The Spirit in the Bathroom
The story I was rewriting began with an encounter in the bathroom. To be precise, a girl who was only visible to Lene and me waved her hand and vanished. My sister and I turned to face each other, wearing identical expressions. As if we had rehearsed it in advance, we let out the exact same scream and bolted out of the bathroom.
“Miss?”
“G-ghost! There’s a ghost!”
“I’m perfectly alive, though…”
“No! A ghost appeared in the bathroom!”
We burst out of the room and ran wildly, raising a commotion with every person we met by shouting that a ghost or spirit had appeared. Worried we might see the girl again, we fled all the way outside the villa.
Behind the villa, in a shaded spot in the garden—which was somewhat lacking compared to the one at the main estate but still quite charming—we crouched down, catching our breath after all that running. We shivered as we replayed the girl’s vivid appearance in our minds.
“Ugh, to think ghosts actually exist…”
If she hadn’t shown herself until the very end, we might have dismissed it as a hallucination or treated it as a polite ghost story. But having seen her with our own two eyes, there was no brushing it off. I sighed with resentment toward the ghost who had made that impossible, then tilted my head up toward the sky where the sun blazed high, pouring down harsh midday light.
“…And on top of that, appearing in broad daylight. That’s just wrong.”
Weren’t ghosts supposed to come out at night, after the sun had set? That was the standard, wasn’t it? I grumbled to myself, latching onto random thoughts to push away the fear rising in my chest, when a soft sigh tickled my ear.
“…Lene. Did you just sigh?”
“…No.”
It clearly wasn’t either of us catching our breath or complaining. The moment we realized it belonged to someone else, we swallowed hard and slowly turned our heads around—just like characters in a horror movie.
[Hey, kids. Can you calm down a little?]
“S-she talks too!”
We let out a piercing scream at the girl who stood with her hands on her hips, looking down at us with a troubled expression. We tried to run again, but our legs had gone weak from crouching for so long. As we flailed and shrieked, the girl flicked her slender index finger and created a cup’s worth of water, then dropped it right over our heads.
“Pwah!”
Startled by the sudden splash, we gradually regained our senses. The cool water seemed to cool our overheated heads. At the same time, we blinked as we felt a strange sense of familiarity from the girl staring down at us with icy eyes.
[Calling me a ghost or a spirit right after meeting… There’s a limit to rudeness, you know.]
“…To be fair, that appearance would make anyone mistake you for a ghost or spirit.”
[Quiet.]
Lene, who had seen me get doused again for talking back, fidgeted with her lips before cautiously asking the girl who she was. The girl finally seemed to think they could communicate. She let out a small breath and smiled, then placed a hand over her plain chest and introduced herself.
[I am a friend of your ancestor.]
“Friend?”
“It means close companion.”
The girl watched me explain the meaning to Lene, who had tilted her head in confusion. After a brief moment of thought, she continued.
[So, you two can see me?]
“That’s why we got scared and ran away.”
[That’s… well, I suppose that makes sense.]
The girl looked a bit embarrassed at my answer, as if she’d said something foolish. She quickly scanned the surroundings and changed the subject.
[I’d like to talk more, but the timing isn’t great… I’ll come find you tonight, so let’s keep this meeting a secret.]
“We caused quite a scene. It won’t be easy to just brush it off…”
[Don’t worry, dear. That’s just how children are, isn’t it?]
The girl chuckled as she watched the servants and family members rushing toward us after we’d caused such a ruckus and run outside. Just like she had in the bathroom, she waved her hand, said she’d see us tonight, and disappeared.
Having realized the strange sense of familiarity and completely shaken off our fear, my sister and I stared at the spot where the girl had vanished before turning toward the approaching footsteps.
“Lene. What should we do?”
“I don’t know either.”
“Think of something, anything.”
We watched our mother’s face, filled with panic, and let out small groans. In the end, we decided to keep the girl a secret and told the worried adults that it had just been a mischievous prank.
“You two! There’s a limit to pranks!”
“O-ow…”
“Ugh…”
Upon hearing that, Aran put on a deliberately stern face and gave each of us a light smack on the head. Everyone sighed at the sight of us rubbing the spot and tearing up, and they let it go without further scolding. Instead, Mother declared that we had to be punished for causing such a disturbance. She banned snacks after lunch and dinner. My sister and I nodded obediently with flushed faces and accepted the punishment.
