I don't know how long I was out. Time doesn't mean much in a place like this. When I finally woke up, the first thing I saw was her—this woman with skin pale as snow, long black hair, and a blindfold covering her eyes. If I'd seen her when I first arrived in this hellhole, I probably would've screamed or tried to punch her. But now? After everything I've been through? Honestly, I just didn't care anymore. She could've been a ghost, a demon, or just another hallucination. Hell, she was kind of… pretty? Maybe I'd finally lost it.
She noticed me staring and smiled, soft and gentle. I cleared my throat, trying to sound braver than I felt. "So… are you here to kill me, or is this the part where you ask for payment for bringing me back from the dead?"
She laughed, a sound so sweet it almost made me forget where I was. "No, nothing like that." She shook her head, her hair falling like a curtain over her shoulders. "My name is Kanari. I was born in this place, but my mother locked me away here a long time ago."
I blinked, trying to process that. "Locked you away? Why?"
Kanari's smile faded a little, but her voice stayed calm. "This house… it's cursed. In the past, it was the site of many cults and faiths. So many rituals, so many prayers, so much darkness. All that energy soaked into the walls, twisted everything. My mother tried to protect me. She sealed me in this purified room, and put this blindfold on me as a ward. As long as I wear it, no evil spirit can touch me."
I stared at her, my mind racing. "So you're telling me this place is cursed because of a bunch of cults and dark magic? That's… that's just fucking great." I couldn't help but laugh, a bitter, hollow sound. "Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?"
Kanari giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "I know it sounds strange. But it's true. I can't be seen by evil spirits, and I can only talk to neutral or kind souls. You're a surprise, Itsumi. You're alive. A new soul in a place like this… it's very rare."
She tilted her head, as if studying me through her blindfold. "Why are you here, Itsumi?"
I snorted, shaking my head. "Because I'm an idiot, that's why. I took a job I shouldn't have, chased a story that wasn't worth it, and now I'm stuck in a nightmare."
Kanari nodded, her expression understanding. "You seem tired. And angry. I won't ask more if you don't want to talk."
I let out a long sigh, rubbing my face. "Thanks. I appreciate it. I just… I need a minute to wrap my head around all this."
As I sat there, trying to make sense of everything, something about her name gnawed at me. Kanari. That was the name of my best friend—the one I was talking to when Yurei died. She was the only person who didn't blame me, the only one who tried to help. And then, a few months later, she died too. Now here I was, in a cursed house, talking to a blindfolded girl with the same name. Was this some kind of cosmic joke? Divine punishment? I didn't know. But I couldn't shake the feeling that something—or someone—was laughing at me from the shadows.
I glanced at Kanari again, her face serene, her presence oddly comforting. Maybe she was a ghost. Maybe she was an angel. Or maybe she was just another lost soul, like me.
Whatever she was, for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel completely alone.