Phenomeno Page 14

  【Yo, hello! I'm the handsome you were waiting for!】

  「……….」

  【My dream is world domination. I love peoples' despair. Sometimes people shout, “you demon!” though, hahahah】

  「……….」

  【Huh? Hello, hello? Is this showing up?】

  Of course, this was not a vocal conversation, but rather a conversation through text chat – that’s how I remember it, but as I said at the start, this is from memory, just a memo, just a memorandum. Just something that records my memories from my perspective. In other words, as I sat there despairing over dating sites, I had begun chatting with someone online who called themselves a demon.

  【Huhhhh, you're Mr. Demon? Actually handsome?】

  I typed into my keyboard, completely dubious.

  【Of course, of course! When I was a kid there was no end to the admiration, saying that I gave people true freedom in Eden, and that I pull people up into the kingdom of light.】

  【Then might you be the rumored Princess of Hell, he who was once called “Lucifer”?】

  【No no no-, well, how should I put it, right, in terms of appearance, imagine a white face, blond hair, and golden wings, that should do it, no problem!】

  【Not a bald old man trying to act prettier than he is?】

  【Ow ow ow ow. As if!】

  … I felt like I was destined to be stuck with painful people. This one felt more like a Mephistopheles than a Lucifer, but I had time until work. It'd been a while since I chatted, so I continued conversing, figuring that if he turned out to be really annoying I could just block him.

  【So, what does Mr. Demon want?】

  【Well, you could say it's about something that was forgotten and left behind. You disappeared without giving me back something. It was hard finding you!】

  【Hmm, so I'd met Mr. Old Man before?】

  【I'm not an old man! I'm quite handsome, thank you! Please drop that image of a bald man from your head!】

  【You know, I was at least imagining Lord Lucifer from Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, but at the moment I only have Kodansha's publication of Sato Arifumi's Demon books.】

  【Hey… wait, he's bald!】

  【Surprised you knew… So – what was it? I'd met you somewhere? What was I meant to give you, my soul? When did I bind a contract with you?】

  【Ahh, well about that, that's troublesome. I wonder where the myth of demons wanting souls started. I'm sad. I've never wanted such a thing.】

  While chatting, I looked up the URL of the site I was connected to. It was a site I'd never heard of. And my browsing history only hinted that I'd jumped there from the dating site – maybe I'd clicked on a weird banner?

  【Then, I'll give you a hint.】

  Abruptly, The Old Demon Man said.

  【It was when you were still a blossoming high school girl.】

  【What?】

  【Wasn't there a bizarre rumor that spread around class? About the “Man in blue clothing.”】

  – Ahh, I vaguely remember. It was something like, if you answer “three questions” posed by a man wearing all blue, you die soon. I remember some story like that making the rounds in class.

  【Yes, yes that. I'm that “Man in blue clothing!”】

  ……….

  【…… hello?】

  【Yes yes.】

  【You remember, don't you? And if I remember correctly, I asked you “three questions,” too, but you managed to get off in a quite cunning way! It vexed me so much, that I've been looking for you this whole time!】

  【Ahh, I feel like I'm beginning to remember.】

  That scene that day vaguely reawakened in my brain. It felt like it came with a bitter emotion, but I couldn't remember why. Or… wait? If he's saying what he means…

  【Did you – have something to do with Haruka-chan's death?】

  And this time, the man ceased responding.

  Suddenly, bitter things began rising from my gut. It was unpleasant, as if a nightmare from long ago had begun infesting the real world. And yet despite that – as if I were tearing away the cast on a healing wound, as if guided by an unseen hand, I questioned.

  【And my mother, and my boyfriend at the time, their deaths too?】

  【You say such scandalous things.】

  – wrote the old man, after some time.

  【All I did was ask questions, so I have no reason to be blamed for the misfortunes of others. If you don't want to answer, you just don't need to answer, after all.】

  【That was part of the horror story about the “man in blue clothing,” wasn't it. But what was truly terrifying was what came afterwards. “You're supposed to just not answer, but it's over once the question is asked, because it's a question that compels you to answer.”】

  【Pretty much. That's true, but you got away. I could never forget about that, and couldn't forgive it, so I'm here today to ask you about it. That method, if it were to spread, would begin to concern my existence.】

  The man wrote, but – strange. I couldn't remember, at all.

  Indeed, I vaguely remember the urban legend or horror about the “man in blue clothing” making the rounds during high school. But until it was mentioned just now, why that would relate to someone's death – in other words, Haruka-chan, my mother, and my boyfriend's death were not connected and remembered. Why? How did the three die? Why do I not remember correctly? Something significant had to have happened, but the map of my memory was torn and scattered, as if something had chewed it apart.

  I glared at the laptop monitor, bit my nails, and tried to remember.

