At some point in time, I am going to have to stop telling you to press play. At that point, I will assume that you would regardless.

There’s a path the world walks, a path it cannot deviate from. It is this path I’m trying to open your eyes to. That’s why the words I say are important.

You should always press play.

---

There weren’t enough words to fully describe the eerie silence that descended in the room filled with officers and paramedics. Tristan was in the corner by himself, muttering inaudible words. At least, that’s what I think he was doing. His lips were moving but nothing was coming out from it.

Katie held me tight as we simply watched the blank screen. Static flickered on the television as smoke rose from the CD player underneath it. It took the entrance of the superintendent for the trance over us to crack.

Everyone shook as if coming out from a stupor and the room became active again. No one felt like talking. I didn’t blame them. I didn’t think anything could be said at the moment that would have made sense to those who had seen the Oni guy give his message about enlightenment and whatnot.

I got to my feet, licking my lips. Katie held onto me as I walked towards my brother. He stared at me in confusion and I could finally hear what he was saying though, in my defence, I had no idea what it meant.

“...It’s not possible. Not possible. It shouldn’t have been possible. Not possible…”

A small part of me wanted to calm him down and reassure him that he wasn’t crazy. That we experienced the same mind-bending ‘impossible’ video but I simply embraced him in a hug. Words were hard at this point. Fear was the prevailing emotion in everyone at that point, I think.

Detective Wells informed me that I was free to go for now whilst handing me his card for if I ever need to contact him. He mentioned something about not going out of town yet in case I’m still needed and how they’d be opening up a new case to look into the case of the masked killer.

The officers and crime scene investigators removed the CD player and television from the room as the detective spoke and I nodded just as blankly as he looked. Our eyes met and in the moment, I understood deep down that the detective had no idea where to begin or what to do.

I flashed an awkward smile at him and he responded before turning and walking off.

I didn’t return to my apartment that night. Didn’t return for a couple of nights, to be fair. I spent the first night with Tristan. My general feelings in regards to him had transformed from normal concern to something a bit more intense. My brother murmured to himself and shook, sitting on the ground where he was stood.

Katie made dinner, I made calls to my sister in the hospital. A police officer was giving her a ride back home. Mum was really and truly dead. Sara didn’t seem like she wanted to talk and I didn’t blame her. I didn’t mention to her about the new video either.

It just didn’t make sense to.

I thought about calling the rest of the family. Mum’s sister lived up north in Sheffield with my Nan and her new husband. I figured they should know but I still had no idea on how to explain it to them.

But I made a note to do so. I just needed it to make sense to me first.

---

The days blurred into each other as the family made plans for my mother’s funeral. There were shouting matches, arguments and a ‘telling-off’ from my Nan on account of me not visiting my mother all those years.

The incident with the video was dismissed by them because the journalist in front of the house had broken the news about how a masked killer had claimed her life. We explained what we saw but they staunchly held on to the concocted tale the officers had given to the media.

I understand the reason. I just feel they should have run it by us.

Tristan stopped speaking properly since the day. Sara was fiercer in comparison, shouting on our aunt regularly as to the procedure and the cost of the funeral. I stayed out of the way mostly to focus on my brother and Katie.

I was worried about him. He had stopped eating properly, seemed to sleep less if I’m to judge by the constant bags under his eyes and he grew thin as the days passed on. If anything, the only real change I noticed was a fixation on a small book that he wrote into almost religiously.

The one time I glanced over his shoulder to what he was writing, I had been greeted with a few symbols and mathematical equations that made no sense to me. He had lashed out in retaliation after which I apologised profusely.

He was never one to be extra secretive so if he was being that now, then I figured it was because he wanted it to be private. Maybe something from work that was still highly confidential.

Not that I’ve mentioned it before but Tristan worked for the government. He was one of their science officers in a branch of the government that he wasn’t allowed to tell me. It made his job suspicious overall but he was my little brother with possibly, the kindest heart I’ve ever known. He wasn’t the type to do suspicious.

Sara worked more in the retail industry. She always expressed the idea of starting her own business and I hope she gets to make it. I’ve been putting money aside for her so that when she’s ready, I’d be able to give her a pleasant surprise.

In any case, a sense of normalcy was returning though our moods hadn’t lightened. And for good reason to, I mean, we had a funeral ahead of us. I couldn’t help but think about my dad. I wondered where he was and what he was doing. Some part of him wanted to curse him for leaving us… for allowing the family to become what it now is.

But, he was in the past. It wouldn’t have made me feel better.

A few days after the funeral, my apartment was reopened to let me back in and I moved back, with stern words for my siblings to call me weekly. Unbeknownst to them, I was already speaking to Katie about moving back into the house with them. I mean, yeah we were all adults but, I couldn’t imagine just leaving them behind.

So, I penned the plan down and tried to return to work. Cards of apologies and condolences littered around my workstation. My colleagues asked me what really happened as one can never trust the media these days. My boss called me in to extend his sympathy and at that point, I was beginning to get slightly irritated.

Luckily, once work began, I was able to drown it all out. Caught up on my emails, a few from journalists who had somehow found out where I worked. I few from Katie sharing private jokes. They lightened my mood and by lunchtime, I was feeling pretty alright.

Katie and I had sandwiches by the breakout area, having quiet conversations and resisting the urge to touch each other in public. It made us laugh really, every time our eyes would meet and she would smile that smile. I’d chuckle and look away. It was sweet. I called my brother and sister to check up on them after which I sent a text to the detective.

I didn’t want to do it but I felt like I had to. Like I had been dragged into something crazy and I wanted to resolve it. It felt odd to assume everything would return to normal without a definite resolution in place. I didn’t get any reply so I just finished my lunch and returned to my seat.

Work resumed, I focused my energy into it.

Until about 3PM when I was taking a breather. The mailman was on the floor, handing out letters when he stopped by my stall. Martin, I believe his name was.

“Will?” he said.

“Yeah?” I answered.

“This just came for you today. Got dropped in person,” he said, handing me a small envelope before walking to the next stall.

My stomach sank as my mind flashed back to all the letters I had received. My mum’s bloody neck appeared in my memory and I could feel bile rising in my throat.

I turned the letter over to see Katie’s handwriting. I let out a sigh of relief as her italics calmed me down.

“Dearest Will…”

I smiled and chuckled awkwardly to myself before standing up. I look towards her stall and she looks back at me before smiling. My smile widened as I sat back down and opened the letter.

I pulled out the single card in it, reading the words that wiped the dumb smile off my face.

“My dearest Will,

I have but one question for you and you alone.

If you were given a choice… without any stakes. Or with stakes that are unknown to you…

Would you press play?

Love,

Oni-Mask Guy, as you love to refer to me as.”

I immediately got off my seat and ran to Katie’s stall uncaring as to what people thought. It wasn’t until I got there that I noticed I had been screaming her name.

After all, Katie’s stall was empty.