Arata stared at the note in his hand, racing his brain for what to do. Mei wanted him to meet her at the lighthouse-the place that seemed to be at the center of everything strange in Umigawa. He knew it was risky, but the chance to finally get some answers was too tempting to pass up.
Night was already set, and he found himself walking in the fogged streets with the note folded in his pocket. The fog grew thicker than ever before. It seemed to swirl around him as if it had a personal interest in him. He felt each of his steps as heavier and more burdensome as the fog seemed to hold on to him; yet he forced himself ahead to determine the truth.
There came out of the mist that dim obscurity, like a shroud barely visible, a lighthouse which looked so starkly darkened to the senses. Arata could make out a faint flicker from one of the upper windows; that was the light he had seen on his visit too. It almost seemed that the lighthouse beckoned, guided him.
He stopped for a moment when he reached the bottom of the lighthouse, looking around to see if Mei was already there. The beach was empty, and the only sound was the crashing of waves against the rocks in the distance. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the rusted door and stepped inside.
The interior was just as he remembered it-dark, damp, and frighteningly silent. The spiral staircase went up into the shadows above, and Arata felt a shiver run down his spine as he began to climb. Each step echoed throughout the empty building, the sound booming through the oppressive silence.
He climbed up, halfway to the stairs. It was faint, almost like someone whispering. He halted himself, tensed his body, trying to hear clearly, but it seemed as if the sound would quickly disappear and it was nearly gone when he resumed going up. Swallowing his fear, he accelerated his footsteps.
When he finally reached the top, he found Mei standing by the window, her back to him. She was staring out into the fog-shrouded town, clasping her hands together, and in that moment, she hadn't seemed to notice his presence.
"Mei," Arata said quietly, but she did not turn around. "I got your note. What is going on? Why'd you want to meet up here?"
Me had finally turned to face him, and Arata saw how tired she looked. Bright eyes were dull, dark circles under them, as if she hadn't slept in days. "You came," she said quietly. "I wasn't sure if you would.".
"I need answers," Arata said, stepping closer. "I see things, hear things. I need to know what's happening in this town, and I think you know more than you're letting on.".
Mei's face relaxed, and she looked down, as if to collect herself. "I know," she said softly, "but it can't be said easily. There are things here… things hidden for such a long time. And the fog is part of it."
"What do you mean?" Arata furrowed his brow. "What is the fog?
Mei stopped, turned back into the room, her voice low enough to be barely audible. "The fog is a form of separation. It isn't just mist; it's as if it creates a cover that divides one world from another. Another world sits parallel to this one, except one is… broken. Haunted. It is a haven where lost souls wander for all eternity in a morass of desolation."
Arata felt his belly churn. "Lost souls? Like ghosts?"
Not quite," Mei said, shaking her head. "They're not alive, but they're not dead either. They're echoes, remains of people who once lived here, but who never found peace. The fog draws them out, and sometimes, it shows them to us. It makes us see what they want us to see.
"Is that why I've been seeing things?" Arata asked. "The woman at the beach, the shadows. they're all part of this other world?"
Yes, Mei said on a whispered breath, barely audible, and that's only part of it: the mist not just to see what there is to be seen, but also what one dreads or wishes to find. And, to play a twist in a poor, addled head, that it takes reality's appearance into one's perception; yet the perceptions will seem quite, extremely real, but still isn't reality. That is why the people vanish; lost inside themselves and fog envelops.
Arata's heart was pounding in his chest. "But why? Why does the fog do this?"
"Because it's looking for something," Mei said, turning to him. "It's looking for someone. Someone who can help it fix what's broken, or… at least, that's what the stories say. The fog isn't evil, but it's desperate, and desperation can be dangerous.".
"Like me?" Arata asked, feeling his stomach sink. "Is that why I have been seeing all this?"
Mei looked at him for the first time, fear flickering in her eyes, as she whispered softly, "Yes." "I believe it has chosen you. That's why I wanted to come here, to warn you." The fog was sucking in Arata, but he could not let it drag him into the darkness. Once there, it would not let him out.
But why me?\" he asked, his voice one of incredulity. "I'm just a regular kid. I didn't ask for any of this."
"Mei's voice went quiet. "I don't know, but maybe. I think it's about the past. There is something in your past. Something you do not remember and the fog knows it, and that is why the fog tries to show this to you but also for keeping you close.
Arata felt his head spin. This was too much, too fast. "The woman I keep seeing. who is she? She keeps asking for help, but I don't even know who she is.".
Mei's face turned pale. She looked away as she tried to steady her shaky hands. "I was so scared that you would have noticed," she whispered. "You see, she is the crucial factor of this whole thing. That's what she was like… a girl with so much importance in this little town long ago. One day, she vanished never to return. Nobody knew at all what happened to that poor girl."
Important?" Arata's head reeled. "Connected to the fog?"
"Of sorts," Mei replied. "The last person to ever attempt to comprehend and regulate it. But something happened and she was lost, stuck there. Now the fog uses her as a sort of bait. It is looking for someone to complete what she began.
And you think that's me?" Arata asked, his voice shaking.
"I don't know," Mei said, her tears glistening in the air. "But if it is, then you're in even more danger than you realized. The fog won't stop until it gets what it wants, and if you're not careful, it'll take you too.".
The room fell silent, Mei's words hanging in the air like an anvil. Arata didn't know what to say or how to even process what he'd learned. Still, one thing was crystal clear: he could not run anymore. He needed to find out what the fog wanted and why it had chosen him.
"What do I do?" he asked in a barely audible voice.
Mei stepped forward, her hand on his arm. "You have to face it," she whispered. "Discover what it is and force it to let you go. But you cannot do this alone. The mist is sly and will play tricks on you. That's why I am here. I want to help you.
He turned to her and could see determination in the glint of her eyes. He opened his mouth to question, mixing gratitude with fear.
"Why should you care to help me? You don't even know me."
A hint of a sad smile, and with knowledge, curved Mei's lips. "Because I have been there, done that, and I never want to see anyone lose his way again. I know what it feels to be trapped; I am not going to let that happen to you.".
As she spoke, the light in the room flickered, casting long twisted shadows across the walls. Arata glanced out the window and caught his breath in his throat. The fog swirled, moved faster than before, as if it was alive, and it closed in on the lighthouse, wrapped it in a tight suffocating grip.
Then we have to go fast, Arata said, his voice steady. If there's a way out of this, I'm going to find it. I just need to know where to start.
Yes.I can do that." she said with determination etched all over her face. "Okay, let's begin there. If we were able to find out what happened to Haruka, we might be able to piece together the connection she may have had with the fog. Maybe it will tell us something about what it really wants and maybe just maybe we can find a way to stop it,".
As they stood there, side by side, the fog closed in more and more, like an invisible, observant presence. However, for the first time since his disappearance, Arata felt that he was not alone in his misery. He had company; someone to share the agony with, and someone to share the knowledge of the darkness enveloping them. Together, they would find the truth - whatever it may cost them.