I never believed in urban legends. Just a waste of time, just made to scare the kids...right?
Think again.
How would they be so wide spread? How could one parent make a tale so horrifying people spend their lives investigating? The answer is, they can’t. Oh, believe me, I was once in the same mindset as you.
I was in high school when it happened. The boys would bully me all the time, from the skirt I would wear to the pin in my hair down to how small my hands were. “Inari, Anata wa sono yōna bakadesu!” I would hear, day in and day out. It means, Inari, you’re such a dork. I never did anything, why the hell would they bully me...? One day, my okaasan dropped me off like she did every day. “Have a great day at school, Inari, ai shiteru.” I smiled back fakely. “Always do. Love you too,” I kissed her cheek and walked up to the school.
Osaka University was a pretty campus, just like from those animes. Surrounded by cherry blossoms, a beautiful courtyard, and a tall building. But to me, the place was hell. I had no clue that day that I would look straight into the burning pits of hell.
A group of boys, the ones that loved to torment me the most, saw me walk up to the school. Chikushō.
“Well look who it is...” The leader of the gang came up to me and pinned me on the wall, tsundere style. He knows just how to piss me off.
”Hey A-Akio,” I mumbled, instantly uncomfortable. He smirked at me.
“What’s the matter, furīku?” I cleared my throat and did my best to show him I was not impressed.
”Akio, please, not today...” He looked back at his gang and they whispered things I couldn’t hear. Then he came back out.
”Alright, Inari. My friends and I have decided to leave you alone. Permanently.”
”Really?? That’s-“
”IF! If you summon The Girl In The Bathroom. Oh yeah, and bring proof. She’s too much of a pussy,” he snickered at his group and they chuckled. I could feel my face getting flushed with anger.
”Fine, you asshole! Fine, I’ll summon Hanako-San! And I’ll bring your stupid proof,” I spat, storming off, hearing their chuckles turn into a chant:
“Inari, Anata wa sono yōna bakadesu...”
.....................................................................................................................
I was in way over my head. Hanako-San was not a force to be reckoned with. Apparently she was the spirit of a demented schoolgirl, my age, who was brutally beaten to death in the school bathroom on the third floor. She still haunts bathrooms to this day, but I didn’t believe in fairy legends. Last time I’ll make that mistake.
I took out my phone and went to camera then pressed record.
“Here’s your damned proof, Akio,” I glared at the camera, then I stomped up the staircase catching stares from other high school students, determined to catch this spirit for Akio to leave me the hell alone. I reached the third floor. This floor wasn’t utilized much at all, and it was creepy enough that people just skipped it usually. I stopped there and looked at the bathroom at the end of the dimly lit corridor.
I’ll finally be free from Akio's assault, I told myself, although I felt a cold sweat run down my neck. I shook my head and gingerly stepped towards the creepy door. I stopped at the door, and took a deep breath, imagining how good life would be without Akio's torment. I opened the door.
A putrid stench of old shit and mold hit me. “Eugh!” I gagged instantly. I put my fingers up to my nose and looked up. If the corridor earlier was creepy, then I swore to god it was haunted. I looked at my phone and saw my own horrified reflection staring back at me.
I could have sworn I felt something brush by me.
I spun around but all that met me was a moss-ridden wall.
“Kutabare, Akio,” I spat at the phone and went to the third stall and slowly opened the door. Years of neglect whined at me as a loud creak filled the room. I peered in the stall. All that greeted me was a cracked toilet and another repulsive stench.
The next five minutes changed my life.
I nodded, content that there was nothing there. I then closed the stall, shaking lightly. If I didn’t have the sweet reads promised by Akio, I would have bolted. But I didn’t. I took a deep breath, and another, and another.
I then knocked on the stall.
One.
Two.
Three.
”H-hanako-san...koko ni imasu ka?” I asked. (Hanako-San...are you here?)
Not a sound.
”Hanako-S-San...koko ni imasu ka?” I asked once more, a little quieter.
The dim lights flickered.
I covered my mouth, hesitant to finish it.
“Hanako-San...koko ni imasu ka?“ I whimpered from under my hand.
The lights flickered once more.
Then they went out.
“Chikushō, chikushō chikushō...” I swore repeatedly in the dark, unable to see anything.
The creak of the stall echoed around the room again.
I felt my heart race faster than the speed of light.
Silence.
A pair of glowing red eyes slowly rose from the toilet, illuminating the face that appeared.
I tried to scream.
A sick grin way too wide for a human spread across its twisted, demonic features.
“Watashi.”
Its voice sounded like nails on chalkboard, and I found my voice.
I screamed as loud as I could.
Hanako-San shrieked at me and snatched my arm. Her hand felt like an oversized eagles claw, scratching my skin. She dragged me into the stall and grinned the sick, twisted grin again. What she said next still haunts me to this day.
”I hope...you’re ready...to meet Our Lord,” she hissed, her eyes twisting back into whites and an invisible force sketching a red pentagram into the mossy wall.
If the school security didn’t jump in right at that moment, I...I d-don’t want to think about it.
I snatched my phone as the security dragged me out of the bathroom.
”What the hell are you thinking?! This floor is off limits!!”
Everything was a blur. I couldn’t understand the rest of what they were saying. It seems like they couldn’t see what I did, goddamn it.
At least I had the clip. I shut my eyes and panted.
“I-I’m sorry s-sirs...I h-have to get to class n-now...”
I got up and ran to the courtyard to Akio and his friends.
He turned around and looked at me.
“The pussy is back...let’s see what you got,” he smirked.
I slammed the phone into his palm, and I wish I could say his face was worth it, but nobody deserves three nights in the hospital recovering.
Akio never bothered me again, and to be honest, I think I owe him one for that experience. After spending a few months recovering, I realized there’s not just Hanako-San, there’s so many other creatures haunting our world. Since no one else is brave enough to spread awareness of these, I’m starting this series. I will be traveling all around the world confronting the paranormal and documenting it here. So tell me...
Do you believe in ghosts?
(Author's note: Hey! Thanks so much for reading! This is my story that I made on a site called Quotev although I got disabled from there, so I’m decided to publish it here! Please share if you enjoyed!!)
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