Part 1 || 4 | Sakura

A Tale of a Strange Visit II

“I couldn’t sleep afterwards that night,” Judy said, leaning back, raising her arms into a stretch on the sofa, and getting up from the sofa. “It’s one of my crazier dreams, and I’ve had some crazy ones over the years.”

Sakura was about to say, ‘I know what you mean,’ but stayed her tongue as Momo’s account of her entrance exam involving the figments of Judy’s dreaming imagination surfaced through her thoughts. Sakura was just 10 years old when her exhausted sister came home after her entrance exam during the first full week of August before the start of the fall semester at the end of the month, so she said, ‘How was it?’

‘Crazier than I thought, but I passed,’ Momo said.

‘Awesome, sis!’ Sakura said, offering to treat her sister to a much-deserved dinner that consisted of foods a 10-year-old could make: hotdogs, cheese omelets, and Spam musubi. That afternoon saw Sakura listening to all of Momo’s exploits during the Judy Windermere entrance exam at the Muse Bureau Academy, which Sakura experienced for herself earlier this August. So Sakura said, “Were you at The Cake Fairy with this ‘Emma’ person during the first week of August?”

“I wasn’t there,” Judy said.

“Then where were you?” Sakura said.

“I’m not sure,” Judy said. “It’s kind of fuzzy.”

“But you know you weren’t at The Cake Fairy?” Sakura said.

“Look, I know I wasn’t there,” Judy said, “because I would’ve remembered if I was.”

“Then can you remember anything else about it, anything that sticks out to you?” Sakura said, hoping her line of questioning was not a dead end. (While Judy paused to think, Sakura waited for her sister Momo to finish her phone call with the Muse Inspector on her smartphone, maybe to fill him in about this ‘Emma’ fox girl. When she thought Momo was done with her phone call, she said in her mind, “Sis, what did he say?”

“Said he’ll contact the Chief,” Momo said.

“And what did the Chief say?”

Momo paused.

“Momo, what did he say?” Sakura said.

So Momo said, “The Chief told him it might be a dream eater, so the Muse Inspector added that we keep our eyes peeled for anything unusual around Judy’s presence.”

Sakura paused and said, “What about on your end?”

“Besides the fox girl,” her sister said, “Judy’s repeating what’s in the witness statements.”

“Which is?”

“The fox girl might have been surveilling people connected to Judy’s dreams during the entrance exams,” Momo said. “Ergo, based on the witness statements from last night’s incident at The Cake Fairy, the fox girl might have been the same one the witnesses saw that night.”

“Might have been?” Sakura said.

Momo let out a sigh through the telepathic connection, saying, “We’re talking about a dream Judy had two months ago. Other than The Cake Fairy, the feeling of being watched, sightings of eyes during exams, and fox eyes at her home and in her school, we’ve only got circumstantial evidence connecting everything together. We don’t even know if this ‘Emma’ woman was there during the exams beyond hearsay. Right now, she’s a person of interest. Now pay attention: Judy’s calling you.”)

Sakura blinked at Judy’s words and said, “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

“Wanna hear the rest?” Judy said.

Sakura nodded and said, “Yeah, go ahead.”

So Judy continued, saying, “After that night, I’ve had a few more instances of that dream in which I was on my way to the Cake Fairy without meeting the fox woman, but I don’t think I was alone in those dreams.”

“What do you mean? Can you give me some details?” Sakura said, wondering where all of this was going.

“Only that I had the feeling I was being watched on my way to The Cake Fairy,” Judy said, “and the last time I had that dream, I saw a small nine-tailed fox walking ahead of me towards my destination, so I called out as I ran up to her and turned the corner, but she was gone.”

“When was this?” Sakura said.

“The last day of June,” Judy said. “Ever since, I’ve been having another dream of waiting for someone at a dessert shop every other week for the rest of the summer into August, but they’ve become more frequent this month.”

“How frequent?” Sakura said.

“Three to four times a week,” Judy said, “and the most recent one was last night—”

“Wait, you had another one?” Grace said.

“Yeah, after I talked with you,” Judy said. “I’ve been having these dreams so often now that I’m starting to see things in my more recent dreams.”

“Like what?” Sakura said, then noticed Judy’s trembling hands in her lap, bit her lower lip, and placed her hands over hers to comfort her.

