The Mask That Always Smiles

Kassy: The most popular user on eBunnee of all time! Her sheer popularity caused the server to crash repeatedly, struggling to keep up with her fans' frenzy. Adorned with vibrant pink bangs, not a single hair dared to be out of place, and her enchanting, semi-cute smirk possessed the power to instantly captivate anyone, making them fall head over heels for her. Her flawless skin appeared so smooth that it could easily be mistaken for a skilled Photoshop creation.

She wrote some of the catchiest and most memorable songs of all time. No other musician or singer could achieve any sort of success in comparison. Regardless of the genre, if any musician released something, the reception was always the same: "This music is not as good as Kassy's."

A true phenomenon! Despite this, nobody begrudged her for it. She was too pretty and amazing to be disliked, even in the slightest!

Her sudden disappearance from the world remained an intriguing enigma. Surprisingly, it did not diminish her popularity in the slightest; instead, it further heightened the allure surrounding her.

(•ω•)

Lillian arrived home, placed her French Bulldog cake on the kitchen table—surprisingly still intact—and set her backpack on a chair.

She treated herself to a delicious, freshly prepared caramel milkshake. As she savoured the creamy goodness, she filled the room with the timeless melodies of Kassy's classic songs, creating an atmosphere of pure bliss.

"Lillian! Can I take this with me, pretty please?"

So, Larisa was still here? I saw her peeking through my bag, holding out the banner with my portrait that I had taken from Eliza. I had completely forgotten that I took it from her and hadn't given it back. Well, the portrait does have my face on it, so it naturally belongs to me. And I am sure my name is on the label of it. Regardless, Eliza would just try to embarrass me with it some more anyway.

In response to Larisa's question, "Absolutely not!"

"But, Lilly, I will miss you so much while I am gone. I just want to take it with me so I can remember what you look like."

"Wait a second, where are you even going? I thought you were coming with me, Eliza, and the others to see the ghost cat."

"Yes, I definitely am! I just need to check on Nira first."

"Who is Nira?" I thought to myself. Then I remembered her mentioning the girl named Nira who had run from me in Heart-ling Forest—the feral-looking girl.

"Is Nira your sister or something?"

As Larisa contemplated the question, she furrowed her brow and squinted her eyes in deep thought. After a moment, she confidently declared, "I don't believe she is my sister. We bear no resemblance whatsoever."

"You don't think so!?" Lillian raised an eyebrow with a twinkle in her eye. Did her mind really have to go on a cosmic journey through the galaxy just to decide whether she was her sister or not? It should have been quite a simple question. I continued, "But you had to think about it?"

I could tell by the way Larisa's eyes lit up before she spoke that she adored talking about Nira and clearly held a deep affection for her.

"Ah, YES! She is a lifelong acquaintance, but only recently have I truly come to know her. She is like a sister to me, whom I protect like a puppy. Though she may have matured beyond her puppy days."

Lillian scratched her head, trying to grasp all that. "Well, that certainly makes everything clear to me now, as clear as the sky during a volcanic eruption. Thank you indeed, the master of explaining."

I was feeling really sweaty right then and desperately needed a shower. It would be great if Larisa could leave, so I could peacefully enjoy my shower without her around. Lillian suggested, "Why don't you go visit her quickly now? If you hurry back, you can still join us to visit the ghost cat."

"Yay!!" Larisa exclaimed, overflowing with excitement. "I won't take much time; I promise."

"And you're not taking this!" Lillian's voice rang out with a mix of determination and frustration as she flung the banner over one of the railings at the top of the stairs.

An overwhelming wave of guilt washed over me as I recalled Larisa's words. She expressed a desire to take the banner with her, explaining that she would miss me and wanted a reminder of what I looked like. Until then, no one had ever expressed such sentiments about missing me.

Before Lillian had a chance to reply, I quickly added, "You don't need to worry. You won't be gone for long, and it might get damaged at the..." I paused, taking a moment to think, then asked, "Wait, where did you say Nira was staying again? In that dank place she mentioned was a bathhouse?" I vaguely remembered her mentioning a bathhouse in connection to Nira. "It could get damaged at the bathhouse, get wet and stuff." I really needed to end this conversation right now. Just imagining my banner hung up in a bathhouse was making me quite flustered.

"You are right, Lillian, and it might get ripped as I pass through all the walls. It is quite precious and needs to be looked after, just like your little figurines."

After reflecting on her cherished collection of figurines, which she had diligently amassed over many years—many of them holding substantial value, she calmly replied, "I am not going to argue with that."

