I Became a Witch in a World Full of Urban Legends

Chapter 248: Gravestones, Skeletons, and a Jew's Harp

[…I’m not the only resident being plagued by their overtly enthusiastic invitations.

There’s a woman staying in Room 102 – don’t know her name, but she lives in the same building as I do. We’re on the same boat, it seems.

It was through her that I discovered anomalies in the community.

She’s a young, beautiful, but aloof woman. She is exactly the type of woman who you would see in the movies, rejecting anybody that comes her way from thousands of miles away.

Such a woman would not associate herself with me.

I happened to read on the registration form at the management office that she has a son studying in the local primary school, and a mother suffering from Alzheimer’s at home.

For some reason, she disliked contact with anybody. She would deliberately avoid people if they happened to bump into her in the community.

Hence, she’s the type of person to not attend parties, let alone the welcome party.

The difference between us is that it’s in her character to not attend gatherings like these, while I was forced to not attend due to an illness.

Coming back home late the other day, I stumbled into her arguing with the security guard downstairs. Her voice was sharp, stinging, demanding to know the location of her mother who has went missing.

However, the security guards on duty failed to find her, and they failed to provide any useful surveillance footage.

Their heated argument went on all night, but I didn’t pay them much attention.

An old woman with Alzheimer’s going missing is something that is to be expected – if anything, I felt that it was the woman’s fault for not keeping a close eye on her mother.

I would notice her looking for her mother for about two or three weeks, and she looked increasingly troubled the more I saw her. In the end, she gave up.

Another few weeks later, I bumped into her downstairs, sitting on a bench in front of the building with a somber expression. She saw me walking past, and unexpectedly, she called out to me.

“I sympathize with you, and envy you for being able to stay in an apartment like this,” she spoke eloquently to me.

Because of my job, I never have the opportunity to talk to women, let alone such a beautiful one in front of me.

It was silent and awkward. With a dry smile, I remembered that I should reply to her, “Is living in an apartment a bad thing? I mean, they give you a little garden to tend to on the first floor, so…”

“It is,” she said. “Staying in the first floor means you’re closer to the ground. Closer to gravestones, skeletons, Jew harps, and strange visions.”

“Ah, interesting,” I had no idea what she was yapping about, and gave the driest answer known to man. Turning around, I subconsciously glanced at the window of her unit, only to notice nothing but black.

Moving closer, I could see a face gradually coming closer on the reflection of the glass, approaching closer and closer-

“Be careful,” the woman stepped up to me and whispered in a calm voice. “They’re watching you.”

Who? Our neighbours? The security guards? The management staff?

I fear that she might be a little emotional due to the loss of her mother.

That night, I searched for videos regarding a Jew’s harp, listening to its weird melodies.

It’s strange – a peculiar mix of melody and onomatopoeia. Like vibrating airflows, like the low hums of metal bouncing, like the low growls of an unknown beast, like endless, incessant chanting…

Why a Jew’s harp? What does that have to do with anything? I’ve never heard anything like that up in my unit.

Is that what she was hearing close to the ground?…]

Reading this, Jiangli placed her tablet down on the bed, and rummaged through the files relating to the Night Division’s investigation on the Happy Community.

Their investigation took place underground, and Jiangli has always disliked places like these. Sewers, basement, underground parking lots, and the like – those places were humid, dark, and resemble tombs.

In fact, these are the primary investigation places for the Night Division while researching on potential urban legends.

[The sewers in the Happy Community are cleaner than an untainted maiden’s hand…]

Reading the investigation file, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. The investigation must have been in vain, considering that this is all he could come up with.

Bai Kai’s investigation report displayed that the underground systems of the Happy Community were spick and span, with no detectable psychic fluctuations. Despite the sewers appearing as though they are regularly cleaned, his investigation report concluded that there was certainly something abnormal present.

Although he didn’t give a reason why he thought it was abnormal, I fully understand why he did, Jiangli nodded.

A perfectly clean underground area, both physically and in psychic standards… something smells fishy – like they’re trying to cover something up.

[…The days went on, but my neighbours are still as friendly as ever to me.

However, because of that woman, I began keeping a closer eye on the community.

I began noticing that the birds flying past my unit every morning looked exactly the same, and so were their chirps.

My neighbours were all young – just like the rumours, nobody who lived here seemed to be over forty.

After bedtime, I noticed a man who lives in the building opposite of mine looking around with a pair of binoculars. Is he spying on me?

I’m starting to feel unsafe in my own home. I’ve seen strange markings appearing on my door.

And a recurring dream. Or should I say, a recurring nightmare…

I dreamt of a figure with a vague, blurry face lurking within my home. It was visibly stronger than me, and yet, slightly shorter. It seemed so ordinary that I could mistake it as anybody on the streets.

It hid in a dark corner of my bedroom, by the foot of my bed. Sometimes behind my door. Watching. Observing.

I chalked it up to that woman messing up with my thoughts. Who cares about living on the first floor? Or a Jew’s Harp? Her words are negatively influencing me regardless.

However, a month later, I’d come to realize that something was very wrong with the community.

