What had happened wasn’t hard to explain, at least in context. Taryn could simply touch something with residual emotions and see something of the past that was connected to a person. The stronger the feeling, the more powerful the memory. In some instances, she would have to concentrate on seeing something. But usually, it would be the other way around, where she would have to ignore those strong feelings of whatever emotion might be pulling at her —trying to draw her in like a moth to a flame. But even then, there was no real guarantee of keeping what could be seen at bay. Seeing something that they weren’t meant to but had no choice but to hold in what they knew could deteriorate one’s psyche if that person wasn’t careful.

It wasn’t an exact science, none of it was. No one with such a thing had the same ability as someone else, which meant that if one person who could see ghosts with the naked eye would not be the same as someone else who could see ghosts through reflections or only see shadows without physical bodies.

It didn’t even have to be anything to do with ghosts for that matter.

For instance, a person could simply feel the emotions left behind by someone in an object, while another could be pulled into a specific memory and see it for themselves when touching that object. While another could see a memory just by being in a particular place.

This was always something that went through Taryn’s mind when she allowed herself to see something within an object.

“It’s all right if you dislike it. No one really wants to see or feel things left behind by another. You feel like you’re intruding on something precious. But not all objects will have loving emotions. Most often than not, it will be of negative emotions. Anger. Hatred. Rage. As well as Sadness and Regret. And when you are dealing with those, you will need to be cautious to not be pulled in and be trapped with no way out.”

The words of the man who had helped her long ago came to her mind when recalling it. Norman Ó Rodagh, with his abilities, would often assist those who couldn’t understand what was happening to them, much like Taryn when she was younger. He became not only a trusted friend of the family but also Taryn’s therapist when she became too overwhelmed with what she had seen, and they would both try to make sense of it.

It wasn’t a superpower. It was just something that Taryn had. It didn’t make her as a person any different from the next.

If anything, she wouldn’t change as an individual with it or without it.

Recalling this and Norman’s words made her realize that it had been a long time since she had seen him. Well, it was to be expected, Norman had his work and though she never wished to get in the way of it. She did feel that perhaps sending an email to him about this event would be of some use. The downside is the likelihood of getting a hold of him with such lousy reception, and an internet connection was nonexistent.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” Rachael’s voice pulled at her, drawing her attention to the woman as they now walked a discreet path through the village towards the Shrine and its graveyard.

It was very early morning, about five or so, with signs of the sun just starting to rise, giving off the surrounding village, and the forest that encapsulated it a blue hue. In the higher reaches of the forest, a thick layer of cloud covered the mountain like a fog. Practically disappearing into the sky.

It was a bit cool out, so both girls wore light sweaters and jeans to not feel the early mountain air’s chill as they walked. Both even went to tie their hair back to keep it out of the way with whatever they needed to do.

Taryn had taken even a step further; instead of wearing her running shoes, she chose to wear her black combat boots. With heavy soles and steel toes, these boots had a much better grip on the ground. Ones that she would often wear when exploring abandoned buildings. It was something that didn’t surprise Rachael; it made sense that Taryn would bring them.

“What are you talking about?” Taryn asked her.

“The whole, “seeing things from the past” stuff.” Rachael indicated with a motion of her hands around her head. “People that I can’t see, but you do I get. Seeing stuff in the past, I don’t. Especially the way you zone out and almost not even breathe when it happens. It’s kind of scary…”

“You’ve seen it before,” Taryn tells her plainly. “It’s nothing new. Besides, if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have been out of school, and we never would have met.”

As accurate as that was, it still bothered her. Rachael had only seen it a handful of times, but only because Taryn let her. She could have very well done so without Rachael ever knowing. But that’s not what was on her mind.

“Still,” Rachael hesitated, stopping in her tracks as she gripped the bottom of her sweater with both hands. “I worry, you know? After what happened four years ago, even if it was because of that, we met. I don’t want anything to happen to you. Not again.”

Taryn didn’t reply. Couldn’t answer, for her friend’s worries were justified. But it also meant that there wasn’t much that could be done. Norman told her how people can and have become lost within their minds, unable to get out or even die if not careful. And the incident from four years ago made that painfully clear. “I know…” she said softly.

There was a moment of silence between the two before Taryn took something out of her sweater pocket and handed it to Rachael.

“Here, before I forget.”

What then rested in the palm of Rachael’s hand was something relatively small. Very small. “A memory card?”

“It’s for my camera that you still have in your bag,” Taryn clarified. “It can at least hold two memory cards at once. Normally, I use it as a backup when exploring abandoned buildings. But, given the situation, I figured it’d be of use with, well, whatever it is that we’re doing.”

