Sunday, September 6, 2009

Red room

WARNING!: This story is based on a prejudice that Japanese people had in the past towards birth defects.

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Kenzou walked through the mountains, trying to find a good story about the missing girl in the area. He is a well known journalist, and he knew if he worked hard enough he could get something out of the people living in the town.
As the dark night filled the sky, Kenzou stopped by to have some dinner at a near by bar. He talked to the owner of this "izakaya" (Japanese Bar) and asked about any information about the missing girl. The owner shook his head, and told Kenzou to search somewhere else for a story.

As Kenzou left the bar, he picked up a taxi.
He decided to go back to the closest city, 20 minutes drive from the town, to get his sleep back in his hotel.
While the taxi was driving in the dark woods, he could see rain drops hitting the windshield.

"The weather wasn't that bad earlier. I guess the rain season is coming."
The driver said, with a faint sigh.

Kenzou asked the driver to stop, since a woman caught his eye.

"Could you stop here for a second? There, next to that woman ahead of us."

Kenzou saw the woman, drenched in rain. He asked her if she wanted a ride with him in the taxi.

"I live a few minutes ahead of here by car. It is very kind of you for giving me a ride."

Kenzou didn't mind helping this woman, though the taxi driver seemed a little annoyed to get water on his seat that was dripping from the woman.

In the car, the woman kept silent and didn't say a word, and kept on facing down to the floor.
Kenzou found this peculiar, but assumed that the woman was in a bad mood.

"This is it. I can walk from here."

The lady said, as she opened the door.
Kenzou watched the woman get out of the taxi, and walk up a hill to a near by cottage.

"Sir, it seems like the lady made it safe into her house. Should I leave now?"
The taxi driver said, looking at the meter and the time.

"Sorry, wait for me for a second. I will be right back."
Kenzou said as he left the taxi. He found this woman quite mysterious... and as a journalist, a good person to interview. She seems like she had a lot going on, with a lot of weight on her shoulders.

Kenzou slowly walked up to the entrance of the cottage. He peaked into the eye hole, and all he saw was a red room.
He felt a chill down his spine.... Did the woman painted this her self?
Who in their right mind have red room?

He started running back to the taxi through the rain, when he heard the door open behind him.
There was the woman with a knife in her hand, yelling her lungs out.

She chased Kenzou, but he got into the car before she could get him. The driver, so shaken, drove through the rain towards back the town.

They stopped at the Izakaya, and Kenzou told the owner about what happened. He didn't want to call the police, the fault was on him for peaking into the key hole.
As Kenzou took another drink, he told the owner about how weird her red room was.
The owner, got quiet.

"You peaked into the hole... and you said she had a red room?"

"Yes," replied Kenzou. "Why? You heard about that?"

"No, but I did hear she had red eyes."

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