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Chapter Four: Digging for the Truth:

August 2001. Escape. Anna’s computer became just that. Whenever she was sad or stressed, the college freshman would boot it up and do some research and work. Sure, she would feel better later, but to what cost? Anna isolated herself further in her glass box in the sky. She wouldn’t eat or sleep for days. Her friends worried about her because of it. Anna didn’t notice. She just wanted to escape. Escape from the pain of the three years ago. Escape from that night.

May 2009. Anna unpacked her backpack the same day after the mother and daughter bought the house. Time to check for anything stolen or bugged. She went over the checklist in her head. If she was correct, everything should be here. “/Right,/” Anna thought. The checking began. IPod still there. Earphones and all. Anna turned on her IPod. She scrolled through the music. Everything there and nothing she didn’t download present. Snacks all in the bags. Clean underwear still folded and untouched. Pencils and pens still there. Newspaper she bought in California still there. Tylenol still full and there. Socks same as underwear. Water bottle same as snacks and Tylenol. Hygiene things unused and present. Basics still there and untouched. Anna breathed out. “/Good!/” she thought. Now for the big things. The Japanese-American took in a deep breath. She picked up work again.

First item: Journal. Anna opened it. All pages still there and clean. Only writing present was hers. Anna breathed out. One item down, now for the biggie. She pulled out her red Studio 17 Dell laptop and flash drive. This was the topper. If someone wanted to kill her, it would be over this. The woman took some time to prepare herself. She breathed in heavily. Anna looked around for an outlet for her laptop. She found one near the door. “/Perfect!/” the woman thought. She plugged up the laptop and got right to work. Anna turned on her laptop. The welcome screen popped up. Normal so far. Anna didn’t let down her guard though. Her computer could still be tampered with. Only one way to see.

Anna logged in using her fingerprints in the fingerprint scanner. She waited for her account to load. It came up with no problems. Her settings looked the same as before she was killed. Anna still looked around the whole laptop for a few minutes. It all looked the same. The laptop passed the test. One more item left to check out.

Anna plugged in her black and red flash drive. She waited for the file to come up. When it did, Anna examined it. One unfamiliar file caught her eye. “To Kimoto-san” it was labeled. The woman looked on confused. “/What the hell is this?/” she thought. Anna clicked on the icon. A word document popped up. Anna read it to herself. Here is what she read:

Dear Kimoto-san:

If you are reading this, you have been brought back from the dead. I know you have many questions about your situation. It will take you awhile to find the answers. I can’t give them to you, but I can give you a start. You have something in your soul called a Hell Stone. I can’t explain anymore. Good luck with the search for the truth.

There was no name to it. Anna stared on blankly. Okay… Not much of a clue. But, better than nothing. So, Anna clicked on Foxfire on her desktop. Google Japan came up. She typed in “Hell Stone.” One result came up. Anna clicked on the link. Her find startled her.

“The Hell Stone brings the dead back to life temporary,” the woman read to herself. “The stone is place in the deceased’s mouth. The deceased will come back to life, but they cannot stay not for long. If the dead is alive longer than thirty seconds, someone else has to die in their place.” Anna went pale at those words. “/Somebody died because of me?/” she thought. The poor woman seemed shaken up. Yet, she forced herself to keep reading.

“Also, the Hell Stone is not very stable,” Anna read. “Over time, the stone will break down in the body. Once the stone has broken down, the body will break down into white ash, soul and all. The body is still vulnerable to death. Once the stone is removed, the person dies and stays dead. The Hell Stone will break down into dust once it is removed.” Anna sat back startled. Tsuzuki gave her something that could kill her? Her mind had a hard time taking it all in.

“/I could die again at any moment?/” she thought. It took awhile to deal with. At last, Anna slowly came to terms with her situation as she buried herself in her research on the Hell Stone and any clues to her father’s past. Just like she did during her college days. Every page of information locked Anna higher in her invisible glass box of disassociation and isolation. All not to feel anything at all from the shocking truth.

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