The Visitors

Your vacation to Japan has been underwhelming so far, based on your experience. Every travel recommendation he had gathered from his online research turned out to be a frustrating disappointment. You entered the 3rd day out of 7 precious days of the year, and you had already begun to regret it. If it hadn’t been for the food poisoning the previous night, things might have been better, but the local cuisine simply did not suit your taste buds at all.

After spending the night at the ER, only in the afternoon are you able to be discharged from the hospital. Luckily, his mum had reminded him to buy travel insurance, even though he had insisted it was a waste of money. Your mum's intuition is really scary, but now you can look at the logic behind it, although no logic is involved. It's pure maternal instinct.

You decide to go back to the hotel to refresh yourself before going outside again, deciding between late lunch or early dinner. When you look at your next plan for the 3rd day, you should start getting lost in the digital art at teamLab Planets before heading to Shibuya in the afternoon to experience the world famous Scramble Crossing but you scrapped that plan entirely. Maybe for another time. Now you decide to have an early dinner after shopping around Harajuku, and you will probably watch the sunset from Shibuya Sky before dining in the area as well.

You have gotten used to the train to go anywhere for your trip. It's convenient, but you had to plan your vacation based on where the train can reach, which truly limited your initial plan, but after yesterday's experience, you are just grateful not to be spending your precious holiday in hospital.

The lingering effects of the medication still clouded your judgement, causing you to mistakenly get off at Jimbocho Station instead of Harajuku Station. You had originally planned to head to Harajuku to find the Sanyodo Bookshop, which your online search claimed was the oldest bookshop in the area. If you want to go to Harajuku Station, it's going to take you more time, so you settle on finding other attractions at Jimbocho Station.

Yaguchi Book Store and Isseido Booksellers are the results that popped up from your search, and you just settled for them, as you wanted to find the bookshop that gives the ultimate "old vibe" in the district. When you walk to Yaguchi Book Store, you see an entire neighbourhood of low-rise, traditional shopfronts where books spill out onto the sidewalks under canvas awnings and low-rise, weathered stone and brick facades that date back over a century.

Once you arrive at the bookshop, you are hit by the scene of wooden book carts lining the street outside, giving the vibe you wanted, too. Once you step into the bookshop, the heavy smell of aged paper hits your nostrils and creaky wooden floors, giving you an indescribable sensation that is entirely different from the cold concrete and cement surfaces of the modern world.

As you strolled around, you saw people at the bookshop minding their own business, reading. The scenery you never got tired of watching. After 30 minutes you strolled around the bookshop and tried to look for the book you wanted, but nothing attracted your interest, as it was only for vintage Japanese theatre, film, and performing arts. Not your area of interest, you decided to hit another bookshop.

Next, your destination is Isseido Booksellers which also has a similar vibe to the first one, but you just like it. After walking for several minutes, you encounter a bookshop in the alley that gives off an old vibe, in my opinion. It's not in among the search results, but it matched what you wanted. The outside of the store gives an eerie impression, but it's probably just the lighting as it is located in the alley. You decided to enter the store.

The lighting in the store really does not help your first impression at all. The lack of lighting with only a couple of lamps shining on the store still cannot shake the feeling. As the couple stepped inside the store, you saw the cat on the desk of the counter, the catloaf or the side stretch. It must be nice to be a cat. Eat, sleep and repeat. An odd scene is having a cat in the bookshop. Maybe just the owner preference. The cat awakes as you near the counter. The cat watches you, like scanning you, trying to look into your soul. You try to extend a relaxed, closed fist or finger at the cat, but the cat just continues staring at you.

You try to scratch the cat under the chin, which it just lets you do. It seems it's friendly with strangers. Then you proceed to stroll around the store. For a small bookshop, they do have the second floor. The cat keeps watching you like you're an intriguing thing in the store. After you stroll for the last couple minutes on the ground floor, you decide to see what's on the second floor. You try to look at the counter again, but there's no storekeeper on the scene. The cat is also gone from the counter. Who knows where the cat goes?

As you reach the upper level, it's definitely different from the lower. It's not like a bookshop. More like a library. You strolled from one aisle to another. Try to find something that piques your interest, but there is none so far.

As you are lost in finding a genre to suit your palate, you look at your phone.

One hour already? Seriously, how fast time flies! But when you look from the front of the second floor again, you just stroll through several aisles. You really thought you had already finished looking at strolls through aisles on the second floor.

It totally does not make sense, but as you keep walking, it seems like it's never-ending. You already sense something doesn't make sense. As you just tried to think logically, you were greeted by someone.

“いらっしゃいませ”

You are greeted by the storekeeper for the first time since you've been in the store. You just nod your head in the storekeeper's direction before seeing them for the first time.

Her delicate features make you swear you stop breathing for a split second. She is truly a beauty, and her face is really small. Another thing that you don't expect is an exceptionally long, elegant neck that made her look like a porcelain doll and was the perfect companion. She spoke in a soft rhythm that made the outside world completely fade away when greeting you.

“Is there any book that you are looking for?” She asked, probably trying to help you. You saw her name tag attached to her left chest.