Did Larisa mention that the banner might get ripped? Fortunately, nothing of mine was torn or damaged when she zipped me through walls at hyperspeed. My hair stood up like I had tangled with electric eels in a bathtub! Nonetheless, I was relieved that nothing had been ripped or torn, or at least I hoped not. I even performed a quick check on the clothes I was wearing, just to be absolutely sure.

With a playful nod, Larisa replied, "Yes, it's still there, teehee."

Curious, I immediately retorted, "What is still there?"

Turning around, I examined the back of my clothes once more. I couldn't understand what she was referring to. It seemed like she was just teasing me for no reason.

There were many questions I needed to ask her: "Larisa, uhh, is that bathhouse the abandoned building within Heart-ling Forest? It looks really rundown and broken. Why do you choose to stay there? Is the interior nice, despite its appearance? The front is completely overgrown with weeds and vegetation, and the wood on the façade is all mouldy and damaged. There was no way the water still worked there, right?"

"The water works perfectly, you know! It originates from the river nearby! And guess what? When it rains outside, we're blessed with an even greater flow inside! As spectral beings, cleaning escapes our ethereal existence, for we transcend such mundane tasks. Instead, the water transforms into a delightful instrument of play! It truly is an enchanting haven to dwell in." This outpouring of words from Larisa indicated just how dearly she cherished this place of resistance. With a warm smile, Larisa invited, "You should come and experience it sometime."

"Did she really just say that the water came from the river? From what I saw of the river when I went to Heart-ling, the water looked incredibly murky and swampy. It was filled with slime, goo, and all sorts of unpleasant things. And yet she said it was a delightful instrument of play, despite its condition? To make matters worse, it's even mixed with rainwater—which is like adding sewage water to a can of sardines. On top of that, the water will be bone-chillingly cold."

"Maybe... maybe..." I really didn't want to upset her in any way. I looked at Larisa with endearing, wide eyes that eagerly awaited hearing me continue. "Maybe... m-maybe another time." I finished after a momentary stutter.

I heard the sound of an alert text message from Eliza popping up. I already knew what it was about before opening it; it was going to be a reminder about meeting the ghost cat later tonight. But, for sure, this wasn't at all what I expected: for the cat to have Eliza's voice. "Meeoww! I am waiting, hooman! Feed me, please! I need feeding right meow! Can you resist saying no to these adorable eyes of mine? Meooww!" Below was a photo of a cat with the caption, 'Stink-bomb needs feeding.' It appeared Eliza had given it a new name. Well, at least she acknowledges its stinkiness now. I had jokingly called the cat greedy too, but honestly, I couldn't recall ever seeing it eat anything. It was just this massive furball that craved attention and affection.

"Eeek! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Show me, show me, show me right now!" Larisa said this over her shoulder, not looking back.

"It's a message from Eliza telling us about a meetup later," I said, striking a dramatic pose while holding up the phone with the cat photo on the screen. "Behold, the reason you should get going now to check on Nira and avoid being late coming back for the epic catstravaganza!"

"Awww! The kitty is so cute!! This is going to be the greatest day ever!"

It's just a cat, so why do people get overly excited about visiting a stray cat in an abandoned house? It's not even a ghost—just a regular cat. Can Larisa not tell that it's not one of her own? As a ghost, can she not recognise non-ghosts? It's time for Larisa to enrol in 'Ghostly Vision 101'.

As I was about to close my phone, I heard, "I shall... return!"

In an instant, a bright flash captured my attention. I turned around, and Larisa had completely vanished.

It felt eerily quiet now without anyone around, as if an eternity had passed since I was last alone. Had she really gone? I searched every area of my house—the bedroom, living room, kitchen, even the broom closet. A sense of paranoia crept in as I inspected my collection of figurines closely. For a moment, I was certain the Hatsune Miku figurine's eyes moved. I quickly left the room and cautiously turned my head back to re-examine the figurine. Finding nothing, I decided to check the kitchen once more.

This is ridiculous! I was overly paranoid about something in the house with me, for no reason. Larisa was harmless and would never harm me; she was innocence personified. I need to sort myself out. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, I smoothed out my hair and assessed its condition. It wasn't as bad as before; it just needed a bit of brushing and some mousse. As I examined myself, I noticed some of my foundation was slightly smudged and my eyeliner was a bit off. Feeling reluctant, I undressed and held my clothes in front of me. Suddenly, a strong odour wafted from them, and I exclaimed, "Woah! They smell so pungent. Why didn't anybody tell me?" It dawned on me that I had never washed or aired out my clothes after visiting Heart-ling Forest, where the pungent, swampy, and wild odours of the forest had clung to them. Filled with disdain for them, I simply discarded all my pieces of clothing onto the bathroom floor, not wanting to touch them any longer.

