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“Oh consarn it, where did I put that damn thing!?” you hear from upstairs, a steady stream of shuffling and clanging noises sounding from above. It’s nearly one in the morning already and the old man clearly has not given up the fight of finding whatever it is he has lost. Given the nature of his health, it should not come as surprising to you. After some point there’s a louder crash and a curse. That had to have been a pan hitting the floor. 

“For god’s sake Carmen, are you just going to laze around down there and let an old man do everything himself? Get up here!”

Outside the comfort of blankets, the floor of your bedroom is cold. In fact, you remember that it has been, much colder than autumn has any right to be. The trees had started to turn almost too quickly and at this rate, there won’t be many leaves left by the beginning of November. Well. Some years are worse than others. Still, you don’t have time to worry about the cold! Your grandpa is up there and boy does he ever sound agitated. The shuffling, stomping and swearing queue you into the fact you might want to head upstairs.

You find your grandfather sorting through various bins, face scrunched up as he moves about. “Get your coat on boy, we’re going out. I must have dropped my wallet when I went out for a walk today,” he says, taking his own jacket off one of the coat hooks along the store’s entryway. “Honestly, it’s bad enough I’m losing my marbles. Let alone all of my personal belongings.”

Do you have a choice? Probably not.

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"I'll be there in a moment, sofu. Please have patience."

Carmen had woken up mere moments after his grandfather was up and rummaging around, but he hadn't even twitched since then, waiting in the pitch dark to see if his elder would find what he was looking for and return to bed. This was another in a string of events like this; His grandfather would awake from a feverish dream and start wandering around either the living space above the shop or make his way into the shop itself to try and look for something or someone. Carmen had been forced to explain to him twice now that sobo had passed away, much to the contrary of the old man's vivid dreams. They had only been getting worse, too, and tonight seemed to be no exception.

With a great deal of effort, Carmen forced himself to escape the comfortable, warm embrace of bed gravity and sit up to turn his bedside lamp on. A shiver ran up the young man's spine the moment his feet hit the cold, concrete floor, and he silently cursed both the nearly run-down heater upstairs and the out-of-season weather. It was impossible to nap in the park with the weather so chilly, which had completely thrown off his sleep and study schedules as of late. That's what he told himself, at least, as he stood and started to move around his large, well-furnished bedroom. It was supposed to be a particularly cold night, so that meant pants and a shirt... pants thicker than the pajamas he was wearing.

Or pajamas and pants.

Carmen's half-lidded eyes suddenly shot open at his epiphany, and he hurried over to his dirty clothes hamper to scrounge for... Yes, perfect.

Now wearing a slightly creased, white polo and a pair of silky, comfortable slacks over his already warm and soft pajama pants (which was the single greatest idea he'd conceived in his short lifetime,) Carmen rushed to get his shoes and his favorite brown aviator jacket, and checked to make sure his phone and wallet were still in the pockets. He was out the door with the jingle of keys and a quick snatch of his guitar--

He stopped half way out the door and looked the case in his hand. It was 1 AM, on a weekday, but habit and muscle memory had him reaching for it anyway. Carmen spent longer than he probably should debating on if he should bring it or not before deciding to roll with it, sliding his arms through the appropriate loops and locking the basement door behind him. A quick hop, skip and jump up the stairs and into the back of the bakery and he was headed to the front for--... Oh. Oh boy.

The back of the bakery was a mess, with pots and cookware scattered across the counters and floors, and an entire bag of flour knocked out of the cabinets and spilled onto the floor. Carmen took it all in with a deep breath. It could wait until they returned. He'd just have to be late to microbiology tomorrow to make sure it all got cleaned up before the store opened. For now, he had a grumpy grandfather to deal with.

"Sofu, please, wait for me! It's unwise to be alone on the streets at this hour!" The tired young man calls. He can see the bent-over shadow of his grandfather just as it passes out of view on the street, and hurries out to follow the old man... After turning off the light in the front of the store and re-locking the door.

"Sofu, come back, please! You've only gone to Yumi-San's home today, and she'd have called if you lost your wallet there, I'll help you search the bakery again in the morning!" Carmen 'whispers' loudly as he hurries down the street. His grandfather was old, but he could certainly move when he wanted to... But just where had he gone?

Your grandfather manages to walk quite a ways ahead of you, surprisingly fast for someone with such old bones. By the time you manage to spot him, you notice he’s already made his way halfway up the hill leading to the end of residential sector. It’s a long trek up there and there is no good reason for him to be as fast as he is. Just another day in the life. Good thing you have long legs to keep up with him.



