I received another story from A about a visit to B's house, which I hadn't managed to articulate well before, and it took a lot of time. It's another unpleasant tale, and frankly, I'd like to get it off my chest by sharing it with someone. I appreciate your patience in hearing me out.
As I mentioned before, when A and their friend F visited B's house, they ended up discussing a child who was hit at a railway crossing. The cause was unknown, but it involved flowers, and B sighed sadly, saying, "It's tough, the misfortune of small children. It must be incredibly hard for the parents. I can't imagine what I'd do if my child passed away before growing up." F and B nodded in agreement, and B, reminded of a past event, shared, "There was a tragedy involving a classmate in elementary school. Their mother was hysterical at the funeral. She yelled at me, saying it should have been me who died, not her child. It was terrifying. But now, I think I can somewhat understand her feelings." B shared this memory from over a decade ago, which is a mix of direct accounts from A and some added fictional elements for clarity, though it remains a convoluted story.
B's father used to move every few years due to his job. When B was in the third or fourth grade, they lived in a rural town undergoing suburbanization. The school had both local children and those who had moved from elsewhere.
Once, B was invited to a classmate's home, a local, old family house, along with other kids, both locals and outsiders. Some came alone, others with parents, and B was sent by their mother. The house was large and elegant, hosting a small local festival with family and friends gathered for a celebration.
As the evening approached, the father of the house gathered everyone to announce a role for a child to play, either a princess or a shrine maiden, in a closing ceremony. They preferred a newcomer to take on the role, expressing a desire to foster friendship. Excited by the beautiful, fluttering white outfit, B eagerly volunteered. Dressed in white with makeup applied, B was placed on a palanquin-like structure, much to their delight, and B's mother took photos, praising how cute B looked. The father explained that B would be carried to a nearby shrine on the palanquin, where they should leave offerings and sake inside the shrine, assuring B that someone would come back for them.
Carried up a mountain path by several men, B, overwhelmed with excitement, fell asleep during the journey. Upon waking alone, B hurriedly completed the ritual and fell asleep again due to exhaustion. B was later carried back by the men who had come to fetch them. B's mother, upon learning what happened, scolded B for causing trouble and falling ill afterward. B spent three days sick in bed, chided for their actions during the festival.
During B's illness, many locals, especially the mother of the classmate whose house B had visited, frequently checked in on them. They brought the costume B had worn, suggesting it be kept as a keepsake, along with a charm from the shrine and other festival offerings. They showed kindness despite the trouble B had caused.
However, the twist came when B learned that the classmate who had invited them had passed away the day before B recovered. Attending the funeral with their mother, they were confronted by the grieving mother, who hysterically accused B of surviving instead of her child. The attempt to return the white costume only enraged her further, and B and their mother left without being able to pay their respects.
B was deeply affected by the incident, feeling the pain of a mother losing her child. To this day, B is haunted by the memory and the white costume, wondering if keeping it might have somehow contributed to the classmate's death. A believes the costume was marked, intricately woven with fine, pattern-like characters and carrying a faint, peculiar scent, suggesting an otherworldly presence.
A speculated that the classmate's family might have attempted to use the costume as a last-ditch effort to fulfill a ritual, possibly disrupted by something protecting B, leading to their survival and the subsequent tragedy of the classmate's death. The story raises questions about the knowledge and intentions of the involved families and the aftermath of the failed ritual.
A shared a photo of B in the white costume, appearing to be gripped by dark, branch-like shapes, which B jokingly referred to as a ghostly photobomb, though it seemed more sinister to me. B's mother once showed the photo to a psychic, who ominously predicted B's early demise, a prophecy thankfully proven false as B is now a college student.