Long minutes passed as if they were hours after the appearance of that strange face on the window surface. Ren felt the air around him become thick, he could barely breathe. Fear was running through his veins, but he couldn't move. He stood still, shocked, waiting. Everything around him seemed to be melting into darkness.
"I'm here, Ren..."
The voice was faint at first, but it quickly became clear, as if it was coming from inside his head. There was no escape. Ren tried to comprehend what was happening. This couldn't be real, could it? The Red-Faced Man was just a myth... just a story his mother used to tell him, nothing more. But now, seeing his face clearly on the window, there was no room for doubt.
Shadows began to creep on the walls around him. The dim lights faded, leaving him in complete darkness. Suddenly, the face disappeared from the window. The mysterious voice he had been hearing was no longer there, but the feeling of fear didn't leave him.
Ren ran towards the back kitchen door, where he had seen the red footprints heading outside. But when he opened the door, there was nothing. The yard was quiet, the cold wind was blowing gently, and the night was eerily still.
"Mom... where are you?"
His voice was barely audible, choked with tears. He looked up at the dark sky, where there was no moon, just distant stars twinkling faintly. For just a moment, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned quickly, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest.
There was someone standing in the shadows, tall and with a strange face. It was the Red Face Man. His features were unclear, but his eyes were glowing blood-red. Slowly, he began to approach Ren, and something deep inside told him he wouldn't be able to run away.
"I've been waiting for you, Ren..."
Ren froze in place, watching the Red-Faced Man come closer and closer. The steps were heavy, as if the ground itself was shaking beneath his feet. Everything around him began to lose its color, the trees, the sky, and even the house behind him. The world seemed to shrink in the presence of this strange entity.
As soon as the Red-Faced Man got close enough, he suddenly stopped. He didn't speak, but he pointed his long finger at Ren. He was pointing inside, to the house. Then, Ren understood the message. He had to go back inside, but why? What was waiting for him there?
Despite the fear that paralyzed him, Ren slowly began to move towards the house. He couldn't understand what was happening, but he felt that resisting wasn't an option. And when he entered the house again, things were even stranger.
"What's happening?"
The kitchen that had been teeming with shadows minutes ago was now a completely different place. There were old things thrown here and there, as if time had jumped back to the past. Toys that had been missing suddenly appeared on the floor, and the room he knew looked oddly old.
Ren stood in the middle of the kitchen, trying to comprehend everything around him, until he heard the voice again. This time it wasn't the voice of the Red-Faced Man, but a more familiar voice: his mother's voice.