“Right,” Rachael agreed as she placed the memory card into the slot next to the one where the first card rested. She wondered why there were two slots, to begin with, and now she had her answer for it. “Thanks.”

Rachael fell silent, watching as her friend now walked ahead of her, stopping ever so often to look at something within the rather sombre and quiet landscape of the village with hands in her sweater pockets. Taking her phone out every so often to take a picture, smiling at the results of what she took.

She knew that Taryn had diverted the topic on purpose, subtly, but it was there. She had no intention of continuing this conversation about herself or what possible consequences could come from what she could do. And it made Rachael even more frustrated, not at her friend. But at herself.

Is there really nothing I can do?

* * *

When the two young women reached the top of the Shrine’s stone stairs, Taryn immediately stopped dead in her tracks. Blue eyes instantly flicked to the graveyard as a result.

Without a word, she extended her hand as Rachael placed the camera in Taryn’s hand without so much as a response.

With her camera in hand, Taryn slowly made her way closer to the graveyard, lifting it to her eyes with each step she took until she reached the graveyard’s edge while Rachael hung back, arms wrapped around herself as her unease continued to rise.

She snapped a photo and then looked at her camera’s screen only to see nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing was there, yet the feeling remained more robust than ever. In fact, it was growing.

Creeping up her spine, like a spider made of ice crawling up her skin, around her throat like a rope threatening to tighten as what felt like a weight pressing along her shoulders.

As though it were a human being clinging to her back…

Quickly Taryn turned around, twisting on one foot to face the other direction. Facing the Shrine, the camera up toward her eye, quickly taking another photo. And this time she saw something, she saw something when the flash went off through the lens. She took another, and another without so much as a beat to pass.

Then, the feeling went away.

Taryn lowered the camera away from her face; why the Shrine?

“S-so?” Rachael asked as Taryn remained where she stood, looking at the photos she had just taken as her friend peaked over Taryn’s shoulder to see what it was, her anxiety continued to grow, causing her to stutter slightly. “Wh-what’s the verdict?”

Taryn glanced at her friend but merely said nothing back; she’d see what it was. No words to describe it.

Rachael squinted, eyes narrowing on the photo that Taryn was currently on. “Is that… a woman?”

“I think it’s the same one that you showed me. In the photo you took, I think this woman was there.”

Rachael frowned, trying to understand the reason. “Why?”

Taryn pressed her thumb on the pad to move to the next image. “Probably to whatever she’s pointing at here.”

“You mean she’s leading us to something? You’re not going to check it out, are you?” only to then have Taryn hand her back the camera and head over to the Shrine. Ask a stupid question, she thought with a sigh. Of course, you’re going to.

Walking around the old stone fence, she stood in front of the spot where the ghost had been, where she could feel a slight dip in temperature. Looking at where the spirit pointed, there didn’t seem to be anything until she knelt and looked closer at the raised part of the Shrine. There was a crack, one big enough to hide something, but small enough to go unnoticed if someone wasn’t looking.

It was too small for her fingers to get, so going on her back, she moved to be under the Shrine like a mechanic under a raised car to get a better look.

“Be careful,” Rachael said softly, as she took a few steps towards the Shrine but remained a bit of a distance, her nerves on edge.

The underside of the Shrine was dark, but the slow rise of the sun was making it easier to see. And while ignoring the abundance of spiderwebs, she saw something. It didn’t take much to reach what it was and pull it out from its hidden place. It was of a photo that had been folded up several times.

Taryn then looked to her left when she heard someone walk by, catching a glimpse of someone’s feet before disappearing behind a strange stone shaft that seemed to start from the Shrine’s back and go into the earth. It looked like Rachael’s shoes that had walked by.

What is she doing over there? “Rachael?” Taryn called out, looking at the oddly placed shaft blocking her view. “Where are you going?”

“Uh… nowhere?” Rachael’s voice came from the far right. Tilting her head, she could see Rachael’s feet as she crouched down to see her friend. “I’m over here, Taryn.”

“You didn’t walk behind the Shrine?”

Rachael shook her head as Taryn shimmied her way out from under the Shrine, before standing and dusting herself off with the back of her hands. Removing any dust or dirt that still clung to her.

“Why would you think I walked over there?” Rachael asked as she now helped dust off her friend’s back.

“I saw your shoes,” Taryn said before a frown creased her brow. Her gaze looked to Rachael’s shoes in question. Something was off about this. Taryn then walked to the back of the Shrine, and of course, no one was there. Why would there be? “Do Shrines ever have something built within the ground?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Rachael gave a puzzled look. “Why are you asking that?”

