Past – Orca

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…!”

Orca paced the hallway while wiping away cold sweat dripping down her face.

Hide and seek. Treasure hunt.

She’d felt relieved since she hadn’t heard those words since childhood.

…Shouldn’t have followed. She only tailed that woman because she was curious what they were doing together!

Orca closed her eyes, desperately trying to forget that horrific memory.

But the harder she tried not to think about it, the more it surfaced.

Her mind became completely overwhelmed by childhood memories.

The dreadful memories of that day.

“Haa, haa…”

People sometimes erase unbearable truths from their memory to avoid facing them.

Orca sincerely wished such a miracle would happen to her again.

But perhaps God doesn’t grant wishes to those harboring demons.

As she agonized over past memories, someone’s hand landed on her shoulder.

“…!”

“Are you okay, Orca?”

“You… how are you here… The children…”

“Told them I’m taking a short break. Whew, handling kids is exhausting. Their energy never runs out. It’s been over an hour and they’re still fine.”

An hour?

Had that much time already passed?

Orca realized her sense of time had completely collapsed.

“Are you alright? You look terribly pale.”

“Fuck off, I’m fine!”

Her persistent headache made her lash out as she waved her hand to shoo the teacher away.

She couldn’t possibly talk about this. This was a secret she must never reveal to anyone.

Being ostracized just for being a Demon Possessor – what would happen if they discovered what she’d done?

Orca absolutely refused to speak of it.

“Teacher… stop medd…ling…”

“Tell me what’s wrong. Now.”

“Uh… it’s… something from the past…”

“Sigh… as I thought…”

Her thoughts felt foggy, unable to form coherent sentences.

She’d clearly met the teacher’s eyes… and then… What was she doing again?

“You’re receiving counseling from me. You were revealing secrets you never wanted to share. You won’t forget having revealed them.”

“Won’t… forget.”

“Now, speak. What happened in your past?”

…Right. She’d been telling the teacher about that horrific childhood incident.

Orca stared blankly at the teacher and spoke.

“…Where was I?”

“Hmm, if you don’t remember, better start from the beginning.”

“Yeah, okay…”

***

The village I lived in was very peaceful.

Truthfully, it was a backwater town. Far from cities, not very populated. Older siblings left for cities to earn money – a slowly dying village.

Moreover, war broke out during that period. From youths to middle-aged men. Able-bodied people became cannon fodder, those who could handle mana were conscripted.

The entire village was constantly anxious. Even young me felt the gloomy atmosphere – you can imagine how tense things were.

Yet despite this, people bonded tightly. Precisely because times were tough and population small, villagers supported each other through hardships.

…Had I not caused that incident, they would’ve endured until war’s end and resumed ordinary lives.

Disasters always start from trivial beginnings.

One afternoon, childhood me was unbearably bored.

There were some entertainments back then too… But with no earners and needing to conserve resources, no magic or electricity for games.

My parents disappeared after going to war, leaving neighbors to raise me – I felt awkward staying home.

Bored kid, uncomfortable at home – what would I do? Naturally called friends to play outside.

I was quite popular among friends then. Maybe because I was pretty? Whatever – irrelevant now.

Many houses stood empty in the village back then. People left before dealing with properties.

We weren’t lacking play spaces. With abandoned houses everywhere, we could play and break things without reprimand.

But my judgment that day was idiotic.

While discussing what to play, I suggested visiting a house rumored to be haunted.

From older siblings to grandparents – everyone avoided that place. Yet I stupidly headed there.

They say ignorance is sin. I vehemently agree.

Had I listened seriously to adults or known about the house’s dangers, I wouldn’t have done it.

Tragically, all friends agreed with me. Maybe they thought safety in numbers?

More regrettably, village adults never imagined we’d play there.

They probably thought we wanted to play at the village square today.

Ultimately, we all entered that house.

That day’s game was treasure hunt – besides ghost rumors, legends said treasures lay hidden there.

Stupid notion in hindsight. How could treasures exist if no one entered? Even if true, the rumor-starter would’ve taken them.

Probably rumors distorted from speculation about ghosts guarding something valuable.

…Anyway. Most rumors about that house were true.

Ghosts and monsters lived there, guarding something.

Only difference was… The ghosts and monsters were invisible to us.

Now I realize they weren’t ghosts. They were mechanisms preventing someone from disturbing what was sealed there.

But countless years passed. They deteriorated into mere wandering entities having lost most functions.

Became ghost-like things people feared, avoiding the ancient house whose construction date was forgotten.

Yes. Had we not gone, it might’ve been forgotten completely.

The ghost guarded a monster in a box. Unfortunately, I found it.

Curiosity made me open the box… and the monster entered my body.

I screamed until the hallway shook. Felt like something foreign invaded me.

Friends rushed over hearing my screams…

I made another idiotic decision. Confused and unaware what happened, I brushed it off.

Said I thought I saw a ghost but was mistaken.

Friends mocked me relentlessly. I would’ve too. Scared of ghosts.

That night, I stayed awake till dawn. Sweat poured like rain while my body felt icy cold.

Sitting on bed, I sobbed alone. Felt like someone approached.

Not wrong intuition. A demon approached – not my body, but my mind.

Though not fully comprehending, I intuited something.

Continuing like this would cause catastrophe.

So I dragged my heavy body back to that house.

Regrettably, my condition worried village adults.

What’s wrong with Orca? Orca looks terribly ill.

The village’s tight bonds ironically caused tragedy.

Wish adults had ignored me.

Adults thought: If Orca has troubles, friends could comfort her better than adults.

Good people. Again, wish they’d been worse.

Naturally, close friends confidently walked into that house again.

Having been there once, they concluded rumors were just rumors.

They asked: Orca, are you hurt anywhere?

Orca, tell us if something’s wrong.

They approached me – drenched in cold sweat – genuinely concerned…

One friend checking my complexion died instantly.

To stunned friends, I could only speak with strained voice:

Please run away. I feel… not myself.

Feels like another me inside. Please. I feel bigger than my body, smaller than my body.

What nonsense is this? I don’t know. Just how I felt then.

Naturally, seeing their friend suddenly go berserk, children tried fleeing. But house doors wouldn’t open.

Now I think it was a final barrier. If seal weakened and demon escaped, at least containment within house.

Think about it. The box inside was ancient. Naturally the house was equally old?

Multiple layered seals. All deteriorated over time.

Children panicked and hid throughout the house. Yesterday’s treasure hunt became hide and seek.

I wanted to stop but couldn’t. Temporarily possessed by the demon.

One by one, children died by my hand.

Some screamed:

Stop it, Orca! You’re scaring me! Stop joking!

They refused to believe until death. That their friend could do this.

But I couldn’t control that terrible power within me.

…Until all friends were dead.

Damn right. They should’ve feared me. The demon controlled me then, not myself.

How much time passed?

I wandered the house blankly. Blood soaked every room, nothing alive except me.

Had this been the end, it would’ve been mere tragedy.

But adults grew worried. All children vanished simultaneously.

They deduced kids went to the rumored house. Trembling with fear but determined to find them, they opened the door.

The door that couldn’t open from inside.

And then? …Hah. Well.

Why do you think I’m standing here unharmed?