There was a woman who lived down the street. The sentence seems normal enough, no? Almost boringly so. Yes, obviously there are people that live down your street. It's not like they make suburban roads with only one home on them, unless you're some sort of rich person and your yard is too big to allow for other properties. Which Rin, for the record, wasn't. She wasn't badly off, granted, but she was far from rich. So what could possibly be special about the woman down the street?
Well, for starters, two houses down, the road ended in a thick, tangled forest. Tangled and gnarled like someone's knotty hair, and just as frightening. That is, not at all. The woman's house was inside the forest, for some reason. According to neighborhood legend, she was some sort of recluse and, when forced to interact with other people, was grumpy and ill-mannered. The children had convinced themselves that she was a horrible cannibal. This was obviously false, but was troubling to Rin regardless.
It just so happened that one day, while playing in the yard, a letter from her uncle slipped out her pocket and was carried by the wind. This was terrible, of course. She loved her uncle and missed him dearly. Rin reached and groped for the letter as it flitted away, but to no avail; it swooped into the forest, right toward the woman's house. She gulped.
One had to tread carefully when in the forest, lest they rouse the rather hostile birds and insects that dwelled within. She stepped on feet soft as a cats, face screwing up with worry. She didn't want to meet any strange people. Her parents were always warning her to never talk to strangers, and she trusted them. Hopefully, she could just get the letter and leave.
She continued to walk, deeper and deeper into the snarl of trees and brush. Rin could see a cabin ahead, door carelessly ajar. Was that where the woman lived? Would she have to face her, just to get the letter? It lay on the doorstep. Perhaps she had read it? Oh, dear. That would be...
Rin eagerly sped up her pace. Dead leaves cracked under her sneakers, but she didn't much care about subtlety anymore. She wanted her letter! All of a sudden, Rin stopped. Halted, leaves and dust flying in her wake. Her blue eyes were wide, and she understood.
Just behind the door, there was a full body mirror. Written on the top was the woman's name.