As you can easily guess, it took her quite a long time, almost a week, to find The Three Frogs, even though she consulted with Dr. Reichwein every day. They both didn't know Czech, so they couldn't ask for directions, and Schuwald didn't give them the exact address, because he didn't remember it himself.
That day, late in the afternoon, Emiko stood by the tenement house, at the entrance of which there was a hanging oval plaque with three painted frogs, and she quickly realized that this was the place she was looking for. She began to look around, hoping she might meet some resident with whom she could speak broken English-German, but at this time of the day, the narrow alley was empty. The girl sighed, then, thinking little, slowly opened the door and went inside to investigate the mystery.
The first thing she smelled, it was the smell of old wood mixed with dust. When she closed the door behind her, after a while her eyes got used to the dimness there, and she noticed the wooden stairs leading to the second floor, as well as the doors of the apartments on the ground floor. There was absolutely no sound or light coming from behind them, which led her to the conclusion that the tenement house was completely abandoned.
Or maybe not...?
Mindful of every step she took, as silently as she could, she started climbing the stairs to the second floor to make sure that no one was living here. With her right hand, she was supporting herself on a dusty, slightly broken railing so as not to stumble on the stairs, which also had a lot of unevenness caused by the passing time.
'On a fundamental level, everything is subject to the time... Heidegger said'
Emiko carefully examined a small corridor on the second floor, where there were two doors - one right next to the stairs, and the other, slightly to the right side of the building. Without much thought, she pressed the handle of the first of them and began to open them... for unknown reasons feeling a growing unease within herself. She didn't understand why, but along with the emotions flowing into her, an unpleasant cold began to creep inside her and take over her entire body...
The girl with a quick movement removed her hand and put it near her heart. It was beating at an accelerated pace, as she slowly came to realize that she was in some very lonely place hidden from unwanted guests. It was as if the disturbed unknown ghosts of the past decided to rid themselves of the source of their anxiety by binding her in icy chains and trying to force her out of there with invisible force.
At the same time, however, a memory began to smolder in her soul... A memory so close to what she felt now that, contradicting all reason, she stretched out her right hand and pushed the door, which slowly opened wide, creaking terrible. The sound reached her ears, merging with the scene she had experienced in Verden two years earlier...
The house where the murder happened and where his name was associated with it...
Terrible chill and cold.
The light of the last rays of sunlight filtered through the window opposite the door, which, although invisible on the ground floor, was still reaching the upper floors with the last of their strength, illuminating the room with a weak heat. One of the panes had a small crack through which a faint gust of wind crept into the room, lifting dancing dust particles in the air, escaping upwards into the darkness...
Emiko stood on the threshold of the open door, watching the whole sight, unable to move or even breathe. There was an overwhelming silence all along. She felt as if the whole city had suddenly died out, and she alone stayed alive.
Emptiness.
Shaking all over her body, she took a small step forward...
The step by which she broke into a place where memories of the past lived...
All the feelings of those who once lived there poured into her and completely took over her soul in just a split of a second. In an instant, the girl fell to her knees, stunned, completely not understanding what was happening to her.
Suddenly, the sound of small feet was heard on the creaking floor, and the empty walls from which the plaster was detached, brought her the sound of childish laughter... sincere childish laughter...
And then came the scream.
NOOO!!!
Blurred images...
The woman...?
DON'T TAKE ME!!!
Someone's tears...
LEAVE HER ALONE...!!!
An innocent child who has been torn apart deep inside...
... ANNA...!!!
Emiko, unable to cope with the inflow of unknown force, completely froze, and a dense darkness appeared before her eyes. Then she felt a strong blow... and after it, the world around her completely ceased to exist.
****
Dr. Reichwein was sitting in an armchair near the bed, sipping his tea and watching the news on a small television, set against the wall on a brown table. He surreptitiously looked at his watch, feeling more and more impatient. The time was getting later and Dr. Tenma's sister still hadn't come to him to exchange information for the day, which meant she still hadn't returned to the motel.
The old man managed to locate the Three Frogs in the morning, but he hasn't been able to contact Emiko since the last time he saw her the evening before. He decided to wait another hour, and if she didn't come to him after that time, check, if she was in her room at least. The man drank his tea slowly silently, trying to focus on the television program. Of course, he didn't understand a single word, but at least he could watch the colorful movie currently being shown that interested him even more than he might have guessed.
However, when the allotted time had elapsed, the old gentleman with a resolute movement rose from his seat and directed his steps to the neighbor's door, where Emiko was renting a room. He tapped his fingers on the wooden surface several times, but only a complete silence greeted him. The doctor began to feel a little uneasy within himself.
"Emilie, open the door, please! It's me, Reichwein!"
Silence again. The man prudently put his ear to the door from behind which not even the slightest rustle appeared, which made him feel more and more anxious. It was almost midnight, and it was definitely not a safe time for young girls wandering through unfamiliar streets.
Dr. Reichwein returned to his room, quickly threw on his coat, and went out into the city again.
****
There was a murmur. A soft sound reached the unconscious girl's ears, slowly reaching her consciousness.
A touch followed after it. Delicate as a feather hand began to stroke her cheek tenderly, at this contact her lips sighed slightly, and her breath opened the way to the silvery world.
Young Tenma slowly opened her eyes and sat down on the floor, illuminated by the moonlight from behind the window, which in one place cast a long shadow touching her figure. She raised her head up and then noticed a figure she didn't know, standing by the glass, from behind which the silver glow of the moon was spreading. Through light incidence angle, she couldn't see the person's face, but at the same time, she felt as if she had met someone from a completely different world.
Still unable to move from her seat, she began to carefully observe the newcomer standing only a few steps away, whose fair hair was lit by moonlight from outside the window...
"Emiko."
One word made all possible emotions flood into her. Dazed, she jumped up from her seat and ran towards the window, reaching out her hand to him...
In an instant, the warmth wrapped her up. She felt as if she had been wrapped in a white silk, taking her to a zone of total safety...
Then she screamed a certain name loudly, and with all her remaining strength, she opened her eyes again to try to see the reality around her.
One moment was enough for her to realize that she was lying on the cold floor, and silence mixed with darkness and light lights from behind the window reigned around. Emiko jumped up from her seat in an instant, feeling cold drops of sweat running down her back.
'...I-It was...'
With her heart pounding, she looked around, then quickly walked to the window and peeked out through it. Lanterns were burning in the nearby streets and the sky was completely dark blue. And there was no traffic at all. The girl looked at her watch, staring in disbelief at the movement of the hands and the time they indicated.
It was the middle of the night.
'It was a... D-dream...?'
She walked quickly to the door, but before she entered the doorway for good, she took one last look at the empty room behind her back. The events that she experienced here left their mark on her so much that she swallowed loudly. Never in all her twenty-several years had she experienced anything so inexplicable.
With a trembling hand, she closed the door behind her, then descended the stairs and headed towards the motel, knowing she didn't want to go back there anymore.
The drop of the fear that fell inside her soul, however, remained forever...
_________________________________
(...) she slowly came to realize... lonely place... (...) -> You know this vibe, right? (For the Love of Life, David Sylvian)
Ahh, I'm finally back from the fantasy convention and there was amazing! Then... the flu attacked me and I've spent next several days dying inside xD But, finally, I managed to win over it and I'm back! Thank you everyone, who waited for this new chapter!