“Like seeing disembodied eyes just before I wake up in a cold sweat,” Judy said, “and even when I’m awake, I’ve had similar experiences of being watched since August came around. Hell, I even started noticing certain words or phrases connected with eyes or looking or spying or anything uncanny about seeing things or being seen. I mean, I know it sounds like I’m nuts, and maybe I am. I don’t know. It’s just been really scary for me this month.”

Grace also put her hands over Judy’s, then turned to Sakura and said, “Do you know why this is happening?”

Remembering Pamahas’ observation about Judy looking ‘put off’ in her most recent visits to Grace’s house, Sakura had an inkling about it and said, “You know that October is the month of Halloween, right?”

Judy and Grace traded looks.

“Yeah,” Grace said, “but we’re in August, not October.”

“Well, early autumn in the East is a lot like mid-autumn in the West, but it varies by region,” Sakura said. “August is known as the Ghost Month in Chinese culture, and their version of Halloween is the Ghost Festival held in the middle of August. It’s also called the Bon Festival in Japanese culture, again held in the middle of August in the western half of Japan. In the eastern half, the Bon Festival is held earlier in the middle of July, but you get my drift, right? August can be just as spooky as October.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Grace said, “but is there a way to fix what’s been happening?”

Sakura nodded, saying, “There’s a way to appease spirits with food offerings and prayers, but my sister knows more about that than I do.”

“You have a sister?” Grace said.

“An older one, yeah,” Sakura said, resigning herself to the inevitable tongue-lashing from Momo.

“Then can you call her over?” Judy said.

“Yeah, I can do that,” Sakura said, taking out her smartphone, dialing Momo’s smartphone, and waiting for her to pick up. When her sister came through, Sakura said, “Hey, can you come over? Like right now?”

“Are you serious?” Momo said.

“I’m sorry, sis,” she said, “but I’m out of my depth here.”

Momo let out a sigh but said, “Okay, okay, geez!”

“Thanks, sis!” Sakura said and hung up.

(“Make sure to write down everything in your progress report, got it?” Momo said in her mind.

“I got it, sis,” Sakura said), then to Judy and Grace: “She’s coming over in three . . . two . . . one . . .”

Then the doorbell chimed.

And the four Jacks jolted themselves awake.

And Sakura got up before Judy and Grace did, saying, “I’ll get it, don’t worry.”

While Judy and Grace were talking with the four Jacks, Sakura walked off past the dining table and kitchen, entered the living room, passed by the staircase, approached the foyer, opened the door, and said, “Hi, sis.”

“Hi, yourself,” Momo deadpanned.

Sakura let her sister in and closed the door shut, making sure the door latch clicked before following Momo through the living room, the kitchen, and the family. Then she said, “Judy, Grace, this is my older sister, Momo.”

Judy and Grace introduced themselves.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you two,” Momo said, bowing her head. “I hope my little sister hasn’t bothered you too much.”

“No, she’s fine,” Judy said.

“It’s okay to be honest, you know,” Momo said.

“No, she’s really been a dear this whole time,” Grace added.

“Okay, that’s good,” Momo said, then to Sakura: “Are you suggesting we hold a Segaki Service here?”

“Yeah,” Sakura said.

Judy and Grace traded glances.

“What’s a Segaki Service?” Grace said.

“It’s the Buddhist version of Thanksgiving,” Momo said.

“Segaki, huh?” Judy said. “Since it has ‘gaki’ in it, does it have something to do with hungry ghosts?”

“Yep,” Momo said. “A Segaki Service is meant to feed and comfort wandering spirits, like the gaki, muenbotoke, and jikininki.”

“What are the other two?” Grace added.

“Curious, eh?” Momo said. “The muenbotoke are ghosts with no living relatives, and the jikininki are human-eating ghosts, kind of like ghouls in Arabic folklore.”

“That’s so cool!” Judy said.

“I know, right?” Momo said, then back to Sakura: “Usually a Segaki Service is done at a Buddhist temple, but I know a monk that can help us conduct it here.”

“Give him a call then,” Sakura said.

