[Wind-Blown Literature Club] 'July 32nd' [Impulse Production]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome, everyone! I'm Seiuchi.

I was taking a walk along the shore today and found a rather nice message in a bottle.

With my favorite dark roast coffee in hand, shall we go ahead and pull the cork?

What was packed inside this time... it seems to be some 'interview notes' left behind by an editor of an occult magazine.

Now then, let's open the pages of this strange drifting chronicle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'If you take a selfie in front of the roadside deity at the crossroads at 11:59 PM on July 31st, you will be pulled into the world of July 32nd.'

As an editor for an occult magazine, I had stepped into a remote mountain village to investigate such a worn-out urban legend. During my inquiries during the day, I didn't have much to show for it. Even when I asked the nearby villagers, they just tilted their heads, saying, 'I've never heard of such a story.' However, as they were leaving, the villager added this as if they had just remembered it.

'Come to think of it... a long time ago, there was supposed to be another village beyond that roadside deity...'

Old government records certainly contained a record of that village, but no matter how much I searched the area, I couldn't even find a trace of it. It was as if the entire village had been erased from the map.

◇

The night deepened, and the time in question was finally approaching. From the grass, only the chorus of insects and the occasional sound of nocturnal animals jumping could be heard. An old roadside deity stood alone in the darkness. This was the crossroads of the rumors. The hands of my watch pointed to 11:59 PM.

'...It's finally time.'

I held up the instant camera hanging around my neck and aimed the lens so that both myself and the roadside deity were in the frame.

(3... 2... 1... Click)

A white flash cut through the darkness for just a moment. For a split second, in the vision burned into my retinas, I felt as if the expression on the roadside deity had distorted slightly.

With a dull whirring sound, a single film was pushed out from the camera's ejection slot. I looked around, concerned about my surroundings.

...Nothing happened.

The wind shakes the trees, and only the sound of insects can be heard.
The space doesn't warp, and no grotesque figures appear.
I sigh, thinking that urban legends are just like this.
About a minute and a half after holding the film, a vague image slowly emerged in the darkness.

What was captured there was—...

It was 'my own figure,' panicking, face twisted, screaming for help.

The moment I made eye contact with 'myself' in the photo, ['the me who was holding the camera'] grinned with satisfaction, twisting their mouth, and gently tucked the photo into their chest pocket...

(End)

*This story is fiction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading until the end!

This is my first time participating in [i]'s 'Wind-Blown Literature Club' project!

I would be happy to participate again if the opportunity arises♪

I post my own work every Tuesday, and when I participate in projects, I post irregularly!

If you liked it, I would be happy if you could like, follow, or share.

↓ I participated in this project!

↓ 'July 32nd' Part 2

↓ My introduction link

#WindBlownLiteratureClub #ShortShort #UrbanLegend #Horror #ScaryWhenYouUnderstand #PlotTwist #Mystery #TalesOfTheBizarre #BodySwap #DriftRecordAtTheWaterEdge