  Right… I had met the “man in blue clothing” once. I also feel like I'd been asked “three questions.” And then, when I found out about the questions, I was on the verge of despair – but the moment I thought that, I had an awful feeling sweep over me, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

  Bad. I felt like I shouldn't be remembering any further, so I typed on the keyboard, trying to close the chat – but it wouldn't let me log out. I tried closing the browser, but it wouldn't, either.

  【It's futile. I've already reached you.】

  His dancing words reappeared.

  【Whether you close this computer, or destroy it, the next moment you connect to the internet, I can appear at your footsteps again. Think of it as having bookmarked you. So, how did you escape from me? What did you do, then? Will you remember?】

  【But you know, if I can't remember, then there's no helping it.】

  【Can't remember, can't remember! That's it, humans have that function, and that's why I hate you all. You live relying on an unreliable system called memories, yet you forget everything that you don't fancy. Or in other cases you maintain your ego by overwriting them with incorrect information. That's a problem though, to me. You know, like, bugs? It means the God that made this world wasn't omnipotent. There are always results that come from outside of expectations. What you did once falls under that, and I must eliminate it. If that were to spread, the whole world would be filled with chaos–】

  And then I closed the laptop itself.

  And then I stood up, went to the kitchen, took out a Menthol cigarette, and lit it. I turned on the ventilator, and took my time with the smoke, and returned to the table after a good bit of time. And then when I opened the laptop–

  【How rude how rude! We were still talking, and suddenly!】

  He was still there, so once more, I closed it.

  Indeed, it seemed like we were still connected. I didn't know whether it was a real demon, or if it were just a new type of computer virus, but either way, my laptop had been taken hostage.

  “God. All my customer data is in that laptop, too.”

  When was the last time I backed up the data? Ahh, about half a year ago – or worse, maybe even last year. They do say your irresponsible attitude can come back to haunt you in times like this. I folded my arms. In any case, I couldn't throw away my laptop n
ow, and if him appearing every time I connect to the internet is problematic. Proper attitudes should be taken toward stalkers, I thought, and then I sat down in the chair and opened the laptop.

  【So, what do I need to do?】

  【You just need to remember, what you forgot to give me. And how you were able to escape from me, the method.】

  【But, after that I die, right? That result, after going through so much effort to remember, isn't that a sad result?】

  【Sad? I'm the one who's sad! How much effort do you think it took to find you!】

  Ahh, what a pain, I thought, but I had no real choice but to listen. The health of my laptop was on the line, and for better or for worse, I had someone to talk to, and it might turn out well if I kept conversing and if they accepted the result. The exorcist I was acquainted with said something like that, too. That in the end, exorcism is just persuasion. And since it seemed like I'd been able to escape from him before, so I should be able to do it a second time – at least, by logic.

  And so, I crossed my legs in front of the laptop, and closed my eyes to remember that time.

  ○

  Haruka-chan – I think her real name was Toonoki Haruka-chan.

  Haruka-chan was a good girl. A bright girl, the kind who's in every classroom, popular with both the guys and the girls. She had fluffy, bright hair, and when she laughed a cute dimple appeared, and she was the type that warmed your heart, the type who you'd think had been brought up with tons of love.

  But – my last impression of Haruka-chan was without a head.

  One day, she jumped off of the school roof, and her head snapped off. Part of her head, stuck with the hair that was bright, and with inexplicable red and black lumps of meat scattered everywhere, was how she died. It was concluded to be suicide, but – if I remember correctly, after Haruka-chan passed away, that “man in blue clothing” rumor began to circulate.

  They said that Haruka-chan had been bothered by the “man in blue clothing” that had been showing up in her dreams. That man in blue clothing had asked “three questions,” and rumor had it that Haruka-chan had answered the three questions and had been taken away because of that.

  Of course, that was the type of urban legend that could be found anywhere, so it's the type of horror story you hear a lot among adolescent girls. At the time I was the type of kid who always took a slanted look at the world, so if you were to ask, I'd have to reply that I didn't believe it at all. Of course, I was heavily affected by Haruka-chan's death, but I probably smirked and laughed at my classmates, who cowered in fear of that rumor, thinking that if you're going to die answering, then you just don't need to answer.

  ●

  And, having remembered that much – I felt myself being covered by a terribly cold feeling. My palms were covered with sweat.

  【Continue.】

  Was written when I looked at the LCD display of my laptop. I clicked my tongue once, exhaled deeply, and continued remembering.

  ●

  And then around half a year after that–

  Right, that day, I saw my mom in the city. It was an afternoon of a day that was so hot you would sweat just by standing, and I was in front of the train station, having left high school early – and noticed my mother beyond the crowd of laughing people. At the time, I had a bad relationship with my mom and didn't call out to her, but then I noticed. Right behind my mom walked a person in strange clothing.

