The railway crossing lights blinked red in the quiet night.
Koichi stood between the closed gates, his school bag hanging loose from one shoulder. The road was empty in both directions—no cars, no footsteps, no voices. Just the metallic hum of the crossing alarm and the distant sound of a train that hadn't yet appeared.
He checked the time.
Late.
Again.
The night air felt heavier than usual, as if it pressed against his ears. He shifted his weight, staring down the tracks that cut the road in two, disappearing into darkness.
That was when his phone rang.
The sound was sharp—too loud for a place this silent. Koichi flinched, his heart kicking hard against his ribs before he even looked at the screen.
*Sis.*
He answered quickly.
"Koichi! Where are you?" his sister's voice spilled out, tense and breathless. "Mom's losing it. She's been calling your friends, the neighbors—everyone. Just come home already."
"I'm almost there," he said, forcing his voice to stay calm. "Five minutes. Ten at most. Just… convince her, okay?"
There was a pause. Not a long one. But long enough.
"…You're at the crossing, aren't you?"
Koichi frowned. "Yeah. Why?"
Another pause. This one heavier.
"Did you hear… that story?" she asked.
"What story?"
"The one going around school," she said quietly. "About a girl."
Koichi exhaled, annoyed. "Seriously? Now?"
"They say she stands near crossings at night," his sister continued, ignoring him. "Holding a knife. Asking people if they can give her their skin."
Koichi laughed—too quickly. Too loud.
"What kind of nonsense is that?" he said. "You expect me to believe some kid rumor?"
"I'm not making it up," she insisted. "My friend's father swears he saw her. Said she just stood there. Smiling."
"Stop trying to scare me," Koichi snapped. "I'm standing right here and there's nothing—"
He stopped.
Across the tracks, beyond the opposite gate, someone was standing.
He hadn't noticed her before. He was sure of that.
A girl.
She stood perfectly still, framed by the red crossing lights. Her clothes were pale, her hair hanging straight down, unmoving despite the wind that brushed against Koichi's sleeves.
In her hand was a knife.
The blade caught the warning light and reflected it back in dull flashes. Something dark stained the metal—not fresh, not clear. Just… there.
She smiled.
Not wide. Not exaggerated.
Just enough.
Koichi couldn't breathe.
"…Koichi?" his sister whispered through the phone. "Are you still there?"
The girl tilted her head slightly, as if listening. Then, slowly—deliberately—she raised the knife toward her face.
Koichi's fingers went numb. The phone slipped slightly in his grip.
The train's horn screamed from the darkness, rushing closer now, shaking the ground beneath his feet. The lights flared brighter. The alarms grew louder.
For a moment, just a moment—
The girl's lips moved.
As if asking a question.
The train thundered past, steel and wind and noise swallowing everything.
When the last carriage cleared the crossing, the gates began to rise.
The road was empty.
The girl was gone.
Koichi stood alone, phone still pressed to his ear, the red lights fading back into darkness.
"…Koichi?" his sister said again. "Did you see her?"
He didn't answer.
He had finally understood something.
The story never said she chased anyone.