11th Mystery: Swamp House
Chapter 1: Test of Courage
“Hey… Are we really going…?”
In the gloomy atmosphere of the forest, a child’s high-pitched and feeble voice echoed.
“Of course we’re going.”
The response came from another boy, whose voice was strong and filled with confidence.
The speakers were a pair of boys, about elementary school age.
One wore glasses and seemed timid, while the other wielded a long branch, cutting through weeds like a young ringleader. He sported various bandages, indicating he was no stranger to scrapes and bruises.
“But, but, they say there are dangerous things in this western forest.”
“Shut up, that’s just superstition.”
Ignoring the timid boy’s warning, the young ringleader continued deeper into the forest.
This was a test of courage.
It was a dare to go into the depths of the forest west of Tsukinashi Town and see what was there. It all started when the timid boy impulsively bought it after a fight sold to him by the ringleader of the neighboring class.
Rumors said there were ghosts, but unfortunately, the ringleader boy didn’t have any sixth sense. He’d never seen a ghost in his life, so he didn’t believe in scary things at all.
“Then you can just go back alone.”
Swinging a long branch, the young ringleader said to the timid boy trailing behind him like goldfish feces.
“But, but I’m worried… If there really are ghosts and Take-chan is in danger… um…”
“There’s no such thing as ghosts, it’s all superstition. You read too many books.”
The ringleader didn’t believe in ghosts at all. In fact, he snorted at the idea.
They heard that in Tsukinashi Town, ghosts cause more crimes than humans, but the ringleader thought that wasn’t true. It was definitely some mischievous adult who was wasting money on crime.
I’d check what was at the end of this forest and show the kids from the next class what they were doing. –That was all the ringleader thought about.
“Oh.”
As they continued straight ahead without much thought, their view suddenly opened up. It seemed they had come to a wide area.
The dense green forest ended, revealing a large swamp before them. It was an eerie swamp, a mixture of green and brown. Strangely, there was no smell, and for some reason, the swamp’s surroundings were encircled by things like paper and strings often seen at shrines.
In the center of the swamp, there was a small piece of land with an old, decrepit house that looked like it would blow away with the wind.
“Is that it?”
“Hey, Take-chan… let’s just stop, this place is really bad…”
The timid boy tugged at the hem of the ringleader’s shirt, pleading, “Let’s go back.”
Indeed, he was right. They had already confirmed what lay deep in the forest, and returning now shouldn’t bring any complaints from the kids in the other class.
Just as the ringleader decided to heed his companion’s plea and turned to leave,
Haa…
A raspy voice came from somewhere.
“!? What was that?”
The timid boy heard it too. With a frightened expression, he glanced around and covered his ears as if never wanting to hear the voice again.
The ringleader boy whipped around toward the direction of the dilapidated hut.
The shabby shack, which looked like it could be blown away by a typhoon, showed no signs of habitation. After all, being isolated on a piece of land surrounded by the marsh, it seemed impossible for anyone to get there.
And yet,
Why,
“――――”
Was there a long-haired woman peeking out from the window of the abandoned house?
“T-Take-chan…”
“Don’t look, don’t you dare look.”
The bully took the timid boy’s glasses away, forcibly depriving him of his eyesight.
The timid boy pleaded in a high-pitched voice for them to be given back, but the bully didn’t care and didn’t give the glasses back. He kept his gaze fixed on the abandoned house, trying to prevent the boy he had forced to join him from seeing the woman.
The woman looking out from the house was hard to see as her messy black hair covered her entire face. She was probably looking down. She was stroking the window frame with her scrawny fingertips, and slowly lifted her right hand.
Haa.
The voice again.
In time with the voice, the woman’s right hand moved as if to say, “Come here.”
This wasn’t good, this was really bad. The timid boy was right, he shouldn’t have come to this place. He should have left immediately!
“Ta-Take-chan…”
“We’re getting out of here!!”
Shoving the glasses back into the boy’s hands, the ringleader grabbed his hand and started retracing their steps.
Kicking away the weeds, he discarded the long branch he was holding, focusing solely on escaping from the dilapidated house at the center of the swamp. Using every ounce of his physical ability, he dashed through the narrow path, pulling the timid boy along even when he complained of difficulty breathing.
All the while, he prayed that the woman who had peeked out from the window wouldn’t follow them.
“Daaaah!!”
The ringleader burst out of the dense forest, collapsing on the spot, still holding the timid boy’s hand.
His heart pounded like a hammer, and sweat poured from every pore due to the all-out sprint.
As he gulped for air, his lungs felt as if they were grinding, making it hard to breathe properly. Although the ringleader was in better shape, his companion remained on all fours, unable to move. Being at the bottom of the class in physical ability, the exertion had taken its toll on him.
Barely managing to adjust his glasses, the timid boy asked, “Take-chan…what happened?”
“Don’t say anything.”
Brushing off the grass and dust from his pants, the ringleader stood up and repeated, “Don’t say anything.”
The image of the beckoning woman was seared into his mind, refusing to fade. Though returning to that place might uncover the truth, the boys had no will to go back to the dilapidated house. They only wanted to get away from there as fast as possible.
The ringleader silently vowed never to undertake such a test of courage again.