At this time of night there’s usually an eerie silence that covers the area. You can’t hear the echoes of trains running along their tracks that usually clue you into any signs of life. The only thing to break the stillness of the night is the steady stream of icy rain that has begun to fall. It doesn’t seem to hinder your grandfather much, however. By the time you manage to catch up with him, it’s apparent where you’re headed. The stepped path leading up into the forest along the edges of town looks slick and, if he’s as determined as he looks to enter then you really had best go along. With the freezing rain they would be slick with ice; a perfect recipe for broken bones which were well past the age of healing.

“Now don’t try to stop me, boy. I don’t have time nor the money to be getting a new ID or to cancel my credit cards,” he says, grumbling as he moves up the staircase and into the forest which you recall, is rumored to be haunted due to the large number of people who tend to use it as a place to commit suicide. This doesn’t seem to put your grandfather off one bit. However, it is… concerning that he decided to visit a place like this, though, especially without telling you about it. There were some people who were afraid to talk about this forest, believing that they would be cursed if they gossiped about it.

Ever persistent, he opens the umbrella he had grabbed from the door, determined to walk into the darkness with or without you.

With no streetlights, it’s hard to see much of anything until your eyes adjust. Before you can really make out much of anything, even if you wanted to, there are spots in your vision. For just a moment it looks as there’s a pulsing glow right beside your grandfather’s heart. It disappears right as soon as you notice it, and long before he does. Over the hill of vinelike tendrils you can see the same blue speck appear and fade, just once. Cracking sounds echo through the woods, likely the sound of an animal meandering on through. It continues however, a distant snap ringing from far away.

Rain... Carmen sighs and picks up his pace, eyes straining to make out the dark shape of his grandfather moving further ahead. It was hard to hear his footsteps over the constant patter of water hitting the pavement. It was hard to hear much of anything over the rain, actually. The eeriness was not lost on Carmen, who struggled to keep pace with his overzealous grandfather. The elder's mind was going, but his body seemed to still be in good shape, arthritis be damned.

"Sofu, I'll pay the fees for a new card, just come back! You haven't gone to the woods today and its dangerous!" Carmen calls, taking the stone steps as fast as he feels he can. Rain hadn't been in the forecast for today, but with how strange the weather had been lately, it wasn't all too surprising. At least the park would smell more earthy when he went tomorrow, assuming he and his Grandfather didn't have to spend the day cancelling cards.

Finally, the young man managed to stumble onto the top of the stairs, only to find a wall of darkness before him. Sudden panic gripped his heart when he couldn't see his grandfather's silhouette in the rain any more. Carmen burst into a run, desperately searching for some sign of his grandfather--

There, a light. It was but a brief flash, maybe a reflection off his grandfather's pocket watch, but it was something to move toward. Carmen's run became a sprint, his feet pounding the wet path beneath him, his eyes slowly adjusting to the gloom. He wasn't about to lose his sofu, the old man was liable to incapacitate himself in these woods, and if he did so off the path... Carmen didn't want to think about that. He wouldn't allow it to happen.

"SOFU! WHERE ARE YOU?!" He yelled, practically sprinting blindly toward where he'd seen the glow from his grandfather.

At first, it appeared as if the old man had disappeared entirely. The sound of branches snapping under his shoes had all but vanished, leaving you alone in the wiry catacombs of mangled branches and eerie lights. More of them had popped up, flickering in and out of your vision as you desperately called out to him. While the sounds of your grandfather’s footsteps had stopped, the distant snapping noise had not. It was slowly but steadily drawing closer, and the soft sound of air parting accompanied it. The blue lights had given you the gift of eyesight, but whatever was lurking in the woods aside from you and your grandfather, was not close enough to be illuminated.

Upon further inspection, you could tell that the lights were almost shaped like miniature people, were it not for their disproportionate heads and translucent bodies. They never acknowledged you by turning their heads, but it was clear they were there to light the way for you. Their bodies formed a line, which, seemed like the only option at the moment. A shuffling of footsteps confirmed that your grandfather was nearby. But why had he fallen so silent? Was the search for his wallet so engrossing that he had ignored your pleas to return to him?



As you closed the distance between yourself and him, the sound of running water became ever so clear. Urban legend had said that many of the spirits of the dead lingered closer to this area, as it was a place where many of them had chosen to take their own lives. It was also a place where murderers gathered to dispose of their victims.

Mounting the very last slope, you saw your grandfather standing at the edge of the river. The consistent pattern of snapping in the distance only grew closer as he waited there. It took on a rhythm that was unlike an animal and unlike footsteps as well. With as loud as it had grown, it was hard to believe anyone would have missed it. Much less find it easy to disregard. Despite this, your grandfather remained stubborn, stepping into the rushing water without regards to you.

