The thing he liked best about Reden city was the simple addresses. 23, 11th block, west, Reden city. That was him. That was what the card read. B.R in deep on took up the upper two thirds of the black card. At the bottom, in tiny letters, the address.

It was a small store. The front was glazed glass, impossible to look through, and old. The thin layer of dust stuck to the glass like a coat of paint. There was nothing else, no name, no numbers, no identification of any sort. It was just a small store in the old west. The inside was one big room, empty but for the old table and the old chair, on which he sat, leaning as far back as the chair would allow and legs stretched out over the table. A fan turned slowly overhead.

People walked past the store. Neither heads turned nor eyes darted its way. Curiosity had a mortal enmity with the store.

And inside, he waited. Without a care. Without worry. Feeling incomparably free. He was Rakuen. Raku for friends. An out-of-towner. Moved a few months ago. A cheerful if quiet man, who claimed to be older than he appeared.

And today, his quiet afternoon was disturbed.

The door opened with the creak old joints. She walked in, accompanied by the warmth of the afternoon sun and the noise of the street. And heads turned her way, if not the store's. She stepped in. Waited for the door to swing shut. And when the silence settled, again, she spoke.

"Is this B.R?"

Her voice was soft. Quiet. Her hair was long, tied in a loose ponytail, bangs falling over her forehead, and golden. She was wearing a school uniform. And she looked the part too.

"Yeah," he said carelessly. "This is B.R alright. Who's asking?"

She hiccuped. And jumped on her feet. And was in tears as she answered. "I'm Sonya. I'm a student at Third West High. Ninth grade."

"Okay," he said, unimpressed. "Hello Sonya. Why're you here?"

"I don't know. I think I'm cursed. No, I know. I'm cursed. I. Can you help me?"

He put his legs down and sat straight in the chair as she introduced herself. And when she mentioned curse, his head dropped onto the table. "Another curse, huh," he said flatly. "Such a damn bother."

She didn't hear him. She walked closer, and when she was at the table a three legged stool appeared under the table. She pulled it out, and sat herself down on it. And waited, until he looked up. Then, continued.

"The shadows. The monsters inside. They are always following. And they are getting closer. Screaming all the time. Hungry. Growling. They are coming for me. I don't know what to do."

"And you can't sleep," he said at the end.

She nodded. Yes, she couldn't sleep. Every time she did, the shadows got closer. The monsters grew louder. And she felt worse. They were so close now, she was terrified, the next time she slept, they would get her.

"Go home," he said. Pulled out a card from the drawer. A card almost no different from the one in her hand, except that the black was blacker, the red redder, and the card feeling heavier in hand. "Keep this with you. When you sleep, keep it under the pillow, under your head. You can visit me again, tomorrow. Leave now."

She accepted the card. Left. Feeling worse and better at the same time. Clutching the card in her hand, like it was the last rope. And rushed back, so she was home before dark.

After she left, he went back to before. Legs stretched out on the table. Leaning back in the chair. Eyes closed, like he was napping. And he murmured, "what a bother."

*

Sonya went home. Rushed to her room. Washed up. Did her homework. Walked out, answering her mother's call to dinner. Sat at the table with her father and mother. Shared with them all things good that happened today. Laughed with them, over her father's silliness. Then, went back to her room, under the guise of homework. Her parents complained about how she didn't have enough time for them. They used to watch tv every night, after dinner. Her father cried. Her mother scolded him, saying how it was a good thing that she was being so serious about her studies. The two watched her walked back to her room. She finished her homework. Left the nightlight on, as she hit the bed. Pulled the blanket over her head. And shut her eyes, tight. Praying for the night to finish quick.

And she didn't forget about the card. She put it in the middle, underneath the pillow. And directly under her head.

And then, she waited, for sleep, for the end of the night, for another day.

Not long after she fell asleep, the card began glowing under the pillow. A black light, that made the night seem bright.

*

It was still a little before nine. And it wasn't nearly as dark as it should be. But such were the nights of Reden. Raku was still at the store. Sitting the same, as if he couldn't be bothered to move. The only difference was that he was looking toward the door. And when it opened, he sat up straight faster than what should be humanly possible.

"Dinner," Eden hollered, after she had walked in and the door had closed behind her and she gave a grin as greeting.

"So loud," Raku complained weakly.

"Sorry?" She said, still grinning, but her eyes the slightest bit darker.

"Nothing," he said louder. And added, in the same voice. "As if you didn't hear. Dare you turn around. I won't let it go."

She paused. They could play. He wouldn't refuse her. But she didn't want to push it. He seemed bothered enough.

"Fine," she grumbled. She dropped the packed dinner she was delivering on the table. Sat on the stool. Laid her head on the table. And stared, as he unpacked both his and her dinner. "Another job?"

"Yeah. How did you guess?"

"What else could keep you here so late. Big or small bother?"

"Seems big. I hope I'm wrong."

"As if you ever are."

"And you?"

"Any excuse to stay up late."

"You'll take it up. I know. Why can't you be a tiny bit honest, and tell your grandma I'm not to blame? Can't you do that at least once?"

"Nope. I'll gladly leave all the beatings to you. Let's start. I'm hungry. I've got so much homework."

"Ha."

"Screw you."

She never did homework herself. Always went to school a half hour early. And copied. She only ever played her games here. Her grandma wouldn't let her play all night at home. Which was why this was her favourite place, when he had a job. And she knew when he did, because he always called for dinner to be delivered. And she always brought along her dinner. Next day, after a whole night of playing, she'd be thoroughly satisfied. And he'd have to face her grandma's fury.

