The Secrets Behind the Mask

Chapter 1- Dream

After the traumatic experience I had six months ago, I started having dreams about being trapped in an endless dark and void path – no one to ask for help from…nothing to see…and nowhere to go.  The emptiness of that place and the darkness surrounding me were enough to paralyze my body, but the adrenaline in my system forced me to keep moving even if fear was gradually creeping in every fiber of my being. I kept walking and walking, but I could not even feel anything on my skin, even under my feet, as if…I was floating and walking in the air.

Fear resulted in desperation as I scram my way out of that place, and then in the middle of that hopeless situation, a blinding light suddenly filled my vision and when I opened my eyes, I found myself running in the middle of a new place as if I traveled into another location and time.

A bright yet warm light immediately embraced me, and green and brown colored objects registered in my vision. Then slowly, I started feeling something under my feet as I decelerated my pace, and the scent of fresh leaves and the earthy scent of soil filled my nose. It only took me a few seconds before I realized where I was – in the middle of a forest. However, that forest was not a stranger to me, rather… it was a very familiar forest from when I was still young and living in Pennsylvania.

That realization made me completely halted in my tracks, and the nostalgic feeling from seeing that familiar place somehow calmed the fear inside me. A sense of relief rushed in me, but my heart was still pounding loudly on my chest due to what had just happened in that dark place I had been through, and my emotions were still on haywire.

The warm light from the sun embraced my cold body as I nervously turned my head to look around the place, trying to find out if that forest was really the same place my mom and dad always visit on Sunday when I was six. There was nothing special about that forest, and only a few people visit that place to unwind. But my dad used to tell us that surrounding yourself with trees and enjoying nature even for a short time would clear and give you peace of mind.

Everything in that forest was still the same like how I used to remember them when I was a kid. Even the scent that the soil was emitting felt so real as if I was really standing in that place again. The shadows of the tall trees around me spread on my body, leaving small spaces for the sunlight to touch my skin. And the wind against my skin was cold, like a morning breeze in the middle of Spring.

The place was quiet. Only the sound of the leaves as they dance along with the wind and the soft chirping of birds filled the entire forest. As I allowed myself to savor the peacefulness that the scenery in front of me had created, my feet suddenly moved on their own. I did not know where it would bring me, but I let it lead me to where it wants to go.

The sound of the dry leaves and thin stick under my feet as I stepped on them echoed in my ears. It was only faint, but enough to make everything felt more real. I continued walking ahead, clueless of what was waiting for me there – I did not even know myself what was I trying to find. Until…I noticed that the sound of the dry leaves and thin stick as they were being stepped on got louder and louder. As if…something heavy stepped on them.

I halted on my tracks and turned behind me to see if there is something…or someone following me, but I did not see anything there. I suspiciously looked around one more time, carefully observing my surrounding, and when I made sure that I was the only one in that place, I turned back and continued walking. However, the crisp sound produced by the dry leaves and sticks did not stop. Instead, it became louder and louder, like it was getting near me.

At that time, I was getting a little anxious. I really felt like I was not alone in that place, but whenever I turned around to see who was there, I could not see anyone nor anything. It got worse when I realized that the scenery around me suddenly changed. The atmosphere felt heavy; the trees were all dry like they were dead from their roots; the soil smelled of rotten food, and; the chirping of birds was replaced with loud caws of crows. Everything changed like I was at another place again – a place I was not familiar with.

Fear crept into my body once again, and the only thing I could think of was to run away and get out of that place. There was something in that place that made my instincts screamed danger to me, telling me that I should not stay there any longer or else…I would not be able to escape.

My pace quickened, desperate to find the way out of that place without trying to look back. I was afraid of the thought that the moment I stopped and turned around, I would see something…or someone I did not want to see for the rest of my life. However, as I continued to run, a loud cry suddenly echoed throughout the forest. Normally, I would just ignore it and pretend that I did not hear anything, but…it was a desperate cry of a kid. And there was something about that kid’s cry that made me unconsciously stopped in my tracks.

 My feet were firmly planted on the ground for a moment as I listened to the crying sound while looking around me to see who it was, or to find where the sound was coming from. The sound was loud and clear as if the source was just a few meters away from me. But what bothered me more was that the kid’s cry was filled with agony, sadness, and pain, which made me assume that maybe the kid got lost in that forest and needed some help.

