(Continued from https://www.patreon.com/posts/124838301?collection=1324930 )
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
Tomikoโs hand found yours as she gently pulled you away from the crowded park, her fingers warm and delicate against your skin. The cityโs noise faded into the distance, replaced by the rhythmic clicks of your footsteps on the pavement. She walked with quiet determination, her crimson hair swaying with each step, her expression unreadableโuntil you arrived. A grand traditional Japanese house stood before youโthe type of house that exuded elegance and wealth.
โMy parents arenโt home,โ she murmured, her voice light, almost dismissive.
โBusiness trip.โ
There was a pauseโso brief you could have missed itโbut in that silence, something unspoken lingered. A feeling. The kind that settles in the heart like a weight, the kind that says, theyโre always gone. But she smiled as if it didnโt matter, stepping inside and beckoning you forward.
The house was a labyrinth of corridors and rooms, each one adorned with traditional sliding doors and intricate wooden carvings. The scent of aged tatami mixed with the faint aroma of plum incense as she guided you through twisting pathways, deeper and deeper, as if leading you into the heart of a hidden world.
And then, she stopped.