Catch me.

The voice echoes in my head. I can recognize it clearly.

You've got to catch me.

I notice that a strange shadow like creature, looking like a doll with buttons instead of eyes, is following me. I turn around, thinking that it'll disappear soon or late, but I'm wrong. It's still here.

Catch me.

The creature slowly approaches me. Now I can feel something on my shoulder, like a hand. I'm about to turn back, but it's faster than me. It leans close to me to the point that there's no more turning back.

I'm here, Sena. Just catch me.

Why does it want to catch me? Why do I have to catch it? What is going to happen if I don't catch it? I guess I'll only find out when I do what it asks.

When the creature lets go of me and starts running away, I follow it and try to catch it, but to no avail. Every time I'm close to doing so, it finds a way to slip away.

What the heck is the problem with me?

***

R

un, Sena, run away!

As these four words echo in my mind, as well among these four walls, I leap out of my bed to find the source of the voice. Even though I believe I'm hallucinating, I'm proven wrong when I find it lying on the floor a few feet away from my bed.

Run! Now!

I can't believe it.

This is the same creature that haunted me when I was a child. "Wh-who are you?" I ask, barely repressing a shudder.

It doesn't matter now. Run!

I don't even have the courage to ask any questions. Instead, I just bolt out of my room and then out of the house altogether, not even caring that I'm in my pyjamas.

I do as the creature told me and run, never looking back and not stopping until my body feels sore. That is, until I shudder once again as I feel the chilly air hitting my face violently and the ominous shadow passing me.

Its eyes look like buttons, its skin is dark grey and its hair is messy and tangled. It looks like a deadly doll. "Who are you?" I ask again as we stop by the local graveyard, a place infested with painful memories and not so friendly spirits.

I'm the spirit who took away those little pests when you were nine years old, Sena. I thought you knew back then.

What does it mean? And why is it trying hard to avoid my question? Trying not to annoy it by asking again, I instead realize that this sneaky creature took away my friends fifteen years ago. "Where are my friends?" My voice is loud and shrill but gets lost easily in the desolating mist.

Those pests were not your friends, Sena. I am. Let's play together.

"Whoever you are, you're not my friend!" I protest, but it's useless as the creature gives me a deadly glare.

We are friends, Sena. Save it.

Fed up with its stubbornness, I hiss, "You stop it, and tell me what your fucking name is, for once!"

Hanbyeol. As you can see, I'm a girl. And, please, Sena, don't be angry at me. I just want to play with you.

At this point, being angry at her is useless. She just wants a friend, after all. Even though she's just a spirit, why should I be mean at her?

I stay with her for a couple of hours and grant her wish until she mysteriously disappears. When I'm back home, the only thing I can think of is her.

***

It's been three more years since I saw Hanbyeol for the last time. Every time I try to tell anyone else about her, they just think I'm hallucinating. Not wanting to earn a stay at a mental facility, I just let them believe that and move on.

That is, until, one day, I'm back home from work. I immediately notice a young woman standing in front of the door, fixing her gaze at an unclear position. Her skin is pale, her long black hair falls on her back and she has a creepy smile that reminds me of the creature (pardon, Hanbyeol). What if this person actually knows her?

"Hi, Sena, it's nice to meet you again. Do you want to play with me?"

No, I'm not hallucinating.

Yes, it's Hanbyeol.

[742 words]