead. I walked to her. She was standing in front of a part of the bridge that wasn't fenced. She was standing on the highest point of the bridge. I walked up. I think I walked slowly. I heard my friends whispering. Were they following me? My sister was there. I saw her feet, then her waist, her body, and when my eyes saw pass her neck – a flash of black hair and she jumped off the bridge.

That's… that's right. She jumped off didn't she? A year ago, for some reason.

"His sister died here, didn't she?"

I pretended I didn't hear them. I kept walking. Passing the spot where my sister was last seen. Slowly.

"This bridge is like a test to him."

"Pssst. Be quiet."

It was foggy over here. We walked and walked and walked and walked. The river was long. This scenic route was meant to be long. But I felt like I only walked for a short distance. We finally reached the part where the bridge was built to pass through a building. It was old and abandoned and I haven't figured out what the building was intended to be. It was just there. Tall and old. We didn't have the means to tear it down and the building was in the way so we made a large hole on the wall, fasten the bridge through it and built it to reach the hill outside.

I didn't realize I stopped in the middle. At the darkest part of the place, where the roof shadowed the center of the bridge. My friends suddenly shouted there was a giant black dog on the building's floor below us. The dog didn't seem to notice me, despite being closer to me. I didn't seem to notice it. What was I thinking? My friends whispered for me to move forward. They know it's hard for me to cross the bridge because I must be seeing my sister's ghost. But I wasn't! I saw the dog! I just… can't act on it.

I feel like the bridge had broken in the middle. I feel like they were rubber. I feel my weight pushing it down till my feet touched the ground floor and the only reason I'm not dog food is because my friends are holding onto my hands to make sure I don't fall entirely.

When the dog growled, my friends screamed and I walked. I walked as if the bridge is forming bricks after brick right in front of me. When we reached the other side my friends tapped my shoulder and snapped me out of my stupor. They broke off running. I followed them. I ran after them. What are we running from again?

The first and second episode of the anime were the best! I haven't watched pass episode 5 though. The videos on Youtube were blurry and in eng dub. Not patient enough to download the entire thing so I had to put it on-hold (￣▽￣*)ゞ