  He was covered from top to bottom in a bright blue suit. His shirt and necktie and shoes and hat were all blue, and the moment I thought wow he's got terrible fashion senses!, I also felt a chill go down my spine. Come to think of it, wouldn't that be what a “man in blue clothing” looks like? The man gradually crept closer to my mom from behind, and called out to her in front of a burger shop. My mom looked surprised when she turned around, and then she answered one or two words to his questions. I had an incredibly bad feeling, and began running. However, the crowd was worse than usual that day, so I couldn't get closer, and by the time I made it through, the man in blue clothing was gone. In the middle of a scene warped by heat vapor, my mother simply stood there dazed. I asked, “who was that?” but she only gave me a vague smile.

  Again. This person never tells me the important things. Such a bratty – well, I was a brat then, that spoiled thought swept through me, and I felt idiotic for worrying over her, and I left her there.

  Yes – the thought that this would be my last conversation with her never crossed my mind.

  My mom hung herself shortly after.

  While I was at school, she tied a curtain to the handrails off of the second-floor stairs, and because she was dangling from there, that was the first thing I saw when I came home and opened the door. There was no hint of crime, and a simple will was found, so it was wrapped up as a suicide – we weren't a family that spoke much, after all. My dad and brother both didn't know what bothered mom, either. But I alone attended the funeral with the feeling of having something stuck in my throat.

  – Was it really suicide? The man in blue said something to mom. Was that the “three questions”? And what were the questions? Did Haruka-chan and mom die because they answered the questions? What is that “man in blue clothing” anyways?

  I thought about that quite a bit–

  Around that time, I finally began communicating with the girls who were friends with Haruka-chan.

  “Hey, what did that 'man in blue clothing' ask Haruka-chan? What're the 'three questions'?”

  I asked around, but no one wanted to talk about it, and no one told me anything. Eventually, the “man in blue clothing” had become a topic that no one in class wanted to touch. To speak about it meant you became related to it. The pale faces of my classmates looked like the dead to me.

  – perhaps the “man in blue clothing” was a different form of the “grim reaper”.

  When I thought of that, I began to rummage through writing on my own. I went to libraries here and there to research everything related to “grim reapers,” and searched online for things about “man in blue clothing” and “three questions/death.” However, such a story didn't exist anywhere. There were similar horror stories, but they all seemed like urban legends that were cobbled together using a slew of horror stories.

  I wandered around, lost, and eventually decided to create a thread on the forum of an occult site I frequented.

  【Three questions – the “man in blue clothing” thread】

  It was a shady-looking title, but I thought maybe I'd be able to get some info anyways. But it only got spammed, and I was unable to get any info about the “man in blue clothing”.

  Not knowing anything, another half-year or so passed–

  I was living a gloomy life when I got a boyfriend.

  He was a university student I met at my part-time job, and he confessed to me, but I turned him down at first. I felt like nothing had been truly resolved yet, so I was afraid of dragging someone else into the mess. However, he remained kind, bright and resolute – and in retrospect obviously, our conversations never touched upon the word “death”. Basically, he let me remember how to live a normal life again. I slowly opened my heart up to him, and began going out with him. They were warm days that would made me tear up for no reason, days I hadn't experienced in quite some time, but–

  Yes, I shouldn't have dated him.

  One weekday afternoon – I saw a dream. I think it was in the middle of midterms, and I was at home early afternoon, but I didn't feel like studying, lay down in bed, and ended up sleeping. In my dream, the “man in blue clothing” I had seen that day was slowly walking.

  My heart thudded, and I stopped in my tracks in my dream.

  I didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore. That was my honest feeling, I think. Having my life tossed about by such a vague existence was wrong. I thought. I would just wait for the man in blue clothing to pass by, and just as I'd crouched to hide behind something – my heart froze and thudded once more.
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  The man in blue clothing was following someone. And, I realized that was my boyfriend.

  – W… wait, what? That person has nothing to do with this, right!?

  I screamed a soundless scream, and tried to run after them to catch up. But my legs moved slowly, as if glued to the ground, and like that day, a wall of people got in my way. Between the people, I saw the “man in blue clothing” speaking to my boyfriend. My boyfriend turned around, with the expected surprised expression.

  – No. Don't answer.

  I cried and screamed, and then I finally realized. I began going out with him to curb my loneliness and sorrow. I thought the relationship was bittersweet even as it embraced me in warmth. But still, he made me realize that the world was still filled with color. He had smoothed out the thin strands of my psyche, and had saved me.

  “If you've got a problem with me, say it to me!”

  I screamed as I finally caught up, and grabbed the sleeve of the man in blue clothing.

  And – then.

  For the first time, I heard the voice of the man in blue clothing.