The other day, my girlfriend, who loves antiques, and I decided to go on a drive and visit some antique and recycling shops.
I'm into retro games and vintage clothes myself, so I was also looking for rare finds like Nintendo Entertainment System games and old clothes.
Even though we were shopping for different items, we ended up visiting the same types of stores, which made the trip enjoyable.
We both managed to find a few treasures, and while driving around in high spirits, we noticed a rundown shop.
Excitedly, I said,
"Wow! Sometimes, you can find rare items like the gold version of 'Obake no Q-taro' in these old, forgotten shops."
My girlfriend, looking less enthusiastic, followed me in.
The shop was small, about the size of a convenience store, and mainly stocked old books.
There were hardly any furniture or vintage clothes.
Among the Nintendo Entertainment System games, there was just one dusty copy of 'Ultimate Harikiri Stadium.'
Just as I was about to suggest leaving, my girlfriend exclaimed, "Ah!"
I rushed over to her, and she was standing in front of a basket filled with stuffed toys and ornaments.
"Did you find something interesting?" I asked.
"This is amazing," she said, and pulled out a regular dodecahedron from the bottom of the basket, pushing aside other toys and ornaments.
Looking back, it's strange how she noticed something that was hidden at the bottom of the basket and not visible from the outside.
"What is this? A rare item?" I asked.
"I don't know, I've never seen it before... but I might buy this ornament," she replied.
It had a calm and indescribable color, making it not a bad piece as an object.
I suggested, "If it's cheap, why not buy it?"
We took the dodecahedron to the register, where a dispirited old man was reading a book.
"Excuse me, how much is this?" I asked.
That's when I noticed it.
When the old man raised his eyes from his book and saw the dodecahedron, his expression turned to one of shock, but he quickly regained his composure.
"Ah, this... um, how much was it again? Just a moment, please," he said and went into the back room, which seemed to be his home.
I could hear him arguing with an old woman, presumably his wife.
He returned with a yellowed piece of paper.
"This is a kind of toy named 'RinFone,'" he explained, unfolding the dirty, old paper.
It looked very old. The paper had a drawing of the dodecahedron labeled 'RINFONE,' showing how it could transform from a 'bear' to an 'eagle' to a 'fish.'
There were incomprehensible words written next to it.
The old man said they were in Latin and English.
"This ornament can transform into various animals. First, wrap the 'RinFone' in both hands and stroke it as if you're making a rice ball," he instructed.
My girlfriend did as told, wrapping and stroking the RinFone with both hands.
Suddenly, there was a 'click' sound, and one of the faces of the dodecahedron protruded.
"Wow, amazing!" my girlfriend exclaimed.
"Try twisting that protrusion or lifting it further," the old man suggested.
When she followed his instructions, another face of the dodecahedron caved in.
"Amazing! It's like a puzzle!" she said excitedly.
"Yu (that's me), you should try it too."
It's hard to explain in words, but do you know the toy 'Transformers'?
Like how a cassette tape could transform into a robot, or a gun or truck into a robot.
Imagine the RinFone in a similar way – pressing or turning parts of the dodecahedron could transform it into various animals like bears, eagles, or fish.
My girlfriend was deeply fascinated by it, and even I thought it was an incredible toy.
"How much is this?" she asked timidly.
"Well, it's quite an old item... we even forgot we had it... How about 10,000 yen? If we put it online, collectors might pay hundreds of thousands for it," the old man said.
My girlfriend, being good at bargaining, managed to get it down to 6,500 yen, and we left the shop with a content look.
Since the next day was Monday, after having dinner at a restaurant, we both went straight home.
On Monday, after I finished work and got home, I received a call from my girlfriend.
"Yu, that RinFone is amazing. It's really like a puzzle, transforming into the shape of animals. I couldn't stop thinking about it at work, it's even more interesting than a lousy TV game," she said excitedly.
After hanging up, she sent me a photo.
It was her hands holding the RinFone, with what looked like the head and two legs of a bear protruding from it.
I was impressed by how well-made it was and expressed my admiration in a return message before going to bed.
The next day, while driving home from work, I received a message from her.
"It's really fun. I stayed up all night fiddling with the RinFone and finally made a bear.
Come and see it," she wrote. I chuckled to myself and steered the car towards her house.
"Did you go to work after staying up all night?" I asked as soon as I arrived.
"Yes, I did. But I drank too much coffee and felt sick," she replied.
On the table was the RinFone, transformed into a four-legged bear with its head slightly raised.
"Wow, isn't this amazing? How is it even made?" I asked. "It's incredible, right? I'm really hooked.
Next, it's supposed to transform from this bear into an eagle.
I'm thinking of trying it now," she said. "Hey, hey, don't stay up all night again. You can do it tomorrow," I cautioned.
"That's true," she agreed, and after eating a simple homemade dinner together, I went home.
By the way, I forgot to mention, the RinFone is about the size of a softball.
On Wednesday, on my way home from work, I sent an email to my girlfriend asking if she had slept well and other things.
