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"'Arrival in this world is really a departure, and that, which we call departure, is only a return."
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The drive home was quicker than it should have been, brighter than it should have been. Everyone's smiling, happy, getting along. A man sat in the driver's seat, fingers of one hand intertwined with the woman's sat beside him as they conversed. Music played in the back, the three girls comically singing along to the chorus. As they pulled into the neighbourhood, silence wrapped itself around the throats of the five, the music seeming to become muffled in the background. They were slow to step out of the car as they made it into the driveway. Their hesitation was odd for a family moving into their brand new home.
Except it wasn't new, not to them.
Stepping out of the car, everyone had slowly made their way into the home with bags in hand. Akachi, however, remained outside. Her body was stiff, eyes locked on the house towering before her. Her throat began to constrict as she choked out a plea for help. A figure appeared in the window and caught her gaze, letting out a shriek so loud it brought her to her knees. She could feel the presence grow closer, seemingly gripping and squeezing her heart as she struggled to breathe.
Her world began to grow dark as seconds passed, the creature just inches away. A name was called in the background, muffled in her mind against the screeching and excruciating pain in her chest. Footsteps echoed through her body, the presence seeming to weaken as they became louder. She hadn't noticed she'd fallen to her back until her sight grew dark above her and fingers pressed gently to her neck. Hands pressed to her chest as the last dots of light left her sight.
