10: The Sound of Water

Did someone call me? Alright, I'm gonna tell a short story.

It was around the beginning of the summer when I was a first year student of the university. Because I didn't have a fan, let alone an air-con in my room, everyday was like living in blazing inferno for me.

One such sultry midnight, I got a sudden phone call .
It was already one o'clock in the night.

――Who the hell is it, in this freaking midnight?!

I picked it up, slightly snapped. Then, I heard a gurgling sound from the receiver.
It was just like someone was speaking forcibly in the water. I thought the line was crossed or something and it made the voice strange. But, I felt like each interval was too long for someone speaking.
Well, it's difficlt to discribe though, if I dare, it would be 'Gurgling ... gurgling ... ... woosh ...  gurgling ... woosh ... woosh ... gurgling ... '

If it was an usual day, a shudder would just through my back. But at that time, I was so irritated that my head was almost puffing. I had to say "Shut up. Who the fuck is it?"

The phone call, however, wasn't hung up and the gurgling, bubble sound still could be heard at regular intervals.

"Who's it? Who's it? Who's it? Who's it?" I also kept asking who repeatedly, being obstinate for more than 10 minuts untill I became aware of the caller wasn't going to hang up. Eventually, I hanged up the phone feeling quite rediculous about it.

About three months later, when the happening had been completely swept away from my memory, I found that gurgling sound left in the answerephone of my house.

'Gurgling … gurgling … woosh … gurgling …,'

It filled all the available recoding time. Because it was creepy, I was going to delete it at first, but didn't as I somehow wanted to hear my friends' opinion about it.

Around three days later, one of older students in the circle I belonged to would come to my house.  I waited for him preparing the recordings, with only the gurgling sound part left, to let him listen to.

"Can you drink this coffee instead of me, please?" No sooner had he arrived than he said so.

According to him, he wanted to buy a cold canned coffee at a vending machine, but for some reasons, he ended up to press 'HOT' button by mistake. It was September when lingering summer heat was still tough.
However, to hear the recordings in question, he began to drink  the hot coffee while gasping, clasping the can.
He had so strong six sense that I looked up to him as a master of occultism and, even the master was shaking hard.

"Shall we start it over again?"

"Stop!" He shouted angrily when I was about to approach to the phone. "Do you even listen to this sound as warter gurgling?" he asked me, being pale.

"Huh? What do you hear? "

"It's wraith. Don't listen to it forthrightly if you don't wanna get your life shortened," he said,  "It's here even now. The head."

I had a person in mind. At the time, I'd been stalked by a woman. Since I kept ignoring her, she often said she would kill herself with sleeping pills or whatnot.

"Do you see the face? Isn't it a woman?"

"It is. But it's not only the face but also whole head. The neck extends through the window into this room."

I was horrified.
Because I'd ever heard that wreith would come to a person who are in a love-hate relationship, extending its kneck while the wreith sender is in asleep and not knowing about it.

"P-Please help me."

As I begged for a help in tears, he was unstable, as if being ready to run away shortly, saying, "Anyway, never ever answer or listen to the phone next time. The only way to solve is meeting the sender herself and talking this out while she's awake," he momentally stopped there looking up at the sealing, then, opened his eyes widely. "… Plus, it's not just a sleep. This looks like … in the worst case, she's possibly gonna die before waking up. Look at her neck. It's nearly torn off."

I didn't see any of it though.

Since he'd gone home despite my effort to keep him stay, I reluctantly headed to the stalker-woman's place.

I'd like to omit what happened after that because it strays from ghost stories and because I don't wanna talk about it, though, I'd been stalked by the woman for whole two years or so after all. 

To be honest, it was much scarer when she called me to report herself attempt suicide live than that gurgling sound on the phone.