Many people say that having a sixth sense is a gift. In reality, some of them call it a curse instead. Ria was one of them.
She didn't feel that being able to see supernatural beings was some kind of blessing. She considered it more of a disaster than good fortune.
Because sometimes, those beings showed themselves without warning and at any hour, even in broad daylight.
Like… moments like this.
Ria let out a harsh breath when she saw the slimy white creature licking blood from a sanitary pad. She decided to leave immediately before it realized that Ria could see it.
Shuddering in horror, she abandoned the idea of going into the restroom. It would be better to use the bathroom at a gas station than relieve herself while looking at something that disgusting.
She spun around and nearly collided with Ms. Rahma. The dean of the Faculty of Economics smiled at her.
“Are you done, Ria?”
“Yes, Ma'am,” she lied with a smile. Ms. Rahma walked past her, heading into the restroom.
Ria extended a hand, her mouth opening as she planned to warn Ms. Rahma. But… she felt the woman wouldn't believe her. It was hard to explain things to people whose eyes weren't like hers. They might just label her “crazy.”
Shaking her head, Ria walked away and returned to the office to sit in her chair. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Farah—one of the lecturers in the Faculty of Languages, two years older than her—curled up in her chair.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. She was a little surprised, since Farah, who always looked elegant, didn't usually act like this.
“My period, Ri.”
Ria nodded, but as if suddenly realizing something, her eyes widened and she turned toward Farah. Could the pad in the restroom have been hers…?
“Hey,” she called softly.
“Hmm… what is it?” Farah was still grimacing, resting her face on the desk while clutching her stomach.
“I want to ask you something. It might be a little personal. You don't have to answer if you don't want to.”
“It’s fine, just ask!”
“Did you leave a sanitary pad in the restroom?”
Farah immediately sat up straight and stared at Ria with wide eyes, startling the girl with her sudden movement.
“How did you know?”
“Um… when I went to the restroom earlier….”
“Oh my God, I forgot, Ria! I left my pad in there because my stomach hurt so badly. I was going to rinse it out later.” Farah stood up.
“Where are you going?” Ria asked, stopping her.
“To the restroom. I’m going to get the pad I left there.”
Ria fell silent for a moment. She wanted to say something, but for some reason, no words came out. In the end, she just stood there and watched Farah leave the office.
A short while later, the woman returned with a confused look on her face. Farah sat in her chair, then turned toward Ria and poked her on the shoulder.
“You know what, Ri?” she whispered.
“What?” Ria replied.
“So, Ri, I went to the restroom,” she began. “I obviously knew where I'd left my pad, and I was sure I'd put it near the trash can. But when I looked, the pad was completely clean—not a drop of blood on it,” she continued, looking confused. “Isn’t that really weird?”
Ria stared intently at her. “So… where did you put the pad now?”
“I threw it away. There wasn't any blood left on it anyway. I was going to wash it at first.”
“Why didn’t you wash it first?”
“It was already clean. Why bother washing it?”
Ria shook her head, staring at Farah. She said nothing, merely scratching her not-itchy head as she continued to look at her.
She swallowed with difficulty as Farah told the story so casually. All the while, Ria kept staring at the space behind the woman.
Someone else might have seen nothing more than an empty space. But Ria did everything she could to look away from the slimy white creature she'd seen in the restroom. It was now standing behind Farah, continuously sniffing the woman's body. Farah smelled like blood, and to “them,” that scent was fragrant.
Ria simply listened to Farah. She answered only with an awkward grin, torn over whether she should say anything. But if she told Farah, the woman might end up terrified.
“Why do you think that happened, Ri? Why do you look so pale?”
Ria shook her head and glanced at Farah. She shuddered when she saw that the slimy creature was still standing behind Farah, sniffing her.
Maybe… she would tell her later.
Just as Ria had expected, it wasn't easy to make people believe what she believed unless they saw it with their own eyes.
That was proven when she tried to explain it to Farah, even choosing her words carefully so she wouldn't offend her. Instead, the woman laughed and told her to take some medicine. Then she walked away, leaving Ria behind because Farah still had a class to teach.
Ria sighed. She should have kept quiet earlier. She'd only taken the risk because she was a little worried. Glancing at the watch on her left wrist, she saw that she still had one more class to attend today. She gathered her books and carried them to the classroom.
When she reached the door, she paused for a moment, lost in thought as she sensed something unpleasant. The negative aura was unmistakable. Ria felt something churning in her stomach, trying to come out, and did everything she could to hold it back.
She slowly opened the door and scanned the room, searching for the source of the unpleasant feeling. She looked over the students she would be teaching that day, one by one. It was also one of her habits before beginning a lesson. Nothing seemed strange until…
Her gaze stopped on the student sitting in the front corner of the classroom. Randy. She remembered his name clearly. When she first met Randy, she hadn't seen the figure clinging to the young man's back.
But now…
A creature was hanging from his back, leaving Ria stunned for a moment. What had Randy done to attract the attention of something so terrifying?
The creature had dreadlocked hair and a flexible neck that seemed unable to stay in place. As if it had no control over itself, every time it moved, its head spun around like a ball without a fixed point.
Ria couldn't tear her eyes away. It was the stupidest thing she'd ever done in her life. She should have looked away the moment she'd realized the creature was here. Because now, its eyes had met hers.
Ria had been marked.
She quickly looked away. But it was too late. The horrifying creature was now crawling down from Randy's back and stopped right in front of her face, leering with an obnoxious grin….