姫川病院
*** (Ume POV) ***
The lull ended with a bang.
I was out of sight, leaning against our house’s privacy screen after returning with smokes from the konbini. Meguro-san, our neighbor, was speaking to two missionaries on her doorstep. She used the same polite but formal tone used during our infrequent conversations. The missionaries were probably accustomed to that.
I had time to kill before Shishi awoke from her morning nap. That was when I had to buckle down to my writing. Tomo was being very strict with us. But I still had some time, so I casually listened to my neighbor’s conversation. It was all grist for writing dialog.
Meguro-san was saying, “I haven’t had time to read your fliers. I plan to.”
“Must be the cult that had left pamphlets on our doorstep a few days ago,” I thought.
A new voice spoke. It was a pleasant contralto, a marvelous voice for a missionary. “That’s wonderful. Takahashi-sensei has distilled the wisdom required for new members in those few pages. Even if that is all you ever read, you’ll find new joy entering your life and blessings are sure to follow.”
There was a pause, and I imagined Maguro-san must be thinking up an excuse to escape. Before she could use it, the missionary began again. “But that isn’t why we’re here today. We were wondering if you had considered our warning about your neighbors.”
“Her neighbors?” I thought. “That must be us!” My hands were suddenly numb. Mikito-sensei’s words came back to me, “Mikawa-san won’t give up.”
“It couldn’t be Mikawa; could it?” I thought, but deep down, I knew it was. “Somehow, she’s found allies that can move about during the day.”
I listened carefully as the missionary continued, “Kaicho personally sent us to speak to you. The spirits have told Kaicho that the wards on their house draw evil influences. They bring your neighbors good fortune at the expense of those around them.”
My neighbor laughed nervously. “I’ll speak to my husband. Please excuse me. I need to get ready to visit my sister. She’s sick. I’ll read the pamphlets and speak to my husband when he returns.”
Undeterred, the missionary continued, “Kaicho requests you take them down before something bad happens to you.”
“That sounds like a threat to me,” I thought, as I ducked around the screen and crouched behind our car. My neighbor’s door slammed, and I heard footsteps crunching in the gravel, just out of sight.
“Why don’t we just take them down?” said an unfamiliar voice.
“Kaicho says that something bad will happen if we touch them. Let the zako do it. If we have to, we’ll offer her money.”
As their footsteps faded, my conviction solidified that Mikawa had found agents to act for her. “Eventually, the charms will fail or she will find a way past them. That could be tomorrow or twenty years from now.” That was what Mikito-sensei had said. It looked like it had only taken her four months to find a way.
When I entered the house, Shishi was up. She read something in my face. “What’s wrong, Ume?”
“I’ll tell you when Tomo gets home. I want to do some research first, but promise not to go out; Especially if it is dark or foggy.”
“It’s not her, is it?”
“Probably. — While I’m working, order the camping clothes we were looking at.”
The clothes Mikawa had insisted Shishi wear were, how do I say it, frumpy? Shishi had replaced most of them with cute stuff with money she’d raised selling belongings she no longer wanted. That was our compromise, since I couldn’t stand her selling stuff to support us. While we weren’t rich, we were no longer on the verge of homelessness.
Besides, Shishi had a job; taking care of us. It just didn’t pay well, but it was a job she had grown into. The greasy karaage, and soggy okonomiyaki had been replaced by plain, solid, tasty food, the kind Tomo and I liked, and pudding that threatened my waistline.
But cute clothes wouldn’t do now. Functional rugged clothes were required for a trip to Kakuriyo, the hidden world. Who knows what we would face or how long we would be there?
Fortified by the tea Shishi brought me, I spent the rest of the day on the internet or phone with Chinmoku Izumi Temple. Except for the urgency, you would have thought it was a typical day. Me working hard with an occasional glimpse of Shishi. Tomo had told her, to my regret, to not bother me when I was writing. Between working on two stories and Shishi’s history, along with being called in periodically to my old job, loading trucks. As a result, I hadn’t gotten far in wooing her.
When Tomo arrived, I had my basic information. Which was good, since Shishi had apparently texted him.
“What’s going on?” he asked seconds after walking through the door.
Shishi came into the room at that moment with a beer for Tomo. I used that distraction to organize my thoughts, then started, “I overheard missionaries from Yorokibu no Gakuryoku trying to get our neighbors to take down our wards.” I held up their pamphlets. “They’re a cult with a shady history of strong-arm tactics and bribery. They even have a little right-wing political party. Their leader claims to channel spirits from the other world, chiefly Oda Nobunaga, and he also talks about Japan reclaiming its rightful place in the world. From what I overheard, their leader has taken a personal interest in us.”
“Yabai. You think it’s because of Mikawa?” Tomo asked.
“Can you think of any other reason he would be interested in three queer nobodies like us?”
“No,” Tomo admitted.
