The crisp blue water of the river amused me. I was told to get a pot of water from downstream. I could notice Rin and Mother working their duties on the farm. I expected to see Father, but I figured he might be late due to his terrible sorrow. I wanted to tell Rin of my plan, but as I walked up she turned around her eyes blood red. 

“Mio! Father…Fa- he-he’s gone!” Rin stuttered as more tears kept dripping down her rosy red cheeks. I stood there silently. I suspected that Father saw the figure as well and decided to do what I was about to. I got worried. I glanced back to the time when I was suspecting it was a human. It wasn’t. It WAS a spirit. An angry one. I wanted to lose no time and head to the forest. As I ran towards the dark woods, a force stopped me. It felt like a barrier invisible to the human eye. I decided to continue running. Over twenty-five times, I tried to break through. Mother and Rin spotted me acting ridiculously, thinking I was playing and celebrating Father’s disappearance. 

“Mio! Do you have any idea what could happen to your father? And you are fooling around like you’re happy?” Mother shouted. 

“There is an invisible barrier that is-” “Mio! That is enough.” Mother interrupted.  “You’re too focused on fantasy out in the real world. There is no barrier.” Mother walked over to where I believed the barrier was. She walked through it normally. Mother looked at me. 

“See, Mio? There is no-” Before Mother could continue her sentence an eight-foot-tall woman appeared with a slender smile. Wearing a  long white dress covered in blood stains. She grabbed Mother and returned to the forest. 

“Father is gone and so is Mother.” Rin started. “It’s all your fault Mio! You made us orphans in just two days. Why? What did we do to you? Probably your appearances late to prayers and never worshiping the spirits caused all this. Who will afford it for us?” My sister’s words marked me with an emotional scar. She was right. Who would afford for us? Give us hospitality? For now, we are independent. Or so I thought until two familiar faces walked out of the forest. It was Mother and Father. 

“Mother! Father!” Rin shouted as she hugged them tightly. I was in shock. How are they still alive? Was it improv or a foolish prank? I thought.  

“Mio. I’m sorry I wasn’t the best mother. Would you like a hug?” Mother asked. Something was unusual. Mother would never announce such things unless it were a special day. A feeling inside me emerged, forcing me to walk toward what I suspected were my “parents.”

As I walked towards them, their faces started to shift to slender smiles, like the woman’s earlier. Blood oozed out their hollow black eyes, and started to talk in dark voices. 

“Mio. Are you sure you don’t want a hug? We’d be more than happy to tighten our arms around you.” It was unusual how both their voices were in sync. Rin started to move away from them, but their arms changed from being normal, to 5 feet long. Their long arms tightened around her throat. 

“Mio! Help me…” Rin’s voice started to weaken. There was an old pipe that was dumped on our farm a few days ago. I grabbed the rustic metal and threw it at them. A feeling inside me started to feel guilty, but I had to save Rin. The old pipe hit Mother’s face, and she gave a long shriek and let go of Rin. Father looked at my confidence and admired it for a second. He increased the length of his arms and wrapped them around my foot. I tried to refuse but the force was urging me to give in to the forest. At that moment, I knew there was no point. They might just take me as well. A strong force gripped my hand, thinking it was another arm. But when I looked behind, I noticed my determined sister’s tears which gave me hope. I held onto her hand, and she pulled me out of Father’s grasp. 

“Mio! Let’s go!” Rin shouted as I followed her into the spiritual forest. The spiritual forest was known to contain a river full of healing power. It was told, that if you were to take a sip from the water, you would be free from all the forces of evil currently in your life. Rin took a ladle nearby and drank. I decided to use my hands. We both sighed a relieved sigh until a strange shadow darkened our light. A hand rested on my shoulder. I hesitated to turn around and instantly gave up hope once again.