Chapter 176Steps to Sound

Silently I left Hitori's house. Feeling gloomy and a bit sad in remembrance. My footsteps felt as if they echoed along the street, resounding every time my foot touched the street. I made the mistake of trying to remember.

I still underestimated the strength, the renewed vividness of my memories.

My sharper senses didn't surprise me that much anymore, to me it was normal that every tiny bit of light could be seen, every subtle smell noticed, every sound a concert. And it was good that it didn't hold me like it did when I just turned, I would go crazy with the overflow of information, crazy with the intensity.

But memories...

The scene in the alley came coursing back into my mind so intense, so vividly that I completely forgot all around me. I tried to remember her face and pulled the memory in front of me, not expecting it all to come back.

My nose smelled the scent of blood once more, the thick alluring smell. My fingers felt her soft ripped flesh, her torn neck with the blood running over my fingers. In the corner of my eyes I saw the guy who hurt her still lying on the ground where I left him... back then.

My ears heard her voice, broken and disjointed. Those simple words blew me away.

Not alone....

I blinked. My body had just continued to walk while my memories played out in front of me. Despite not being bothered by the cold weather, I shivered. A shiver that ran all along my spine and beyond, rising over my head and disappearing.

Strangely enough, the hairs in my neck itched a little as well, as if someone was following me, but I heard nothing but my own footsteps. At least the streets were devoid of other life here. I was getting closer to the graveyard with every step and I could already hear feel the silence like a blanket all around here.

No one dared to make noise.

The gates to the graveyard were very old and dark and... open?

It was way past midnight now and as far as I remember, graveyards closed their gates in the evening. So why was this gate open?

As I walked in, I could hear some crying far off. I'd never been to this particular graveyard, but Hitori had told me where her grave was and how to get there. It was quite large, larger than I had expected in fact. The ground wasn't level either, in a good way. Gentle slopes often accentuated with trees and bushes made this graveyard quite delicate.

The graves near the entrance were old and worn, some cleaned not too long ago. The paths were well-kept and clearly marked with white stones at every corner, their brightness contrasting sharply against the dark ground. The trees they planted here were a bit surprising as well. I would have expected sad trees, hanging or growing gnarly. But the trees here were all very uplifting in a strange way, growing up to the sun.

In fact, the graveyard was much more calming than I had expected.

Though the sound of someone crying somewhere was slightly distracting.

I made my way past the white stones, the second right, third left when I noticed I was heading almost straight for the crying person here. It was a girl, not too old, but it was hard to discern more from here. She was still out of sight, hidden by the surplus greenery around here. But as soon as I walked the final corner she was there, right by the grave I was heading for.

I stopped.

She probably didn't know I was here yet and I wondered if I should make my presence known. She was crying softly her hands in front of her eyes. Her hair was a bit dark blonde, waving in the soft breeze. She was young, too young to be out here at this time. Perhaps thirteen or something, it was hard to tell.

She didn't look dangerous.

My feet made noise on the path when I walked those last steps, she looked up scared. "Who's there?"

She could probably hardly see me, there wasn't any light fixtures around here, the graveyard was not meant to be visited now.

I tried to sound warm and calm. "Eh, just me. I'm sorry if I startled you."

"W-What are you doing here?" She sounded like she was feeling guilty, she probably wasn't supposed to be here.

"I'm here to visit her." Stepping closer to the grave she was standing next to. "I couldn't come any earlier, but I didn't want to wait any longer either. And you?"

"I..." She fiddled with her hands nervously.

"I'm her sister."