Images and sounds all blurred together. It was just a normal day, a hot day in late spring.

  At least that’s what it should have been.

  Followed by a familiar voice calling out to her.

  “Taryn!”

  Taryn Lowell opened her bright blue eyes and stared up towards an unfamiliar ceiling as the voices in countless languages filled her ears as she sat in a rather plush chair in Tokyo’s airport scrubbing her face with her right hand.

  She felt tired, but not from the jetlag, that’d come later. Letting out a breath her gaze then drifted down to her left hand where a chain wrapped loosely around her fingers, as she ran her thumb absentmindedly over the engraving on the Canadian ID-Disc.

  N64 586 C52

  R LOWELL

  RC  O/RH/NEG

  CDN FORCES CDN

  It belonged to her brother, Roy.

  The last thing that was given to her.

  Tearing her eyes away from it, she looked at her surroundings before she leaned back in her seat with her head tilted back as a thought percolated to the surface after arriving in the wee hours of the morning.

  What am I even doing here?

  She already had the answer to that question but couldn’t help thinking. She was here for one reason. Well, one person.

  “So, how are you feeling?” Taryn then glanced to her left, as she saw a pair of dark grey eyes framed behind a pair of red-rimmed glasses looking down at her.

  Rachael Blake, though with only a year in age difference, Rachael being older than Taryn, the two were extremely close friends. Her red-orange hair was currently done in a single braid that fell over her right shoulder and brought a bright contrast to her pale skin with a smattering of freckles on her rounded face.

  “Ground control to Major Tom, you awake?” Rachael said again when her friend only continued to stare at her vacantly.

  Taryn gave a half smirk. “Funny, last I checked that wasn’t my name, you’re close though.” she said as she sat up in her chair before stretching her arms over her head as her friend gave a knowing look “You know what I’m asking you goof.”. “I’m awake. And I feel fine for the most part, jetlag not included.” She then put the ID-Disc back over her neck and in her T-shirt to hide it from view. “What about you, Rei?” she said, using her friend’s nickname. “How do you feel?”

  “Besides feeling like I got hit by a truck, pretty good.”

  She looked at Rachael with an arched brow. “Why do you feel like you were hit by a truck exactly?”

  “Because!” she said with a now excited smile on her face. “We’re here in Japan of all places! I know we talked about going before, but I never thought it would happen.”

  That was true; it was somewhat surprising. Even Taryn still couldn’t wrap her head around it. And it was all because of Stephanie Stratford.

  Which led to her thoughts coming back to the forefront.

  What am I even doing here?

  Again, the answer was clear, exceptionally so. All because a certain woman appeared on Taryn’s front doorstep two months previously. It wasn’t something Taryn expected; after all, Stephanie was the woman Taryn’s ex-boyfriend had cheated with.

  So, seeing Stephanie was a bit confusing. And awkward. Very awkward.

  But that awkwardness eased a little when the two got to talking; Taryn even offered Stephanie to come inside if she wanted which surprised the blonde woman.

  Taryn had no ill towards Stephanie. Yes, she was dating Taryn’s ex, but from what she understood, Stephanie didn’t realize until Taryn ended the relationship. The fault would always lie with her ex, it was his to bear, not the woman who stood on Taryn’s doorstep.

  Perhaps Stephanie expected to be yelled at, hit, or something along those lines of being lashed out at. Maybe it happened before, given how tense she looked when Taryn opened the door. But she wasn’t about to do that, even if, for whatever reason, she hated Stephanie, Taryn didn’t have any fight left given past events before said breakup. Regardless, the whole situation that led to it, and everything else was just a big giant tangled mess that all of them were trying to navigate around.

  If anything, Taryn understood why her ex went for Stephanie. She was tall, taller than him even, with dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes with an athletic build like that of a supermodel, same with having a large chest. But it was her personality that was the biggest draw for him, that she genuinely cared, that was what Taryn realized quickly when they interacted.

  Stephanie Stratford was a beautiful woman inside and out. She could have whatever she wanted. So, when Stephanie shoved the tickets into Taryn’s hands before making a run for it, Taryn became even more confused about the woman. She had money to spare, so why spend money on the ex-girlfriend who was cheated on?

  Later Taryn found that it was Stephanie’s way of apologizing. It was an extreme way to do it, but it was not the strangest thing Taryn had been involved in; hell, Taryn’s Uncle Gerald could probably outdo Stephanie in strides. After all, Rachael could attest to it, considering he took both girls on a trip for a week four years ago, “just because” as he put it.