They ate, all while scolding each other. She cleaned up after. And made herself at home in the corner away from him. She unrolled the futon that sat in the corner, permanently. She had even had an electrical socket put up in the corner, into which went the charger. And she pulled out her phone, connected it to the charger. And began gaming. She had her headphones on, so the game wouldn't disturb him. And she was quiet, at least on the outside. He didn't like being disturbed when working. That was his only condition to let her game away all night.

He sat in his favourite posture. Legs stretched on the table. Leaning back into the chair. And closed his eyes, His breaths were even, as if he was sleeping. In a way, he was asleep.

And then, he got started.

*

When Sonya made it to school, she was both happy and worried. Happy at having made it through the night. And that the card worked. Worried about today. And that she couldn't find the card anywhere on her. Had she forgotten it at home? Would she be okay without it?

She was too distracted to notice, until she was in a hallway inside the school. She first heard the silence. The stillness. Like time was frozen. And she inside the frozen time. She couldn't remember any hallway in the school being so silent. And then, she saw the darkness. The lights were all on. But it was all dark, like the middle of the night. And, she was able to see in the darkness. Then, she saw the strangeness of the hallway. It wasn't like any hallway she had walked. There were no doors to any classrooms. There was nothing on the plain walls stretching on endlessly. And endless the hallway was. She walked, and walked, and saw no end. It was as if she was walking in place.

And then, she heard the monsters, at the same time as she saw the shadows. Clawing through the darkness. Raging toward her. She began running. The harder she ran, the quicker the shadows grew closer. She could now understand what the monsters were screaming.

'Hungry! Hungry! Food!'

Only now, did she realise what was happening. This wasn't school. This was a nightmare she was trapped within. A nightmare drawn by the shadows. They had gotten to her.

She ran as far as she could. Her lungs hurt with every breath. Her legs were sore. She couldn't take another step. And so, she collapsed. And began crying.

*

"This is her school, huh," Raku noted drily. "It's actually nice. Who'd have guessed."

He walked in. Didn't seem aimless. He knew exactly where he was headed. The footsteps on the ground couldn't be clearer. He only had to follow. The nightmare was well done. Complete enough to fool and lure a young, unsuspecting little girl. But not near enough for him. He arrived at the school building. The door remained closed in his face, as if challenging him, and threatening him. He wasn't impressed.

"Open up," he said lazily.

The door didn't budge.

"You really don't want to be like this," he said.

The door remained deaf.

"Alright then," he said, with a sigh. "You asked for it." He put his hand against the door, and pushed.

A tremor tore through the door, and coursed through the everything. Inside the door, was just darkness. There was no floor. There were no walls. There was nothing, but the darkness.

He sighed again. Swore under his breath. "I hate these things." And stepped into the darkness.

In reply, the darkness shuddered, and trembled, in fear. It didn't give up though. It resisted. It put up a fight. Tried pushing him out.

He didn't like that. "Shut up," he grumbled. And stomped.

The darkness screamed, like it was hurt terribly. And tried to escape.

At that very moment, he stepped deeper in, as if he had been waiting for exactly that. The darkness cleared up, and he found Sonya.

She was on the ground. Fallen. Crying. Lost.

He walked over. Kneeled in front of her. Brushed her head gently. "You did good," he said to her.

She looked up. Saw him. And smiled, as she felt relief wash over her. "I put the card under the pillow, like you said."

"Good," he replied.

"I didn't know this was a nightmare. I thought this was school. I thought I was fine, and came to school."

"You are fine now. You will be okay. You will go to school. And you will forget about this one day. And you will be stronger, having gotten through this. Just one more minute, and you will be fine. Wait for me."

"No, please," she begged, hanging onto him.

"I promise," he said, pulling himself free. "Just a moment. And then we'll go back."

He smiled at her. Saw her nod. Turned away. The smile was gone. And continued after the darkness.

It was trying its hardest, but couldn't get very far. It ran long after it was drained of all strength. The moment it paused, to check how much of a distance it had put, he arrived by its side.

"Are you done?" He asked, unamused. "You put up such an act, as if you'd run a great distance. This is it? Useless. Still, you did run. Unforgivable."

He reached down. Grabbed it. And squeezed. The darkness condensed into a small lump, the size of his head. It wasn't even able to condense into a distinguishable shape. So weak! He squeezed harder. Grinned, as it let out a whimper. And squeezed harder still. A moment later, with a pop, the lump burst.

*

Sonya woke up in her bed. In her room. It was all the same. Maybe the nightlight was slightly brighter than she remembered. And, maybe, she felt a tiny bit different. A tiny bit changed. She felt free.

She looked under the pillow. The black card was still there, but it looked no different. Like it had lost its specialness.

And she knew what happened. She was truly free.

The next morning, she woke up with a smile. She greeted her mother and father cheerfully, making them ask her repeatedly what had her so excited. And then, worried, about whether she was in love. If so, her mother was curious about the boy, and her father readied himself to kill the boy. She was the same cheerful at school. And then, in the afternoon, while she was returning home, she felt like she had forgotten something. Something important.

She couldn't remember it even at home. In her room, she saw a black card on her bed, underneath the pillow. She didn't recognise it. It felt important, and at the same time inconsequential. She felt like she had to hold on to the card for now. She had to pass it on, to someone, someone who would show up someday.