Every day, Chuuya climbs the mountain to tend his family’s shrine. He doesn’t believe in spirits, but he made a promise to his grandfather, and that’s enough. With his headphones on and music blasting, he goes about his routine.
Still, he can’t shake the feeling of being watched—something like a ghost’s touch brushing against his skin. Out of the corner of his eye, he sometimes catches a flicker of white or gold. His heart races every time.
One day, just as he brings a cigarette to his lips, a half-eaten piece of fruit rolls to a stop at his feet. When he looks up, there’s a fox sitting on its hind legs, its white, fluffy tail—black-tipped—swaying lazily behind it.
There’s something in its amber eyes that makes him shiver. Even so, he lets out a rough laugh, his voice tight, like something’s squeezing his throat.
He picks up the fruit, tosses it lightly, catches it again—
—and when he looks back down, the fox is gone.
But the next day, it returns.