  However, the real reason for this trip had an actual reason, stemming from what Taryn had gone through not long before Taryn and Rachael met and quickly became friends. But that story was for another time.

  Still, with the tickets now in Taryn’s hands, it left her rather dumbfounded. Even when she went to talk to her folks, bodyguards and her brother’s best friend, Isaac, about what to do with these now, they all gave a similar if not the same response.

  “You should go.”

  All of them wanted her to go, saying that it’d be better than being cooped up in the house, trying not to think of what happened or the inevitable events down the line. They wanted her to have fun, at least for the three weeks she would be in Japan, and not focus on looming thoughts of regret and self-anger like a shadow that clung to the bottoms of the soles of her feet. A shadow that could have consumed her if she wasn’t careful.

  Easier said than done. But when she told Rachael about it and how she wished to take her friend along since she had two tickets, Rachael practically squealed with joy, joy, and many questions. Questions that they did eventually get answers from Stephanie.

  Stephanie had learned that the two could speak and read Japanese and knew that they were taking a break from a webcomic to try and come up with new ideas. Hence the trip.

  “She could have just sent me a card,” Taryn said softly.

  Rachael, who was now sitting down next to her, gave her a soft, playful nudge. “Oh, come on, you know this is far more impactful than any old card. Anyway, I’m going to see if my stuff has come through. Want me to bring any food when I get back?”

  Taryn slowly shook her head. “Nah, I’m good, not hungry anyway. I think I might just sit here for a bit or maybe wander around.”

  Rachael merely stared at her to see if Taryn’s answer would change; she got up when there was none. “Okay, but if you do get hungry, let me know.”

  Taryn gave a wave as her friend headed off to grab her luggage; when Rachael was gone from sight, she let out a breath and rubbed her eyes with her index finger and thumb. She just felt tired…

  “Hey…”

  Her body stilled before letting out another tired breath, only this was for a completely different reason. She lifted her head, light blue eyes looked up at a young man who stood in front of her. With light brown hair and eyes, his skin was slightly tanned from always being outside as he rubbed the back of his neck as if to remove some of the oncoming tension that they both gave off. He was dressed in a plain white T-shirt with a green and blue plaid shirt over top, dark-tanned brown shorts and sandals.

  “What do you want, Robert?” her tone was even, and holding a faint tone of disinterest.

  Robert Grayson, Taryn’s ex-boyfriend.

  She looked at him plainly. Back when she had found out that Robert had been cheating on her, she had already gone through something that she never imagined. Leaving her rather emotionally drained, empty of all feelings. His cheating had angered her, her trust felt betrayed. But that all seemed little in comparison to the previous events. She just felt dead inside and wanted all of it to go away.

  So, she ended the relationship, right then and there when confronting him about the matter. When he finally told the truth, she told him it was over and never wanted to see him again. And yet here they were.

  He was afraid and wary of even getting close to talking with her.

  “Ah, it’s just… you seem unwell is all. So, I wondered if you might be sick. You know, from the plane ride?”

  Taryn changed the topic away from her. “Where’s Stephanie?”

  “Huh?” he sounded surprised that she would ask him that. “She’s still at customs, getting something looked at. Why?”

  “No reason,” she said before standing up and walking past him. “Just that if you wanted to talk to me, you could have approached when Rachael was here. Or are you just afraid of her saying something since she hates you?”

  He stiffened, only to then glance away with a look of annoyance clear on his face. Giving Taryn the answer, ever since Rachael learned of Robert’s betrayal of her friend, she would verbally accost him whenever he tried to approach. However, she had backed off significantly since planning what to do in Japan when they arrived. But would still be willing to send a death glare his way if they so much as made eye contact. Taryn was grateful for it in all honesty, with everything else happening back home across the ocean, having as few reminders of certain things was welcoming.

  “To answer your question, I’m fine. Tired, but you know that already considering what’s been going on in my life recently, don’t you?” She put her hands in her jeans pockets as she headed to the nearest bathroom. When inside, she splashed cold water on her face before looking at her reflection. Her build was thin but slightly athletic, with her skin being rather pale, her blue eyes consisting of two different shades, a dark blue ring surrounding the iris with a lighter shade of blue within, yet underneath her eyes were the faint signs of sleep deprivation.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Her medium brown hair was short, just resting at the nape of her neck as her side bangs covered the left side of her forehead. The shortness of her hair was a style she was still trying to get used to since it had been cut in a donation for breast cancer.

