Chapter 3 – Samhain

Tokiya browsed through a magazine while he slumped on a chair. He wasn't one for slouching, but the director of this PV was driving him crazy.

The PV was based on a new song of his, "Independence". The other STARISH members had their own PVs to attend to, so there wasn't anyone who could cheer him up, or save him from the angry director's wrath.

Do this, do that, tilt head, wrong angle, smile, try to look cool, start over, wrong gaze, incorrect posture, reapply make-up, someone get the script, act better, start over...

Too many demands for one person. Tokiya wanted to break free, to be independent, but it looked like he wasn't getting the chance. He sighed as he flipped through the magazine in his hand once more.

The magazine itself wasn't particularly interesting, consisting mostly of gossip, horoscopes, fashion, make-up and frivolous matters from an unrealistic world covered in pink.

However, something caught his eye.

"Samhain".

What's that? Tokiya had always been a curious person. He liked to take a risk and find out about things only to satisfy his thirst.

Reading on, he found the small article getting much more interesting. Samhain seemed to be linked to the festival where kids all around the world got to cosplay like them in Japan.

A festival also known as "Halloween".

The time where scary things come out of at night, but they aren't monsters, only children who have come to ask you for candy.

"Samhain." The name sounded familiar to the stoic male. He rubbed his chin in thought, but he could not place his finger on it.

Samhain.

"Oi, Ichinose! Get your butt here!" shouted the director from afar. The bluenet was snapped out of his thoughts immediately. Frowning and sighing, he got out of his chair and made his way towards the shooting area.

He would have to think about Samhain when he arrived home.

~.~.~.~

Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, or the "darker half" of the year. Most commonly it is held on 31st of October – 1st of November, or halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. Basically, a Celtic version of Hallow's Eve.

Tokiya adjusted his glasses. He started wearing them a while ago, when he found that the words on the paper looked internet sure gave you a lot of answers in a flash. Browsing Google Images, he could see all kinds of ways to celebrate Samhain. There were also many evil-looking pictures of stone faces, pumpkins, turnips and fire.

One particular picture caught his eye. It was a painting, a normal one that could be found anywhere, and when Tokiya clicked on it, there came out a story. It was said that the evil spirits would arrive in the realm of the living during Samhain, for that was when the barriers between worlds became weakest. These evil spirits would harm the living if left unattended, so a few gods were responsible to reign these spirits in. Morríghan and Daghdha were two of such gods. The gods used paintings and pictures as their main source of transportation. Through the paintings, they could teleport themselves to another place in the world without wasting any time. But if the painting was destroyed, then the pathway was gone.

Tokiya glanced up from his laptop, to the painting that hung before him. Oh, how he wished he could be teleported there! He wished that he could leave this stressful place.

Yet, there was no way, so he read on.

There was one god in particular, Óengus, who was extremely unfortunate and careless. He had dealt with some evil spirits in a certain area and proceeded to teleport himself to another area which needed cleansing. However, several evil spirits whom he had forgot to exorcise broke the painting he was in. As Óengus was not transported to the other side yet, he was trapped in that painting forever, his face one of pure horror, etched onto the paper with paint.

Tokiya flinched. Teleportation was a tricky business. He wondered briefly if he could find a painting of Óengus like that. A painting similar to "The Scream" where the person's face shows a guise of horror, of shock, of surprise.

The digital clock on his table flashed the green numbers, showing him the exact time. It was almost ten o'clock, time for bed. Standing up with a yawn, Tokiya went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Going to the front door, he rattled the doorknob to make sure it was locked and checked the windows once more. He didn't need thieves breaking into his home, he was tired enough.

With everything in its proper place, security checked and hygiene taken care of, Tokiya slipped off his soft slippers and crawled into his bed, enveloped in the blanket's warmth.

~.~.~.~

"Tokiya."

No, he would not answer.

"Tokiya. Tokiya."

He would not answer that voice.

"Tokiya. Tokiya. Tokiya."

No! Shut up!

And there she was. Clad in a white robe with a bloodied knife in her hand, broken wine glass on the floor.

"It's better that you die." A grin. A sweet and awful grin.

"No! Go away!" He had jumped from the bed, awaking from his nightmare. Curling his legs, he wrapped them around him and wiped the sweat off his brow, panting harshly.

He needed to calm down. He needed to forget that nightmare. That nightmare which had haunted him since he was a child. Going for a drink was not going to help. So, Tokiya put on his slippers and headed for his study where his painting lied.

Then, he saw it. A blue light.

Opening the door to the study, he was quite surprised by what he saw. His painting, his beloved painting, was glowing with a blue light. Tokiya's mouth had hung loose. Why was this happening?

Reaching out a hand and feeling brave, he touched the light. Of course, it being light. Tokiya could not grab it in his hand, but he could feel the chill from the blue. The light felt oddly cold. Not to the point of freezing, but a soft chill. Like wind.

Now that he had seen and touched the light, he walked over to the painting slowly, as if approaching a wild animal. The eerie light was still there, basking the whole study in a blue glow. Like always, he put up a hand to the painting of the countryside, not touching it.

Funny, the countryside looked real. Too real. Tokiya felt that he could touch it and feel the wind of the countryside caress him right there. He sighed longingly. He really wanted to leave this life.

Lovingly, he touched the painting. And the painting sucked his hand in. Tokiya let out a frightened gasp and tried to pull his hand out. Blue sparks were flying. His hand was literally stuck in the painting! Using all his might, Tokiya pulled, not understanding the situation at all. The more he pulled however, the more he got sucked in. His whole arm was in the painting now, yet Tokiya refused to cry for help.

With a last tug, the painting had eaten him whole, leaving behind a quiet study. Tokiya shouted, but no one could hear him anymore. He was floating. Floating through a brightly coloured river. A mix of blue and violet and bright green. Tokiya could feel himself being pushed by the currents, pushed farther away.

There's always light at the end of the tunnel, and the last thing Tokiya saw after the blinding light, was a face, a face identical to his. A face with an equally shocked expression.

Then, darkness.

Arigatou, minna-san for reading this story!

It was all thanks to Tokittoki who was willing to do a collab with me, even if I'm a greenhorn. Thank you so much!