Momo then checked her watch and said, “It’s fifteen minutes to five o’clock. He might still be there,” and she fished out her smartphone from her pants pocket, dialed a number, and waited for someone to answer. “Hello there. . . . Is Mr. Kenji Ogawa still there? . . . Good. Can you call him over? I need to speak with him. . . . Thanks.”

Moments passed in silence.

Then Momo said, “Hey, Kenji, can you come over and do a Segaki Service? . . . No, not at the temple. At the house. . . . Yeah, the informal kind, not the formal one. . . . Okay, give me a sec.” Then she asked Grace, “What’s the address?”

“6425 Riddell Court,” Grace said.

Momo repeated the address over her smartphone, then said, “Can you come by tonight? . . . Oh? . . . I see. What about tomorrow then? . . . What about Saturday? . . . Okay, good. . . . Yeah, we’ll do that. . . . Yeah, see you then. Bye!”

She hung up.

“Well?” Sakura said.

“We’re good to go,” Momo said, “but we’re shopping tomorrow. We might need to get a few things.” Then she looked at the four Jacks and added, “Oh, and one more thing.”

“What’s that?” Sakura said.

“Not you: them,” Momo said, pointing towards an oblivious Judy and Grace and then the four Jacks sitting on the second sofa before theirs. “Sakura, did you forget to tell them about the four Jacks?”

Sakura winced and grimaced, kicking herself for not pointing out the most obvious thing about the four gentlemen inside of Grace’s house. She said, “I forgot, sorry!”

“Forget about what?” Judy said.

“What are you talking about?” Grace added.

So Momo asked the four Jacks to get up from the sofa (which they did) and had them stand before the sofa on which Judy and Grace sat (which they did). Then she said, “Judy, Grace, I want you to brace yourselves, okay?”

“For what?” Judy said.

“Just stand up,” Momo said, “look at the mirror behind you, and try to stay calm,” as she pointed at the big mirror hanging on the wall behind them above their heads.

So Judy and Grace stood up, faced the mirror, and viewed their own reflections, yet they didn’t react the way Sakura thought they would. In fact, they just shrugged their shoulders and looked back at Momo with raised eyebrows.

“I don’t get it,” Grace said.

“What are we supposed to see, exactly?” Judy added.

Momo face-palmed herself and said, “Sakura, go stand with the four Jacks.” When Sakura went over to the four gentlemen, Momo added, “Judy, Grace, look at the mirror again.”

When Judy and Grace did so, Sakura waved at them in the reflection, saying, “Do you see me?”

“Yeah,” Grace said.

“What about the four Jacks?” Momo said.

That’s when Judy and Grace both took in a massive gulp of air, like the gasp of a swimmer before diving, both girls whirling around, gaping at the four Jacks, looking back at the mirror, and looking back at the Jacks whose reflections were not there in the mirror.

“They’re not cosplayers,” Momo said. “They’re actually our familiars, but they’re harmless, I promise.”

“Stay calm, okay?” Sakura added.

But they didn’t: how could they stay calm at that moment? Instead, they did what the majority of the human population would do when met with something so inexplicable, so utterly beyond the pale of their imaginations, that their minds failed to synthesize what they were seeing. As such, Judy and Grace let out an ear-piercing scream like two banshees and fainted into unconsciousness—

When Momo summoned a bed of giant peach blossoms to cushion their fall, their bodies flopping over it like a real bed. Then Momo chuckled and said to Sakura, “I'm definitely putting this in my progress report.”

Sakura deadpanned, saying, “Why?”

So Momo smiled, saying, “Because you said you were gonna put me stripping in the boy’s locker room in your progress report. Now we’re even, so sue me!”

“Fuck you!”

A Tale of a Delicate Matter I

After waking up Judy and Grace and apologizing to them for scaring them like that, Sakura and Momo gathered everyone around the dining table and explained the situation. Momo said they were having a practice session with the four Jacks last night, so Judy said she had dreamed of their practice session, adding that she thought they were figments of her dream at the time, till she woke up, saw three of them in her house, ran to Grace’s house, and saw a fourth Jack open the door for her. As such, Judy asked for an explanation, so Sakura said that the Jacks are familiars, adding that the Jacks were affected in three separate locations: Judy’s house, Grace’s house, and Sakura and Momo’s house. Thus, she added, whatever was affecting Judy’s dreams was also affecting the real world.