  “Smooth Taryn,” she muttered harshly to her reflection. “Real mature right there, why not add salt into that open wound of his to do even more damage?” she sighed before grasping the ID-Disc that remained underneath her T-shirt. “You know that he knows what he did was total shit to you, but can’t keep holding that over his head forever…”

  It might have been because they never really resolved anything, and everything between them had been left to fester and rot. A bad thing to deal with months later, Taryn could only believe that this was where his agitation was coming from. As petty and dumb as it was, he never did try to defend himself or anything, not even attempt to give her an apology.

  With one final shake of her head, Taryn left the bathroom and headed back to where she had been sitting.

  Rachael had yet to come back with her luggage, and Robert was nowhere in sight, he might have decided to head back to Stephanie, the right choice since it was clear they both weren’t ready to talk just yet. Taryn wondered briefly as she sat back down in a nearby chair if they would ever be like what they were before all this. Before they had ever even dated.

  Asking that right now would be a waste of air.

  Her gaze then landed on a local newspaper left haphazardly on a chair next to her. It wasn’t there before. Taking it, she decided to give it a thumb-through, thinking it’d be better to distract herself than to continually dwell on matters that wouldn’t change overnight.

  She read through several articles, brushing up on her kanji, reminding herself of the different ways things were written to describe something that was the same only to stop when seeing the image of a Japanese woman. The headline for it read:

  HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WOMAN?

  It was written in large imposing letters in the English language rather than Japanese. Looking over it, she read that the woman had been a reporter in Tokyo, doing freelance work when she had suddenly gone missing.

  Taryn had heard that there had been a rash of disappearances on the rise as of late. But Tokyo was a rather large place, filled with millions of people; one missing person would go unnoticed amongst the thousands in a crowd. Yet it was the woman’s peculiar name that held her attention.

  June Suchiko.

  “That’s an odd name…” but then some would say the same about her name. Taryn looked back to the photo of the woman who looked to be in her late twenties or so. She could have been younger for all Taryn knew. She hoped that this person would be found, yet it was only a passing thought as she then left to go check on her friend.

  * * *

  It was almost ten in the morning when the four of them arrived at the hotel. Stephanie had informed them that they would be on separate floors so as not to bother each other. But insisted that they would all at least get together and eat for the time they would be in Tokyo. Something which everyone agreed to even in exhaustion.

  When Taryn and Rachael reached their room with the staff’s assistance, Taryn went in first only to pause, her eyes glanced to a nearby mirror only to frown faintly as she looked at the room. “Hold on a second,” Taryn said, then went to one of the beds and looked at it. “We can’t use this room.” She said to the hotel staff member. “It looks like there’s damage to the bedframe. I think it’s broken, it may be better to not use this room for a while.”

  Needless to say, it caused a bit of a commotion between the staff of the hotel and Stephanie, and ultimately the two girls were moved to a different room within the hour.

  “Do you really think there was something wrong with that bed?” Stephanie asked Rachael after it was resolved.

  “You’re asking me that?” Rachael said. “Taryn was the one who checked the room.”

  “Yeah, I know it’s just… when I heard I did a bit of looking, but there haven’t been any cases where something in the room was damaged and hidden by the staff, I mean. Although… I did come across something.”

  “Like what?”

  Stephanie hesitated but relented. “Well, in my search, I found that there had been a murder once, in that room. A woman was stabbed by her male coworker, her body was shoved under the bedframe. No one found her until people kept complaining about a rotting smell. But that was a long time ago, and well before my father took over and revamped this hotel. Though now I understand the amount of security and why he was pushing for us to come here.” she sighed before grumbling in slight annoyance. “I kinda wish he told me that before, you know, I end up getting startled by an old news article that doesn’t know the meaning of tact and showing a graphic image of the poor woman’s body… not the best thing to learn about a place you’re going to be staying in for a week and a half.”

  Rachael was quiet for a moment before offering a smile. “I bet it was a bit of a scare, but I’m sure what happened today was just an isolated incident. Things like that do sometimes happen, you know?”

  She looked at Rachael for a moment. “Are you okay with staying in this hotel still?”

  Rachael shrugged. “I know Taryn would be fine with pretty much anything, and it’s not like we’re going to be in that room now thanks to the move. I think we’ll be fine.”

