My Roommate Keeps Fiddling With The Shoes

[Do you also get the weird feeling that something paranormal is happening around you?]When I read that reply again, I shuddered. Something paranormal happening around me?I looked around but saw nothing. Then, I peered at Yvonne’s room from the corner of my eye, only to find her sitting as still as a statue in front of her desk.Wait. When had she come back?I heard her leaving to go to work just a moment ago!Her back was facing me, and at no point did she spare me a glance. That was so weird! I approached her on tiptoes to see what she was doing, only to find her reading. “Yvonne?” I called out to her. She turned around with a bit of a pale face. “When did you wake up?”I felt like she was avoiding my gaze. “Why aren’t you at work?” I asked instead. “I took a leave for today. I have some things to do,” she answered casually. After a moment of hesitation, I decided to get straight to the point. “I saw you fiddling with the shoes yesterday.”Yvonne was stunned f

[What should I do now?][I suggest observing for now and see whether she does anything else unusual. If this is a real Guiding Ritual, she won’t just rearrange the shoes. She’ll definitely do something else. Also, you have to pay attention to tomorrow, since it’s the seventh day. By then, the guided entity will reach its goal. If you’re the goal, tomorrow night will be crucial to you.]I put down the phone and felt that my entire world had become surreal. The Guiding Ritual, the seventh day, the mysterious entity…All of these sounded like they belonged in a novel, but they were happening to me! Even after hearing about Henry’s analysis, I still could not quite believe this. He said that something was being led to me, but aside from feeling like I was being followed, I did not feel anything strange. In order to see whether he was telling the truth, I decided to observe my rented place. The first thing that caught my attention was the temperature. I noticed that whenever I re

The seventh day finally arrived.I was restless the entire time and could not focus at work. Winston, my colleague, noticed my condition and asked in concern, “What’s wrong? You look horrible.”“It’s nothing. I haven’t been sleeping well.” I forced a smile. I was pretty close with Winston, and we usually ate and chatted together. “Is it because you’re not getting along with your roommate? You mentioned that she was a bit weird.”I hesitated for a moment before giving him a general rundown of what had been happening recently. Winston scowled at that. “Are you sure she’s just rearranging the shoes and not doing anything else?”“That’s the only strange thing I observed.”“That’s strange.” He propped his chin on his hand. “If it’s really a ritual, then it shouldn’t be this simple.”After work, I went back feeling my nerves stretched taut. Yvonne was already back home and was cooking in the kitchen.When I saw her preparing dinner, I began wondering whether I was overthinki

My phone rang. It was Henry. “You good, lass?”“I’m alive.”“That’s good. It was the seventh day yesterday, and I was worried about something happening to you. If you have a minute, I’d like to come over and check on you. There are certain things that I need to tell you face-to-face.”I cast a glance at Yvonne’s shut door before saying hesitantly, “Alright, but you should be careful.”Henry arrived an hour later. He was a bespectacled, polite-looking man in his fifties, totally different from the stereotypes I held about specialists. “Sorry to intrude.” Henry looked around once he was inside. “Where’s your roommate?”“She’s in her room.”Henry nodded before squatting down to inspect the entrance with a magnifying glass.“There are marks, alright, and they’re new.”“You don’t look like an amateur folklore specialist. What exactly is your job, Henry?” I asked. “I’ll be frank with you. I’m a retired cop. I was a detective for thirty years, and I specialized in unique cases

As the temperature dropped, all of us sensed something coming alive in the room. Yvonne grabbed a small bottle from her pocket. In it was red liquid.“This is my last resort. Drink it, and everything will end,” she said. “Wait! Don’t trust her!” Henry suddenly cried out to stop me. “What do you mean?” I was stunned. “That’s not to protect you. It’s poison!” He pointed at Yvonne. “She wants to kill you!”“What on earth are you saying?” Yvonne’s expression changed. “You think I’m lying?” Henry sneered. “Then, explain why you became her roommate so coincidentally. Why do you know about her situation so well? Why is that thing so active after you came here?”Henry’s questions caused Yvonne to panic a little. “I already told you! I’m trying to protect her—”“I looked into you, Yvonne Zimmer. You’ve been hiding a lot of things! You know Rain, so why were you pretending to be a normal roommate? Why didn’t you tell her about your relationship? This sneaking around is suspicious