The blue flickering lights caught against something on the back of his neck. It was a distinctly thick liquid that seemed to ooze and bubble. It wasn’t light enough to be water and, it certainly was too dark to be blood. Black and sludge-like, it seemed to slosh even faster from the hole in his neck the longer you stared at it. A splash into the river confirmed the dripping was real and the ones following made it impossible to ignore. Your grandfather’s skin was flaking away little by little, like wallpaper with nerve endings. As he turned ever so slightly he looked directly into your eyes, his jaw slack and sallow as if he wished to say something but his mind would not catch up with the movements of his jaw.



Even if you had caught up with him, it was clear he would be leaving you behind.

The light in his chest had left him entirely, preferring to settle on the opposite side of the river, as if to block the way from going any farther.

Lights?

Carmen's mad dash slowed to a run, a jog, then stopped entirely. He stood, panting, breath fogging up his vision as he gazed upon the dancing flames. As his eyes adjusted to their luminescence, he saw the shapes they took, and his sudden awe was replaced by a great fear. He'd heard legends of such creatures; Will-o'-wisps, spirits that drag the foolishly curious to an early grave using the dangers of the marshes and woods... And with whatever creature was large enough to make it feel like the air itself was reverberating, Carmen couldn't afford to stop. He had to find his grandfather before they tricked him.

It never once occurred to him that he might be the one being tricked.

The chase resumed, Carmen still running in the direction he'd last seen his grandfather. The lights grew more numerous, as if lighting the way forward. As wary of these lights as he was, Carmen couldn't help but appreciate finally being able to see again.

Though the sight he came across was not one he'd ever imagined he'd be faced with; His grandfather, practically melting away, into the rushing waters of the river. Time seemed to move slower. Carmen watched the light in his grandfather snuff out, only to reappear across the water. He watched his grandfather turn, skin sallow and flaking away into nothing, eyes sunken into his head.

Carmen screamed. He couldn't hear it over the ringing in his ears, but he screamed and he screamed and he ran, stumbling and tripping over rocks and roots along the river bank but he ran. He wrapped his arms around his grandfather, his sofu, the last person he had in this cruel world, and he pulled with all his might to try and dislodge the stubborn old man from where he stood.

As you stepped into the water, the small light creatures closed a tight circle around you and your grandfather who, had started to chip away even further upon contact. His skin started to melt away from his bones, blood black and thick with the consistency of wax. After the hair and skin had cracked, peeled and melted away from his skull, his bones followed after. It happened faster than you could manage to process. Soon, he was but a mere puddle in the water below you. Just black ink. A whirring sound filled your ears and suddenly the wisps were gone along with your grandfather, and the light surrounding you.



For a moment, the world stood still. It was just you and your thoughts. Then, suddenly something like fingers grabbed your legs hard enough to bruise, but not to break. Soon after, you were pulled underwater. The ground gave way under your feet and as the hands dug their fingertips into your legs, they pulled you down deep enough to make your head hurt and your ears pop. The water was darker still, darker than the forest or the blood from your grandfather’s neck.

But even though water rushed to either of your sides, you were able to breathe. It seemed like forever, being dragged through the sunless waters. But eventually the whirl in your ears diminished enough for the sound of a small voice to reach you. 



“Wait-wait no!!! That one’s alive! Stop it!”

Despite the voice’s warnings, the hands only pulled you faster.

“Oh, darn it! It’s those things- come on Bear, we need to go!”

A booming sound like both a bark and a roar followed. The water around you began to slosh in time with the pounding tremors fast approaching. A low growl started to close in. 



“No-!!! Don’t grab him like that- you’ll kill him! I… oh no- oh no! Keep following him!”



The stampede followed. Overhead you could see the outline of a three headed beast, its four legs pumping in time to keep up with you. From what you could tell, the voice was coming from the small light resting on its back. It was blue, exactly like the ones that cornered you and your grandfather at the river.

But as your attacker dragged you further, the yelp gurgled from above. The stomping started to fade into the distance. 



“Bear- wh…re you doi…- no! No!!! S-Stop! What’s got… into y-”

And it was quiet once again. You could tell that the hands had pulled you too far away for you to hear whoever or, whatever it was that had been trying to help you. Left alone with your thoughts some time passed like that, the waters around you rocking you side to side like a child it wanted to put to sleep. But eventually, the fingers around your ankles drew you upwards onto the surface and then, released you.

