Shuhei Sasaki, May 19, 2014
In the window of an old apartment in a working-class Tokyo neighbourhood, a light glimmered despite the late hour.
The apartment’s sole resident was twenty-one-year-old Shuhei Sasaki, a college student. He really should have been cramming for exams or working on a résumé for his upcoming job search, but that night he found himself glued to his computer screen for an altogether different reason.
‘So, this must be the blog Kurihara was talking about,’ he muttered to himself.
Kurihara was a younger student. He and Sasaki were both members of the college Paranormal Club. That afternoon, Sasaki had run into him in the cafeteria, and they had ended up having lunch together. Sasaki had been too busy with job hunting lately to attend any club meetings, so he was eager to catch up with his clubmate after so long away.
After they’d brought each other up to date and discussed the upcoming overnight with the club, naturally the talk turned to their shared interest in the bizarre and unexplained.
‘So, Sasaki, have you gathered any intel lately?’
Kurihara wore an odd expression as he spoke. In their club, ‘gathering intel’ was code for watching or reading anything related to the paranormal.
‘None. I’ve been swamped. I haven’t seen any movies, read any books or even surfed online.’
‘All right then, I’ll put you onto something juicy. I just recently found a very strange blog.’
‘A blog? What about?’
‘It’s called Oh No, not Raku! At first glance, it’s perfectly innocent, but there’s something there. Something strange about it. I can guarantee a chill, at the very least, so do give it a look.’
‘Right . . .’
In Sasaki’s experience, Kurihara was an easy-going kind of guy. He always preferred to hang back and stay out of things. So, when he recommended something with such enthusiasm, Sasaki knew he couldn’t ignore it.
* * *
12 a.m. The only sound was the ticking of his clock. Sasaki gulped as he opened the blog Kurihara had told him about.
He felt . . . nostalgic, rather than nervous. Once, there had been so many blogs like this.
Ah, blogs. The concept now almost seemed quaint. Everyone had a different take on theirs. The blogs came in all sorts of styles: some simple diaries, some hobby sites, others outlets for political rants. . . . There was so much freedom to them, there had even been a time when you could find blogs ‘written by’ cats or rice spatulas. But these past few years, the fever had died down, and you found far fewer than before.
By the title alone, you’d assume the author was named Raku, but it was such an unusual, suggestive name. A pen name? Probably.
And that exaggerated ‘Oh no’ was such a weak attempt at humor. The kind of uninspired silliness that was the hallmark of your average diary.
The latest post flickered beneath the title. It was dated November 28, 2012. So, about a year and a half ago. Meaning the blog hadn’t been updated since.
It read:
‘To the one I love most’ 11/28/2012
I am going to stop updating this blog today.
I’ve finally figured out the secret of those three drawings.
I can’t imagine the kind of pain you must have been suffering.
Nor can I understand the depths of whatever sin you committed.
I cannot forgive you. But even so, I will always love you.
Raku
Sasaki read this short, disturbing entry over and over. The more he did, the deeper the mystery grew.
He couldn’t imagine what meaning lay behind the phrases ‘To the one I love most’, ‘the secret of those three drawings’ and ‘whatever sin you committed’.
So he scrolled down, skimming past entries to see if they could help him unravel the mystery. The first entry was dated October 13, 2008. It read:
‘Hello world!’ 10/13/2008
I’ve decided to start keeping a blog from today. So, I guess I should begin by introducing myself. My name is Raku.
I was going to post a photo of myself, but while I was setting it up, I was told it’s dangerous to post personal information on the web, so here’s a drawing instead.
It’s actually by my wife.
I’ll just call her Yuki. She’s six years older than me.
When I told her I was starting a blog, I asked if she would draw a picture of me to use instead of a photo, and it didn’t even take her five minutes. That’s what you get with a former pro illustrator! She’s so talented!
But I think maybe she made me look too handsome. . . .
So, anyway, this is going to be like a diary, just me writing whatever I happen to feel like.
I plan to post every day, so I hope you keep reading!
Raku
‘Anniversary’ 10/15/2008
Hi there, it’s Raku!
