8th Mystery: Oshira-sama
Chapter 1: Forest Swamp
At the edge of Tsukinashi Town, there lies a deep forest.
Perhaps due to being surrounded by mountains, the existence of the forest isn’t much of a concern for the rural town.
The forest is sometimes referred to as the entrance to the afterlife, blurring the boundary between this world and the next. It’s all rather ambiguous.
“Ta-da, today we will be investigating the swamp in the Tsukinashi Forest~”
As night deepened, a wagon parked just before the entrance to the deep forest.
A young woman, holding a smartphone camera, filmed the surroundings of the forest shrouded in darkness, saying things like, “Here’s the entrance to the forest.”
She was filming for posting on a video-sharing site. Her channel mainly featured videos of visiting haunted spots, sometimes venturing into slightly dangerous territory.
Despite numerous actions that angered the gods and spirits enshrined in those places, she arrived in Tsukinashi Town for her next ghost-spotting adventure with a nonchalant attitude.
“I’ve heard this town is really creepy! Apparently, ghosts mess with the people here on a daily basis and all sorts of stuff! This could be exciting, right!?”
After delivering her message with a confident smile to her smartphone camera, the girl paused the recording.
“Hey, is this okay?”
“Looks fine to me.”
The young man sitting in the driver’s seat replied in a bored tone.
“Are we really going in?”
“We sure are. It’s probably another fake like always.”
“But I’ve heard Tsukinashi Town is really dangerous.”
The girl chuckled as she checked the video she had just filmed on her phone.
“What’s so dangerous about it? You really believe in ghosts or something?”
“It’s not about whether they exist or not.”
“For me, what’s scarier is if the video doesn’t get enough views.”
After finishing reviewing the video she just filmed, the girl handed her phone to the man in the driver’s seat and said, “Alright, let’s go.”
The screen was already displaying the app for video recording.
By handing the phone to the man, the girl was subtly indicating that he should film her. Instead of using her phone, she retrieved a flashlight from the backseat and headed towards the entrance of the forest with nimble steps.
“Haah…”
The man in the driver’s seat let out a deep sigh, then touched the start button for video recording on the phone before getting out of the wagon.
While illuminating the dark forest with her flashlight, the girl continued to advance steadily without showing any signs of fear. “It’s scary, isn’t it?” she remarked to the man holding the smartphone camera, shining the light on the ground to avoid tripping as she aimed for the depths of the forest.
The ground was covered in dry leaves, and every step on hidden branches resulted in unnaturally loud sounds echoing through the quiet forest.
Pakipaki, paki. (TN: crunch x3)
Pakipaki, paki.
Gasagasa, gasagasa. (TN: rustlex4)
Gasagasa, gasagasa.
The footsteps of the two echoed in the dark forest.
At first glance, there seemed to be no signs of ghosts appearing. There were no human figures in sight, no statues or shrines, and nothing seemed to be worshipped. It was even questionable if this place truly qualified as a haunted spot.
The girl casually remarked, “I wonder if ghosts really appear in Tsukinashi Town,” and then said, “Oh?”
Suddenly, the girl came to a halt.
As she walked straight through the forest, she stumbled upon something lying in a deep green hue.
It looked like a swamp. A clearing had opened up in the forest, and it had turned into a marsh.
“Is this a swamp, I wonder?”
She pondered aloud, sweeping her flashlight around the surroundings, but there was nothing except for the murky swamp.
“It’s kind of scary, the atmosphere here—”
As the girl turned back to the man holding the smartphone camera,
Splash.
A sound of water splashing emanated from behind them, from the swamp.
Turning their gaze towards the swamp, ripples formed at the center of the deep green water. Had something been thrown in?
There shouldn’t be anyone else besides the girl and the cameraman here, yet who could it be?
The girl glared at the cameraman holding the smartphone and said,
“Hey, you threw something in there, didn’t you!!”
“I didn’t throw anything.”
The man continued recording with his smartphone.
“Besides, there’s not even a single pebble nearby.”
“Then who—”
As the girl directed her flashlight towards the deep green swamp,
Splash.
Splash, splash.
A pure white arm extended from the deep green swamp.
The swaying white arm repeatedly slapped against the surface of the deep green water.
It gave off an atmosphere as if it were playing, scooping up water, letting it go, splashing like a child.
“Ah, ah”
The girl inadvertently dropped her flashlight.
“H, hey, wait!! Look at that!! Hey!!”
“……”
Clutching onto the young man who was holding the smartphone, the girl realized there was no response from him.
The light from the smartphone illuminated the man’s face, which was strangely contorted.
His gaze remained fixed on the deep green swamp, his lips trembling.
As the girl timidly called out, “H-hey…?” the man’s trembling fingers pointed towards the swamp.
There was a white arm extending from there, but what else could be lurking beyond?
“……”
The girl turned around to see someone draped in pure white fabric.
Their face was obscured, hidden deep within a hood that spilled over with unkempt, snowy white hair. Thin, branch-like arms extended from the sleeves, dangling limply as they floated above the swamp.
…Floating?
“Eek!”
The girl let out a strained scream, recoiling from the swamp.
The figure in white, hovering over the swamp, raised and lowered its branch-like arms in a languid motion.
Its movements seemed almost as if it were beckoning the girl and the man closer.
“Ah, ah, no, no……”
The girl’s feet moved of their own accord.
Not away from the swamp, but into it.
Sinking into the murky green water. Her brand-new sneakers, now soaked in mud, disappeared beneath the surface along with her socks.
“No, no, why, why, NOO!!”
She screamed, but her body refused to obey.
Despite her protests, she pushed through the swamp, sinking deeper with each step. She desperately pleaded with her own body to stop.
Finally, she reached the deepest part of the swamp, and her body sank completely into the mire.
“Ah……ah”
The man who had been filming her dropped his phone and fled, leaving the girl behind.
She had been the only one invited by that mysterious figure in white.
Desperate to avoid the same fate, the man abandoned her and ran for his life.
“I told her, I told her it was dangerous, I TOLD HER!!”
The man ran desperately through the forest with tears streaming down his face, and finally jumped out of the forest dominated by the darkness of night.
He hops into the wagon parked in front of him and starts the engine.
For some reason, the engine, which normally runs normally, wouldn’t start and just started idling. This is a common scenario in horror movies.
“Start, start, goddammit!!”
The man shouted in a frenzy, and then,
Kotsukotsu. (TN: tap x2)
Someone was tapping on the car window.
The man’s heart began to pound loudly.
Could it be that someone, something from that swamp was following him?
Slowly turning his gaze to the empty passenger seat, he heard,
“Oh, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve just seen something scary.”
For some reason, a silver-haired, red-eyed high school boy who he didn’t remember picking up was sitting next to the man.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!!!”
After he screamed, the man’s memory was interrupted.
TN:
Oshira-sama refers to a deity or spirit worshiped in certain regions of Japan, particularly in the Tohoku area. The Oshira-sama is associated with silkworms and sericulture, but it also has connections to agriculture and livestock, especially horses. The worship typically involves dolls or figures representing the deity, and these are often kept in households or shrines dedicated to Oshira-sama. The figures usually include a male and a female, sometimes with a horse’s head, reflecting their association with fertility and animal husbandry. The belief and rituals surrounding Oshira-sama offer an interesting glimpse into Japan’s folk religious practices and the regional variations in Shinto and animistic beliefs.
