Chapter Thirteen: Alluring Monster:

Her scent. He’s hungry. It’s teased since she was three. Sure it was weak at first. But he couldn’t ignore it. So small but so vibrant. He had to have it.

But not now.

He has to meet her. The festival is coming up. The veil is the thinnest. Her scent is calling him.

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Kirika-chan stared at her phone. The picture had her scratching her head. What was she looking at?

“Hey, mama,” she said. “What is this?” The girl slid her phone over to Anna. Her mother looked at the screen. She too was confused by this.

“Is this a puzzle?” Anna asked.

“No,” Kirika-chan said. Her mother narrowed her eyes at the screen.

“Who sent you this?” she asked. Kirika-chan shrugged and shook her head.

“Don’t know,” she said. Anna turned and stared at her daughter.

“Is this the only text you got from this number?” she asked.

“Scroll up,” her daughter said. Anna scrolled up on the screen. She lowered the phone.

“Um… Okay…” Anna said. “Don’t respond to text, okay?”

“Alright,” Kirika-chan said.

“Good,” her mother said. Anna deleted the text chain. She handed her phone back to her daughter.

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He’s getting close. Her scent. It’s so strong now. He an almost taste it. He can almost taste it. He has to have it. Only a few more days to go. He’ll find her at the festival. He can make himself wait until then. She’ll taste sweeter by then.

He’s outside her window right now. She’s on the phone. Akira? Nozomi? He can’t see. He can’t hear. Only her scent. If he could smile, he would. If he could reach out to her, he would. He can’t but he will.

The festival is coming.

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Kirika-chan looked out the window. Nothing was out there. But why couldn’t she shake the feeling?

“Uh… I might call you back,” she said. The girl hung up and walked over to her window. Nothing. No one out there. Still that feeling remained.

He can smell her but she can’t see him. It’s all a matter of time before the festival comes.