I know I promised I’d update every day, but I was just so beat yesterday I went to bed without writing. Sorry. I’ll do better from now on!
So, today, October 15th, is a very important day.
It’s our first wedding anniversary!
I bought a whole cake to celebrate. It was a little pricey, but so worth it!
I ended up devouring two pieces, before Yuki scolded me, ‘Don’t eat so much! You’ll get fat!’ She’s so mean! (SOB)
The last four slices went into the fridge. That’s tomorrow’s breakfast. I can’t wait!
Raku
The entries went like that, four or five a week. They were all pretty tame, ‘I ate so-and-so’ or ‘We went to do such-and-such’, and Sasaki found no hint of anything that could be the ‘sin’ or ‘pain’ mentioned in the final entry.
Along the way, though, the couple’s lives took a turn.
‘Announcement’ 12/25/2008
Hi there, it’s Raku!
So, Yuki woke up feeling unwell, and it seems she went to hospital to get checked out this morning.
And, wouldn’t you know it, they said she had a baby in there!
When Yuki told me, I was so happy I started jumping for joy! This is the best Christmas present ever!
So, I am hereby announcing that we are going to be a mummy and daddy!
Raku
From that point on, the blog was consumed by all things baby. Raku’s entries overflowed with emotional writing about his expected child, as well as with concern for Yuki’s condition.
‘Morning sickness sucks’ 1/3/2009
Yuki’s morning sickness was really bad again today, so she could barely eat any of the New Year’s leftovers.
All I can do is rub her back. I feel so powerless.
I’ve always heard that women start craving sour food when they have morning sickness, though I guess everyone’s different.
Anyway, Yuki said she thought she could eat yogurt without feeling sick.
And so, our fridge is now packed with yogurt.
And I’m off to the store to buy more!
Raku
‘Baby bump’ 2/8/2009
Today we are entering the 13th week of pregnancy.
But it seems morning sickness isn’t through with Yuki yet.
She ate a load of yogurt again today. She’s tried a lot of different varieties, but it seems that the kind with aloe chunks agrees with her stomach best.
And speaking of her belly, she’s really starting to show.
It’s like I can see how the baby is growing! I’m so happy!
Raku
‘Cherry blossoms’ 3/16/2009
Yuki has started feeling a lot better, so today we went out for the first time in a while.
We went to the neighbourhood park. The cherry blossoms were beautiful, although they haven’t reached full bloom yet.
We sat on a bench and talked about the baby.
Things like, ‘What kinds of classes should we sign them up for when they’re older?’ and ‘What anime should we watch with them first?’
We’re rushing things a little, but imagining our lives with the baby is so much fun.
I want to start thinking up names, but we’re going to wait until after we know if it’s a boy or a girl before we do too much of that. Although, sitting under the cherry blossoms, we both agreed that Sakura would be a good name for a girl.
Raku
Up to that point, the couple’s daily life had seemed one of endless sunshine.
But then, in May, when they’d passed the midpoint of Yuki’s pregnancy, clouds appeared on the horizon.
‘Ultrasound scan’ 5/18/2009
I had the day off from work today, so I took Yuki to her prenatal check-up.
It was so moving to get a first glimpse of the baby on the ultrasound!
But apparently it’s a breech baby.
I’ve heard that breech babies can cause problems when it comes time to deliver, so that made me nervous. But the baby is still small, and I’m told they still move around a lot at this stage, so I was relieved to hear the doctor say it would probably turn itself the right way. Phew!
But there was another surprise to come.
Because the baby was head up, its pubic area was hidden behind Yuki’s pelvic bone, so we still don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl.
So, I guess we’ll have to pick a name without knowing!
Raku
A breech baby . . . that’s what they call it when a baby is positioned head up and feet down in the mother’s womb, the reverse of what usually happens. This discovery would go on to become a major issue for the couple.
‘Doing our best!’ 7/20/2009
We had another check-up.
The baby is still head up.
At this stage, apparently, it’s very rare for babies to turn around on their own, so I guess we have to do it ourselves.
They taught us some exercises to help turn a breech baby. Yuki is going to be doing them every day at home from now on. ...
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