Mononohare: The Mystery of Shinjubiki

            The power to see the future, huh?

            It sounds unbelievable, but knowing that I have the ability of the wind makes me want to say that it’s just a natural occurrence and a human having that ability isn’t ordinary by any chance. He may have likely encountered an apparition, but I don’t know what it is or who it is. All I know is that he has gone through a lot of things because when I came to lend him a hand, I noticed something.

            I could feel that something inside of him exists, a will that seems to fuel him to live.

            A year ago. That moment I met Shunichi, he was walking around the stairs to reach the end, but then he stopped and looked at me. Is it because I was blocking him from the light that he needed to arrive? Or is it because he is hesitating, and I was the only one to push him forward? Although once I left and hid, he calmly reached the end of the stairs looking for me.

            Why was that? Maybe he had something to talk to me about, or is my existence his reason for moving forward?

            I don’t know. He just made curious at little things that made me thought of him as interesting and capricious. 

            But I know that he’ll be able to change the world without all of this insanity, putting all apparitions to an end like me, so that we will no longer interfere with the life of every human. Because when I was living here for a thousand years, I realized that humans are just like the wind. They are everywhere yet not there at the same time. Their dreams exceed the skies even though it’s impossible to reach. They are changing without knowing the changes while they are freely moving forward without knowing what’ll happen next.

             They have the freedom to do everything without the interference of others that abuses them and belittles them. This time, I’ll make sure that I wouldn’t let this world end up in another destruction, my mother sacrificed to end.

            A loud noise suddenly appeared that caught my attention.

           “Woah!”

            But to be honest, it’s also because I don’t like how modern this world is. To begin with, how do I use this touchscreen phone? I remember her telling me to press the colored-green button if someone is calling so I can accept their calls.

            Oh, speak of the devil, its Shiru Zenshi that is calling me? Did she already figure out what I have done here?

            I pressed the green-colored to the left that has an imprinted type of telephone and then the two buttons disappeared, thinking that I have connected to her.

            “Shiru Zenshi—”

            “What took you so long?!” Zenshi angrily cut through my words.

            I whimper from the loud noise. “You don’t have to be so mad. I am still trying to understand the modern technologies in this world, you know.”

            “I thought I already gave you a manual.”

            “Uh yeah… I just felt like not reading it right now.”

            I don’t want to tell her that it dispersed into the void because of the hurricane that I have created.

            “So why did you call me?” I asked, perplexed.

            This is such an odd time to call me when the two of them have already gone out. She must have personally wanted me to talk with her. I don’t mind, but her voice is so nostalgic, making me realize that it has been a decade since I talked to her.

            “You should already know why, especially, when you’ve involved two high school kids in our own problems.”

            She really knows everything.

            But I can certainly say that Shunichi’s power hasn’t been exposed yet, but if she does not know of it, then should I tell her about his clairvoyance?

            I shouldn’t. Even I can’t trust her very well, knowing that she might be telling some information to that onmyouji in exchange for helping her eliminate some of the apparitions that are causing a lot of trouble everywhere.

            “I apologize…” I apologetically said.

            “I don’t need an apology. I need an explanation.”

            “I-I can’t do anything about that. After seeing an apparition, you think it’ll be easy to forget those? Besides, in exchange for letting them keep all of this as confidential information, I have to tell them the truth.”

            “…Suspicious. But it’s not like I am one to talk anyway.” She proudly said.

            What does she mean by that?

            “It’s been a long time since you’ve called me and I couldn’t believe you would. I wanted to ask a lot of questions but I bet you wouldn’t answer me anyway.”

            “I am sorry ‘bout that. It seems that after working too much, I became quite ignorant about my health, like what if I die and appear in the afterlife only to find out there is no ferryman to guide me.”

            There is no ferryman. Is she hinting something at me?

            “Eh… I’d be left out, wandering the shores for a hundred years.”

            “But the conclusion wouldn’t change either way if you didn’t have a price to pay. Honestly, I noticed that there had been some weird anomaly to the high school those two attend to.”

            “An apparition?”

            “It is, but it’s more like a psychopomp.” She said. “And their role is to guide the deceased souls without judging them. Now, I wonder what would happen if that kind of apparition here.”

            What would happen? Will it also guide some souls in here while manifesting a human’s desire? It’s not a possibility and is there anything it can do other than guide some souls? I don’t think so. Psychopomps are harmful to the end.

            “They are guiding some souls, right?”

            “Indeed.” She agreed. “They’ll be guiding souls of every human in this place straight to Rivers Styx and Acheron, and they’ll be lost wandering there for even a million years—not knowing what to do.”

            I quickly became astonished, “Are you saying that? That high school they are attending is in great danger?”

            “That’s right. I do think it has begun way too early than I expected.”

            “Then I’ll have to go over there now!”

            “Remember. The ferryman of Hades, Charon, rules the dreary coast. A sordid god: down from his hairy chin. A length of beard descends, uncombed, unclean; His eyes, like hollow furnaces on fire; A girdle, foul with grease, binds his obscene attire.” She depicted the psychopomp that’s been seen over that high school.

            Of all of them, it’s Charon. But why is he doing such stuff? It’s not like he is an evil monster or some sort, he is just an old man that’s guiding poor souls… if they do have an obolus. But I remember meeting him when I was flying everywhere, I wonder if he had changed.

            “That’s really helpful. Thanks—” Just as I was about to say my thanks, it interfered when she hanged out.

            W-Why won’t you let me finish talking?!

            After our conversation, I then hear a loud footstep that’s coming in this direction and when that person appeared at the end of the stairs, it was Shunichi breathing heavily with a very worried face.

            And then I realized, that it has already begun.