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Once you finally regained your bearings, you noticed that you had been placed onto a great bridge made of bark and vine, as if a tree had grown from the water and twined all of its branches together to make a path over the lake. A further inspection of your surroundings confirmed that you were inside a vast cave. Rocks protruded from black waters as thin, veinlike vines coated them like tendrils reaching from the murky depths.

Everything was enshrouded in a dreamlike blue light which, seemed to radiate from the top of a long path leading upwards from the end of the bridge of vines. At the top a doorway stood in the wall of roots. Behind you, there was only dark waters leading downwards. The door, it seemed, was the only way out of the circular room.

At the bottom of the trail, you saw a series of three statues, each figure standing back to back.

A humanoid figure of a man with robotic joints stood to the front, facing towards you. A large harp like instrument rested on its back, strings very much real and made of silver. The statue’s eyes were closed, serenely as if it were locked in a deep slumber. To its side, facing away from you and towards the wall was a similar looking statue but where its thighs began roots of stone began to grow, adhering it to the floor below. In it’s hands it held an orb of made of waves and in the other, of rock.

The third and final statue stood to greet you at the gate. The stone eyes of this statue, unlike it’s closest brother, were open and filled with glee. His gloved hands created a miming gesture, one with a finger poised to his lips in a silencing motion as the other gestured to the ivory gate at the foot of the foot of the path. Its lock sat discarded nearby, the gates themselves were held open by thick, limb sized roots.



It seemed the only thing left to do was to try to leave the cavern in hopes that this was only a nightmare and you would wake up soon. Wake up to find your grandfather safe at home, and not melted into nothingness.

Carmen could feel everything melting. His grandfather, his thoughts, his strength. The young man holding his grandfather fell to his knees and watched, helpless, as his last remaining family was taken from him. The means of which the old man was destroyed should have been of great concern to Carmen, but he felt nothing. He simply sat in the inky-black waters, holding what remained of his sobo, staring into the empty eye sockets. There was but one thing going through his mind; A single word, over and over, forbidding all others from entering.

Gone.

Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.

There was no noise when Carmen was grabbed, not kicking, no fighting, no attempt at escape. Shock kept him complacent, uncaring that he was very likely about to drown to death himself. The blackness was almost comforting, really. It gave Carmen respite from the rest of the world, it let his mind not have to process anything else than the grievous loneliness starting to tear at his soul. His grandfather was gone, and there had been nothing he could do to stop it. History had repeated itself with all his loved ones, and he was left with nothing as a result.

Soon, even the roar of water rushing past was completely lost to Carmen, and he was left in utter darkness, floating, only vaguely aware of motion continuing to pull him onward. He could hear something, something faint and muffled. A tiny speck of motion and light, but his gaze was unfocused, just as dull as his grief-stricken mind. He just wanted to be alone, to mourn in the darkness. He wanted sobo. He wanted... Wanted...... Want.......



Carmen's eyes opened slowly, and for a long while, he was still. Unconsciousness had given him brief respite from the pain of losing his grandfather, but the moment his eyes opened everything came rushing back. He was alone. Alone and lost. Carmen simply there, among the rocks, for longer than he cared to count. He didn't want to move, his mind didn't have the capacity to process trying to go anywhere or do anything other than grieve right now. But the pain of laying on sharp stones for too long finally forced him to get to his knees, and then shakily to his feet, dull eyes taking in his surroundings.

"Fegefeuer..." He mumbled, all those lectures from his crazy Roman Catholic aunt in Germany being dredged up. The gates of heaven lay at the end of the cleansing of ones soul of sin. The statues hadn't really been a part of the lectures, but he didn't care. He didn't care that he was dead, that he may wind up in hell. He stood there, staring at the bright light of the gate, for what felt like hours. Seconds. Months. Minutes. He didn't know. But as he stood their, the shock started to wear thin, and the true grief started to set in. The anger, the anguish, the longing for something he'd never have again.

Carmen stepped onto the first step and started forward, sliding his guitar case around to his side to start undoing the clasps. He'd purchased an expensive, well-sealed case long ago, and from it he pulled his guitar. He slipped it on, slid his fingers into the right position, plucked a few notes to make sure it hadn't been de-tuned by his rough yank into the water.

And then he began to play.

It was a simple tune. One his mother had hummed to him ever since he was a baby, one she hummed during his childhood. She had hummed it when she was tending to her sunflowers in the garden. She had hummed it In the hospital, when he kept her company during her treatments and when she was too weak to properly talk. She had hummed it on her death bed, the last thing Carmen had heard from her before she flatlined.

So Carmen played, and he walked. The light grew closer, and soon he had passed through the gates, the great ivory swinging open for him as if of its own accord. Carmen continued to play, stepping through the threshold, and the gate swung shut behind him without the slightest of sounds.