M e s s a g e 3 1

[curiousher]

Hm...it's gotten colder all of a sudden, hasn't it? Though, I suppose that does happen in autumn. It's so much darker too, isn't it?

[He hums, thinking over this thought as though it's something particularly new to this season. It's not, but it feels...important, in a way Alice can't define.]

Autumn feels...almost unreal that way. Like the setting for a scary story by a fire. [Her face lights up that the thought!] Oh, wouldn't that be fun though? Does anyone have any spooky stories to tell?

Either way...we must be certain to close the doors. They shouldn't be even the slightest bit ajar! After all, we wouldn't the darkness to come inside and get us!

[And she twiddles her fingers at the screen, as if that's a particularly terrifying thought, but she ends the broadcast with a laugh - scary stories are so much fun, aren't they?]

Comments

[sorta_cinderella]

...

[if Alice doesn't know what happened to Hanajima before, she certainly doesn't know anything else, right? Right?]

Gossip can be cruel.

[curiousher]

Mm. They would say all sorts of terrible things, and they would even go so far as to claim she was the reason children ever died in the kingdom. A child would cough and their parents would hurriedly whisper that it was the ghost seeking a new playmate.

So! The little ghost girl tried her hardest to keep away from everyone in the kingdom, so she wouldn't be causing them trouble anymore. She decided to haunt a empty house on the outskirts of town...

...or at least, she thought it was empty.

[Alice twiddles her fingers at this part, because it's clearly meant to be very spooky.]

[sorta_cinderella]

[... this is getting ridiculous. but she tries to play it cool.]

I had no idea you were so creative.

[curiousher]

Thank you! It just came to me all of a sudden!

[Then she continues from there:]

Unknown to her, there was a young girl living in the house - a young girl who was very much alive! She did not belong there either, but she'd had a similar idea. Since the house was abandoned, perhaps it would be a good place for her to live! You see, the girl had no family to speak of. She had just lost her...mother, recently. I think that's how the story goes.

Since she had nowhere else to be, the girl spent her days cleaning up the house, and trying to make it more home-like again. The ghost girl kept her distance at first, not wanting to hurt the girl by accident - for you see, she had come to believe the rumors about her. But the girl was pleasant to be around...

...hm. I think she needs a name, otherwise this will become confusing very quickly.

[sorta_cinderella]

... Are you sure you don't have one in mind already?

[She may sound a little curt, but she didn't mean for it to come out that bad.]

[curiousher]

Well, if I did I wouldn't have asked!

[Not that she properly asked - but she's asking now.] Do you have any ideas?

[sorta_cinderella]

...

How about... Neko.

[The Japanese word for cat, that Torhu had changed her zodiac sign for.]

[curiousher]

Neko...that's perfect!

Anyway, Neko was a very cheerful girl, and the little ghost girl liked being around her very much. It was a little less lonely, but she was very scared of the girl discovering her! She didn't want to frighten her, or worse, accidentally hurt her.

Still, little things would happen around the house that gave Neko pause. Sometimes glasses would fall right off the counter (by accident of course) and other times doors would mysteriously open and close. Lights would flicker, all bzz-bzz!

Then, one day, she saw the little ghost girl, out of the corner of her eye. And do you know what she said?

[sorta_cinderella]

[She has an inkling.]

No, I do not know. Please tell me.

[curiousher]

[Alice smiles.]

She said, "You can come out! It's okay! You don't need to be afraid, Miss!"

The ghost girl was still a little wary, but she allowed herself to flicker into view, and Neko gasped - but not in fear.

"You're beautiful!" she said. "I've been wondering who else was here. I thought maybe I was hearing things, but you're real! I'm so happy!"

And from then on the ghost girl and Neko were the best of friends, living (and unliving) together in that little house forever and ever!

[She laughs.] See? That one was a twist ending! The listener thinks it's going to go badly and then, surprise!

[sorta_cinderella]

... It was a lovely little story. Your imagination... is really one to behold.