Two years passed and Natsumi had long forgot she even dreamed of the creature. Instead she was focused on the current days events. School was ending for summer vacation, her favorite time of year, and the family was preparing to visit Grandma Akina. They all climbed into the car and prepared for a long drive. Natsumi and Fuyuki were so bored they fell asleep and had to be carried into the house when they finally arrived.
Natsumi rubbed her eyes and sat up. She looked around wondering why she wasn't in the car.
"Well, goodmorning sweetheart." An elder woman walked into the room carrying a tray of food followed by Aki.
"Granma!" Natsumi jumped up and hugged the woman eagerly. She then ran to her brother and shook him until he sat up. "Fuki! Wake up we're here!"
"I brought some lunch, and when you're both wide awake we can all go spend some time by the river. How does that sound?" Akina placed the tray in front of the children.
"Yay!" Natsumi and Fuyuki eagerly ate the food. They rushed to get their shoes on and ran around the yard until the adults caught up with them. The river was only a short walk into the mild forest. Akina and Aki placed down some blankets and chairs as Natsumi and Fuyuki kicked off their shoes and ran into the shallow water. They kicked, splashed, and each found shiny stones to call their own.
"Hey granma, are there cool animals out here?" Fuyuki asked.
"Yes, there are lots of different critters who live in these woods." Akina nodded.
"I read books where strange things can live in woods where there aren't so many people. Do you ever see any Granma?" Fuyuki jumped back onto the dry land and ran to Akina, curious for more information.
"Of course she hasn't. Those things don't exist." Natsumi skipped a pebble down the stream and watched it plunge into a deeper part of the river.
"They do too!" Fuyuki argued. "One day you'll see that I'm right! Monsters and strange things are real!"
"I'm old enough to understand they aren't." Natsumi turned up her nose and crossed her arms. Fuyuki was insulted by the remark that he was too young and stormed off. He brushed away the tears on his cheeks before she could mock him for crying. Aki quickly followed to comfort him and left Natsumi with Akina.
"Fuyuki, wait." Aki easily caught up to Fuyuki and softly grabbed his shoulder. She knelt before him and looked into his eyes.
"Natsumi's mean." Fuyuki cried more.
"She just doesn't understand." Aki hugged him close and let him cry. "Everyone believes in different things."
"If she saw one she wouldn't be so mean. She would know I was right." Fuyuki rubbed the tears from his eyes. He clenched his other hand, determined to find a monster and prove her wrong.
"If you do find a nice monster I'm sure she would apologize. You're sister is really confident and has a hard time realizing when she's wrong. Let alone admitting it." Aki smiled softly. "Can you forgive her?"
Fuyuki looked away for a moment and thought. He knew it would be nice of him to forgive and he knew his mother would be happy if he behaved like a good boy. "Yeah, I think I can do that."
"Natsumi, that wasn't very nice." Akina walked close to the edge of the water.
"I wasn't trying to be mean. He's smart at school so he shouldn't believe in fake stuff like that." Natsumi defended.
"Don't you have dreams that aren't exactly realistic?" Akina asked hoping to give her grandchild another look at Fuyuki's faith in the supernatural.
"No, I just want to grow up with a bunch of friends and play sports. Maybe even have a super cool job, become rich, and marry a handsome guy. But I have to graduate college and travel all over the world first." Natsumi briefly listed her plans in life.
"Oh my, that is a lot for a little girl to accomplish." Akina chuckled. Natsumi suddenly turned to the trees past the river when she heard leaves and twigs crushed and shifted. Akina looked where Natsumi did wondering what grabbed her attention. "Do you see something?"
"I thought I saw... white horns." Natsumi looked hard and thought even harder about what might be hiding.
"You mean like antlers? There are some deer up here who might prefer this river for a drink but it seems they didn't expect us here first." Akina explained.
"Oh wow really? A deer?" Natsumi's eyes sparkled at the idea of seeing a gentle deer. It was the closest thing in reality to seeing a unicorn.
"We should probably give them a turn. Don't you think?" Akina began to pick up the chairs with Natsumi's help and they slowly walked away from the river. They had reached the top of the hill when Aki and Fuyuki returned. Aki grabbed the chairs and blankets as Fuyuki walked over to Natsumi.
"Look over there Fuki." Natsumi's voice was hushed and cautious. She slowly raised an arm and pointed by the river. She squat down and wrapped her arms around her knees. Fuyuki did the same and looked, wondering what she was going on about. The bushes and trees slowly parted. Twisted, old white horns broke through first. In an elegant stride the firm head and legs followed through.
It was a deer as Akina had guessed and Natsumi couldn't be happier. Her eyes lit up with wonder and excitement. Fuyuki had a huge smile as he watched the gentle animal. The deer casually turned to look up at them. Revealing the scarred left side of it's face. The flesh was decayed and shrunken, clinging to the shape of the bone underneath. The eye socket was empty and hollowed out.
"Aaahhhh!" Fuyuki screamed as he jumped up and ran to Aki.
Natsumi stayed where she sat. Her muscles petrified as she felt a terrifying force wrench her stomach in unnatural shapes. Her heart refused to beat and her lungs felt as if they turned to stone. She stared into the beasts single eye and watched as it turned paler and misted over. The pupil constricted to a red slit as it glared at the young girl.
Natsumi suddenly felt a hard grip on her arm as another form reached from behind and blinded her eyes. She was lifted urgently but her eyes were still cast in darkness. "Come on Natsumi."
Natsumi's lungs quickly filled with air again as Aki's voice whispered into her ear. Natsumi's eyes gradually released small tears as she processed what she saw. The glimpses of an old nightmare returned and she was rich with fear of the chances that it was no longer just a dream. They soon arrived back to Akina's house. Akina held Fuyuki's hand as he cried loudly and slowly led him to the kitchen for a sweet. Aki had since removed her hand from Natsumi's eyes. She pushed aside Natsumi's pink bangs and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"I'm sorry you had to see that poor deer." Aki spoke gently as she sat down and rested Natsumi against her chest. She hugged Natsumi tighter when there was no response. Natsumi stared off at a nearby wall feeling the tears dry on her cheeks. She couldn't free her head from the images. The words echoed and disrupted any clear thoughts. Feel that fear. I can smell it. Come on Natsumi. You didn't believe in monsters.
All she could do was clutch Aki's sleeves and whimper.