What is school when there are no more students? When the bells go silent, the hallways are empty, and the chalk marks on the blackboard are forever erased? What if someone is still there? Someone that ordinary people can't see.
Return
Takashi hadn't been to his hometown in years. He'd grown up here, among the narrow streets, wooden houses, and temples that seemed older than the mountains themselves. But after high school, he'd left, first for university, then for the bustling metropolis where life raged day and night. He had thought he had found his future there, but now, after all these years, he was here again.
The return was strange. Nothing had changed in the city, but he felt like a stranger himself. His home seemed cramped, the streets too quiet, the people too insular. He felt like a guest, even though he should have been his own.
To distract himself from these thoughts, he began to walk around the city. In tea stores, in stores, even random passers-by mentioned her – the abandoned school.
It was said that on some nights, when the moon hung in the sky like a cold lantern, the sound of a bell could be heard from the school. As if someone were announcing the beginning of class. The next moment, a quiet, barely audible laugh.
– Don't go in there, kid. Those who tried to look inside couldn't sleep for a long time. Some disappeared altogether. The old folks warned me:
But Takashi felt curiosity stirring inside. If it was just a legend, there was nothing to be afraid of.
This night the moon was especially bright.
Shadows of the past
The moonlight flooded the empty streets, giving them a ghostly, almost unreal appearance. Takashi stepped forward, keeping in the shadows of the houses.
The abandoned school was already visible ahead. It was a two-story building with gnarled walls, a faded sign over the entrance, and windows that looked like empty eye sockets. The gate was ajar, as if someone was waiting for him.
Stupid, Takashi thought. This is just old school. So much for the rumors.
But his heart beat faster as he stepped inside.
The air inside was musty, smelling of dust, wet wood, and something else… elusive. Takashi looked around: a long hallway, faded walls, broken lanterns. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet, but through that sound he suddenly felt a…
A rustle.
Thin, like a sigh.
Takashi froze.
The air around him shook, and the corridor in front of him changed. He saw it – out of the corner of his eye, as if through cloudy glass. For a moment, the walls were bright again, the lamps glowed, and children in old school uniforms ran down the corridor. Some laughed, some carried textbooks, and some stood at the window, staring at the moon.