“But why are you both soaked… Ah, you said you caused a commotion in the bathroom.”
On the way back to the villa, Arlan looked puzzled at our wet hair and nodded to himself after coming up with a reasonable explanation. We chose not to correct him and quietly let it slide. We headed to the dining hall, filled our stomachs that had grown hungry from all the running, and then washed up with the help of the servants.
“Hwaaam…”
While washing, we kept yawning from the exhaustion of running around and the sleepy fullness that followed. After drying our hair, it wasn’t long before we collapsed into bed.
The afternoon passed with a sweet nap. When we woke up feeling refreshed, we stretched and watched the sunset glowing beyond the window. For dinner, we had dishes made from the pale-blue carp that Arlan and Aran had caught after fishing all day. Afterward, my sister and I prepared to greet the girl who would come with the approaching night.
“What’s going on? Why isn’t she coming?”
But even after it was time to go to bed, the girl hadn’t shown a single trace of herself. Lene grumbled that she must have lied to us.
[Lied? That’s a bit hurtful, you know.]
“Eek!”
As if she had been waiting for that exact moment, the girl suddenly popped up between us, startling Lene into a panic. She let out a mischievous giggle, then beamed at me as I blinked in surprise and waved her hand.
“…Let’s start with what we couldn’t talk about earlier.”
My heart was pounding just as wildly as Lene’s from the surprise, but I kept it hidden and spoke calmly. The girl gave a small laugh and nodded easily, then stood before us.
Lene, pouting with a face full of confidence as if to say ask me anything, was the first to open her mouth and ask about the girl’s true identity.
[As I said earlier…]
“No, I mean your exact identity.”
Lene cut off the girl before she could give the same answer as before and demanded to know her precise identity.
[I thought you would have figured it out by now…]
The girl gave a bitter smile at Lene’s insistence. Even though her body was translucent enough to see the scenery behind her, all her organs seemed to exist—or perhaps she was simply mimicking what she saw. She cleared her throat with a small cough and properly revealed her identity.
[I am a being you call a spirit.]
She emphasized firmly that she was absolutely not a ghost or a spirit. She explained that she had approached us because she felt a long-lost sense of familiarity, and she apologized—albeit belatedly—for frightening us. We set aside our shock at meeting a real spirit for now and bowed our heads, apologizing for having spoken so rudely until then.
“Then… why are you staying here, Miss Spirit?”
[Oh dear, speak comfortably. Look at me. I don’t look that different from you two.]
When I asked politely, the girl teased me. But when I explained that it still felt wrong to speak casually to someone who had been friends with our ancestor, she pouted. Then she raised her hand and created clear water in the air. Not wanting to get doused again, my sister and I quickly dropped all formal speech.
“So why are you staying at the villa?”
[More precisely, I’m staying on this island.]
She said she stayed because she loved this place filled with memories of her dear friend. Despite her youthful appearance, her deep eyes carried the weight of long years as she smiled with gentle curves. She added that if we didn’t mind, she would show us around the island tomorrow. When she mentioned there were secret spots she had hidden so no one else could touch them, our eyes sparkled with anticipation.
We chatted for a long time without noticing how late it had gotten. The girl finally realized she had been overly excited and scratched her head with an embarrassed look.
[Sigh, it’s been so long since I’ve been able to talk with someone like this. I got carried away, unlike myself.]
“That’s not something a kid should say… Ack, cold!”
I had reflexively spoken my thoughts after hearing her mutter. I blinked as cold water splashed across my cheek. The girl narrowed her eyes at me as if to say that’s enough, then suddenly whipped her head toward the firmly closed door.
[Someone’s coming… It’s getting late, so let’s stop here for today.]
“Okay. Good night!”
[Hehe, sleep well, dears.]
The girl, who had warned us that a servant was coming to check if we were properly asleep, waved back at Lene who was waving goodbye, then waved at me too. I was about to return the same greeting but hesitated, unsure what to call her. Noticing this, the girl—who had already seen Lene and me lie down—told us her name.
[I am Undine. From now on, call me by my name.]
She told us the same name as the spirit who had supported Lene in the original story, then left behind the sound of her laughter and disappeared.
Undine… It can’t be a simple coincidence.
Mulling over the name that confirmed this island was the one Lene had headed to at the end of the original story, I pulled at my collar, followed the urging to lie down quickly, and closed my eyes.