  Stephanie folded her arms across her chest. “If you say so, anyway, sorry for holding you up. I’m sure you and Taryn probably want to get some sleep. Let me know if something like this comes up again.”

  With a wave of her hand, Rachael headed up to her new room, where Taryn was already sitting on the bed near the window cross-legged, reading a book.

  “You’re not going to get some sleep?” Rachael asked as she removed her light grey hoodie and placed it on the back of a chair.

  “I will, in a bit. You can get some sleep, though, if you want.”

  “That’s the plan,” she said as she sat on the edge of the other bed and undid her braid. Only to then pause and look at her friend, “Hey… thanks, by the way.”

  Taryn cast a glance at her friend before looking back at her book. “No problem, I figured you wouldn’t want to be in a room like that. Even though I’m used to it, I know you aren’t. It’s not the first time, and it definitely won’t be the last either.”

  “Well, I at least hope it will be for this trip,” Rachael said while stifling a yawn. “I don’t need another fright in my life like last time in that abandoned hospital we went to four years ago; I still get dreams about being chased by that monster…”

  Taryn paused for a moment, it had been a while since she heard mention of that hospital and the long-dead monster that resided in its hollowed depths. She gauged her friend’s tone before asking. “Wouldn’t that be a nightmare rather than a dream?”

  Rachael thought about it before shaking her head. “Not anymore, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m still scared when I think about it too much, but you were there to stop it. Besides, I know it’s just a dream, so I could envision that creep tap dance away.”

  “You imagine him tapdancing…?”

  Rachael nodded and with a grin she said. “Yup, it’s hilarious.”

  I don’t think I could ever picture that. But that didn’t matter. Taryn was just glad that her friend wasn’t held down by such a horrible event. An event that led to them being friends.

  But that was neither here nor there.

  “Anyway,” Rachael stretched her arms above her head. “That pillow’s calling me to my dreams, if I see you-know-who I’ll get him to dance for you.”

  Taryn laughed as her friend changed into her pyjamas and went right to sleep before she too followed suit.

  Sleep had been burdensome; she had not been able to have a decent night’s rest for nearly three months now. and being in another country was no different. She jerked awake from a memory that felt like a nightmare. It had taken her a moment to realize where she was before looking down at her hands. Even now, she could still feel and see the blood that had once coated them three months ago. Bawling them into fists, she pressed them to her eyes and let out a breath. Then looking at the clock, she saw that it was now almost four in the afternoon.

  She had slept for a total of three hours.

  It was at least something. Taryn looked at her friend, who was still fast asleep before getting out of bed and quietly changing back into her clothes and putting on her shoes. Then she went and wrote a small note, leaving it on the bedside table near her friend so that when Rachael woke up, she’d at least know that Taryn had gone out.

  Taking her phone, wallet and sunglasses, she paused when leaving the room and looked back at her still-sleeping friend before silently closing the door.

  The sun was still high up in the late afternoon on Tokyo’s streets, while Taryn had no plans to sightsee. She just wanted to walk around and get her mind off such memories. As she walked through the busy streets, a thought came to her as she took out her phone and dialled a number while walking down a less active way. It rang a few times before a warm baritone voice picked up on the other end.

  “Kon’nichiwa Taryn-san.”

  Taryn laughed softly so as to not draw attention to herself; she knew her father had been waiting to use that. “Hi Dad,” she said as a genuine smile came to her face. “I just wanted to give you a call to let you know that we arrived safely, and now I’m currently wandering around the streets of Tokyo near the hotel.”

  “You’re by yourself?” he asked.

  “Yeah, everyone else is sleeping right now. I did too, but… it didn’t last long. But I slept more than I had before, so, that’s a good sign, right?”

  “Yes, it is,” he agreed, then asked. “How’s the weather? Is it hot?”

  “About the same as our own late summers in Canada.”

  “Oh, a scorcher then. What about your hotel room? Is it fancy?”

  “About as fancy as you guys get when we go on a trip. So, in other words, it’s pretty normal.” Taryn said. “Oh, by the way, is Mom there?”

  “No, she won’t be home for another two hours or so; both she and Isaac are dealing with a bit of a dispute before taking it to court. You know how that all goes.”

  She did indeed. “And what about you? Your subordinates at the police station giving you any grief?”

  “I wish they would, they keep giving me space to the point I feel like I need to make a new damn rule about it. As much as I appreciate the concern, it’s a bit much.”

