Sacriledge

“Hey! Cuz. I don’t have much time. Pay attention!”

“Um, I…Isamu! Where are you? Something is seriously not right here!”

“Listen to me. I am being taken to you now. Lock the door and block it good."

"Find another way out. Do not let me or anything else through. You hear me?"

"... I am not myself… Hurry!”

“Wh...What? I don’t understand… How do…”

“…I'm already up to the third floor and coming towards you…"

"... You’re running out of time...”

Befuddled, I frantically slapped my face to get grounded. Ripping out the I.V. needle from my vein, I wobbled over to the entrance, leaving a tracing of warm red droplets behind me. With all of my might, I pushed the hospital bed to jam the door handle as instructed.

“Do not make eye contact. Whatever you do, do not acknowledge its exis…”

*Cellphone disconnected*

The phone indicated that it was out of network…

None of this was part of the plan. It was only meant to disprove a stupid village superstition and thrill-seeking, while passing the time.

How was I supposed to know this would all become so…

…Real…

It's been a decade since my parents brought us out of this puny, miserable farming community in Saitama. I have changed so much, while this dump hasn't even evolved from the Jōmon era. Such a backwards place. Ugh! I hate it.

I never belonged here.

The only thing I longed for in the sticks here was my cousin, Isamu, who was always my partner in crime growing up. We would play by the creek, steal ripe Figs off of the grumpy neighbour’s tree, catch frogs in the rice paddies, and kick off the salt mounds by the neighbour’s entrance. We would always find ourselves in trouble with the elders.

One mischievous activity we thrived on was sneaking into the forbidden forest. We would inch closer and closer to it every day. A thick Shimenawa rope blocked the way in, with rusted bells and wooden plaque talismans dangling from it. It would occasionally rattle on its own despite not having any breeze entering the woodlands. We would dare each other to cross over to go beyond the sacred boundary, but would always chicken out.

Just for old times' sake, I nudged Isamu to join me on such an adventure. This time, we wouldn’t be snot-nosed boys who wouldn’t follow through. We will cross over that rope and prove our worth!

Even after all these years, my cousin didn’t change much, which perhaps was the only thing I was grateful for in the glacial pace of the backcountry. He always listened to me, even when he knew my bad ideas would later get us in trouble. I saw the hesitation in his demeanour, but he eventually agreed to partake in the blasphemous daredevil activity.

During the entire escapade out of the village, I rambled on about my life in the States, and how I didn’t want to come back here if it wasn’t for the funeral of our relative. After a good hour of a very one-sided conversation, we arrived. We took a brief pause before we carefully leaped over the Shimenawa rope.

Easy peasy.

Jokingly, I dramatically paused to allow the curse to manifest itself. Sure enough, nothing happened. I giggled. Isamu just raised his left eyebrow and shook his head disapprovingly.

“You imbecile… You’re going to upset Daijya-sama!”

As we nonchalantly trekked the forbidden serpentine trail, the wildwoods grew dense. All the sunlight and sounds of the village in the distance were absorbed and digested into its core. It was eerily quiet, as if we were submerged in darker waters. It became so silent that we could hear our own breaths and heartbeats. Maybe we were both freaking out internally, more so than we cared to admit to one another. Somehow, I couldn’t find any more mundane topics to fill the awkward silence and looming trepidation.

“…Ahhh~the one that got away~returns…”

It was a slithering whisper that came from everywhere and nowhere. I frantically swivelled my head to see whether some nosy villager was trying to frighten us for their amusement.

Not a soul.

Somebody, or something with far more malicious intent, was watching us.

Toying with our fears.

Like we were its prey.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

“Something doesn't seem right… Let’s lea...”

In a split instant, my body was constricted by an incredible force that coiled around me with every panicked breath. Against my will, my suffocating body was being pulled upwards, suspending me in midair. I could no longer feel my limbs. The lush forest surrounding us began to narrow and turned hazy grey.

I was blacking out...

As I remained trapped in a state of unconscious paralysis, my brain was violently hijacked by visions not of my own, and not from our time. There were bits and pieces of horrific images of young villagers being offered as sacrifice to an ancient god the elders feared…

Yamanokami

Even Isamu mentioned this Daijya earlier. There is no way a predatory Boa would be lurking in Saitama of all places. The winters here are treacherous. No reptile would survive. Impossible! I took Biology in school. I would know.

…I think?

…Right?

As if to respond from the darkness, a massive vortex of jagged scales luminesced menacingly in Cobalt and Sapphire. It spiralled forward towards me, uprooting trees in its path, pulverizing the village, inhaling homes and dragging terrified villagers to its mouth. As it inched closer to my face, I felt my life force being drained out, but I could not look away from the unflinching, hungry eyes with a fiery xanthic hue.

