Chapter 1: Into the Night
Didn't we always promise that we would always be together…
Two five year old girls were running through the forest. They looked almost identical to each others.
One of them was in the lead.
"Mayu! Come on!" The girl in the lead shouted.
"Mio! Wait for me!" Mayu shouted back to Mio.
They were now running along the edge of a steep slope.
"Wait up!" Mayu shouted again. Just then she lost her footing, tripped, and tumbled down the slope screaming.
This caused Mio to slow down.
"Mayu?" Mio looked back seeing no sign of her twin sister. She then spotted some foot marks that led too close to the slope.
Slowly she looked down the slope. "Ma…yu…"
She carefully made her way down the slope and reached the bottom. Sure enough, Mayu was sprawled on the ground completely knocked out.
"Mayu..." Mio gently shook Mayu's shoulder. No response.
"Mayu." She shook her even harder. No response.
"Mayu." Mio's voice was now filled with concern and grief. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry"
--
It had been 10 years since the accident.
The memory was vague but it still bored into her mind. Even now it sent chills down her spine thinking about it.
Heading back to reality, she took notice of her situation once more.
She was seated near the edge of the creek in the middle of the woods. It was a spot both she and Mayu liked to hang out at.
Looking down into the stream of water she gazed at her reflection. She had aged a lot. She was 15 years old and her body was showing signs of maturity.
Her black hair was still short as usual and her brown eyes shown bright as ever. She wore a brown T-shirt, black pants, a white skirt that covered the pants, white socks, and black shoes.
Time sure seemed to have flown by fast. Looking back on it now, the past long ten years seemed to be short now.
"We used to play here a lot you know." A voice called from behind.
Mio looked up and saw her twin sister Mayu leaning over her. She was 15 years old as well. Her hair and eyes were identical to Mio's. Her clothes were different though.
She wore a black shirt, a brown dress that extended from her shoulders all the way to her knees, and black boots.
She couldn't run very fast though since she broke her leg during the accident.
Every movement she made was a painful reminder of that awful event.
"Soon all of this will be gone." Mayu continued. It was true, a dam would be constructed soon, flooding the area in the process.
"Yeah…" Mio replied. "How's your leg? Does it still hurt?"
"A little." Mayu admitted. "But I'm fine." Mayu sat behind Mio, her back touching Mio's back.
"Don't worry, it doesn't bother me that much."
"Good." Mio replied. Deep down inside, she still couldn't shake off the guilt. Every time she asked Mayu how her leg was, her reply was always the same. And the reply she got just now was no different then the others.
"Mio?" Mayu asked.
"Yes." Mio answered.
"Um, never mind…" Mayu replied. "It's nothing."
Both twin sisters remained silent.
Mayu had recovered shortly after the accident. Although Mayu's leg was damaged, both twins continued to play in the woods.
Yet every now and then the guilt would continue to bother Mio.
"Mayu about that time back there…" Mio turned to face Mayu. To her surprise, she was gone. "Mayu?"
She then spotted Mayu pursuing a crimson red butterfly heading deeper into the woods.
"Mayu wait!" Mios shouted. Mayu didn't seem to be paying attention.
Mio instantly got to her feet and began to pursue Mayu. "Mayu where are you going?"
Mio was so focused on catching up with Mayu that she didn't notice she passed a stone with two twins sculpted into it.
All of a sudden, everything turned black and white. Confused she looked at her surroundings and spotted Mayu again.
"No, wait! Stop!" Mio chased after her once more. Within seconds she easily caught up.
"Mayu!" Mio reached out and touched her shoulder.
All of a sudden Mayu vanished, within her place was girl around her age. She wore a white kimono and her hair was black.
She instantly turned around and grabbed Mio by the neck. All of a sudden everything turned white.
Mio found herself back in the forest once more. All the color was back. There was only one difference now, it was night time now.
What was that all about? Who was that girl? And why did it just turn night time all of a sudden?
Mayu began to look at her surroundings.
It was probably a dream. I must have blacked out and had a strange dream. Enough thinking already, I need to find Mayu.
"Mayu!" Mio shouted. Mayu was nowhere in sight.
There was a dirt path ahead though. Mio decided to follow it. Mio wasn't sure how much time passed since she walked along the path.
Eventually she reached an old piece of wood that arched across the path. Standing in front of it was a girl in a white kimono. Her back was facing Mio.
Mio could tell the girl was crying though.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry." The girl sobbed.
Mio decided to try to comfort her. As Mio approached her, a crimson red butterfly flew past Mio's face. When Mio looked back at the girl, she was gone.
Mio decided to continue down the path. Eventually she reached what appeared to be some sort of old altar.
"What is this place?" Mio wondered out loud.
"The lost village…" a voice called from her left.
Mio looked to her left and saw Mayu standing near the ledge of what appeared to be some sort of cliff side. On closer inspection, it was actually a downward slope. At the bottom of the slope was a village.
"Mayu." Mio said, relieved to have found her twin sister.
"I heard about this place." Mayu went on. "A long time ago, there was village here that disappeared during a festival. People who are lost in these woods are trapped by the village. Could this be the place?"
"I'm not sure." Mio said. "Whether it is or not, there's bound to be some people here. Maybe we could ask them for information."
"Sounds like a reasonable plan." Mayu nodded. "But we should probably be careful, there's something odd about this place."
The twin sisters went down the slope towards the village. Thus beginning the journey into the night.