She replied, "I slept well last night! I'm on my way home now and looking forward to continuing with it."
Around 11 PM, while I was engrossed in my PS2, a photo message came in.
"I made an eagle!" she exclaimed in the message.
"The person who made this must be a genius, right?"
The photo showed the RinFone transformed into an eagle with spread wings.
Even to a layman like me, it looked intricately crafted, almost as if the eagle was about to take flight.
Despite being a toy, it was well-made with some unevenness.
I replied, "Awesome, only the fish is left. But don't rush, take your time making it," and eventually fell asleep.
On Thursday night, after my bath, my phone rang. It was her.
"Yu, did you call me earlier?" she asked.
"No, what's up?" I replied.
"For the past five minutes, I've been getting calls every 30 seconds. When I answer, I hear a bustling noise like a crowd talking, and then it disconnects. Normally, the caller ID shows the number, unknown, or public, right? But this time, it showed 'Kanata' (beyond). I haven't registered such a contact. It's creepy."
"Do you want me to come over?" I asked.
"No, I'll just turn off my phone and sleep tonight," she replied.
"Maybe it's just some cross-line issue or a prank. By the way, how's the RinFone? Did you finish the fish?"
"Almost done. I'll lend it to you once it's finished," she said.
"Looking forward to it," I said.
On Friday, concerned about the strange phone calls, I called her and decided to visit her house.
The RinFone was almost in the shape of a fish, with only the dorsal and tail fins left to be added.
"You got another weird call at noon?" I asked.
"Yeah. I was having lunch when my phone rang. It was an unknown number, so I answered.
When I pressed talk, I heard a lot of men and women's voices saying, 'Come out,' and then it disconnected," she said.
"Maybe it's a cross-line or a prank. Shall we go to the phone company tomorrow?" I suggested.
"Yeah, let's do that," she agreed.
Then we talked about how amazing the RinFone was while trying to complete the fish transformation, but we struggled to figure out how to extend the fins.
"Maybe they made the last transformation the hardest," we mused while struggling with it.
Eventually, I grew sleepy, and since it was Saturday the next day and I had brought a change of clothes, I decided to stay over at her place.
I had a terrible dream. I dreamt of a dark valley from where many naked men and women were climbing up.
I desperately climbed the cliff to escape.
I was almost at the top, almost safe. Just as I reached the summit, a woman grabbed my foot.
"Take me with you!" she cried. I woke up drenched in sweat.
It was just past 5 AM. Unable to fall back asleep, I lay in bed, staring blankly until she woke up.
On Saturday, we went to a mobile phone shop but couldn't find any significant reason for the strange calls.
Then, we decided to get our fortunes told for a change of pace.
In the city, there was a famous fortune teller known as the "Cat Lady." She had many cats at her home and conducted fortune-telling there. We needed an appointment, and luckily, we got one for Sunday. That day, we just shopped around and I stayed over at her place.
On Sunday afternoon, we arrived at the Cat Lady's house and rang the doorbell.
"Yes?" "We have an appointment," we said.
"The door's open, come in," she replied.
When we opened the door, a cat in the hallway hissed at us and ran away.
As we walked down the hallway, we saw the Cat Lady in the living room, literally surrounded by cats.
The moment we entered, the cats hissed as if they'd seen their worst enemy and scattered. It felt quite unwelcoming.
As we looked at each other, puzzled, the Cat Lady said, "I'm sorry, but please leave."
A bit annoyed, I asked why, and she explained, "I keep many cats because they are sensitive to certain things. They help me distinguish between people who should be read and those who shouldn't. I've never seen them react like this."
Something clicked in my mind, and I told her about the strange phone calls to my girlfriend and the nightmare I had.
"There's something like an animal ornament behind her... Get rid of it immediately," she said reluctantly.
When I asked if it was the cause, she turned away and said, "Please leave, I don't want to say or see any more."
My girlfriend's face had turned pale.
I persistently asked, "What is it? Is it cursed, like you often hear about antiques?"
I kept asking until the Cat Lady stood up and exclaimed, "That's a condensed, miniature hell!
A gate to hell! Throw it away! Leave now!"
"But the money we paid..."
"It's not worth it!"
Her screaming face was the scariest thing.
That day, we returned to her house and immediately wrapped the RinFone and its yellowed manual in newspaper, taped it up thoroughly, and threw it in the trash.
The trash was eventually collected, and since then, nothing strange has happened.
Weeks later, when I visited her house, my girlfriend, who also likes anagrams, said while holding a paper and pen,
"You know, 'RinFone' spells 'RINFONE.' It might be a coincidence or a stretch, but if you rearrange it, it reads 'INFERNO' (hell)..."
"Haha, it must be a coincidence," I replied.
"What would have happened if we had completed the fish?"
"Haha..."
All I could do was give a dry laugh.
I unconsciously prayed that the RinFone was disposed of at the dump and that there was no second one.
References：https://hobby7.5ch.net/test/read.cgi/occult/1147328309/