[3RD PERSON POV]

His hesitance to take action made him feel more guilty the more he spent his time doing nothing but worrying. He was considering reporting the incident to the local authorities instead of fetching for her. Although it was an objective solution to this problem, he rejected this idea, for he knew how long the due process would take before somebody sprang into action.

He thought of the most efficient way to get by these circumstances was to try to find her first in the nearby areas, but he couldn’t convince himself—he felt trapped in his own indecisive tendencies, unable to rise above his own fears.

But he reminded himself once more of the stakes of the situation. He must forget his anxiety temporarily and breeze into action.

Otherwise…

“No way would she disappear without a trace!” Panic starts to get into his head as he sprints a couple of blocks within their neighborhood, hoping to seek resolution from her sudden disappearance.

“Excuse me… have you seen a tall woman with a hoodie? Thank you…” He stumbled across wandering pedestrians near the area of the incident, asking about the whereabouts of this mysterious woman in a hoodie.

But to his dismay, no one has seen a woman similar to the vague description he tried to portray.

A couple of minutes had gone by, and he still had yet to find the clue. He had checked all the possible alleys, roads, and nearby social-gathering places, hoping that she’d be there somehow, but to no avail. He couldn’t think of any spots in proximity to where he last saw her other than those, so he was bummed and dumbfounded.

Left with no other choice, he decided to report this to the local authorities to tell them the situation despite the lackluster evidence that something bad had transpired, apart from her leather wallet and her bag full of sweets.

“!!!” Just as he was about to walk, he began to sprint hastily with a realization marked on his face, for he had an idea in mind that had the chance to solve his problem.

Two minutes later, he arrived at his friend’s house, with whom he parted ways earlier with an invitation in mind.

“What's up? Did something happen?” He opened the door without hesitation, although with a puzzled look on his face. He had a towel on his shoulders, using it to dry his wet, glossy hair.

“Can I… Can I look at the recordings of your CCTV outside of your house?” Masumi told him, still out of breath from prolonged sprinting across the neighborhood.

“Wha- Why- Hey, wait! Masumi!” He couldn’t wait any further, barging into his house without permission. He looked at Masumi’s sweaty face—his eyes reflected as if he felt disdainful and uncomfortable, filled with panic and anxiety, as if he had seen a ghost.

Since he’d been in his house since they were young, he knew all the corners and spaces in his house, which made it especially simpler for him to find his old computer, which was connected to the CCTV cameras around his house. The computer stored the files from the cameras, and he hoped to find some clues in them.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Whereas for his friend, still clueless of his intentions, decided to let him be and followed him to where he intends to go.

After a couple of minute arrangements and failed attempts to set the outdated device, he was finally able to open the computer, and he immediately sprang into action. He first retrieved the logged files inside of the CCTV outside of his friend’s house, getting a list of timestamps from the last three days until now.

“Nice! It could be seen in this angle!” He looked at the most recent footage of the device, looking intently at the same alleyway where he last saw Katsumi, the girl in a hoodie. He saw himself entering this same area. Now, he patiently waited for someone else to come out, hoping for any hints to come by to explain the unexplainable.

“Eh? Why were you running?” His friend pointed at the screen, at the silhouette of him holding a grocery bag, frantically looking for something as he ran past his friend’s house.

He looked at Masumi, shuddering in deep thought. Confused, he asks him once more what happened.

“This is bad, Ken…” He muttered, his feet tapping nervously on the floor, his eyes fixed on the screen. He’s questioning his own sanity. Did she really vanish in thin air?

He knew he saw her, and he was sure she was real and existing, but somehow, it was as if she existed, but was never existing in the present moment. It was as if a mysterious force had erased her from existence.

“What are you talking about? Ah, forget it… be sure to attend tomorrow, ‘kay?” Ken brushes it off by shifting the topic to the school concert happening tomorrow. Instead of feeling excited and joyous, it sent shivers down Masumi’s spine instead, as he felt nervous and responsible—his mind couldn’t comprehend the earlier events.

[MASUMI’s POV]

I am totally screwed. I couldn’t explain to Ken why, as that would impose some level of doubt on him, so it is best for me to leave this to the authorities. But I still couldn’t figure—how did she vanish so quickly? Why did she disappear? When did that happen? I had so many questions that remained unsolved as I walked with her belongings, thinking of the last resort to go to the police station.

I’m really worried for—

“Oi.” I suddenly heard the deep, daunting voice of a woman behind me- wait, above me? Wait, where did it come from? I looked around and saw nothing. I was the only one walking around at this time of the hour.

“…can’t go anywhere! There’s no way you can escape!” I heard a voice, but it was not the same one as before. It was a man’s voice, deep and raspy. It was strange, because I was sure I was alone in the area. I looked around, but I saw no one.

Am I hallucinating? Maybe I’m just tired.

“I-If someone can h-hear… me…” A familiar voice came to me.

Wait, no! I know who this is!

The voice of someone I’ve heard so many times!

“Help… me…”

Katsumi!?

But then, the wallet inside of her began glowing so brightly, so much so that it illuminated brighter than the lamp posts.

Huh?

I am suddenly losing my balance?

How has it come to this?

Now that I am losing my consciousness?