20th of October

Last night, I went to bed early after a maid had cleaned the minor cut on my head. I told her that a tree branch had cut me while I had been walking and I did not mention Tzuyu in any way. The servants would only gossip and my uncle might hear that Tzuyu has not been following the advice of the doctors. I do not want her to get into trouble just because I was foolish enough to hit my head and get lost. Even as I was occupied by many thoughts of Tzuyu before bed, I fell asleep almost instantly as the day had been particularly taxing.

However, I woke up from my heavy slumber after midnight. At first, I sensed nothing out of the ordinary and I was already falling back asleep when I heard a thud from the floor above. Dreams ran away from me and I began to listen carefully, but I could not hear anything. I thought that it must have been the wind making the old house wail in its dreams, but there was no wind that night. Ever since the fog had taken over the estate, there had been no sign of a breeze. Then another thud could be heard from above, but this time it was much louder and there was no mistaking it for the wind. It was followed by another noise coming from the upstairs, as if someone had been pulling heavy furniture across the floor. I buried my head deeper into my blankets.

I knew the sounds were coming from somewhere close to Tzuyu's room and my stomach rolled into knots. Maybe burglars had heard about the Lord of the House being away and had used the fog as a cover and were now stealing everything they could carry? The other explanations I could come up with were much more supernatural and therefore far more terrifying. Was Tzuyu in great danger?

As the dragging noise went on, I got up and lighted a candle in the dark. The light wavered on the walls as my shaking hand refused to stay still. I told myself to be brave - if Tzuyu was in trouble, then it was my duty to save her. She had already saved me once and the least I could do was to attempt to save her in return.

I opened the door to the corridor and the darkness gathered around my candle like a pack of wolves. All the doors in my floor were closed and I knew from experience that quite a few of them were also locked. There was not a soul in the same floor as me, as the servants slept downstairs and rarely came up -and even then, it was because they had to dust the paintings or change bed linen.

Listening carefully, I began to walk down the corridor towards the stairs that would take me to the fourth floor. The noises coming from the above were much louder in the corridor as there were fewer walls to muffle the noise. I could not discern what exactly made the noises and my own heart hammered so loudly in my chest that I could hardly hear anything else. The swelling on my head throbbed painfully.

Suddenly the noise stopped as if it had been cut with a knife. The house went completely still and I realized that I hated the silence a lot more than the previous racket. Yet, I was determined to see what was going on and I walked ahead, knowing that the staircase could not be far. I was praying soundlessly for Tzuyu to be safe and sound, but the silence was suffocating even my prayers.

I nearly ran the last meters to the staircase, but before my foot touched the first step a loud hissing warned me not to move forward.

I nearly dropped my candle and barely managed to keep my footing, swaying on the first step. As I lifted my gaze, I saw that Tzuyu was crouching on the landing, in the near darkness where my candle only casted a faint glow. She looked terrible. There was something animalistic about her as she crouched there, with her arms around herself and mouth open to a wince. It reminded me of a stray cat I had seen when I had been a little girl. My father had shot her because she had been mad from rabies.

"Go back to your room," Tzuyu growled. Her face was sweaty and a vein on her forehead was visible even in the candlelight.

"But I heard noises-"

"I am having one of my seizures - go!"

I was nowhere near as scared as I had been a moment ago, but the look on Tzuyu's face made me shiver. She looked exhausted, but at the same time so strong that she could have jumped to my side with one leap, like a panther. It must have been the flicker of the candlelight and the long shadows that played tricks with my head. Everything looked unreal and distorted.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Leave!" Her whole face seemed to change shape as she screamed and before I realized, my legs were already running towards my room. Once I got there, I shut the door and turned the key - for what reason, I do not know.

I went back to bed, but it was useless to try to sleep. I could still see Tzuyu's face before me as I closed my eyelids and the largest noise in the house was the sound of my heartbeat. I still worried about my friend and one part of me wanted to go back, but I was relieved to be in my bed, away from her strange seizures. Nobody had ever told me about them in detail or whether I should be wary of her when something like this happened.

As agitated as I was, I fell asleep during the early hours of the morning. Now that I am writing this, I have only just woken up. The events of the night are already fading away like a dream. Maybe it had been nothing but a dream?

I better go now and have some breakfast. Perhaps, the staff can better explain what Tzuyu is going through and advise me on how to proceed if I ever see her again during one of her seizures.

Later in the Day

The fog is yet to show any signs of leaving this part of the country. Back at home they usually disappear as quickly as they come and never last longer than half a day. The cook says this could take days and I trust her judgement as she has lived here her whole life. She also said something about the fog bringing bad times, but I could not hear that part properly. Yet one thing is for certain - if the fog continues, my uncle will not be able to return. It would be far too dangerous to travel during these conditions.

As I had promised myself, I asked the cook about Tzuyu, but the response took me completely by surprise. She pretended not to hear me at first, but when I repeated my simple question, she only asked me the following:

"Do you own a cross, Miss?"

"A cross?"

"A necklace, Miss."

"My mother gave me one when I was but a child. I believe I have it with me-"

"Wear it at all times!"

And with such a curt reply she was gone from the room, clearly finished with the subject. I could not bring it up again during dinner as the only servant present was the housemaid. I kept wondering, why on earth would the cook suggest I always wear a cross? Would she dare to advise a guest merely for religious reasons? Her earlier behavior does not go well with her character, as she is very demure and polite. It seems odd for her to be suddenly asking whether I have a cross or not, let alone tell me to wear one!

Nevertheless, as I went back to my room, I went through my belongings and found the small wooden cross in my jeweler box. I looked at it for a long time, contemplating what I should do with it, but in the end, I decided to wear it. If it helps the cook to sleep during the night, I might as well wear it until my uncle and his wife come back.

Later, as I walked back from dinner, I passed the staircase where I had seen Tzuyu last night. Even during the day, the place looked dark and ominous and as I stood there near the first step, I felt as if the shadow was growing and nearing me, falling down the stairs like a wave. I found myself fiddling the cross I was wearing. Something about the small wooden structure felt oddly soothing.

The whole day I have been worried about Tzuyu and I do not know how I will manage to sleep now, since I have not seen her during the day. The servants seem to act as if I am the only person here and everyone refuses to even talk about her properly. Why does nobody care for her well-being? Is she not the daughter of her Ladyship?

I cannot shake the feeling that everyone knows something that I do not. What a place to stay! I might as well be stranded on an island with a jungle full of exotic creatures.

21st of October

To my utter surprise, Tzuyu turned up for breakfast this morning. She walked in as I was drinking tea, staring outside into the fog that moves so ghost-like in the garden. I could not hear her approaching until she pulled a chair from under the table and sat next to me. I nearly screamed - not only because she surprised me but also because our last meeting had been anything but peaceful. I could still remember how she had looked like.

"Why are you not sleeping?" was the first question I could come up in my great shock. It is strange, how in such moments of shock a person can turn to the most mundane of details, such as sleeping.

"I went for a walk because I could not sleep," she said cheerfully and played with a slice of bread, but did not taste it. I tried to return to my own breakfast and act as if nothing was bothering me, but I failed miserably. I had expected her to look very sickly aft