Katsuko sighed deeply once she entered her room, immediately letting herself fall onto the bed, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes. She was exhausted. The stress was wearing her out.
She then stood up and paced back and forth, thinking about recent events, when suddenly...
"Huh?"
*Two cassettes?*
Katsuko picked them up from the desk and examined them.
She could sense a lingering ability on them, but couldn't say which one it was.
She sighed exasperatedly, before putting one of the cassettes in her VCR to watch the video on the TV.
At first the screen just showed a grey background, indicating the video was loading.
The screen adjusted. On it could be seen a man. An animated one. It looked cartoon-ish. The man was pointing a knife to his neck and stared at the camera. For two whole minutes. Then he suddenly removed the knife from his throat again.
Katsuko was confused.
*What does this mean?*
She replayed the video a few times, noting certain details, like the time on the clock in the background or the fact that the man had a healed scar after he took the knife away.
"Hmm..."
After she was done analyzing the first cassette, she moved to the second, replacing the first one.
Katsuko was not thinking *too* much of this whole situation. She expected another weird animation. But...
That wasn't the case this time.
As the screen suddenly adjusted the screen sharpness, Katsuko felt her stomach drop.
There was a headless man on the screen with the head in his lap. He was sitting on a bed.
Though, it wasn't just any man.
It was her husband.
Her eyes widened in horror. Her heart was pounding faster and louder than it has ever before. She felt tears forming in her eyes.
"N- no... W- what-...", Katsuko stuttered out a few words.
She put a hand to her mouth, trying not to throw up, yet she was still looking at the screen, unable to look away.
She felt vomit rising up her throat, so she immediately ran to the bathroom and threw up into the toilet. Her breathing was uneven and heavy.
She could not believe what she just saw. This can't be true. This must be a lie. It has to be.
Katsuko could feel a headache coming. She felt sick to her stomach.
Meanwhile the video still played in the background. She would never admit it, but she was scared to go back and look at the screen.
Suddenly she could hear a voice from the TV.
"Hahaha! Isn't he cute? He looks even better than before, doesn't he?"
She wiped her mouth and stood back up, gathering the courage she had left to look back at the screen.
There could be seen another man suddenly. He looked like a jester of some sorts. He wore a very odd outfit.
But Katsuko could not focus on that. The tears were still streaming down her face uncontrollably, blurring her vision. She was in denial of what seemingly happened to her lover.
"Hey hey hey! I am the one who made him this pretty, so I think you should know my name! You may call me Cyrill Bellmont! I'm a dedicated artist as you can see!", the jester kept talking, but Katsuko just looked down at the floor with a traumatized expression.
"I left him for you to find in your home, so you can admire the scene in person! You're welcome! Bye!"
Katsuko ignored the noise that came from the TV after the video was over. She ignored everything.
Everything except her own thoughts.
Her head felt empty yet full at the same time. The only thing she could think of was her now deceased husband.
She was in denial. Maybe this was just some sick joke to make her lose her composure. Yes, that must be it. Her beloved is not dead. No. She wouldn't accept that.
*How could I possibly live with myself after my only reason to enjoy this world... is now gone..?*
Katsuko bursted into tears. Her throat became tighter as if someone wrapped a noose tightly around her neck. Her hands trembled. No. Her entire body did. She could feel sweat drip down her forehead, even though her body felt colder than ever. Her headache worsened as she began to feel dizzy.
Eventually she could feel her consciousness slipping.
The jester was still laughing in her mind.
Then everything was suddenly black.
A knock on her door was heard.
Her eyes opened. She was still lying on the floor.
"A nightmare..?"
Her breath hitched, before she turned to the TV sharply.
Her eyes widened.
The TV was on.
So this wasn't a dream after all.
She looked down at the floor, thinking.
*Pull yourself together, Katsu... It's not the end of the world.*
*Right..?*
For a moment she didn't move a single muscle.
After about a minute of sitting on the floor, doing nothing, she could hear a knock again.
She suddenly let out a wavering sigh, standing up, turning the TV off, and taking the tape out of the VCR, hiding it under her bed, while the other was sill lying on the floor next to the TV.
Then she walked towards the door, opening it.
"Hm? Oh hey Kaelis. Do you need anything?", Katsuko tried to act nonchalant despite her inner turmoil.
"Uhm.. I wanted to ask if you want to go to the bar together later?", Kaelis paused. "Is... everything okay?"
"Yes. Everything is fine. I was just sleeping."
That was technically a half-truth.
"I still have a lot to do, so maybe another time," Katsuko added. "By the way, could you tell the boss that I want a meeting tomorrow morning? I don't feel well today, so I don't want to do it myself..."
"Of course. But what for?", Kaelis asked, curious.
Katsuko re-entered her room and came back with the cassette that lay on the floor earlier, showing it to Kaelis.
"Someone put this in my room. I just want to ask everyone in the organization, what the message of this video could mean and who the culprit could be."
"Ah I see. Alright, I'll hand it over to the boss and ask him about the meeting."
"Thank you."
"... Are you sure you're alright? You look a little pale," Kaelis asked, concerned.
"Ah I'm fine. Just a headache," Katsuko tried to brush it off.
Another half-truth.
"I see. Do you need medicine? Should I get some for you?"
Katsuko didn't want to seem suspicious, so she decided to accept his offer.
"Yes, that would be nice, thank you."
With that, Kaelis left to get Katsuko some medicine, while she was now alone again, lost in thought.
*I don't want to go home. I don't want to see his body like that. No.*
Katsuko tried to stop herself from crying again. She practiced hiding her emotions for so long, so that should be no issue.
Suddenly a thought popped up in her head.
*Who was that man, who killed him so brutally? He said his name, but... I forgot.*
Katsuko went back into her room and looked under her bed to get the cassette, to replay the cruel video to hear what the man's name was.
"It's..."
"... gone?"