I wrote this story in Japanese, and it was translated into English with the help of AI.
Buzz, crackle, bzzzt, peep.
Ugh, that awful mechanical noise again.
It’s coming from the radio Miku gave me for my birthday.
My girlfriend Miku had a strange, face-like growth on her back.
Troubled by it, she ended her life by jumping off our school building.
When I saw it, I distanced myself from her.
Maybe it was better that way—since she ended up taking her own life.
Buzz buzz buzz, peep.
I should’ve never played along. Should’ve never told her that retro radios were cool.
If I hadn’t, maybe she wouldn’t have gone looking for one like that.
I switch the radio off and shove it into the closet.
Then I crawl into bed.
After a while, sleep starts to come.
Maybe I’ll finally fall asleep. I just don’t want any weird dreams tonight.
Buzz, crackle, buzz, peep.
The static returns, but this time it turns into some unfamiliar music.
The sound quality is terrible.
I don’t know what to do with this radio that keeps coming back no matter how many times I try to throw it away.
Buzz… peep… buzz…
Static bleeds into the music.
I bury my face in the pillow and press it over my head with both hands.
Zzzzt… re… bzzz… Ren… peep… ah… peep… ai… bzzzt… I miss you——bzzzt.
“——M-Miku…?”
That was her voice. I’m sure of it.
I lift my head and look around the room.
There it is—on my desk—the same radio I just shoved into the closet.
Could this be Miku’s doing?
Is she trying to take me with her?
“Miku, you’re already gone. Please… leave me alone. I’m begging you.”
The music from the radio stops.
Silence returns to the room.
Bzzzt… Ren… peep… help me… zzzzt…
I grab the radio and hurl it against the wall.
The antenna and some kind of lid fly off and clatter to the floor.
As I look down at the wreckage—
I suddenly feel dizzy.
Everything’s red…
Everything around me is drenched in red…
A sharp, musty, metallic scent stings my nose.
“Is this… blood—?”
Whose…?
“Ren!”
A high-pitched, cheerful voice echoes in my mind.
There—just a little ways off—I see Miku, smiling gently.
“Miku—!”
W-what? She was just right there…
A cold sweat runs down my back.
I don’t know what’s happening—
But something feels off at my feet—!
“M-Miku…”
Miku, covered in blood, clings to my legs.
“H-help… me… Ren…”
That voice—it’s raspy, barely recognizable.
“M-Miku… I—I…”
My body won’t move.
Everything’s blurry…
Is this all Miku’s blood?
My hands and feet are stained red, too.
No—this… isn’t right…
“Ren—run—!”
Miku’s voice whispers in my ear.
Run?
From what? From where?
When I open my eyes, the radio is back on my desk,
and that same unfamiliar music is playing again.
Someone knocks at the door.
“You can come in.”
But no one does.
Still, the knocking continues.
I get up to open the door—
Bzzzt… peep… bzzzt… peep… crackle…
“Ren—run—!”
Miku’s voice again.
I turn around—
“Where… am I?”
I thought I was opening my bedroom door.
But now everything is white, hazy.
This is my school.
I’m standing in front of the building.
“Ren——”
A bright, cheerful voice rings in my ears—Miku’s.
It sounds like she’s right next to me…
But she’s nowhere to be seen.
Something falls from above.
Something crashes to the ground at my feet.
Red liquid spreads slowly from underneath the body—
I don’t know if it’s from the mouth or somewhere else.
Crackle… peep… buzz…
That mechanical static scrapes at my ears again.
Such an awful sound.
I want to cover my ears.
“R-Ren… I missed… you…”
——Miku——
Her voice echoes through my head.
I’m sorry.
Please…
Please forgive me already…
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The Storytelling Wolf
