After a three-hour train ride, followed by a brief cab ride to a rental car place, followed by a half-hour car ride, I at last arrived at my old man’s house in my hometown. 

It changed little since I last saw it nearly a decade ago, but I guess that was to be expected of my father.

The house was just across the street from a large shrine where my old man used to perform his duties as a priest. He was quite popular in these parts. However, being a priest rarely garners a lot of attention. He was well-known for being a supposed exorcist, able to rid the townsfolk of their supernatural happenings. I personally didn't believe in the supernatural or the paranormal, but if you've seen the title of this story, then you should know that said lack of belief would not last very long.

Anyway, it was a regular old two-story wooden house with a dark steel fence all around it that let out the shriek of tortured sinners whenever you tried to open or close them. Yes, it was traditional and plain with not much that was worth noting, built more for practicality than aesthetics. It was honestly perfect for a man like my father, or at least how I remembered him to be. 

However, it was not all bad, as even by following tradition and the principles of practicality to a T, you would end up with some aesthetically pleasing aspects. For example, the garden and yard at the back of the house. The plants hadn’t been attended to for about a month, but you could still see the remnants of a garden that once looked good. From my memories, I also knew that he used to have a bunch of bonsai plants lying about, but I guess those didn't survive long without someone to take care of them. He also had a fishpond at the back of the house, but as there were no fish swimming in it, I guess it would be apt to just call it a pond for the time being.

"This really is a cozy place, all things considered…" my uncle said as we made our way back from the front yard to the house’s cobblestone walkway.

I nodded as I looked around the yard.

"Are you okay, So-kun?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, your father- "

"I'm okay, uncle. That was a long time ago. He isn't here anymore and frankly, I've moved past it." I smiled in reassurance.

"… You sure?"

"I'm sure. I barely even remember his face anymore. This house is just a house to me now, nothing else to it."

My uncle let out a sigh before smiling.

"I guess you really are all grown up now, huh?"

I chuckled.

"What, you having a midlife crisis?"

"Mhmm, I'd really be in one if you were to bring back a girlfriend, So-kun."

"I wouldn't bet on it…"

"Nonsense! I'd say you're a real charmer!" he said as he wrapped his arm around my neck.

"If dead fish eyes with more bags than an airport baggage claim are charming, then I guess I'm a modern-day Casanova."

"Woah, you're way too hard on yourself, So-kun! Charm goes beyond looks. You have a charming personality! Yeah, that's it!" He pointed at my chest.

"Haha, if you say so."

He just totally admitted that I don't have a lot in my looks department. I've always thought "You have a charming personality" was just a softer way to say that you were ugly.

"Anyways, So-kun. Let's get this door open, shall we?" he pulled out a ring of keys from his pocket.

"We shall indeed."

With a satisfying click, the doors to my new house were unlocked and just as they were opened, the signature smell of dust and old wooden furniture oozed from inside the house.

My uncle and I gazed forwards from the front door into the dim living room illuminated only by the sun seeping through the clouded window panes before looking back at each other.  After a moment of silence, my uncle grinned and tackled me, wrapping his arm around my neck once again.

"Welcome home, So-kun!"

"You tryna give me a heart attack?!" I pried him away.

After I struggled to get him off me, leaving us both out of breath, we finally walked into the house and flipped the light switch. The bulbs flickered a few times before deciding to let there be light. 

Getting a good look at the place, it wasn't really half bad. Sure, dust covered the bland and impersonal furniture, and the stench of something that died and wasn’t buried loomed over the room, but all around, it was a livable space and pretty much exactly how I vaguely remembered it to be.

The rectangular living room was spacious. A little too spacious, I might say. On the left side of the room was a couch big enough for three and an old CRT TV. The right side of the room was occupied mostly by a dark wooden dining table, the top of which was glazed with a thin layer of gray dust. Further back past the dining table was a partition, on the other side of which was the kitchen. At the far end of the room was a wooden staircase that led to the second floor. 

"Well then, So-kun, let's divvy up the cleaning duty." my uncle said as he pulled his dress shirt’s sleeve back.

"Sure, I'll clean up the second floor. My room’s there and everything."

"Great idea, you oughta get accustomed to your new bedroom as soon as possible. As they say, a man's room is his castle, yep yep." he nodded.

"What are you gonna clean, uncle?"

"Me? Well, the kitchen's my castle, so I'm gonna check that out first. I'll go see if there's anything worth cooking that hasn't gone bad yet. I’ll finish up the rest of the first floor too, while I’m at it." he waltzed on towards the kitchen.

We went our separate ways and with my mop, rag, and bucket in tow, I cleaned the staircase as I ascended it. 

The second floor of the house was sparse, with not much in it other than my room, my old man’s room, and the bathroom. After I was done with the staircase, I figured I'd start cleaning the bathroom because it'd be the first one we'd need to use. 

This place was so traditional that even the toilets were squat toilets. It wouldn't have killed my old man to at least modernize a little, but whatever. The sight of the toilet gave me visions of me bringing a woman home, only for her to be completely turned off by the fact that my place still had a squat toilet installed despite it being the year of our Lord 2020 and that no amount of being a stickler to tradition should excuse having such impractical design in one's home.