“I called the temple,” I resumed, “and spoke with Sensei. He warned we should take the threat seriously, but had no specific information about the cult or Mikawa. Divinations showed we have about a week before something bad happens. They investigated further and found the most auspicious place for Shishi and me to enter Kakuriyo. So, I’m going to do more research, and polish up my stories. Shishi ordered equipment today.”
Shishi nodded but said nothing.
“What about me?” Tomo asked.
“You could come with,” I said, “but you’re probably safer here. Maybe you could stay at the temple?”
Shishi finally joined the conversation, saying, “Didn’t Kan-chan offer her place once? She likes you.”
Tomo looked at me, “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Why would I mind?” I thought. “I’m the one with a husband and girlfriend.”
“Tomo,” I said, “that’s a great idea. You know I don’t mind whatever you do.”
Now he looked incredibly embarrassed. Time for some revenge, I thought. “Look, I know I’m a real pain in the ass. It’s time you found a girlfriend and Kan-chan is a sweet lady. Go for it.”
It wasn’t just revenge. He deserved someone better than me. “I mean it. Good luck!”
Tomo was looking down, using the beer as a shield. “Bull’s eye,” I thought.
When he looked up, he had composed himself and said, “I’ll let the neighbors know when you’re gone. And maybe stay with Kan-chan’s family a few days till the rumor mill spreads the word.”
That’s what we did and a few days later, Tomo and Kan-chan dropped me and Shishi off in a weed-filled lot. Across a huge abandoned parking area, the concrete hulk of Himekawa Hospital loomed in the pre-dawn light. Shishi held my pack as I gave Tomo last-minute directions.
“Submit those manuscripts I gave you when the publisher complains. The last one ends at a good stopping point. If I’m not back then, you can tell them I’m sick and need to take a break. The author of the other story is back, so that series is covered.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You told me all this. Get going before you draw someone’s attention.”
On impulse, I ducked back into the car and gave Tomo a big hug. “Thanks, be safe.”
He pushed me off. “You be safe and enjoy your honeymoon with Shiomi-san. And for god’s sake, talk to her.”
As I turned to join Shishi, I heard him mutter, “Disasters.”
I could almost pretend he was referring to the hospital.
In front of us, across the empty lot, was the gray concrete hospital with its rows of broken windows and a massive roof-top sign that read Himekawa Hospital. Thick grass growing through cracks in the pavement crunched underfoot as we advanced toward it. The only sign of life was the early spring weeds poking from between last year’s brittle stems.
Despite the early hour, I felt like we were being watched as we crossed the open area in front of the building. A sign greeted us at the door, saying that the building was unsafe. Ignoring the warning, we stepped into an unlit foyer. Across the room, the check-in desk was behind a battered folding gate. There was some debris on the floor, including an incongruent, open red umbrella. The smell of mildew and desolation hung heavy in the air.
“Ume,” Shishi grabbed my hand, “I can feel them.”
“Yeah, it’s not a nice place. There are supposed to be lots of ghosts here. The mortuary and surgery are especially active. We want the surgery upstairs.”
“Figures,” she replied.
Stepping deeper into the building, the light from outside grew dimmer. Shadows concealed parts of the hall while sunlight emerged from rooms on either side illuminating others. Two rows of slightly disarrayed padded benches ran down the center of the corridor. Random medical equipment, spilled medical records, and fragments of sheetrock littered the passage. Wires dangled from the ceiling. All of which were coated with white dust.
“Why would anyone come here voluntarily?” Shishi asked, looking at the desolation.
I didn’t have an answer, so I squeezed her hand and hitched my pack. “Let’s find stairs before something spots us.”
“Okay — Ume, it’s selfish, but I’m glad you’re here. I promise not to drag you down.”
I squeezed her hand again. “We’re a team; Ume and Shishi. Mikawa doesn’t stand a chance.”
We walked down the hall, our footsteps echoing. Debris occasionally crunched underfoot. The rooms that opened up on either side contained hospital beds or mounds of abandoned medical equipment. It was like everyone had suddenly vanished, leaving everything in place. Like one of those ghost ships you hear about. It wouldn’t have surprised me to discover food still on the cafeteria tables.
It wasn’t long before we found a staircase. Someone had piled up benches and medical equipment in front of it, blocking the way. Light spilled from the windows in the stairwell, casting strange shadows as it passed over the wreckage.
Between the two of us, we began to remove the barrier. It wasn’t hard, but it was nasty, and I pretended not to see the rat-like shadows that scurried away.
We had just removed a bench that crashed to the floor when a voice echoed in the hall. “Hay, someone’s here.” Then, in a louder voice, “You’re trespassing.”
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Note: Security guards, the bane of haikyo (urbex). They are less common in Japan than in the West. So far, they have always been nice to me.
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Story by Nara Moore
Twitter/X:@nara_moore
Mastodon: sakurajima.moe
WordPress: Josei Yuri and Paranormal Romance
Art by Mai-sensei
Twitter: @Maiisheree
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