My muscle tensed up, and I could feel the cold sweat forming on my back. The fear running in my body was driving me insane, and my instinct was screaming at me to ignore the cry of that kid and just run away. But…for some reason, I cannot find the courage to turn around and leave. It was as if the child’s cry was calling me.

I tightly clenched my fists on my side to calm myself as I anxiously looked around me, trying to figure out where that child was. But it was futile. And maybe due to the panic and fear that were rushing in my system, I cannot even command my body anymore to move from my spot and find that kid. The only choice I had was to call him and let him know that I was there in that place too.

I swallowed hard to ease my dry throat and tried to gather enough strength to make my voice louder and clear. But before words could come out from my lips, I suddenly heard sticks snapped right behind me.

I felt my world stopped at that moment, and my body was paralyzed. All I could hear at that moment was the loud sound of my heartbeats. It was so loud in my ears that I could not hear the child’s cries anymore nor hear anything at all aside from it. It was deafening.

My whole body slowly turned cold like ice from head to toe, making me unable to move even a single muscle as I waited for the next thing that would happen. Because as much as I wanted to think that what I heard was just nothing and pretend that I did not know about it, I could strongly feel that there was definitely someone standing behind me. Its presence was so strong…and somewhat familiar that it terrified me.

However, another few seconds had passed and still, nothing happened. I nervously bit my lips in anticipation, because I knew that there was definitely someone standing behind me, and I could feel it. But why? Why are they not doing anything? I thought to myself as fear and anxiousness messed my head. I listened carefully to my surrounding, but still, I could not hear any movement from behind me.

What’s going on? Someone’s there, right? I thought to myself. I tightly clenched my jaw as I got more and more anxious, and the tension and animosity in the atmosphere were killing me. I tried moving my eyes to scan every direction ahead of me where I could try to run towards to and slowly positioned my foot in front of me to prepare for a run.

This waiting game would definitely kill me, I finally thought to myself. However, before I could even start moving, I heard something moved behind me, then all of a sudden, soft cries filled the air. The source of the sound was not far from me – exactly a few feet away behind me – and…it was the same cry of the child I heard a while ago.

My eyebrows furrowed in surprise and confusion as I carefully listened to that child’s cry. I could not be mistaken, and I was certain that the kid was just right behind me. But how? How did that child find me? I was so scared and preoccupied a while ago that I totally forgot about that kid.

I unconsciously lowered my guard down, and with a deep breath, I slowly turned around behind me. I found myself staring at a young boy whose hair color was like mine and a little wavy. He has a fair complexion, round eyes, and thick black eyelashes. He was wearing a plain pair of pajamas while holding a small teddy bear between his arms as he stood there while looking directly at my eyes.

His eyes were sad and it was like he was in pain, so I thought something bad happened to him or he was injured. But when I scanned his body, I found no wounds or anything, aside from the dirt on his bare feet.  The pained expression on his face deepened then I heard him sniffed as another tear fell from his eyes.

It took me a while before I finally decided to ask the boy.  I bit my lip and tried to find my voice.

“…Are you…okay?” I reluctantly asked as I stared intently at him. The boy shook his head in response then another set of tears streamed down his face. I tried not to overreact and to talk to him as calmly as I could without going near him because maybe, the kid was scared.

“What’s wrong?” I asked again. The child pouted and wiped his tears with the back of his hands. He looked at his feet for a moment, like he was thinking about something before he looked up at me again to respond.

“Let’s…go home…please. Don’t leave us.”

My eyebrows pulled together in confusion, and I could not respond to the child immediately. What is he talking about? I thought to myself. Go home to where? Do I know him? I got lost in my thought as I tried to comprehend what the boy had just said and only got back on my senses when I felt something warm touched my hand.

I turned my gaze at my hand and saw another small hand holding mine. It was only then when I realized that the child was already standing beside me and was looking at me with teary eyes like he was pleading and begging for me to come with him. It was a little surprising because I did not know that child, but the boy looked like…he knew me.

“Please? Let’s go home.” He repeated.

“…Go home to where?”

The child smiled despite the dried tears on his cheeks and sadness in his eyes. “Our home,” he responded.

