Slide

Author: Ukari (translated with author’s permission, please visit their website to see the original Japanese works!)

To say here is far, and to call yonder nearby. Stories on the edge of the every day, strange tales you may or may not be moved by. Strange, curious, fantastic stories told by me, you, him and her. There are many stories but they’re all concluded within a single page, each story around 200 to 1200 characters in length, a short story collection you can easily read. Please enjoy them. Updated every Saturday at 6pm.

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I was staying at a rather nice Japanese inn for my vacation.

The food was great, and it had a hot spring as well.

I especially liked the hot spring. It drew its hot water from a wellspring, so I could warm myself in it nicely and feel my exhaustion draining away.

It was also free to use at any time throughout the day or night, so I decided to use it again around midnight before I went to bed.

On the way, a child ran past me.

They looked to be around elementary age or so.

After passing me, they turned a corner, and then they poked their head back out. They hid behind the corner so I could only see their head and fingertips gripping the wall.

They smiled at me.

‘They seem rather friendly,’ I thought. I guess they were also in a good mood because they were on vacation as well. I felt the same, so I smiled back in understanding.

Then, suddenly.

The child’s head moved upwards.

It lifted all the way to the ceiling and then stopped. But the child’s fingertips remained at the same spot on the wall below and didn’t move.

The child continued smiling at me.

How long did we silently stare at each other for?

Then just as suddenly as their head went up, is slid back down again. Now back to their normal height, the child’s head and finger disappeared behind the wall.

Footsteps running down the hall and laughter lingered as they ran off.