Ohno was exhausted from work. Today, he covered more than five hours of art back at the university. He never thought that being a young art professor would be so exhausting. Therefore he was glad that he didn’t drive to work today. Instead, he walked home. It was a long one, but he didn’t mind. Maybe he would find an inspiration for the class.

 

It was awfully dark and he wished there were more street lights. The darkness reminded him for rumors and stories he heard back in the university about the road home. But Ohno wasn’t afraid of anything, because rumors and stories are all fiction.

 

Truth be told, however, it was Ohno’s first time walking home. He had missed the last bus after his last class ended and by the time he got out of the university, there were no more buses. Or people, for that matter. He was alone. He couldn’t stand being alone, but he didn’t want to bother his friends who had families of their own. So he had no choice but to walk home by himself.

 

He didn’t know the walk was this long. He always thought that it was going to be a short walk. He wanted to be home as soon as possible, but it seems unlikely. All he wanted was a nice cup of cocoa, and then his warm comforters.

 

However, as he continued to walk the long road, he heard something behind him. It was soft, almost like a whisper, but when he turned around there was no one. Ohno shrugged. It must be his own imagination.

 

He continued, hoping to get home sooner until he heard the same noise again, except it was louder.

 

 

Ohno stopped in his tracks, took a deep breath and turned around. There was no one but him and the darkness.

 

He turned around once again, and walked faster.

 

‘It’s said that if you walk alone by that road, you’d hear the sound of scissors going snip-snip.’ The words of the students echoed in his head as he walked faster and faster. It must be his imagination, for sure, because he was alone and it was dark so he couldn’t help but he paranoid.

 

 

‘And then…he--’ Ohno regretted stepping away from the students telling the story because he didn’t know what would happen next.

 

 

Ohno couldn’t stand it anymore. Fiction or not, he had to get home. He ran as fast as he could, as fast as his feet can allow him. So fast that he didn’t notice someone standing ahead and he bumped into this person.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I--”

 

 

He closed his mouth. He staggered back, his eyes wide when he saw the person in front of him holding a pair of huge scissors.

 

 

The person turned around and all Ohno could see were black, dark eyes. It appeared to be smiling before the man came at a fast speed and darkness completely took over…

 

The next day, news came about the whole university. It was said that a jogger found a body in the middle of the street the next morning, dismantled and scattered across the whole road. “Poor sensei,” a student murmured when she heard what had happened to her art professor. “He was such a nice man.”

 

END