In any case, aside from the lack of a comfortable toilet, the actual bathroom itself was no worse for wear. It had running water, a shower, and all that good stuff. I guess my old man was modern enough to enjoy a nice hot shower. 

I scrubbed the bathroom up and down. There was a little grime here and there, but nothing too major. My mind was more occupied with having to use a squat toilet from here on out.

"How's the bathroom looking?" my uncle yelled out from across the house.

"It works, I guess. The water's running, and it seems to run clean. I'll be done with it in a bit!" I replied.

"Excellent work, So-kun! The kitchen's not looking so hot, though. There's no gas here and everything in the fridge's gone bad. I-I think we're gonna have to eat takeout tonight…" his voice wavers.

After cleaning the bathroom, I moved on towards my old man’s room. 

It was tiny, cluttered, and a variety of spiritual attributes were just strewn about the place. Prayer beads, texts, talismans, charms, you name it. 

This room smelled the best in the entire house so far, mostly because these spiritual artifacts were purposefully scented. It also looked pretty much untouched. Everything seemed to be how and where it was when my old man last occupied this room, most likely per his request.

I expected to feel something when I entered this room and actually, I guess I did, but I guess I expected something a little more impactful. This was the room of the man whose blood flowed in my veins, but I barely remembered his face. And yet, this room looked as if he just went out for an evening stroll. Any second he'd walk right in, look at me, and spout some clichéd line about how it has been a while and how I looked just like he did when he was younger. 

Would he even care to say something like that? Was that the kind of thing he would say? I don’t remember. But he's dead. I barely knew him. And he's dead. 

If I had to guess, it was the still lived-in state of his room that's really impacted me, as it seemed to imply a meaning behind all of this. In reality, there was probably just some esoteric philosophical reason for my old man's adamancy in keeping his room as is. A man's room is his castle.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to snoop around. This was to be my home per his will after all, so I had a right to look around. 

And so I did. 

As expected, robes and spiritual knick-knacks cluttered his drawers

Peering into one of his drawers, I spotted something shiny amid all the yellowish paper and cobwebs. 

It was a silver ring that looked to be brand new, never worn before. Oddly enough, it was probably the newest item in this entire room, the entire house even. Wonder why my old man got it.

Figuring I stumbled upon an interesting find, I pocketed the ring, hoping to show it to my uncle later.

"So-kuuuuuun!" speak of the devil.

"What's up?"

"Your dad hasn't even got a rice cooker! I'm gonna go buy one, okay? I'll bring home dinner as well!" he yelled.

"Okay, uncle! I'll finish up cleaning the rooms!"

I decided to leave my old man's room as is, only brushing the dust off his furniture. That was my way of respecting his wishes or something, I guess. After I finished cleaning my old man's room, I moved over to the room I was gonna stay in. It was across the second floor, with the bathroom right between us. Read into that as you will. 

This was my room back then as well when I lived here. I didn't have many fond memories of this room, as it was and still is pretty barebones. It had everything necessary for it to be called a child's bedroom, such as a small closet on the left side of the room, a bed on the right side, and a short table for studying by the window. On the wall was a clock which had stopped ticking as well as a calendar outdated by nearly a decade. But there wasn't much else. Because no one had lived here in nearly a decade, it remained completely untouched. 

Nothing about this room had changed. Even the bed was still child-sized.

My breaths shallowed as I examined the room with more scrutiny. One by one, with every detail I regarded; the faded stickers on my closet, the few remaining toys under my bed, and the barely visible crayon scribbles on my wall, vignettes started filling my mind piece by piece, eventually forming entire memories. Every memory that came and went carried with them a wistfulness. Some were formed whole, while others incomplete as time had all but washed them away. 

As I said, I didn't have many fond memories of this place, but I had memories nonetheless. Most people would probably cry at the sight of their childhood bedroom, untouched, but I'm afraid my attachment wasn't strong enough with the threads securing said attachment being withered away by less than pleasant memories.

"Ah."

As the sun sank under the horizon, a faded orange light filtered through my cloudy window, turning the drifting dust into dull fireflies.

I smiled.

"Hey there, Mitsuki." I said as I looked out the window.

There was nobody there. I just felt like calling out the name of my childhood friend, who lived right next door, with her bedroom window facing mine. And as they would, curtains obscured the view of her room.

At least I had fond memories of her.

I laid down on my old bed and took a deep breath.

It was creaky and could barely support my body weight, but it was my bed.

"It's been a while, buddy."

I then remembered that I was supposed to clean this place up. So I did. By the time I was done with it, it was quite a livable space. 

I physically couldn’t wash the crayon markings off, though. The stickers were also there to stay. At least my toys looked somewhat brand new, not that I’d have much use for marbles and construction trucks.

A jingle in my pocket reminded me that I was carrying around my old man’s ring. I pulled it out and had a close gander at it. However, I couldn't possibly learn that much from a silver ring, so I just put it on. 

It fit perfectly. I felt like it was my ring, like the ring was made for me. The sensation fascinated me so.

Seconds after putting it on, the ring vibrated and a violent flash of white light overwhelmed my eyes.

As the light faded, a figure stood before me.

"You finally decided to wake me up. It has been quite a while,"

A tiny girl with hair as silver as the ring, dressed in a snow-white kimono with a light blue obi, stood in front of me.

"young Kumagawa-sama."