“Because there’s a shaft that looks to go into the ground.”

Now with a frown of confusion, Rachael knelt to look underneath the Shrine. “Maybe it’s a well? It has the stones to be one; look at the craftsmanship.”

“In a place like that?”

“There’s the Sacred Well from Inuyasha.” Rachael offered. “It’s not that uncommon to find things like this as something to be sacred.”

Taryn gave an arched brow. “Underneath the Shrine?

“Okay, maybe not,” Rachael admitted before thinking about it for a moment. “It could be a constructional error? Things like that have been known to happen before throughout history. Both here and in the West.”

“If that’s the case, then how old is the well? The Shrine itself is… centuries-old, then the well itself must be ancient.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Rachael paused when seeing Taryn dig out her camera from Rachael’s bag. “Taking a photo?”

“Yup,” Taryn said bluntly as she took a few photos before handing the camera back to her friend. “It’s part of history, and besides, we might find a use for it.” Taryn stood up and pulled out what she had found from her pocket.

A photo of some kind judging by its texture.

Rachael looked at the folded-up photo. “Why do you think that was there?”

Taryn merely shook her head; she had no idea, and why she had been led to it, was also a bit of a headscratcher. Unfolding the photo, something dropped to the ground. It looked like a key, one that belonged to a car. As to what make and model, she wasn’t sure, Taryn or Rachael weren’t car experts.

“That’s weird,” Rachael said as she picked up the key while Taryn opened the photo fully. “It looks to still be in pretty good condition considering the key part’s broken.” She stopped speaking when Taryn said nothing; looking at her friend, she realized that she had gone slightly pale as a look of concern came over her face. “What is it? What’s in the photo?”

“I recognize this woman.” Rachael joined her side to look. It was a photo of two Japanese women at a beach, smiling carefree as if there was nothing terrible in the world. “The one on the left looks familiar. I know I’ve seen her somewhere; I just can’t remember her name.”

“You always were better at faces than names. Try not to think too hard.”

Looking back at the photo, there was a date written on the back from two years ago in Okinawa, but there were no names for the women. She couldn’t even see anything and only felt a faint emotion of happiness but nothing else. Being as faint as it was, it would be impossible for Taryn to see anything of the past as to who these women were.

With a shake of her head at her annoyance, Taryn took the now unfolded photo and car key and placed them within the notebook where she taped the first note that she had found. The notebook in question wasn’t all that large, so she could keep it on her person with no problem, plus it was best to keep it all together if they were to find anything else. If only a name was written, something could help jog her memory of where she had seen the woman before.

Shit… Taryn thought with a curse before her attention was now drawn to the other path. “You have any idea where this goes?”

“No, I didn’t bother to check after I took the photo of that ghost. It freaked me out a bit too much. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, you’re not used to it. Besides, with something like this, it’s always better to go in pairs than alone.”

“Even outside?”

“Especially outside. No cell service and God knows how far away you are from regular civilization? Remember the castle that we stayed at with my Uncle?”

Rachael’s shoulders dropped, recalling the moment of finding the skeletal remains of someone who had gone missing from the eighties in an old room that had been sealed away centuries before and was now a secret room. “Yeah…” Poor kid. But then, she wasn’t the one who suddenly broke down when they found the body. Rachael could still remember Taryn’s heartbreaking expression as she instinctively reached out, hugging the small remains of the kid as tears streaked her cheeks. Not caring for her appearance to others.

“It’s okay, you can stop crying now. I found you. You can go home. I promise…”

“So, you ready to see what lies at the end of the path?” Taryn asked, drawing her friend from a not-so-distant memory.

“No,” Rachael stated with a shake of her head. “But I can try.”

Taryn gave a short laugh and grinned. “No arguments with that.” She then reached and clasped Rachael’s hand with her own as they now headed down the path hand in hand, willing to face whatever it was that would greet them at the end.

* * *

The cobbled stone path was of a decent size, much like the stone steps that led up to the Shrine. The time was now five-thirty in the morning, the fog still faintly present as a cool breeze blew through the stalks of bamboo that lined from either side of the path.

The two still grasped each other’s hands as they walked.

It reminded Rachael of that time from four years ago when they were leaving the old hospital. Even though everything now was completely different, Taryn had changed, Rachael had changed, and the place had changed. Yet it all felt the same. Rachael couldn’t help but laugh to herself silently, she didn’t know why, but she found it rather funny.