  I bet it would be. “Are you still at the precinct?”

  “I was just about to head home actually, why do you ask?”

  Taryn hesitated but knew that it was better to just get it out and ask rather than keep it bottled up, nagging away at her. “Have you heard anything then? About Roy’s case…?”

  “Honey…” he sighed. “Taryn, you know I can’t tell you any information.”

  “I’m not asking for that, Dad. I just… I want to know if there’s at least been a decision made. I don’t need to know the details.”

  Her father was silent for a moment. “There hasn’t,” he said finally. “But I believe one will be made by tomorrow if all goes as it should. That’s all I can tell you.”

  She felt a bit of tension from her shoulders relax. “Okay… That’s good. Anyway, changing the topic, was there anything you wanted me to get for you while I’m here? I asked Mom, but I never did get the chance to ask you.”

  “You didn’t ask Isaac?”

  “He said he didn’t want anything, even though I pressed him for it.”

  Her father gave a short laugh. “Well, he does work under your mother, so even if you tried to pry something out, it won’t be easy.”

  “That’s an understatement of the century. But really, is there anything you want?” she glanced up at some of the street signs of shops before stopping when her gaze noticed something. A mirror to see oncoming traffic for pedestrians was attached by a metal rod on the top of one of the shops. With a faint frown, she lifted her sunglasses briefly.

  “Well, would it be possible to get a sword?”

  Taryn drew herself away from what she saw back to the conversation. “A sword? Do you mean a katana? You want me to get you a katana, really?”

  “I’m joking, hun, you don’t have to get me anything.” Taryn was silent, leading her father to say. “You’re planning to get one, aren’t you…”

  “Only if I find one, though we probably shouldn’t tell Mom about it.” She heard her father laugh as she looked back at the store. “Anyway, I need to go. Give my love to Mom when she gets home.”

  “You know I will be safe, okay?”

  “I’ll be as safe as I can, bye, Dad.” When she hung up, Taryn walked to the nearby convenience store and then looked at a mirror that was attached to a telephone pole before entering.

  The convenience store was small, mainly for quick on-the-go types of things, snacks, drinks, frozen meals, drinks, magazines and the like. Reaching the store counter, the man behind it looked to be of middle age.

  “Sorry,” the man said in almost broken English. “I can’t serve you.”

  She glanced around the store; it was practically empty. She looked back at the man and spoke in Japanese. “I’m not buying anything, I only hoped to get some change if you have any.”

  He gave her a narrowed look, then sighed, switching to Japanese. “How much?”

  “Five hundred yen in coins, please.” When they did the exchange, she gave the man a nod and left quickly. She knew that some stores wouldn’t accept people from other countries because of the growing issue of foreigners doing things they shouldn’t and harassing shop owners. But she was glad to at least get some change.

  She then headed to a nearby vending machine and bought a large water bottle. Then headed over to a flower shop that she had passed when talking with her father, hoping the store owner would be willing to let her purchase some flowers. Thankfully, she could.

  “Are you sure this is what you want, Miss?” the woman said in Japanese after Taryn picked out the flowers she wanted.

  “Yes,” Taryn answered before noticing a white toy rabbit with a pink ribbon around its neck. “And could I get that as well, please?”

  After receiving what she had asked for, seven light pink roses and one white chrysanthemum, Taryn thanked the shop owner and returned to the telephone pole. When finished, Taryn took a step back to look at her work. Before turning to leave, only to pause momentarily when two Japanese women stopped near the telephone pole and overheard their conversation. As they spoke, Taryn silently took out a small ornate silver compact mirror from her back pocket.

  “…it was a while back,” said one of the women. “Three years ago, a little girl was in a hit and run, when she died, several people came to leave offerings for her. It was tragic. But I heard the family moved away not too long ago, I didn’t think anyone still remembered.”

  Taryn lifted her sunglasses for a moment when she looked into the mirror and smiled before heading back to the main street when her phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she knew who it was right away. “Sleep well, Rachael?”

  “I did, but I still feel tired. Where’d you go?”

  “Just a walk around, that’s all. Oh, since you’re up, want to try and find a ramen shop? I’m feeling a bit hungry.”

  “Sure, I’d go for some ramen. And hey, you sound happy, did something happen?”

  Taryn put her sunglasses back on as her smile remained on her face. “Nothing much, just the norm when I’m out and about. Anyway, meet me down in the lobby and let’s get some food. For once, I’m starving.”