Takezawa's Ghost - Episode 15
I’ve heard that young people today aren’t good at using the phone.
He says he’s not used to it because he’s had smartphones around him ever since he was old enough to understand.
It seems that annoying old men are concerned about them, but as someone with one foot in old man territory, I can’t help but sympathize with them.
Communicating through text alone is easier, and not being able to see the other person makes the level of interaction too high.
So, unless it’s necessary, I won’t call you.
Yes. Unless something extraordinary happens.
I was finally allowed to move to a bench outside the hospital, where I tried to make a phone call, something I’m not good at.
Brrrrr.
Brrrrr.
Brrrrr.
I don’t like this sound either.
I feel extremely sorry, as if I am rushing the other person.
“Hello? Takezawa? It’s been a while. Where are you?”
A cheerful woman’s voice drowned out the unpleasant sounds.
“Hirose. It’s been a while.”
Hirose Rin was hanging out with Naoya after he dropped out of high school and was doing some no-good stuff with him.
Unlike me and Naoya, he was a reliable guy who attended high school regularly.
The reason why she was with us was probably, no, probably because she was dating Naoya.
I was aware of this, but since I’m not very good at showing consideration in romantic relationships, I just continued to interact with him as usual.
It doesn’t matter if Naoya and Hirose are mating when they’re alone.
Being with someone who doesn’t tire me out is a precious thing to me.
However, since Naoya’s funeral, he has only met Hirose a few times.
This is embarrassing to say, but there are rare nights when I think of him and the tears won’t stop.
In those cases, we contact each other via LINE and use each other’s services.
Those who share the same memories lick each other’s wounds.
That’s the relationship.
However, this time it is not related to Naoya.
“Hey, you know a lot about the occult, right?”
“Hmm? Well, I guess so. I’m only at the level where I watch videos of that kind of thing.”
That’s fine.
If the explanation gets too technical, my brain can’t keep up, so it’s just right.
“So then, do you have any idea what kind of monster or strange phenomenon with a squishy face you might have?”
“Huh? What is it, Takezawa? Have you been possessed by something?”
“Well, that’s about it.”
“Haha. Finally. You’ve made enemies in a lot of places.”
Well, the person who’s possessing her now is a delusional bastard who’s lost his mind in love.
“Hmm. The first thing that comes to mind is wiggling.”
“Wiggle?”
Doesn’t that sound like a cute and weird mascot name?
“Well, apparently it’s a creature that appears in rice fields in the countryside and moves in a wriggling way that humans can’t do.”
“Hmm.”
He seems like he has some talent for the circus.
“And then when you find out who it is, your head explodes.”
“……why?”
“I don’t know. Is it scary because you don’t know?”
Are you afraid of things you don’t understand?
That’s a very human reason.
So I would like to ask the person who created this story how much they truly understand.
Do you know how the smartphone you use every day works?
Do you fully understand the need for a My Number Card?
Can you understand what the person next to you is thinking, as if you could hold their hand?
If you don’t know what it is, it’s probably all around you.
There’s no need to go to the trouble of making up ghost stories, because just being alive is scary.
Well, there’s no point in telling Hirose that.
Thanks for providing the information.
“I see. It seems we have something in common in that we don’t know what condition they’re in. That was helpful.”
It also explains why being faced with that thing makes you feel emotionally unstable.
So I did something I’m not good at, like making phone calls.
“Thank goodness.”
His gentle voice brings to mind Hirose’s soft smile.
“Thanks to that, it looks like I’ll survive somehow.”
“Haha. I wish you’d die.”
“Yeah. When the time is right.”
“Yeah. I’m looking forward to it.”
Hang up the call.
When you talk to Hirose Rin, she will tell you to die at least once.
He says it jokingly, but I’m sure he means it.
Because it’s practically like I killed Naoya.