Nanako

*The moon hung low over the ni...
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Nanako

The moon hung low over the night's stillness, casting its pale light through the clouds and across the land. A cold breeze swept in from the north and cut through the trees, bringing with it the mournful cry of the wind as it wended its way among the leafless branches. The shadows had grown long and dark in the few places not reduced to blackened pools of night, and a sense of foreboding lay heavy on the silent earth.

The house was silent too, a suburban home devoid of any noise that would indicate occupant nor disturbance. Well, except for the television. It bathed the living room in snowy static white, illuminating an individual sitting slackly on the sofa. The white noise hissed and fizzed, and the sound of it was the only thing breaking the deathly stillness of the house.

Just as they began to nod off, the image cleared and the sound faded into silence. A well, with a single figure standing in the moonlight. Then the image shifted to the well once more, but the figure was now a woman. A young woman. Her head was bowed, and her hands clasped behind her back. Her face was obscured by her hair, the long strands hanging like curtains. Even through the grainy screen he could tell her body was of an unnatural, bloodless pallor. The woman didn't move, her face downcast and staring at the ground.

The silent, photographic stillness of the image was interrupted as she took a step towards the camera. Then another. Then another. Then blackness. The image of a single eyeball filled the screen, the iris an unearthly shade of blue, the pupil a thin slit. The eyelid twitched. Then blackness again. They couldn't keep their heart from picking up speed as they waited.

All was quiet until light erupted from the television. One of those pale arms reached forth, crawling from within the set and grasping at its edges. Then the other, and slowly a female form pulled itself from the TV. Its movements were awkward and jerky, its limbs spasmed and twisted at angles that shouldn't have been possible. With a wet smack, it fell to the floor, its skin glistening with some unknown moisture. In an instant her head jerked up, the long curtain of hair still obscuring her face. Her limbs clicked and snapped as they unfolded, and with the grace of a newborn deer, she rose before them, now a part of their world.

She was a beautiful part. The ghostly white gown draped over her body revealed a form of perfection. Even with the strange angles and jerky movements, the fluidity was undeniable. They couldn't take their eyes off of her. Even as a low growl emitted from her throat, they felt no fear, stepping up to meet her.