All Hallows Eve, a small group of four young Japanese children had finished up collecting candy and was gonna be late getting home. They could take the long way around or cut through the forest next to the park everyone plays at.
*We all know this area, even though it’s dark, we ran this way lots of time coming home from school.* One boy spoke in Japanese.
*Yes, but this is Halloween.* a girl spoke up. *This day, monsters are allowed to rise from the graves. Even evil youkai.*
*So?* Boy 1 asked.
*I feel uncomfortable going in a forest on this night. That’s all* Girl 1 replied.
*Let’s do rock…paper…scissors. Whoever wins chooses the direction to go home.* Boy 2 spoke up.
*I agree.* Girl 2 said.
All four kids stood around as time went by and took 5 rounds to determine the winner. The winner was Boy 1.
*I win. We go through the forest to get home quicker.* Boy 1 said.
All four kids entered the creepy forest with their candy, but realized none of them liked it. Each step they took seemed like it made the sounds echo louder. Stepping on dead sticks and brushing against the tree branches makes the sounds as if someone or something was following them.
There happens to be a small clearing up ahead. The clearing shown a small river bridge and a bright full moon reflecting off the water.
*See? No monsters here.* Boy 1 said. *Besides, as long as we’re on this wooden bridge, nothing can get us. I’m told.*
They heard a weird popping sound that sounded like popping bubbles. *Then what’s that sound?* Boy 2 said shaking.
*Bubbles?* Girl 1 asked.
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*Go check it out.* Boy 1 pushed Girl 1.
*No you. You wanted to use the shortcut this night.* She retorted.
The young boy looked at the river and saw lots of bubbles forming and popping very quickly. There were also two glowing circular objects underneath the bubbles, as if something was looking at him. The boy slowly pulled out a candy from his bag and dropped it near the bubbles, and that caused the bubbles to stop forming, and the glowing lights moved in two different directions. *See, all fixed. Let’s go home.*
Everyone picked up their candy bags and walked through the forest to get home. In the small river, bubbles started to form again, and two glowing eyes appeared again. A hand raised to the small wood bridge and
The young boy and his friends run out of the forest to their own homes. Boy 1 told his grandmother, tells her what he thinks he saw. She was shocked and held out her arms to give him a hug. *Don’t worry sweetie. You’re safe now, but never want into the woods at night again.*
*You know, I’ve met a kappa before as well.*
*What happened?*
*Sit down and you shall hear.*
Fifty years ago, a young lady living on the outskirts of Yoshino had to cross the shallow end of the Yoshino River every day to get to school. She could go over the river, but she didn’t know if taking the long way would make her late for school.
As the days turned to months and then years, there were dumb scary stories about that the Yoshiro River was haunted. Never go near nor cross the river before sunrise and after sunset. As kids constantly went missing. They found shoes, jackets, school bags, and other materials, but there were no traces of the kids.
As the girl disregarded the rumors, she still continued traveling to school the same way. Eventually, the river had signs of ‘Do Not Enter’ or ‘No Trespassing’ to tell everyone to stay away. She still didn’t care. Finally, there was thick rope being tied around the trees and the signs to block the trespasses out. The rope even had strange papers tied to the ropes as well, as if the whole town really believe there was an evil spirit in the river.
As a junior in high school now, she carried lots of material, including some scissors. She took her time to cut the thick rope, very slowly. Half way finished, she started hearing some growling sounds. She stopped cutting, and the sound stopped as well. She started again and finished. The rope and the talismans were torn in half so she could continue crossing.
The girl did as she away did. Found the trickle from the stream and walked in the muddy part of the river. Minutes before sunrise, as she was halfway across, the trickle started getting bigger a tiny bit. She even heard weirder sounds coming from the water, as if bubbles were forming and popping. As she started to move, her shoe got stuck in the mud. Weirdly, the area was not even close to the water, but her sock and foot got soak and wet. She tried pulling it out, but she felt as if a hand was gripping her soul of her shoe, keeping her there.
Her whole foot started getting more wet. Her ankle started feeling wet and her whole shoe got completely sunk under the mud. She tried moving her left leg, but it was no use. She bent over to dig her foot out, but the whole area that was supposed to be dry and muddy was swamped by water. Her hand and wrist was not moving, as if it too was held down by a force. She was completely stuck.
The sun started shining through the bridge and as her eyes adjusted, her eyes saw the river was up to her ankles, but she thought she saw something else. A face, a hand, a huge body. As she looked up at the face, it let goof the girl and dove inside the river, her foot was retracted from the mud, she ran back to where she came from.
As she came to with the ropes and the talismans, she saw the river, and it looked exactly the same as it did before she started though it. From that day since, she decided to take the bridge to school.