With all my hesitation gone, I finally decided to unwind and stepped into the welcoming shower. As the warm water enveloped me, its gentle touch washed away all the unpleasantries and daily grime that clung to my skin, cascading over me like a soothing waterfall and bringing an overwhelming sense of tranquillity.

I stepped out feeling calm and rejuvenated, but a piece of my clothing got stuck on my foot. I kicked it to the side of the room. I picked out some moisturiser from my selection and started applying it to my damp face. Instantly, my face began to tingle a little. It looked good; my face was developing quite a nice radiance and healthy glow, but after a while, it started to sting. I looked again in the mirror and saw that my face was just fine. It was probably the moisturiser doing its work. I glanced at the bottle I was using and realised there was a big picture of an angry green Hulk on the front. This was an old birthday gift I had never gotten the chance to use.

I am not a fan of celebrities having their faces on products they don't even use themselves. Not that Hulk is a real person or anything; well, the actor who plays him is real, I suppose. My face stung heavily on the left side near my eye, and I pulled a squinted, painful face in the mirror. I observed the bottle and saw an angry Hulk making almost the same facial expression as I was. "I know how you feel," I muttered to myself with a wry smile.

I wished it had Iron Man on the front instead—actually, forget that; I wished I had used some of my proper French moisturiser instead of this cheap tat!

I really needed to work on increasing engagement with my eBunnee content in terms of views and clicks. Later in the week, I would have my performance review with the Head of the Estresey Academy, and unfortunately, I hadn't made much improvement.

The picture of the cake I uploaded received a good number of views and clicks for a few hours, but people quickly got bored and moved on. I needed to record something entertaining with Eliza and her friend later that day. My viewers mostly enjoyed it when I acted timid, ran away, or panicked out of fear. Should I try acting scared of the cat? Even if I faked it, it might look ludicrous since the cat was so adorable. I feared people would harshly judge me for pretending to be scared of a... kitten! I had seen people get afraid of lesser things, but still.

Eliza garnered an astonishing amount of engagement by recording and uploading content of a cat meowing and rolling around. I figured I should somewhat emulate her and do the same thing.

After applying some mousse to my hair and redoing my makeup, I started to look very presentable again. I stared at myself in the mirror and gave myself a big smile. Here came the final touches: some Eau de Toilette—the best stuff! It was a stark contrast to the odour of the toilet, which was what my dirty clothes smelt like. I looked down, ensuring I didn't trip on my clothes on the floor again, some of which were in the corner of the bathroom where I had previously punted them. I should really take better care of my clothing, but today, I didn't care. I just wanted to wait until I dried off.

I wrapped a towel around myself and opened the door, adjusting it firmly so it didn't slip. As I opened the door lackadaisically, I glanced up, and my heart stopped. I let out a gasp when I saw a face smiling at me, sporting a malicious grin with big, piercing eyes. I rushed back inside the bathroom and slammed the door as fast as I could.

"Whoa! What... was... that!?" I was all alone, and panic overwhelmed me; I was shaking like crazy. There was nobody to protect me, and I felt an urge to cry. I sank to the floor, huddling in the corner, my hands covering my face, not even daring to touch the handle out of fear.

I was too terrified to move or do ANYTHING.

I used to feel so much braver when Larisa was with me. Her mere presence always gave me a slight boost of courage. But now, without my crutch, it was quite ironic that I had feared her lingering presence before taking a shower—yet, I was even more frightened now that she was no longer with me.

Whatever was out there wasn't making any sound. I tried to recall what the face had looked like. It was a hideous, monster-like face. No, no, no, it had eyes like a female's! And big eyelashes. I jumped into the air and stared at my face in the mirror. "Wait a minute! I've got to be the stupidest person in the whole world!" I announced to myself. I slapped my own forehead. I opened the door without hesitation, walked out, adjusted my towel slightly, and kicked the banner with my portrait, which hung at the far end of the railings above the stairs, down to the floor.

Here she goes again, Ms. Timorous. Imagine having a heart attack over a portrait of yourself. At least nobody was here to witness me making a fool of myself.

As Lillian made her way to her room, a sudden, loud, ringing noise echoed from inside! Surprisingly, she didn't even flinch. "Ha! You think you can scare me, little phone? Pfft, not today," she chuckled to herself. She walked overly confidently, with her head held high.

