Antique Shop?BEAR? - Chapter 4

She glanced back, but of course, nobody was in sight.

Shulushulushulu

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Rei grew pale and flung open the door before peering around the room from the bathroom, only to find no one nor anything out of the ordinary. When she turned on the shower again, the sound had stopped emanating from her ears.

What’s exactly happening… ever since yesterday?

In a haste, she washed her hair and body and exited the bathroom.

Wrapping a towel around her, she peeked fearfully into the room but found no indication of anything being amiss. For mishearing, this happened too frequently.

Am I too exhausted?

While having a cold cup of tea in the living room with the television on, which she had no interest in watching, she dozed off and switched off the screen.

After turning off the lights, she gazed outside and observed the crescent moon, which had gotten thinner than the previous day. Opening the window, a cool, chilly breeze flowed into the room.

The curtains swayed in the wind. Soon the trees would be dying and the season would transit to winter. With the window shut, she lay in bed watching her phone, eventually drifting off to sleep before realizing it.

The sound was repetitious, constantly in her ears. When Rei awakened at midnight, she was horrified.

This sound… again!

She covered her ears involuntarily. No more sound could be perceived.

Have I… gone insane…?

Not able to think straight, she flicked on the lights and spent the whole morning in skepticism.

One thing she figured out was that the sound can only be discerned whenever she is alone and in a quiet place.

Even having this realization, nothing could be done about it, but her time was spent turning on the television or playing music on her phone.

The next day, since she was on late shift and had to be at work by 3 p.m., she found herself sleeping until noon. Having woken up in the middle of the night, she developed a headache. Once again, she had to resort to taking headache medicine. With no appetite, only coffee was poured and she consumed it, feeling restless and alone.

The refrigerator was nearly running out, so shopping had to be done. In fact, she should have woken up early today to do the shopping, but she failed to do so. After vacuuming and cleaning up, she applied her makeup and tied her hair up in a high bun. When she put her earrings out, she was pleased to find that they sparkled and seemed to dispel her gloomy mood. Afterward, she hurried to the local supermarket to gather supplies. Stuffing them into the refrigerator at home, she draped a jacket across her figure and departed for work. Being busy meant not having to consider anything unpleasant and not being exposed to any sound.

The refreshing air and the breeze blowing past allowed her to sense the autumn season. Along the river, the silver grass and red spider lily had begun to wither, and the tips of the leaves had been removed and the red flowers scattered. From a distance in the dark on her way home at night, she didn’t notice that they had scattered at all.

From now on, it will be getting cold at once.

Rei couldn’t avoid thinking about that sound in her head, but she brushed it off as she headed for the station.