Then Momo added that these occurrences also had a correlation with a dessert shop called The Cake Fairy, to which Judy added that she had a weird dream about it in June.

So Momo said, “I already know.”

Judy deadpanned, saying, “How do you know?”

Momo smiled and said, “Because I listened in on your tale of your tryst with the fox girl, but don’t worry. Your privacy will be kept private, I promise.”

“Thanks,” Judy said.

“Her name’s ’Emma,’ right?” Momo said.

“Yeah, that was the name she gave me,” Judy said.

Momo was silent for a bit, then said, “You only gave that fox your first name, so she doesn’t have complete control over your dreams, but you shouldn’t have given her your name in the first place. Your name is the one thing belonging to you that others can use to manipulate you, but knowing your name has its limits. Tell me: did you hold hands with her?”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t have done that either?” When Momo nodded her head, Judy grimaced and said, “I really screwed myself, didn’t I?”

“Yep.”

Judy cursed again.

“Which hand did you use?” Momo said.

So Judy showed her left hand to Momo, her palm up.

Momo took it in her hands, manifested an omamori charm over Judy’s palm, closed her eyes, and said, “Reveal,” and she snapped her fingers.

The Hiragana for revealing something flashed on the charm, spreading a neon light over Judy’s palm.

“What’s happening?” Judy said.

Momo opened her eyes, which flashed a neon green, and she said, “Are you left-handed?”

“Yeah,” Judy said.

“Is that supposed to mean something?” Grace said.

“Yeah,” Momo said. “The use of black magic is often associated with the left-hand path, which involves breaking social taboos or going against the grain of people’s expectations.” Then she caught Judy’s gaze with her stare, her eyes reverting back to their honey-eyed hue, and added, “Judy, after listening to the account of your dream about that fox, I need you to be straight with me, okay? It’s important.”

“Okay,” Judy said.

“In that dream with the fox, were you looking for someone?” Momo said. “If so, then who were you looking for?”

“It’s not like that!” Judy said.

“Like what?” Momo said.

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Judy said.

“Judy, what exactly are you talking about?” Sakura said.

“Look, we’re not shaming you,” Momo said. “We’re just trying to figure this out, okay?”

Yet Judy was saying, “But I don’t want—”

Then she stopped, so Momo said, “Don’t want what?”

That’s when Judy stood up from the table, but Grace reached out just in time, grabbed her hand, and said, “Judy, whatever it is, we’re not gonna judge you!”

Judy looked at Grace, then at Momo and Sakura, before sitting down again and saying, “Sorry about that.”

Judy’s apparent need to get away from the table, and to get away from Grace in particular, led Sakura through a chain of inductive inferences that would have done Sherlock Holmes proud if she had not bungled it all with her words by saying, “Judy, are you having boyfriend trouble?”

Which got her stares from Judy and Grace—

Which then got Sakura a stiff jab in the arm from Momo.

“Ow! What was that for?” Sakura said.

“Tact, Sakura! Tact!” Momo said, then pressed Sakura’s head down in a bow as she was bowing herself. “I’m so sorry for my sister’s lack of manners!”

“Hey, I was—”

“Be quiet, you!” Momo said, then to Judy: “Truth is, after reviewing the eye-witness reports of your whereabouts in last night’s dream, I already thought it was your boyfriend, but I didn’t wanna broach the subject, till you mentioned it. Yet my idiot sister screwed it up, so I’m really sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

(Yet Sakura said in her mind, “Sis, why didn’t you tell her what happened during the entrance exams?”

“Can’t tell her,” Momo said.

“But aren’t we supposed to help her?” Sakura said.

“Of course,” Momo said, “but I won’t tell her anything that might put her in danger. Now do as I do!”)

Then Momo and Sakura bowed again.

At Momo’s words, Judy seemed to deflate a bit.

But then Grace let go of Judy’s hand and just stared at her like she had done something wrong, so wrong in fact that she said, “Judy, is that true?”

So Judy said. “Wait, what are you—”

“Are you seeing Franklin behind my back?” Grace said.

“What?” Judy said, “No, that’s not it!”

“Then who, Judy?” Grace said.

“It was you, damn it! I was waiting for you!”