I didn't even need to check the message; I already knew it was from Eliza, reminding me of our meet-up today. It baffled me why she sent so many texts saying the exact same thing. She seemed addicted to typing, incessantly sending messages all day and night—random memes, emojis, or just one-word messages—to all her friends and cohorts. I could only imagine her phone bill must be enormous, but it's not like she lacks money.

So, what does one wear for the special occasion of visiting a smelly, dreary, dank, abandoned house, full of dust and muck, to see some fat feline? It was not exactly a Christian Dior dress-worthy destination, but that didn't mean I should neglect my appearance. Looking good at all times on eBunnee was of the utmost importance.

When recording or taking pictures in an abandoned house, it would be very dark, so I needed to choose an outfit that complements my face and enhances my features even in low light. Yes, I know this is about a 'ghost' cat, but I was going to be on camera as well.

Should I wear something sophisticated or something cute and quirky? I stared at my reflection in my bedroom mirror and adjusted my towel. I hadn't realised I'd chosen this towel. It featured a design of a humanoid female fox with large purple ears and a bushy purple tail, wearing a towel and leaning forward, blowing a kiss. It looked so adorable in this pose. The design was simply charming. Could I possibly look as cute as this? I couldn't resist; I leaned in, mirroring the exact pose, and playfully blew a kiss to my own reflection in the mirror.

"Lilly! Lilly, I'm back! I hope I'm not too late!" Larisa's urgent cry echoed through the air as she bolted forward at a breathtaking speed. Her voice, strained by the sheer velocity, seemed to fray slightly with every word she spoke.

I felt a powerful force of energy ramming into me, like a tidal wave crashing onto the shore, surging through every fibre of my being, pushing me through walls and blocks of houses. Everything was going too fast; I couldn't fully grasp or make sense of anything appearing in front of me. It was like being in a VR simulation during a malfunction. Despite feeling no pain when hitting the walls, I found myself closing my eyes due to the overwhelming speed at which I was moving. My small brain simply couldn't keep up with such velocity, making it difficult for me to comprehend what was happening.

I sensed the movement had stopped. As I sat motionless and slowly opened my eyes, I looked up and saw my familiar bathroom floor, with white ceramic tiles covering the walls. I had just heard Larisa, but where had she gone? I looked around and didn't see her presence anywhere. I gathered my composure and looked in the mirror. My hair was still damp, and it wasn't sticking up like before. The towel was tightly tucked around me. I felt somewhat relieved, but the feeling was short-lived as I inspected myself in the mirror for the second time.

"This isn't my home!" I exclaimed, as I inspected my surroundings. Rails ran across the walls and the shower and bath areas. To my surprise, there were plants all over the bath rim. The idea seemed rather absurd. If someone were to accidentally lift their foot while taking a bath, they would end up with a bath full of soil. Furthermore, the plants all had beautiful petals and a 'bilabiate corolla,' which would undoubtedly attract various bees, wasps, and other flying insects. Imagine being in the shower, feeling vulnerable and exposed, as a wasp emerged, interrupting your peaceful sanctuary and demanding your immediate attention and courage to confront it. The wasp would have so many targets to aim its stinger attack at! It would be like a video game boss, where your weak points flash red so you know where to target your attack spells and abilities. In this real-life situation, you was nothing but a big, flashing red target for the wasp to attack.

I carefully inspected the bathroom once again, and to my amazement, it bore a striking resemblance to my own place. The layout of the shower, sink, and toilet was identical, and the aesthetics of the bathroom mirrored my own. The presence of a frosted glass, horizontally shaped window, situated at the top just like mine, confirmed my suspicions. This must be a house within my own block.

My block had around sixty or so houses. Figuring out where I was might help me in this situation. Where the heck was Larisa? What the heck was she doing? Did she even realise she had dragged me through the entire block of houses with her? I was going to kill Larisa, if she wasn't already dead. If she was a ghost, presumably she had once been alive and died. Maybe I could resurrect her just to kill her again. I could understand why she died in her young adult years if she was this reckless. But I got it; being a ghost probably gave her some reckless freedom.

Where was she? Was she just going to leave me in a stranger's house wearing nothing but a towel? I wished I could communicate with her somehow. I gently rested my hand on the smooth windowsill and effortlessly slid it open, creating a spongy, sucking sound as if it hadn't been opened in a very long time. For some reason, that sound made me think of Eliza. She always made bizarre noises exactly like this when eating.