“I’m home!”
I closed the door of my apartment and took off my school shoes. All the lights were switched off despite it already being evening. I put down my schoolbag by the doorway and wondered if my mother was home.
“Mom? You there?”
There was no answer which was strange. Usually she would at least had contacted me if she was going to be home late. I got out my cell phone from my pants pocket and checked it to see I had none in my inbox. With nothing except the sound of the ticking wall clock in the dark apartment, it was starting to get a little too eerie for my taste. I went to switch on the lights, but nothing happened. I tried multiple more times with no change. I sighed as it meant I had to check the circuit breaker.
I carefully navigated under the dim moonlight to the kitchen when I knew we kept a flashlight. It took a while, but I managed to fix the problem and lights returned to my sweet little home. It was then I heard a creaking sound behind me. I turned to see that the room to my mother’s room was slightly ajar and someone was peeping at me.
“Mom?”
The person did not respond but kept staring at me with its red blood-shot eyes. Suddenly, the lights of the apartment started to flicker and then went off leaving me in the darkness again. However, I could still see those red eyes clearly. I was officially creeping out now and started to shiver uncontrollably. The door to my mother’s room suddenly banged opened and whatever it was that was staring at me was gone. It was then I could hear my mom’s voice.
“P-lease…leave my child out of this…”
It was soft and weak, but I was sure it was her. I quickly ran towards the room, but I found myself being pushed away by a strong force and landed on the wall across the room. I yelled loudly in pain as it felt like I got hit by a truck head-on. I could hear my mother crying begging for whatever it was to leave me alone. I struggled to get on my feet, but I was unable to. It would seem the impact may have broken several bones in my body. I could hear footsteps nearing me and my body was gently turned making me come face-to-face with my mother. She still had some make-up on her face, but her long black hair looked like a mop and her dress was torn.
“M-mom…?”
I struggled to speak as I felt every part of my body was aching terribly.
“Yes, my child I’m here.”
She cradled my head in her arms while crying.
“My poor, poor baby…I’m so sorry…”
“For what, mom?”
I was wondering what she was apologizing for when someone else spoke.
“Oh my. What do we have here?”
My mom got me to sit up and I saw a girl about my age standing in front of me. Her whole body and features were pitch black as if it was not completely formed and her eyes were bloodshot red. My whole body then shivered again. Seeing my reaction, the girl looked at me with interest.
“It would seem your child has potential as well, dear Kotoko.”
“Leave my child out of this! The contract is only between us, so I will fulfil it!”
The girl shrugged and shook her head. Her gaze then fell back onto me. She shoved my mother outside and my body suddenly was brought towards her as if by magic.
“Please, let him go! He has nothing to do with this!”
The girl then started laughing as if my mother just said something outright funny. She then proceeded to look over me and I felt her gaze peeking at every nook and cranny of my body. I then felt a tingling sensation in my right ear. I looked down to see the girl had turned into a form-less black fog and slowly entering my body through my ear.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“STOP!”
Suddenly there was a red glow and the fog was expelled from by body and I once again fell to the ground but face-up now. I strained myself to see my mother revealing a strange symbol on her left palm.
“For you to use that, you must really care for your child. For once, you have my admiration, Kotoko.”
The girl had formed back to her human-like body shape. My mother then walked passed me to stand right in front of her.
“Of course. Everything I did was for his sake, after all.”
Somehow, my mother had finally got her act together. There was no fear or doubt in her voice. She sounded firm and resolved as if she finally decided what to do. I immediately had a bad feeling.
“Mom…what are you doing?”
My mother turned to me with a smile on her face.
“Don’t worry, son. Mommy has everything under control.”
The girl frowned at my mother’s statement. My mother nodded at her and suddenly there was a bright flash of light.
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Two individuals, one a woman and another black fog girl, standing alone facing each other in an empty white space. The woman, Kotoko, requested for the privacy so her child would not hear their conversation.
“You do know what will happen if you go through with this? Are you really sure you want to take this course of action?”
Kotoko just chuckled.
“Are you actually worried about me? I did not expect that from you.”
“It is only fair I remind you of the consequences.”
“Don’t worry. Like I said before we made our contract, I have a back-up plan.”
“You mean the boy? He has no idea…wait you cannot have…”
Then, they laughed together as if they
“You sure have a lot of faith.”
The girl then placed a hand on the woman’s chest and the woman could feel her strength leaving her. The transfer was beginning and Kotoko’s body started to fade and closed her eyes. She knew she was dying but she had no more regrets except for one, and that was leaving her son behind. Due to transfer, she could feel Kotoko’s emotions and thoughts.
“Are you sure you don’t have any last words for him?”
Kotoko shook her head.
“Just tell him…I’m sorry and I love him so much. Tell him that mommy is sorry she has to leave so soon.”
Kotoko opened her eyes to see herself looking back at her. It was like looking at a mirror. The girl had assumed her form but that of her teenage years. She smiled seeing her other self whose expression was that of sorrow.
“Goodbye… ‘Kotoko’…”
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When the light finally disappeared, my mother was nowhere to be seen. However, there was a short black-haired girl standing alone. She was butt naked, but I could not help myself from looking at her face as it resembled my mother’s. Suddenly a circle with weird symbols appeared on the floor below her and she was clothed in an instant. She was wearing all-black two-piece outfit consisting of a simple blouse with frilled sleeves and black mini-skirt. She even had a cloak and a pointy witch hat. After admiring herself, she noticed I was staring at her.
“Who…are…you?”
“Kotoko.”
“K-Kotoko?!”
That was my mother’s name. There was so many questions in my head right now I did not what to ask next. Kotoko seemed to figure that out and smiled. However, it was a sinister one. She then swiftly closed the gap between us till our faces were only inches away. Her eyes were blue just like my mother’s. It was like she was my mother but younger. She then whispered something into my ear that made me widened my eyes in horror.
“Wha-…”
Suddenly I felt an excruciating pain in my chest and I looked down to see the girl just pierced through me with an energy blade. Unable to utter another word due to the shock, blackness quickly fell over me.
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Kotoko watched as at the dying boy and it was then she felt a strong presence nearby. She turned facing the room behind her and smirked knowingly.
“She really found it.”
The girl looked at the boy again for a moment and then teleported herself to the highest vantage part of the city. She stood on top of the tallest building and gazed upon the entire area.
“A lot of things have changed over the years…but in the end, this does not change anything. If what she told me was true, then I know what I must do. I guess I better get to work. The age of witches is nigh!”
The girl then disappeared to get ready her preparations for her grand plan.
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The next day, a mailman arrived at an apartment to deliver a package. He knocked on the door, but nobody answered the door. He turned the knob and found it was unlocked. He looked around to see the lights were all switched off and nobody was around. He decided to just leave the package when he saw a person lying on the floor near the kitchen area.
He immediately rushed to aid the person. It was a teenage girl and she was out cold. He quickly called for an ambulance while not noticing the girl was stirring and muttered something.
“Mother…”
xxx
When the mailman went outside to wait for the ambulance to arrive, he noticed something about the weather which obstructed a bit of his view.
"Fog...weird."
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End of Prologue