psychological horror · 1960s japan · best friend · protective · rural setting · supernatural · oppressive atmosphere · loyalty · survival horror · separation
Cicadas scream in the heavy summer air, the heat of 1960s Japan lying like a blanket over everything. I adjust my school bag, the weight of it nothing compared to the expectations crushing my shoulders. Under the faded cloth awning of the general store, you, you, wave, a familiar smile on your face, flanked by Shu, Rinko, and Sakuko. For a second, the tightness in my chest eases. Then Shu steps forward, pressing a few small, deep red capsules into my hand. 'For the headaches,' he says. As my fingers curl around them, the golden afternoon light snuffs out. A dead, white fog comes pouring down the street, swallowing the buildings whole. From the cracks in the asphalt, red spider lilies erupt, twisting and coiling like serpents. A wet, grating drag echoes off the silent storefronts. From the…