This story contains themes of suicide, hanging, and death. Please read on with caution!
The walk home from school was too silent. Even the twins were quiet, their usual banter completely absent. Rin had her hands clasped loosely behind her back, and Len kept his eyes carefully on the ground. Meiko was chewing on the inside of her cheek hard enough to taste blood, Kaito was fidgeting with this scarf, and Luka looked like she was about to start crying.
All five of them stopped in front of the old house without having to say why.
Finally, Luka's voice cut through the chilled Autumn air. "We should have never dared her."
"It wasn't our fault!" Meiko turned to Luka, looking like she had been slapped. "We had no idea that she'd – that she'd just –"
"Disappear." Rin's voice was quiet, completely unlike her usual tone. Len reached out and put a hand on her shoulder on autopilot.
Kaito didn't look up from his scarf. "Maybe she's just playing a joke …?"
"This isn't Miku's sense of humor," Rin said sharply. She looked up at the house, eyes hard and shiny. "It's that fucking house!"
"Rin –" Len tried to grab for her, but she was already rushing forward.
"Is it your sense of humor, you run-down piece of shit, huh? Do you think it's funny to make Miku disappear without a trace?" She picked up a rock, lobbing it at the crumbling remains of the house. Some of the siding fell to the ground. "Do you?" Another rock took out a window shutter. Still another shattered a window with a discordant crash.
"Rin, that's enough!" Len and Luka finally subdued her, wrapping their arms around her on either side. All of the fight went out of her suddenly, and the three of them fell to their knees, Rin making choked sniffling noises as Luka stroked her hair.
Meiko and Kaito watched from the sidewalk. "It was supposed to be fun," Meiko said, her voice wounded. "Miku wanted to see what would happen."
"I guess she did, didn't she?" Before Meiko could round on him, Kaito walked to the trio in the house's lawn, giving her no choice but to follow him.
"It's not fair …" Rin's voice was tearstained as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I just want to see her again … I want her to be okay."
"It's alright, Rin," Len said softly. "We don't know … It could be anything. She could be – anywhere, really."
No one had to say how stupid that sounded. Not after a week with no one hearing from Miku. The group remained silent, except for someone humming a comforting tune.
But the voice didn't belong to anyone in the group.
Rin rubbed at her eyes with the backs of her hands. "Do you guys hear that …?"
Luka's voice was quiet and unbelieving. "It almost sounds like …"
"Miku!" Rin was on her feet in an instant, rushing towards the house, stumbling over warped boards on the steps and grasping at the doorknob.
"Rin, wait!" Len was the first to go after her, but she was already in the house. The others followed reluctantly, unsure of what else to do.
By the time everyone was inside, the humming had stopped. Rin looked around wildly. "You heard that, didn't you?" She spun on the group, eyes widening until they looked like the skin would tear. "Didn't you?"
"We heard it, Rin," Luka tried and failed to keep her voice calm. "But it doesn't mean that –"
"Mother …"
"Miku!" Rin's voice echoed back to her, almost mocking. "That was her voice!"
"Miku, if this is a joke, it's not fucking funny! We've been looking for your ass for a week!" Meiko looked around. "This is awful. I can't believe – I'm out of here!" She stormed towards the door.
"Miku, where are you?" Luka called out. "Are you hurt?"
"Hurt …"
It almost seemed like an extra echo, but Luka's voice wasn't that high. Before any of them could process that, however, Meiko was banging on the door.
"What the fuck, who locked us in?" Meiko spun on Kaito. "You were the last one in! What's wrong with you!"
Kaito held up his hands. "I didn't lock it! I didn't even shut the door!"
"Mother is hurt …"
The group huddled together in the living room. "If this is a joke …" Meiko grumbled under her breath. "It's a pretty fucking sick one."
"Especially considering what happened to Miku's mom," Kaito agreed. When everyone looked at him in confusion, he raised an eyebrow. "You don't know? Miku's mom … She hung herself. When Miku was only a little girl. I remember Miku was the one who found her. She was really quiet for a while after, I didn't know why until we got older."
"Poor Miku," Luka said softly. "No wonder she didn't talk about it."
"I knew her mom died." Rin face was white. "She never wanted to talk about why."
"They showed me mother …"
"Miku, sweetheart?" Luka's voice was gentle. "It's alright if you're scared. You can come out, it's just us. Your friends."
"They show you me …"
Miku was upstairs, far down the hall. Everyone stared for a long moment, but the girl didn't move. She only stood there, head bowed, long hair covering her face.
"Miku, come with us!" Rin started up the stairs. "Miku, please …" She reached the top of the stairs, reached out for her friend …
Her fingers brushed glass. She was seeing Miku in a mirror.
She spun around. The others were still downstairs, shocked, but there was no Miku. She turned back around, and Miku was still there in the glass.
But she was closer.
"You guys …" Rin turned around to talk to everyone again. "It's a mirror! She's – I don't understand!"
But everyone else was silent. Len's face was pale and he was mouthing something to her. Meiko did the same. Then Luka. They were all speaking to her, and she couldn't hear a word.
"I can't hear you!"
Len started up the stairs, and Rin turned back to the mirror.
Miku was close, now. She was right behind Rin's reflection – could have reached out and touched her. But she just stood there, head bowed, completely still.
With a trembling hand, Rin reached behind herself. She felt nothing, but when her reflection's hand made contact with Miku, she looked up with a single, jerky movement.
Her head hung at an unnatural angle, her face purple. Her mouth was stretched wide in a grin, blood at the corners of her mouth from strain.
"Mother hurt me! Mother hurt you!" The voice was no longer a sweet soprano – it wasn't her friend. Rin tried to scream, but only a choked, shocked noise came out. Her feet were lifted from the ground. She dangled from her neck, as if on an invisible noose. In the mirror, Miku copied her, her smile widening.
Len shouted. Meiko screamed. That was all anyone had time for.
"You're telling me they all went missing?"
"Everyone witness to the Hatsune case, sir."
"Do you think they're responsible? They killed her, and now they're on the run?"
"I suppose the possibility exists. A woman across the street saw them going into the same house that they all said they dared the Hatsune girl to go into."
"Have we searched the house?"
"Of course, sir. We didn't find any trace of them."
"Well, keep looking. Six teenagers don't just disappear."
"Yes, sir. We'll keep constant surveillance on the house."
The policeman heard humming, coming from the broken window.
Hello, everyone! This is my first story on this account, and I'm very excited! So, first a note about this collection itself: it's a bit of a "stress-relief" story for me, something to work on when I need a break from my more "serious" fics. So while I'm obviously going to revise and check for grammar and spelling errors, I'm not going to necessarily do my usual editing and revising (which is usually a more professional, fine-tooth comb type deal that usually takes at least a week for short stories). I hope you enjoy regardless!
As for this story in particular, it's based off of the song "Okaasan" by Miku. I wanted to play with the idea of an "aftermath" type story, which shoes the consequences of a "traditional" horror story, such as Miku being dared to go into a haunted house. I have to admit, though: now I'm intrigued by what happened with Miku in the house, to begin with! That will probably feature in a later chapter.
Anyways, if you enjoyed this story, leave a review and say so! I'd also appreciate constructive criticism, or suggestions for what sorts of stories you'd like to see here next! I also have the first chapter of a more serious fic (called Going Viral) written, and I'm in the process of revising it. That one's not a horror story, but I do have a serious multi-chapter horror story planned called Rotting Camellias! I don't know when that one will be up, but keep your eye out for it!
Thanks for reading!
- Jillian Maria