I sat next to the window seal watching small crystallized flakes of water fall to the ground covering it in a sheet of white. My warm breath showing on the window in small bits of condensation. 

Until I heard a voice. It was similar to a small child, it was a laugh. A laugh full of innocence that made me feel safe, comfortable, euphoric. Seconds later I heard the voice speak up.

“あの。。。ダイジョブですか？”

I was unsure what to do… but it didn’t seem like an evil yokai. So I spoke up.

“はい、だいじょぶです.”

Afterward, I heard the same innocent laugh as before. They seemed happy, I smiled at that. Soon after that, we spent day, after day, after day talking to one another. I forgot to eat, forgot to sleep, and became so weak that I could only stare out the window waiting for my friend to come back. And one day they did come back. I was so happy, so for that day, we talked.

“Yukiko, are you still staring out there?”

“はい、おかさん."

I heard a sigh come from behind as my mother began to seethe annoyance. 

“Yukiko, please come sit and eat, you can go back to staring outside afterwords.”

I looked to my mother, quite annoyed, as she had just interrupted my conversation with my dear friend. I sat up off of the pillow and walked over to my mother at the dining table. Looking around at all of the food and letting each and every smell enter my system. Filling my body with a feeling of euphoria. I sat down in front of her, letting my ebony hair fall down to my sides.

“岡三、ありがと.”   

“Yukiko, go on eat. You need food to live. Now enjoy your meal.”

“はい、おかさん.”

I picked up my chopsticks, hands shaking slightly, I don’t remember the last meal I had. Looking at my hands I saw how ghostly pale my skin had become, how you could see the bones from how thin my hands were, how thin my skin was that you could see my crystal blue veins. Before I knew what had happened I was on the floor. My vision failing, and as I could see my mother panicking I could hear the all too familiar child-like chuckle of what I thought was a spirit of the wind. Never realizing how terribly wrong I was. Never knowing that this would be my final day on this cold, cold earth. Soon after that, my body went limp, my vision blackened, and I died.

Translations.

はい、おかさん, - Yes, Mother.

岡三、ありがと - Thank you, Mother.

あの。。。ダイジョブですか？- Um… Are you okay?

はい、大丈夫です - Yes, I’m okay.