“Where should I start…?”
There were quite a lot of boxes scattered around, so I didn’t really know where to start. However, in the end, it didn’t really matter.
’I’ll find out eventually.’
Crouching down towards the nearest box, I looked through the items that were inside.
“A teddy bear. A whistle. Long red shoes. Mini car…”
Overall, most of it was just useless junk. Many of the toys were broken, and pulling them out only stirred up clouds of dust.
“Cough…! Maybe I should’ve worn a mask.”
Covering my face, I pushed my hand into the box and skimmed through everything before moving on to the next box.
’Surely there must be something in here that the Matriarch has left that belonged to me.’
There weren’t many things that I owned in the past. Because of the cost of my medicine, I hardly had any toys, and even then, most toys were shared amongst the children. There were a couple of books that I read, but I didn’t see how those books would be of any use to me.
In that case, what I needed to find was something else.
Something more personal. But that was the problem.
I had no idea what that thing was.
“Am I just wasting time?”
Pausing and looking around, I moved the flashlight around before checking the time. There was still quite a bit of time before the deadline, but it almost felt like I was wasting too much time on this.
’Right, maybe I am. I need to set my priorities straight. Mr. Jingles first, and then I can look for clues about the me of this world later.’
This seemed like the most appropriate approach.
“…If only Kyle were here.”
This was the approach I’d been dreading the most. It was also the reason I’d been putting it off for so long. But I also knew I couldn’t avoid it forever.
With a quiet breath, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses.
At first glance, they looked like an ordinary pair of sunglasses. But the moment I put them on, everything around me shifted to a deep blue hue, and a sudden, biting cold shot through my body, making me shudder.
It was as if I were suddenly bathed in cold water as I felt a deep sense of suffocation.
’Let’s not waste any time.’
Turning off the flashlight, I looked around the room.
While I didn’t understand the concept all too well, the glasses granted me the ability to catch a glimpse of the world of the anomalies.
“So far, I don’t see anything.”
Besides the blue tint, everything looked the same.
Moving past the boxes and quickly rifling through their contents, I searched for anything that might catch my interest. I didn’t want to stay for long. Every second with the glasses on made my skin crawl.
It felt like I was being watched.
As if something, or someone, hidden in the cold blue haze was aware of me now.
Following me.
Waiting.
The silence was deafening, made worse by the sharp, unnatural cold pressing in from all sides.
Without realizing it, I had slowed my movements, sifting through the boxes more carefully… as silently as possible.
’Nothing here either. Nothing here…’
The more I looked, the less I found. There was nothing the glasses picked up.
But it wasn’t as though I didn’t expect this.
The basement was where the old toys and tools were kept. Since Mr. Jingles was a ’recent’ anomaly, then none of the toys or items in the basement should’ve been affected by it.
I was merely searching in hopes of possibly finding something.
I knew that the area I would most likely find something was upstairs.
From the TV to the Balloon, to the doodle—
I stopped mid-thought.
’Doodle. Doodle… That’s right!’
I had almost forgotten about it. Without wasting a single second, I reached for my pocket and retrieved a certain doodle I had taken earlier. I had been planning on handing it to Kyle in order to have him check for anything, but since he wasn’t here, I wanted to see if I’d notice anything with the glasses.
’Let’s see.’
Unfolding the paper, the all too familiar doodle appeared.
From the badly drawn wig, to the red nose, the long red shoes, the gloves, the spotted clothes… Everything was the same. It almost looked like there was no change at all.
But…
’The eyes.’
Instead of the swirling void of blacks, there were no eyes at all on the clown.
How could this be?
When I pulled the glasses off, the swirling voids returned. But the moment I slid them back on, they vanished without a trace, as if they’d never been there at all.
What could this mean?
I mused deeply, trying my best to piece everything together.
’Piece..?’
I was suddenly reminded of the Conductor’s previous words.
’It’s all a puzzle.’
Puzzle. Piece..
My mind started to churn, all sorts of thoughts slowly starting to fill it. I started to recall everything that had happened since the moment I stepped into the Orphanage. I tried to think of all the strange things that I had encountered.
Anything that could—
Squeak! Squeak!
“…..!?”
A sudden squeaking sound jolted me out of my thoughts, like that of a small rubber horn. It seemed distant, almost buried in the silence, but the moment it reached my ears, a wave of dread took over.
Slowly… I turned my head to the door of the basement.
Bathed in the warm light of the first floor, the door stood open, but the comforting glow did little to ease the dread creeping up my spine.
In that moment.
I felt it.
Vividly.
…The approaching presence.
One that became even more apparent as a shadow cast over the open door, elongating with each second, displaying its curly hair and tall figure.
Squeak! Squeak!
The horn blew again, this time louder.
I heard it clearly this time, and I snapped out of it.
’Shit!’
Before things could get any worse, I pulled the glasses away, stumbling back as I took several deep breaths while bumping against one of the racks behind me, knocking some things over.
Bang!
“Haa… Haa…”
With heavy breaths, I looked around me, feeling the biting cold fade alongside the presence.
I felt much more at ease knowing this as I closed my eyes and recovered my breath.
’…That was Mr. Jingles.’
I knew that it was now aware of my presence. However, given how I had yet to see the [You have been haunted] notification, I was also aware of the fact that it hadn’t yet seen him. It had only felt me.
This was good.
…For now.
’I’ll need to be more careful the next time I use the glasses.’
I knew that I would have to use them again soon. I felt dread at the thought, feeling my stomach rumble as a result, but I could only suppress the feeling for now as I lowered my head and started cleaning up after the things that I had dropped.
At the same time, I started to think about what I’d have to do next.
’If I search with other people around, what will the result be? Will I expose them to danger? Will it haunt me directly? How would it work? And what exactly are the ru—’
“Hm?”
Stopping mid-thought, I picked up a small bottle.
“This…”
Picking up the bottle, it looked rather familiar.
’Wait, isn’t this the same bottle of my medicine? No, wait… This is my medicine!’
I recognized the typical orange color and plain label from miles away. This was definitely my pill bottle that I took when I was at the orphanage.
I shook the bottle, but it was empty.
The label was also a little faded, but it was still readable as I looked at it. I could see my name written at the bottom of it, too.
“This brings back memories.” I laughed, squinting my eyes to get a read of the label better.
“Lume…?”
I tilted my head. It was really faded.
“…Lumenol?”
This sounded about right. This was indeed the medicine that I currently took for my disease. It was something that I had acquired from the syst—
I suddenly froze, my eyes widening as the realization dawned on me.
“Wait, wait, wait…”
I looked at the label again, unable to hide my shock.
This…
These weren’t the pills that I used to take when young.
I didn’t use Lumenol.