Everyone was silent after that. In fact, Grace and Momo were gaping at Judy, and Sakura was up the woozle-hole trying to wrap her mind around the significance of what Judy had just said without short-circuiting her brain. Even the four Jacks, who had been sitting like wallflowers around the dining table watching everything unfold like a high school romantic comedy, just stared at Judy in awe—

Till the clueless Jack of Diamonds said, “Don’t worry. Girl’s love is a beautiful thing, too!”

Which earned him a glare from Judy, who said, “And what do you know about that, huh?”

“What?” the Jack of Diamonds said—

Which got his three comrades jumping from their chairs, dragging the Jack of Diamonds from the table, and raining down threats upon his head for his impertinence. Then the three Jacks all placed their hands over the back of the Jack of Diamond’s neck, forcing him to bow down at the waist as they all bowed down in a like manner.

The Jack of Hearts said, “We apologize for our friend’s uncouth remark!”

“‘Tis a slip of the tongue,” the Jack of Clubs said.

“Which we will duly cut out as just retribution, if you will but say the word,” the Jack of Spades said.

“I won’t say that!” Judy said.

“But—”

“Don’t make it worse,” Sakura said.

“Or you’re going back inside the deck,” Momo added.

All four Jacks clammed up at their words.

Then Momo prodded Sakura’s shoulder, saying under her breath, “Apologize now!”

So Sakura bowed again, saying, “I’m really sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s okay. I know you didn’t,” Judy said, then turned to Grace without saying anything for a moment. “Look, I already know he’s your boyfriend, and I promise I won’t get in the way of anything between you two.”

“I know,” Grace said.

“Are we still friends?” Judy said.

“Of course,” Grace said. “Just don’t scare me like that.”

At that moment, Momo paled, looking at Grace, then Judy, then at Grace again, and said, “Wait, you’re the one with the boyfriend, not Judy?”

“Yeah, Franklin’s mine,” Grace said.

“For your information,” Judy added, turning to Momo, “the only boyfriends I have are smart fictional ones.”

Momo grimaced, saying, “Duly noted.”

“I didn’t expect you to know that, so it’s fine,” Judy said.

“Thanks,” Momo said. “You’re both okay, right?”

Judy and Grace both nodded.

But Sakura noticed them avoiding each other’s eye contact like cohabiting strangers in the same house and saw Judy’s worrying lip, and one look at Momo told her she was thinking the same thing. (As such, Sakura said in her mind, “Hey, sis, do you think it’s just boyfriend trouble?”

“Or a love triangle,” Momo said, “but let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“Okay,” Sakura said.

“The ball’s in your court, Sakura,” Momo said.)

For the next few moments, moments that seemed to drag into an eternity of awkwardness, Sakura thought of a way to break the ice between Judy and Grace, till Judy stood up from the table again and blurted out, “God, damn it!”

“What’s wrong?” Momo said.

“I need to get back to my house!”

“Did you forget something?” Sakura said.

“Yeah,” Judy said. “I forgot to close the front door!”

Sakura kicked herself for not closing the door back in Judy’s house, but then again, she wasn’t sure when Judy would come back to the house that time. As such, Sakura had refrained from closing the door and shutting Judy out of her own house, so she got up and said, “I’ll go with you.”

“No, I’ll go,” Momo said, getting up at the same time.

“But, sis, I—”

“Sakura, you watch over Grace,” Momo said, joining Judy as she headed for the door, “while I’ll accompany Judy to her house. We’ll come back later. Got it?”

“Take care of yourselves,” Sakura said.

“We will,” Momo said, then to Judy: “Hey, wait up!”

Yet only after their footfalls faded away and the front door opened and shut behind them, leaving Sakura and the Jacks alone, did Sakura notice Grace sitting back down, burying her head in her arms over the table’s edge, and saying, “Oh, my God, I’m the absolute worst!”

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Sakura said.

“Is something the matter?” the Jack of Hearts said.

“You four go to the living room,” Sakura said. While the four Jacks bowed at the waist again and headed for the living room, Sakura added, “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“It’s about Franklin,” Grace said.

“You’re boyfriend?”

“Yeah,” Grace said. “It’s about him.”

Sakura gulped at another connection in the case revealing itself before her through another person’s words, wondering where this weird rabbit hole of stories would lead to, and said, “What happened?”

TBC