Only she stopped laughing when Taryn stopped abruptly, following her line of sight, she realized why that was the case. “End of the line,” Taryn said softly as Rachael slowly let go of Taryn’s hand. What stood before them at the end of the path was nothing but stone. The dark rock of the mountain mixed with the rich greenery of moss; they had walked quite a ways from the Shrine’s location. Looking back, Rachael couldn’t even see the Shrine or the village anymore.

She hadn’t even realized that they had walked so deep into the mountain forest. I hope no bears show up… Rachael thought with worry as Taryn placed her left hand on the cold dark stone as if trying to get a feel for it.

Her hand ran down the face of the dark stone. It’s smooth. Her eyes went downcast to the cobbled stone pathway. Kneeling before it, she ran her index and middle finger along the edge. Even the stone of the path was smooth. At one time long ago, it must have been a path. But how? The face of the mountain outside of the trail looked like any other rock. Rough and bumpy to the touch. It was only one portion of the mountain where it felt smooth along her skin, but she couldn’t figure out why. Was it something like a false wall? But it didn’t feel hollow, even when she tapped it with her ear pressed to the rock, it felt solid.

Yet from where she stood now along the path, it looked like it could go further, as if into the mountain itself. Like there was a door here at one time or another but with no discernible signs or marks that could indicate it. Only as Taryn moved her hand along the rock did she stop; she felt it again for the briefest of moments. An electric shock of a memory as it invaded her skull. Quickly she drew her hand away.

“The woman again,” Taryn said when Rachael had given another puzzled look. “She was here, Rachael, standing where we were.”

“Any idea why?”

Taryn shook her head.

“Well, what did you see?”

Another shake of the head. “It was too brief,” she placed her hand along with the stone as she stared at the mountain’s face. “But I feel like she was looking for something.” Her voice fell silent, the feeling of being watched had returned. Only when she turned around, nothing was there besides Rachael as the feeling once again disappeared. She wasn’t sure if that was the case or not. It was all guesswork since it wasn’t like she could speak with them about it.

“Then what about down there?” Rachael asks, pointing to something past Taryn’s left. There was another path, once slightly hidden but still visible. “Maybe something’s down that way that could give us an idea of what she was doing?”

Taryn looked at the path before looking at her friend. Rachael looked a bit uncomfortable, though she had since this morning. “Do you want to look? We don’t…”

“Yeah, let’s just see,” she said, cutting Taryn off. Showing a confident bravado expression while resting her hands on her hips. Something she always did when fighting off her worries. “We’re here anyway. What’s going a few more feet?”

Possible death. Taryn thought with a bit of dead-pan humour, but not bothered to say it aloud to upset her friend even further. “If you’re sure.”

Rachael gave a rather stiff nod.

Taryn merely looked at her. She’s forcing herself too much again. Rachael tended to be stubborn, much like Taryn herself, and fighting her on it this much would do no good. “Okay, but you stay behind me, and if we reach another dead end, or if it looks unsafe, we just head back. Deal?”

“Deal, lead the way.”

With one last look at her friend, Taryn did so. The path they soon found themselves on was made entirely of dirt—one where person after person had walked, wearing away the grass until nothing remained. On the left of them was more bamboo, and on the right was the rock of the mountain. The wind was almost nonexistent as the summer warmth began to permeate. Causing Taryn to take off her sweater and tie it around her middle while Rachael merely unzipped her hoody to reveal a long-sleeved horizontal striped dark red and light grey T-shirt while Taryn wore her black and white quarter-sleeved Baseball T-shirt. The sun had not fully risen yet, but it felt warm regardless.

It was the end of summer and the beginning of fall, yet it somehow didn’t feel like it now. It reminded Taryn what it could be like in Canada during this time of year. It was almost funny how such a small thing would remind her of home.

But as the path came to an end, it stopped at a peculiar place. It looked to be that of a spring or a pond for fish that jutted out from the mountainside. The size was a decent one, with it being large enough for a grown man to fit in it like a bath. And that it seemed to be rather deep with not a single fish to be seen. As Taryn looked at the water, noting that she couldn’t see the bottom, Rachael went to the edge of the path, trying to see if there was a way beyond it.

“Nope, no good. Looks like the path here has been taken over by nature.” Rachael stated as she took a step back, trying to see through the thick brush of shrubs, trees, bamboo and fallen rock. “Weird, wonder why that happened.”

“Maybe someone a long time ago decided it wasn’t needed anymore, either that or it was barely used, to begin with.” Taryn offered as she sat down on the stone rim of the old pond. “It seems to become the norm now. People prefer to move inland where everything is available at their fingertips but the apartments are impossibly small and cramped. Then there are places like this further away from civilization, where there’s more space but becomes harder to get things if you’re not ready to work for it.”