That evening, coming home from work, I could sense somebody following me.

Its footsteps intertwined with mine – light and slow. Calculated, like a cat waiting to pounce on a mouse.

Looking back, I would only be greeted with a stone path, and grass that grew on both sides of the path, neatly trimmed off by the community’s gardeners.

I continued my walk home, but I heard the footsteps again, and this time, they were lighter than before, but much, much closer.

I turned around immediately and saw a man standing behind me.

It was one of the management’s staff, wearing a black suit. His muscles could be seen visibly underneath his shirt, but he was shorter than me in stature. He was the very same staff member who invited me to the welcome party.

Not sure what his name is.

In fact, I don’t think anybody in the community does either. All of them were recruited online, and I guess that only the management knows of their identities.

He did not try to hide. Instead, he greeted me with a smile.

There was something unnerving about his smile. As if it was forged, like an alien learning how to smile to blend in with humans.

“We’re having a small party this weekend,” he smiled. “I hope you’ll be able to attend this time. To make up for the welcome party you missed, correct? Everybody here wants to get to know you!”

“…everybody?”

“All of management, and of course, your neighbours,” he grinned.

I suddenly remembered the woman who lived in Room 102, and asked, “Even the lady who lives on the first floor?”

“Yes. Her too,” he responded while staring straight into my eyes.

“…alright. I’ll see if I’m free then.”

At the time, our company was preparing for a project, and my work schedule is as inconsistent as it can be. I couldn’t guarantee that I’ll be able to attend the small party anyways.

Strangely enough, my vague answer seemed to have angered him. His smile was still plastered on his face, but I saw rage in his eyes.

When I turned around to leave, I could still feel eyes on me. It might be the staff member, but I couldn’t bring myself to look back. I decided to take my phone out and use the camera as a means to look backwards, but what I saw on my phone, I…

The staff member was still staring at my back with no expression. His eyes didn’t seem human at all, as if I was nothing but prey.

Further away, I could see my neighbours with their dogs all coming to a halt, staring at my back with wide eyes. Even their dogs were motionless and staring at me, as if they were under some sort of spell.

My body screamed at me to turn around, and the moment I did, that spell seemed to be lifted immediately.

The neighbours resumed their walks like they never stopped; the dogs frolicked in the grass like they never stopped; the staff member smiled at me like he never stopped…

“Yes? Can I help you?”

“N-no. No. No… it’s nothing.”

His words brought me out of the trance, and I walked quickly back home without stopping.

Even then, I felt their unmoving eyes on me. As if they wanted to do something malicious to me.

Their eyes were like nails piercing through my body.

Is there anything more terrifying than being treated as Public Enemy No. 1 by your neighbours, and even your house’s management?…]

“…a spell?”

Jiangli put her tablet down and flipped through the files, which contained data from a sample survey given to residents living in the Happy Community. The data showed that there were no traces of curses or any other psychic influence on the residents.

“An urban legend’s influence, perhaps? Or have they fully transformed into dependents?”

Jiangli picked up the tablet once more.

[…When I hurried downstairs of the apartment, I saw the son of the woman from a distance. A member of management was squatting down next to him, talking to him as he reached for something in his pocket.

I recalled my previous experience with the manager, and felt that the child might be in grave danger. I was about to step forward to intervene when I heard the woman screaming behind me.

“No! Don’t touch my son!” she shouted.

I turned back to look at her, and I was frightened to see her. Somehow, she seemed to have aged by ten years – if it wasn’t for her voice, I wouldn’t have recognized her.

Afterwards, I wouldn’t see her for another week. When I saw her again, something terrible seemed to happen.

Because her son has disappeared.

I was coming back home after buying dinner at the canteen, and I saw her running towards me from a distance. She wore nothing but a nightgown, and her hair was absolutely disheveled. Something must’ve happened to her, and she seemed incredibly depressed.

“H-have you seen my son?” she huffed, catching her breath.

“No,” I simply said, and she ran away without another word, disappearing into the night.

Not long after I returned home, I could hear the vague sounds of police sirens, and guessed that the woman must’ve called them here.

Listening to the intermittent sound of sirens as I ate, I recalled the time where the management staff was talking with the woman’s son, and I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Dear Reader, imagine that there are people near your home with the intention of harming you – somewhere where you should feel safe at all times…

The days gone by, and I was buried in mountains of work. I ended up sleeping overnight at work for several nights in a row, and I wouldn’t have known if the woman ended up attending the follow-up party.

It didn’t occur to me that she would be missing.

When I went to find her, there was a thick layer of dust on the windows and the door to her unit.

Again, I couldn’t see anything through her window. I tried shouting, but got no response from her.

…

Am I the only one left?

I still have those same nightmares every night, but they were getting much clearer, and the strange figures were getting closer and closer to me night by night.

I stopped going home after that. I brought a folding bed to work, and only came home once to pack sets of clothes to wear in the office.

A week would pass, but something happened. The figure in the dream met with me.

That night, I buried my head in work once again. My colleagues were done with their work, and the whole office was empty.

