The forest grew too quiet after sundown
No wind
No birds
Just breathing
But not his
Shigure followed the crooked path
Branches twisted like claws
The moon hid behind clouds that never moved
Then he saw it
A house
Old
Rotten
But standing
No lights
No windows
Just a door with scratch marks across it
He stepped in
Floor creaked like it hadn't been touched in years
Dust danced in the air
The kind that sticks to your skin
Like memory
Inside
Rooms filled with broken furniture
Shattered mirrors
But no reflections
He heard something upstairs
A soft whisper
Not words
Just the sound of someone remembering
He climbed
The hallway narrowed
Too tight
Like the walls were breathing in
Trying to crush him
At the end
A single room
Door wide open
Inside was a chair
And someone sitting in it
Head down
Hair long
Black
Familiar
Shigure's body froze
Not because of fear
But recognition
He stepped closer
The figure raised its head
It was him
But younger
Smiling
Eyes full of hope
The reflection reached out
Then its skin cracked
Smile widened too far
Eyes melted into black
"Why did you kill me?" it asked
Shigure didn't answer
He couldn't
The house shook
Walls began to bleed
And then
The floor collapsed beneath him
He woke up
Outside the house
It was gone
Like it was never there
Like it only existed to remind him
Of who he used to be
And what he'd buried to survive