“Sounds like a fifty-fifty situation,” Rachael said. “I love the space and the outdoors, but man, it would suck if I didn’t have my computer or my tablet for art or music to listen to while drawing. Or easy access to my food and snacks.”

Taryn laughed before turning her attention to the pond behind her, looking into the water once more. It was dark, darker than she’d thought it be. Making her wonder just how deep it would go. Or if there was even a bottom at all. As she stared into the dark watery abyss in front of her, she began to feel the sensation of being drawn in. She brought her face a bit closer to the water until she could practically see herself within the water’s surface only inches away from her nose touching it. Before catching a glimpse of something, her eyes widened slightly. Was something in there?

“Well, I tried,” Rachael sighed causing Taryn’s head to snap up to look at her friend. Rachael’s clothing looked almost dishevelled, covered in leaves and twigs that she began to brush and pluck out of her clothes and hair. “No way to get through, so let’s just head back.”

“Sure…” Taryn’s response was stalled as Rachael walked past before shaking her head to remove whatever was there, her friend leading the way back as Taryn followed, but not before stopping to look back at the nondescript deep pond. I’m sure of what I saw. Taryn thought as she continued to follow after her friend. I should make sure to never bring Rachael back to this spot again. We might drown from what’s in there…

When the two returned to the Shrine, Taryn stretched her arms above her head, stretching her shoulders and back muscles, only to pause as her arms fell to her sides. Rachael seemed to stare almost absentmindedly at the graveyard. Taryn silently watched her friend for a moment before she spoke.

“You hungry?”

Rachael jumped, turning around to face her. “Huh? What was that?”

“Food, do you want to go to eat? Back at the mansion? Maybe wash up before, you know, eating?”

“Oh… yeah.” She moved away from the graveyard. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” But as they headed down the stone stairs, Rachael stopped and asked. “Why… why do you think that woman left that stuff behind?”

Taryn stopped, glancing over her shoulder to look at her friend.

“I mean, there has to be a reason, right? It seems too deliberate.” She grasped her hands together as her shoulders began to shake. All the while Taryn slowly ascended to stand right beside her on the stairs. “The note that was left, in your clothes… the woman in the photos… the people that follow you… the residual feelings you’ve been getting ever since we got here… all of it is just—!”

“Rachael,” Taryn spoke, cutting her off, her voice firm, but gentle. Followed by Taryn placing a hand along Rachael’s shoulder only to pull her towards the other woman, their heads bumping against each other on impact. It bothered Rachael as she flinched from the result, but Taryn didn’t seem to mind. “I’m going to put this whole thing on hold for a bit.”

Ow… Rachael glanced at her with confusion but didn’t move. “What? Why?”

“Because it’s bothering you too much.” She said matter-of-factly. “You’ve had signs of your anxiety popping up the whole time even before we got to the Shrine.” Taryn glanced at her with a knowing look and a faint smile. “You think I haven’t noticed?”

Rachael glanced away as she felt her cheeks become warm; it was embarrassing that Taryn could just pick out the issue as if it was no problem. That alone might have been due to the number of years they knew one another. And as much as Rachael tried to hide it, Taryn could always tell when something was wrong. A good thing to have for a friend.

“Rachael, look at me for a minute.” When she had, she felt Taryn’s hand move to rest along the back of her scalp as their foreheads touched. “Look, you know I can’t promise to be perfect. I may not notice everything, but I’m not dense either. I won’t tell you to stop worrying about me but believe me when I say I’ll always do everything that I possibly can. I will never leave you to fight off those you can’t see. I promise you that.”

The tension that had been subconsciously building in Rachael’s shoulders slowly began to subside, a feeling of ease resting in her chest rather than unease. The meaning of those words was something that only the two of them could understand. For it was something they shared at the beginning of their friendship.

Taryn’s eyes shined with a type of light that Rachael hadn’t seen since before Roy’s death, all the while giving a genuine, honest-to-goodness smile. Even if she was doing it for Rachael’s benefit, it was good to see that Taryn hadn’t lost it completely.

Not long after that, Taryn moved away and headed down the stone steps, hands in her jeans pockets. “Now come on, let’s get something to eat. I’m sure you’re starving.”

“Oh… okay.” However, Rachael didn’t move for the spot she stood her hand lightly touching her forehead. You’re so straightforward. A smile came to her lips. But that’s not a bad thing either. Looking at her friend as the sun now shined higher, making the surrounding village a light feeling filled her chest. “Yeah… it’s definitely not a bad thing.” Rachael quickly followed her friend with a laugh to herself, her steps feeling much lighter than before.