Tsukiko walked further into the forest. The sound of leaves crunching beneath her and the smell of damp wood brought back memories of her childhood.
As she thought back to those days, her heart grew heavy and a frown made its way on to her lips.
The closer she got to the village's ruins, the less she heard the sound of birds chirping. Her surroundings had turned more sinister, ash filled the ground she walked on and the ghosts turned into scenes of long forgotten memories.
Kids giggling and playing together, chasing eachother from tree branch to tree branch, and hiding in games of hide and seek.
At the base of the mountain, where her village once stood, she saw herself— or rather, the girl she used to be— playing with another child her age, one with black hair, purple eyes like amethyst and a birthmark on her cheek, they both had the same mischievous smile on their faces.
As they hid behind a bush Tsukiko's father walked through the dirt paved road next to them, stepping on a small talisman and causing a small explosion of light to temporarily blind him.
The two girls were sprawled on the floor their laughs loud and their faces glowing with bliss. Her father, wanting the girls to be happy, acted unaware of their schemes, and spoke in a slow pace and playful voice "Who could have done that? They must be super strong to pull a fast one on me."
That made the girls laugh even more before coming out from behind the bush. "That was us daddy!" Tsukiko with a huge grin plastered on her face and both hands on her sides.
"Yeah t-that was u-us sir!" the other joined in her voice cracking but her eyes fuelled with determination and pride, her smile highlighting the scar she carried on her cheek since birth.
As her father laughed and hugged the two girls, they hugged him back, their faces filled with the innocence of a child.
"I guess I should reward you two with a treat, shouldn't I?" He asked as he looked at the two girls.
The two girls erupted in cheer and jumped with happiness. "You are the best, dad!" The little Tsukiko said.
"Y-yeah, the best" her friend said timidly but the excitement still palpable in her voice.
As they turned to leave, the ghosts vanished—blown away like mist in the breeze.
Tsukiko stood completely still, a breath caught in her throat and her hand clutched the shirt tightly above her chest, her eyes were wide and shaky with tears in them, her mouth also slightly agape.
She had completely forgotten all about that day, but now she remembered, she remembered how happy she and her friend felt in those moments, as well as how her father took them for ice-cream as a celebration of their "win" over him.
Sadly her friend moved out soon after, that day was one of their last interactions.
Tsukiko took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down "it's all an illusion," she told herself.
"Seems like someone isn't having a fun time," the monk said, the air vibrating as he suddenly appeared next to her.
"Shut up" she bit back and started walking up the mountain.
"Was that your father?" He asked, to which Tsukiko replied with only a nod.
"And who was the other person? Your sister perhaps?" He asked again.
"No, just a friend." Tsukiko replied.
"You seemed to be very close," the monk said as he ducked under a low tree branch.
"We were, but she moved elsewhere." She replied, her voice held an edge to it worn thin from his endless questions.
"Maybe her leaving is a blessing in disguise" He said. Unaware of how insensitive that may sound.
Her jaw clenched. "In what world would a friend moving away from you ever be good!" She shouted frustrated, her words carrying more anger than question.
"Because she wasn't here six years ago... she might have surv-" before he could finish his sentence, the menacing atmosphere pulled them away from the conversation.
As Tsukiko looked around she saw her mother, her face drenched in tears and blood as it was that day all those years ago.
"Run," she mouthed, looking directly at Tsukiko.
"Mum?" Tsukiko said, her voice barely above a whisper and her eyes wide.
"Run!" she said, her voice turning more sinister and commanding. The memory of that day twisting into something new.
"What's wrong Mum?" Her voice was shaky and she walked closer towards her reaching out towards her.
As Tsukiko's hand got closer to her mother's ghostly form, her mother's face turned into a psychotic smile that was plastered from one ear to the other. Way bigger than her mouth should be able to reach.
Tsukiko quickly drew back and got ready for a fight while the monk stepped to the side away from the two. "I'm sorry but I cannot help you, rules are rules," he said.
The ghosts body started morphing, huge spear-like tentacles erupted from her back and her body stopped being as transparent as before.
The tentacles were blood-red and fleshy, each ending in a jagged, bone-like tip. Smaller hooks curled backward from the tips, meant to pierce and hold fast.
The monster licked its lips with its long tongue and dashed towards Tsukiko.
A tentacle whipped toward her head. She ducked under the blow and sprung upwards, uppercutting it. The blow snapped the creature's jaw shut, its sharp teeth biting through its own tongue.
The beast stumbled backwards but used its tentacles to regain balance, in its rage it let out a loud roar and it's chest glowed orange as her tongue healed.
As the orange glow persisted each tentacle on her back started splitting in two or three pieces and all pieces started healing to their normal form.
Having heard the roar more beasts came, they only had one tentacle each. With another of her mother's roars they all ran toward her.
As they tried to swarm her, Tsukiko leapt into the trees and started jumping between them. Tsukiko's mother let out a deep growl and the creatures scrambled up the bark, clawing their way toward her.
Her eyes locked on her mother's new form and dug her feet into the bark. "I won't run away this time."
(These days are kinda weird so my upload schedule is super inconsistent)