“~A worthy sacrifice~Finally~”

Daijya claimed ownership of me, as if I was a debt owed.

Its massive jaws had rows of sickle-like fangs that curved inwards. The teeth still had shredded pieces of villagers lodged in between its pus-filled gums. The serpent lunged forward, but I was tugged away with intensity in another direction, at the nick of time…

I suddenly jolted out of bed, my heart pounding, the tempestuous beast's putrid breath still lingering. Petrified, my bloodshot eyes remained locked on the buzzing fluorescent light bulb hanging above me. After screaming, convulsing, and huddled in the corner of the room, I collapsed once again.

High fever ensued.

“Ugh. He must have gazed into Daijya-sama’s eyes…This is not good.“

“…It’s a bad sign. She will be back for him, or the curse will burn him up."

"We must take him to the temple. Please!”

However, others in attendance dared not intervene. Contemptuous irreverence toward the Yamanokami had only two traditional ways to make amends: a sacrifice in hopes of forgiveness, or having the entire village suffer unrelenting disasters for generations to come. This explained why the senior monk at the local temple would not even let me through the entrance gate. He was not going to lift a finger for the passage already set.

Besides, these elders had already preselected me right after birth to be sacrificed on my fifteenth birthday at the end of December. Not long after such an impossible verdict was handed down, in the cover of darkness, my parents covertly moved us a thousand miles away. Since then, the village has suffered terrible landslides and floods, and healthy residents have begun dropping like flies. The roots of the vegetation have all rotted, and nothing would grow. The village and its farms have been limping along for more than a decade.

Though barely half alive, I still heard the flurry of desperate exchanges around me.

It’s all part of a curse, because I didn’t fulfill my duty.

Apparently, this was all my fault.

In and out of consciousness, it became increasingly difficult to decipher what was real and what were tricks of the mind. The vision I would have would overlap with terrifying hallucinations of Daijya's victims glaring and pointing accusingly at me with their bloody, disfigured, semi-digested hands.

I had this coming…

It seems my relatives have brought me to the regional hospital. Although it should be midday, it was very dim inside and out. All sounds had a bit of an echo, like being inside of a tunnel. Since I would react violently to my delusions, the staff strapped me into the medical transfer trolley and proceeded to take me up to their fourth floor.

As the elevator door scraped open, I was rolled out through the narrow corridor, with the screeching trolley wheel disrupting the silence. Strangely, every time we approached another patient’s room, the frosted glass doors would slam shut. A dark human outline would be behind the privacy curtain, intently watching me pass. It felt like an eternity, but I was taken to the opposite side of the Med-Surg ward. Dead end.

“Ah, here we are. Room Ninety-Nine… Double the suffering…”

I wanted to get clarity from the insensitive nurse, but I was too weak to speak or yell. She roughly inserted the I.V. needle into my pale arm and flicked at a bag of neon yellow fluid that hung above my head.

“No bubbles in your Banana bag, see? It would be a shame…"

"...If you suffered from venous air embolism, right?"

"…That would be too easy…”

More than my defiance, the exhaustion set in. My eyes closed before I saw what else this passive-aggressive caregiver had in store for me. I am not sure what was in the yellow I.V. drip, but I was back to having those nightmares that were so visceral. I got to reexperience each sacrificial victim’s final moments, feeling every bit of their pain and torment.

Then… My cellphone rang…

Though groggy, I knew the call would be from Isamu. Before pressing the green button, I knew he would warn me about an incoming threat. I felt like I was having déjà vu.

That begs the question:

How many times have I relived this realm?

How will it be this time?

How will it end?

“Cuz!! Good, you’re awake! Liste…”

I cleared my throat, interjecting Isamu and his warnings. I preemptively asked my cousin whether the curse was real, and all of the misfortunes were because I didn’t partake in the village superstitions.

There was an uncomfortable pause.

*Cellphone disconnected*

The phone indicated that it was out of network…

Then, a knock at the door to my room. The frosted glass door had a familiar silhouette of Isamu standing in the hallway.

“…You should have never come back. It was for your own good, Cuz."

"...I was taken in your place, but now, it was all for nothing…”

One by one, the 9-9 number sign on my room door began to boil vigorously and melt to the floor. The walls softened like tempered chocolate and turned into a beige puddle. In the dark hallway, Isamu stood still; his face stared back with a soulless expression. My eyes traced directly behind him, to the massive coil of wet scales in a tight spiral.

“~You do see me now, don’t you?~”

Daijya asked without opening her mouth.