---
Darkness.
Heavy and absolute.
The air inside the room thickened like molasses, and the temperature dropped so fast their breaths came out in clouds.
“Flashlights!” Jack shouted, fumbling for his.
Nothing.
Dead.
Riku slapped his phone. “Mine’s not turning on either!”
“It’s the house,” Yumi whispered. “She doesn’t want light.”
Then came the sound.
A slow, dragging step.
Not from them.
From the far corner.
Step… drag… step… drag…
Jack held his breath.
A shadow emerged from the darkness.
The girl.
The one from the dreams.
She was clearer now — pale, long hair matted, white kimono soaked at the hem like she’d walked through rivers of grief.
No feet.
She floated an inch above the floor.
Luna’s hand shot out and grabbed Jack’s. “She’s here,” she whispered. “She’s real.”
The spirit tilted her head.
Then opened her mouth.
But no sound came out — just smoke. Dark, oily smoke curling toward the ceiling.
And with it… visions.
---
The room shifted.
The shrine disappeared.
Tatami mats melted into old wood.
They were no longer in the inn.
They stood in a different time.
Same place, but long ago.
Rain pounded against the shoji screens.
A young girl knelt in the middle of the room, sobbing into her sleeves. A man stood by the door — older, cruel. His words cut through the air like blades, though the group couldn’t understand the language.
Then — he left.
And the girl stayed.
Alone.
Until she collapsed.
And the room flickered back to present.
---
“Wha— what was that?” Sora whispered, voice shaking.
“Her memory,” Yumi said. “We saw how she died.”
“She was abandoned,” Daichi said. “By her father?”
“She was crying so hard,” Luna murmured. “Like she had no one left.”
The spirit floated closer now. Her eyes wide — desperate.
“She wants us to tell the truth,” Yumi whispered. “To free her.”
Riku scoffed. “We did that already!”
“No,” Yumi said. “Not all of us.”
Slowly, everyone looked at Luna.
Even in the dark, her face was unreadable.
The spirit’s gaze locked on her.
Luna took a step back.
“Don’t make me do this,” she whispered.
The incense burst back to life — without fire. Smoke filled the room, curling into words:
> “You carry her pain too.”
Jack stepped in front of Luna, protective. “You don’t have to force it.”
But Luna shook her head. “She won’t let us go unless I do.”
Her voice trembled.
“I lied. Not just to you guys. To myself.”
She stepped toward the spirit, tears building.
“My mom didn’t write me that letter. She died when I was eight.”
Everyone froze.
“The letter I found… I wrote it. Years ago. Trying to remember how she used to talk. I used to pretend she was still alive. In another city. Sending me letters. Birthday cards. Stupid little notes. It was easier than facing it.”
The spirit stilled.
“I built a whole world of lies just so I wouldn’t have to feel the truth,” Luna whispered. “That I was left behind. Just like you.”
The incense flared.
The smoke wrapped around Luna’s chest — like a hug.
And for a moment, the ghost girl smiled.
---
But something shifted.
Suddenly, Jack doubled over.
“Jack?!” Daichi shouted.
Jack gritted his teeth, clutching his side.
More smoke poured into the room — not black like before, but red.
Twisting, angry.
The ghost girl backed away, panic in her eyes.
“She’s not the only spirit here,” Yumi whispered. “There’s… something else.”
The shrine behind them erupted in fire.
Jack’s voice changed — not his own anymore.
“She’s not the only one who’s been left behind,” he said, eyes glowing faint red.
Everyone stepped back.
“What’s happening to him?!” Luna cried.
Then a second figure emerged behind the first.
A tall man, cloaked in shadows, face blurred, mouth stitched shut.
He pointed at Jack.
Yumi screamed. “He’s using Jack!”
---
Jack’s mind swirled.
He was inside himself — floating in memory.
He saw a hospital room.
Beeping monitors.
A woman on the bed.
His mom.
“Come home soon,” she had whispered. “I’ll be waiting.”
He had gone on that trip anyway.
The next morning… she was gone.
No goodbye. No final moment.
Only guilt.
Crushing, cold guilt.
“You blame yourself,” a voice echoed in his head. “That’s your curse.”
“No,” Jack whispered.
“You never forgave yourself.”
Jack saw the stitched-mouth man again, inside his own mind.
“I’m not yours to use,” Jack growled. “I won’t be your puppet.”
He reached into the smoke.
And grabbed the memory — his memory.
He held onto it like a lifeline.
---
In the real world, the red smoke shattered.
Jack gasped and collapsed to the floor, drenched in sweat.
The man vanished.
Only the girl remained.
The soft white glow returned.
She floated toward Jack — no longer crying. She raised her hand.
And touched his forehead.
Everyone watched in stunned silence.
A wave of calm washed over the room.
The spirit smiled.
Then turned.
Walked to the wall.
And stepped through it.
Gone.
---
The shrine crumbled into ash.
The windows rattled.
And the door to the room… creaked open.
Light spilled in.
Bright, natural sunlight.
Outside.
“Did we… break the curse?” Sora asked, blinking.
Yumi exhaled. “I think so.”
Jack slowly stood, Luna at his side.
Their fingers brushed.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He looked at her.
“For what?”
“For not letting me run from it.”
He smiled softly. “You helped me too.”
---
They made their way down the stairs — and found the rest of the inn returned to normal.
Windows opened.
Sunlight streamed in.
The front door, finally unlocked, creaked when Riku pushed it.
Fresh air hit their faces like a miracle.
“Never going inside a creepy inn again,” Daichi muttered.
“Oh I’m reviewing this place HARD,” Sora added. “One star. ‘Cursed ghost possessed my bestie.’”
Laughter broke out.
A little shaky.
A little real.
They stepped outside — into warm summer light.
The forest around them buzzed with life.
Alive.
Like they were too.
---
As they walked away, Luna paused and looked back.
In the upstairs window, the ghost girl stood.
Smiling.
Then vanished into the light.
---
End of Chapter 4
---
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