“Our…home?” I asked in a low voice filled with confusion, but the child did not respond. Instead, he just pulled my hand and started walking towards somewhere I did not know about, taking me along with him.

I let the child lead the way, but the anxiousness and fear building inside me got worse and worse. We were in the middle of a forest surrounded by tall and dried trees, and there were no animals in there except the crows that kept encircling above the forest, while some were silently watching us from the branches of trees. The wind in that place was chilling and it sent shivers from my neck down my spine.

My hands and feet turned cold, and my mind was screaming at me to stop and not follow the child because, for some unknown reason, a sense of danger was creeping into my whole being. That sense of danger was so strong that my stomach churned tightly, and I felt my muscles tensed up. However, no matter how many times I command myself to pull my hand away from the child’s grasp, my body won’t listen to me. It seemed like my body has its own will.

My eyes looked at our hands, and I noticed how the child was tightly holding mine like he was afraid to let go. Then my gaze moved up and I stared at the back of the child’s head – his wavy hair looked so soft and shiny, but there were a few small leaves hanging on it as if he just played hide and seek somewhere.

“Hey…where exactly are we going?” I asked as I kept my gaze on his head.

“Home.” He plainly replied.

“Where exactly is this home?” To my surprise, the child suddenly chuckled. It was not a creepy type of chuckle, but rather a soft and sweet one like he found my question funny and endearing.

“Don’t be scared. We’re almost there.” He answered, and true to his words, my eyes caught a large yet simple mansion made with stone ahead of us.

The mansion looked abandoned and empty, if not for the smoke that was coming out of the chimney and a small garden in front of it that was filled with colorful and healthy flowers. The doors…the walls…everything…looked old like it came out of old movies, and the sight of it sent a wave of chills on my spine.

My eyes roamed around the structure of the mansion as we walked closer to it, and when we were a few feet away from the door, my gaze locked on its main black door that was slightly hanging open. My feet instantly stopped on their tracks at the sight of it, with my eyes filled with fear. I was not sure but I felt like someone was there inside and staring directly at us through that door.

I felt the child squeezed my hand, which diverted my attention and made me looked at him. He stared at me with a worried look, then he sweetly smiled as if he was trying to comfort me.

“It’s okay. It’s our home.” He said, then he smiled, showing his front teeth. “We’re safe here.”

My eyebrows furrowed. Safe? I thought to myself, because right at that moment, all I could feel was an extreme sense of danger, telling me not to continue anymore, and my instincts were telling me that if I went in, I would never be able to leave that mansion anymore.

I went back on my senses when I felt the child pulled my hand again to enter the mansion, but without any second thought, I forced my hand back away from his grasp. I put too much force that I noticed the child almost lost his balance. The young boy looked at me with a pained expression and teary eyes, but I kept my expression firm and unwavering.

“Tell me who’s inside,” I commanded, but the boy did not respond. “Tell me or else…I’ll leave.”

The boy’s eyes widened then all of a sudden, a stream of new tears ran down his face. His cry was filled with pain and sadness that I got so confused about what I should do. There was something in that child’s cry that broke my heart, and I could not explain it.

“…Stop crying,” I said in a calm yet firm tone, but the child just bit his lips so his sobs won’t be heard. I tightly clenched my fist as I stared at him. I did not know why but I felt a strong urge to walk towards the kid and wipe his tears away – to say sorry for acting that way and for hurting his feelings.

I took a deep breath, and without realizing it, my feet took step after step until I was standing in front of the kid. My hand slowly reached for his face, but before I could even touch him, I suddenly heard the creaking sound of the main door as it slowly opened wide. My eyes immediately turned at it, and I found myself staring at a dark space. The inside of that mansion was so dark that I could not see anything in there.

The next thing I heard inside that mansion was heavy footsteps against a wooden floor, and as the sound got louder and louder in my ears, my whole body tensed up and my eyes bulged in fear. It only took a few seconds before I found myself staring at the face of the person I loathe for the rest of my life.

The face of the person I was trying to escape from…trying to hide from.

The face of the man that almost killed me…

Nishimoto Ken.

With a mischievous and murderous grin on his face, he spoke and his voice rang inside my head like a curse.

“Welcome home, Annika.”