In the wee hours of the morning, the sky was pitch dark, and the gloomy clouds hung low, as if they were trying to trap anything that tried to fly out.

Then, the rain came, and so did the heavy thunder and lightning that shook the community to its core.

Big drops of rain slammed themselves onto the window, and I could no longer concentrate on work. I laid down on the bed I brought to rest and fiddled with my phone before falling unconscious.

I dreamt about the same figure who has been haunting me every night – it sneaked into the office building under the rain, went up the stairs of the fire exit, and came to the door of my office’s unit.

I realized very quickly in my lucid state that I had to run away, but my hands and feet seemed to stop working, and I was forced to lay still on my bed.

All I could do was watch in horror as the figure, shuffling between the desks and chairs, approached closer and closer to me. Then, it climbed on top of me, though my bed made no creaking sounds.

I had no idea who it was.

Its face was as blurry and unrecognizable as it always was.

It hunched over, squatting on my chest as it held a tiny mallet and something pale, thin, and tentacle-like that glimmered as the lightning struck over the building.

I knew want it wanted to do – it wanted to hammer that strange thing into my skull.

I knew I was dreaming, but I felt the sharp, stinging cold that penetrated my skull, accompanied by the excruciating pain that slammed into my brain one strike after another.

I reflexively tried to scream under the intense pain and fear, trying my best to wiggle around. Finally, I woke up.

The cold rain greeted me as I opened my eyes. Looking at the streets around me, I was so petrified that I fell to the wet concrete underneath me.

It turns out that, in my dream, I somehow left my office and returned to the gate of the Happy Community. I could vaguely see shadows standing behind the gate, like gravestones.

I could hear weird bursts of music coming further inside – soft, muted, like a strange mix of melodies and onomatopoeia; like metal vibrating against each other; like every syllable coming alive to drive itself into my brain…

The Jew’s harp! That’s what it is!

It’s impossible to forget that instrument once you hear it.

I soon realized that this was what caused the woman to disappear, and they’re coming to get me now. I started running for my life, and I never looked back.

From that day onwards, I lived my life in fear. I was scared, afraid that I would disappear like that woman and her family.

But, what other choice do I have? Do I continue living in the community and die as soon as I hit forty?

I don’t care who it is or how it happens. Save my soul. Help me. I don’t want to disappear. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me.

[THE REMAINING CONTENTS OF THIS POST HAVE BEEN REMOVED FOR VIOLATING COMMUNITY GUIDELINES, AND HAS BEEN DELETED OR RESTRICTED BY THE MODERATORS OF THE FORUM.]

…

REWARDS: Extended Lifespan (10 Years), Property in the Happy Community]

A Jew’s Harp… that may be a key element.

After reading the lengthy entry of the commission, Jiangli put down her tablet and rubbed her slightly swollen temples.

She initially thought that the urban legends surrounding the Happy Community would be contained within the community itself, just like the urban legends surrounding Shihekou High.

If that was the case, they could rinse-and-repeat and simply impose strict surveillance and placement of seals to minimize the harm they would bring to civilians.

However, after reading the entry, she realized that things may not be as simple as she thought it was.

The figure in the story somehow left the community to go to the person’s office, and haunted him to the point where he’s facing severe paranoia. Plus, the urban legends are somehow able to conceal their psychic fluctuations, coupled with the ability to mess with a person’s mind…

“I would classify them as a B+ Threat or higher. Unpredictability is a major factor…”

As she thought about it, her phone buzzed. Taking a look, it was a message from VACCARIA.

[VACCARIA: Yo, you asleep?]

[Genius Mahjong Girl: Yeah.]

[VACCARIA: Ooh, you’re sleepwalking? Could you please send me a selfie as promised? I know you aren’t using a landline – I know it! It says right here that you’re logged into your phone right now! Selfie! Selfie! Selfie!]

“…”

Jiangli sighed, opening her gallery and sent the pictures that she had prepared for VACCARIA.

[Genius Mahjong Girl has sent an image.]

[Genius Mahjong Girl: There. Happy? Now that you got my selfie, make ample preparations. I don’t need you holding me back during our mission. 🫰]

[VACCARIA: ???]

TRANSLATOR NOTES:

NOTICE (14/6/2024): I am very sorry, but there won’t be any updates today or next week. I just got home and found that my dog has passed away, most likely due to a case of serial dog poisoning happening in our area. I am filled with nothing but regret for not being there when she needs me and I am afraid that she died lonely and afraid. I am not in the correct mental state to translate for now and I deeply apologize for that. I will see all of you most likely the following week. Thank you for understanding. -slicedbread

EDIT: Thank you again for pointing out the discrepancies and describing the sound of the Jew’s Harp! I’ve adjusted the translation to fit it better!

If you want to listen to what a Jew’s Harp sounds like, Google has a nifty function that lets you listen to how it sounds when you search it up. To me, it kind of sounds like sheets of metal wiggling in a cartoonish way – unsure how that would sound creepy, but things are certainly escalating to be very creepy…

As always, if you’d like to support this translation, you can do so at my Ko-Fi with the button below! ^.^