カリナ

Odd name. Name that does not belong here. It's not like you could argue about people's names, especially bookkeepers' names.

“I just want to look around, nothing much. But if you have any recommendation, it would be nice” you replied to be polite. It is not like you need a recommendation but just a rope you throw to cross to the other side, probably to build a bridge with this beautiful bookseller.

“Nothing much different from other bookshops you probably have visited, but we have books that some date around 500 years ago” she said with a smile. At this point I don't know how to react to the information. She probably just made a joke, but her expression says otherwise.

Then you nodded at her and continued to book hunt. You don't need her help. A retailer following you everywhere. As you keep trying to find a book, you feel someone watching you. Where you turned, both of you made eye contact. It looks like she doesn't want to give up. So you just decide to ask for her help out of courtesy.

“Hurm, maybe you can suggest something or book just what I can buy in Japan. Like Japanese folklore, like a horror one or ghost!” You throw out any idea, although you aren't interested in a horror one.

“Oh. If that's what you want, then the Hasegawa Fairy Tale Series is the one you're looking for. It has 31 booklets. Maybe it's difficult for you to buy, but it contains the Japanese folklore you are looking for. Or maybe I could search for something for you at the top of the shelf.” You wanted to stop her as she walked further, trying to help you.

“I believe that book is probably on the very top row of the history aisle. Let me get it for you.”

You turn to follow her down the cramped aisle. The shelves here climbed straight up into the lack of light, forming shadows on the ceiling, easily ten feet high. No ladder near the shelf.

“Wait, you can't reach that—” you try, but something unexpected happens. You question yourself. Maybe you are still under the medicine's effects this morning.

The words were lost in his mind and stuck in his throat. The words are probably fucked up.

Her body stayed perfectly in front of the shelf, but her head and right hand didn't stay idle. With a sickeningly smooth but silent glide, her head lifted. Her neck began to elongate along with her hand trying to reach somewhere on the top of the shelf, looking for the recommended book.

It looks complete. No sound of bone cracking or dislocation. Instead, her pale skin stretched out seamlessly like smooth cloth, beautiful but terrifying, extending upward. Her head slithered elegantly between the towering shelves, her long hair trailing behind her face like ink in water

Her neck keeps extending. Seven feet. Nine feet. Finally, its stop extends. Her head reaches the top with the ease of a gliding movement like a snake's tilt, reading the spines of the books on the shelf.

Your heart pumped frantically against your ribs. The instinct inside you told you to run but your brain told you that it does not make any sense. Thus, send a signal to you to do what normal humans would do in that situation. Scream, or probably vomit too. It was eerily bizarre. The scene you just saw clouded your mind, leaving no room for logic. Glancing upward, he saw her immaculate face smiling down. Her neck stretched and twisted into a bizarre, elegant curve, leaving him with only one dreadful thought.

Even twisted like this... she is absolutely captivating

“Ahh! Found it” her voice drifted down from the rafters, brushing against your ear as if she were right there, though she was eight feet away.

Her head moved down as her neck reeled back to its normal length, coiling back into place as if the last minute had never happened. Once again, she looked like a normal, beautiful girl who had just suggested a book to you, handing it over with a placid smile.

Your brain still tries to proceed with the reality but your body knows what to do in the situation. Instinctively, you take one step backward from her. While you can see her smile changed from placid to complicated.

“Hey” Someone's hand touches your shoulder, causing you to jump, afraid of your action. Your head snaps to the owner of the hand. Your eyes try to see whose hand belongs, but you're greeted by a visual you have never seen before.

“Hurmm... Ahhh.” You try to talk but the feeling of being afraid before is still unsettling. Plus, the startle from the person you just met makes words stick in your throat.

“Is everything okay here?” She asks you again when your looks seem to have settled. She shows a calm smile. Then you remember the previous scene and glance over to see back where the bookkeeper was with you just now.

She is nowhere to be seen. The scene shocked you out of it. She's gone. Her presence is no longer there.

“Did you see someone with me just now?” You asked her to confirm with her what you saw.

“Hurm? No one with you, if that's what you ask me. Are you okay?” She's telling you with concerned looks.

You look at her again, but your mind keeps trying to logically think about what just happened. Who was with you just now? No matter what you try to make sense of, it goes against your logical mind. And the storekeeper with you just confirms what you already think in your mind. You encountered a ghost in daylight. 

“Yeah, I am okay.” Although you are not okay, you just went with it. You want to go out of this bookshop, but storming out would make you look ridiculous. You try to glance back over your back but the same space greets you. You see the person with you, try to look at her name tag

アンナ

“Oh okay then. Found what you were looking for here?” She smiles at you. Like nothing has happened, and she is not surprised at your actions. You must say people at this bookshop are really pretty, although the previous one can't be counted as human. The store owner only hired based on the visuals.

“I don't think so. I can try to find some books on the ground floor again.” You try to change the topic, wanting to run away from the second floor for now, from the scene.

“I can help you find what kind of book you want. Any specific genre are you looking for?” She seems unbothered, and the déjà vu hit me. Like I was in the situation previously.