The Unfolding 2

“…people have disappeared?’ There was a surprised tone in Shida’s voice, but it sounded a little faked to Risa. ‘Have they been found yet?’ ‘If they had, I wouldn’t have come here to look for them. So …?’ ‘I don’t know anything!’ Shida burst out, and she looked shocked about her own reaction for a moment before she regained control over her expression. ‘I mean …the people here are kind of hostile towards strangers, they won’t like seeing you here. I doubt anyone will be able to tell you what you want to know, so …how about you just leave?’ Risa’s eyes narrowed. ‘No, that’s not an option.’ Shida let out a long sigh, then she nodded in reluctant acknowledgement. ‘Fine. In that case, I’ll show you around the village tomorrow, is that alright? Since it’s kind of late now.’ The Detective glanced at her wristwatch and nodded. ‘Yes. If you can provide me with an opportunity to talk to some people from the village, I’d appreciate that as well.’ She pulled out her phone and frowned when she noticed the NO SIGNAL notification at the top of her screen. ‘… and I need a phone to call some people and send some messages later.’ The mayor’s daughter looked a little relieved upon hearing that. ‘We have one,’ she said. ‘It’s a bit old, I think, but it works well enough, so you can use it.’ The phone, Risa noticed immediately when she entered the room it was in, had a rotary dial. ‘A BIT old?!’ She repeated what Shida had said about the phone earlier. ‘This is ….at least fifty years old! I was talking about something like this.’ she took out her own phone again and showed it to Shida. The younger woman took it into her hands a bit sceptically, as if she feared it would hurt her. ‘What is this?’ There’s no way that’s a phone.’ Her eyebrows furrowing in irritation, Risa shook her head. ‘OF course it is. It’s a cell phone.’ ‘A …cell phone. Of course.’ Shida still sounded confused as she gave the phone back to Risa. ‘You really don’t know what that is?’ ‘No. I don’t,’ Shida said, ‘and I don’t want to know. Anyways, you can use this phone. I bet it works a hundred times better than your …. Cell phone.’ ‘I sure hope it does, because my phone can’t even access the internet in this place,’ Risa mumbled and felt even more irritated when Shida asked, ‘THE WHAT?’ Then they continued on with their tour around the house. Shida left out a few rooms that she said were just storage rooms and bedrooms, and Risa mentally told herself to check those rooms out on her own later. They finally reached the guest room and Shida opened the door, gesturing for Risa to go inside first. ‘This is it,’ she said, ‘It’s a bit dusty, I’m sorry about that. We haven’t had any visitors stay overnight in the last hundred years or so.’ ‘But you had other visitors? People who didn’t stay overnight? What happened to them?” ‘They left within the same day, obviously. What happens to you when you go somewhere and don’t spend the night there?’ Shida asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Risa sighed; she’d have to find a different way to get the answers she needed. ‘Fine, you’re right,’ she relented. ‘But those people disappeared, and they were last seen heading to this village, so obviously the police would investigate here,’ Shida kept any other comment to herself; perhaps, Risa thought, she knew something that she didn’t want to spill accidentally. I’ll get you to tell me whatever you know, just wait. ‘Are you hungry. Risa- sanna?’ Risa flinched slightly when that question dragged her out of her thoughts, but she nodded. ‘A little.’ ‘Alright, I’ll make us dinner then. Feel free to make yourself comfortable here.’ The younger woman left the room to prepare dinner, and Risa started looking around. In the room, there was a big old wardrobe, a bed just big enough for one person, and a small desk with a chair that seemed unstable and uncomfortable. After sitting down on the chair for a moment to test it. Risa decided not to do that anymore and sat down on the bed instead. The bed was as comfortable as Risa had imagined an at least 50-year- old bed to be; which meant not incredibly comfortable, but it worked well enough if she didn’t focus on the way it felt all the time. Risa took her notebook out and started noting down what she had learned so far. That wasn’t exactly very much, but it at least gave her a hint regarding the direction she had to take her investigation. Shida doesn’t know what a cell phone and the internet are. Phone is at least 50 years old. No modern devices at this village? No visitors spending the night here in a long time. Where did the other visitors who didn’t spend the night here go to?’ Mayor is ‘NOT HERE’ Where is he? Some closed doors in his house. Will check them out later. She felt intrigued to go and check out those rooms right away, but she didn’t want to risk running into Shida in the hallway. So instead of doing something that would help her investigation, Risa decided to spend the following forty - five minutes reading through the reports the police had given her. Man disappeared, last seen near a village in the forest near XXX Woman disappeard in the forest near XXX Yet another disappearance near XXX, this time a man and his little daughter. ‘Risa?’ Risa winced when the door opened, ‘YY- Yes?’ ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I knocked two times and you didn’t answer. Anyways, dinner is ready,’ Shida said. ‘Did you…make it yourself?’ Shida nodded, a little surprised. ‘Why?’ ‘Oh, I just thought a mayor would have someone to help with the chores.’ ‘Well, we don’t.’ That was the first thing Shida said without hesitation that sounded like the genuine truth, and Risa decided to believe her. ‘Alright.’ Risa got up from the bed. ‘Let’s eat, then.’ She followed Shida to the kitchen and sat down, offering the younger woman a bite from her plate. Shida looked at her in irritation. ‘Uh, what…’ ‘Eat. I need to make sure you’re not trying to poison me,’ Risa said. ‘Seriously. I’m not.’ But Shida ate the bite anyways, and when nothing happened to her, Risa decided that the food had to be safe. For a while, they ate in silence. Then, Shida cautiously looked around and finally spoke up, ‘So…that cell phone you were talking about, how new is it?’ What do you mean, how new is it? I don’t know … twenty years ago, maybe, or twenty - five.’ ‘So it might be a bit older than me…I might have grown up using it if…’ ‘If what?’ Risa asked, but she didn’t get an answer. Instead, Shida looked at her decisively. ‘We can’t talk about that outside,’ she said. ‘Modern things aren’t allowed in this village. You’d better not take out your phone when others can see it.’ ‘Right, the taxi driver told me that you don’t want carS in here either … why not, what’s wrong with them?’ ‘…I can’t tell you.’ A heavy sight left Risa’s lips. ‘You know you’d be rid of me much faster if you just answered my questions.’ A wry smile spread on Shida’s lips. ‘Who says I wanted to get rid of you?’ ‘…What?’ The younger woman chuckled briefly. ‘Don’t worry, I’m joking. But sadly. I’m not going to make it that easy for both of us. I’m trying, but there are some questions I can’t answer.’ Risa couldn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes, but then she decided to stop asking any questions for the night. She assumed she wasn’t going to get the answers she needed right now anyways. In the next morning after breakfast, Risa asked Shida to show her around the village, and the mayor’s daughter agreed. As soon as they left the house, however, Risa noticed something else being off. ‘Look, it’s the heretic!’ ‘Awww, did she find a friend so she doesn’t have to be alone anymore?’ A few children, probably no older that ten or twelve years, stopped playing and approached Shida while yelling those things. Risa stopped in her tracks, a little confused, but Shida just marched towards the children. ‘Go Home!’ she briskly told them, ‘Stop inconveniencing our guest! You can continue bullying me when the Detective is gone.’ Giggling, the children ran away, and Shida turned back to Risa, ‘Let’s go.’