The Witness

Translated from Japanese by Saya
A row of vending machines
A Cryptic Story!!

It was around midnight, three days ago.
I was on my way home from a night of drinking. As it was a very cold night, I stopped by a vending machine to buy some warm tea. **
While I was at it, suddenly a kid went running like a thunderbolt down the cross street on my right.

"What the fuck is that kid doing in such a cold night,"
I thought to myself.
After getting tea, I again began walking when a woman came running up to me and asked,
"Have you seen my son?"

It was cold, I was sleepy and couldn't be bothered to get involved, so I told her I didn't see her son and went back home to sleep.

But a surprise was lying in wait for me the following morning. The mother of the kid I saw had been stabbed at home and was now fighting for her life.
The tobacconist near my place told me all about it.
The case didn't get to be on the news, so I don't know the details, but it was the kid who first discovered his mother in that state and ran to the police station for help.
Hearing that made me feel sorry, because I thought there was perhaps something more I could have done to save them...



-----------------------------------------
**   You find those vending machines, usually selling hot and cold drinks, on every bloody street in Japan.

Learn more about Japan's vending machines below:



What's so interesting about Japan's vending machines?
25 things you'll only find in vending machines in Japan


 

Comments

Isi said…
It's ok, buddy. There was nothing you could've done.
Yay, a new cryptic story just before I go to bed! Thanks a lot for your work as always, Saya-san (:

I find this one to be very interesting, because while there's an *apparent* solution to it, there are many ways to think of the story when you get to analyse a few things.

Like how the narrator can't be sure that the stabbed woman is the same that he saw that night, if all he has is the information from the tobacconist.
Also, since the woman is apparently still alive (fighting for her life), rather than he seeing a ghost, it's fun to consider that maybe he actually saw the stabber, who was trying to catch the witness.
Anonymous said…
halo Saya-san.. i've been following your blog but i never comment so this is my first one hehe..
i think the kid was running to get some help, and the women who asked the guy was that women's spirit when she was in a coma or something...
Anonymous said…
thanks for the story, Saya-san : )

Basically the person who asked him "have you seen my son" is the stabber and the kid was running away from her. Right? hehe
Adryan Sasongko said…
Helo Saya! Nice cryptic story.
Imho, the kid - who is appearantly her son were running like a thunderbolt (to the police). So the event of stabbing must be happened before.

So did he saw his mother's doppelganger?...
Anonymous said…
Yes, I also think the woman he spoke to was the stabber and the boy was already running for help. Creepy~

I'm so glad you're posting again, Saya-san!
Unknown said…
Hi Saya, another great story.

i think the murderer is the tobbaconist, why i said that?
because the narator said that he was on his way home and stopped at the vending machine to buy some warm tea.
i think he was alone until the kid run past him and the woman running to him.
and next morning suddenly the tobbaconist told him all about the woman and the kid ??
how the hell the tobbaconist know the woman is the narrator saw one?
kind of weird.
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Alex said…
I definitely agree with those saying that the woman the narrator saw was the attacker, and he saved the family by lying, even if he doesn't realise it.

I'm not sure about the tobacconist, but I assume they don't really have anything to do with the stabbing.
Unknown said…
i think this kid came home, saw a woman stabed his mother, he have to ran away to get help. the woman follow him and try to kill him too. when she saw the guy, she told him that is her children. sr for my bad english :D
A girl said…
Tommy, I think you misread the post. It says "the mother of the kid I saw", not "the woman he saw". That woman was lying and was probably the stabber instead, since by that time the actual mother was already stabbed and her son was running to the police for help. I suppose the unknown woman wanted to kill the boy because he witnessed the crime.

As for what he could have done - he already helped the boy by being unhelpful lol since he didn't help the woman find him and probably end his life.
A girl said…
How come so many people missed the part about the kid running out AFTER discovering his mother stabbed @_@ The timeline matters so that thief theory is impossible.
ally said…
Hmm, interesting story. But I think the tobacconist is the killer.

The tobacconist pretended to be a woman to chase after the boy, I know it seems so far-fetched but it did say that the news didn't really cover the story at all so how did the tobacconist know that the son ran away after seeing the killer stab his mother? Unless he was there...

Also, the title in itself tells you the outcome. The narrator is THE WITNESS, by encountering the killer disguised as the mother.
Nunu. said…
Hi Saya-san.
This one baffles me. But the only theory that I can think of was that the narrator saw the kid running to get the police, and later on saw the spirit of the dying mother looking for the kid.
Maybe the mother was concerned about the kid, or maybe she wanted to say goodbye to him before her last breath.

I'm really interested to read more theories from other readers.
This one is definitely very cryptic for me. Good reading as always, Saya-san. Thank you for the story.

-nunu-
A girl said…
Ally I think you may be right!! It didn't cross my mind as I thought news gets around in the community regardless. Also, the narrator must have been really drunk to not be able to discern whether a voice is male or female! I think you solved it though!

However, the last point about the title applies even if the woman wasn't the tobbaconist.
Pixie said…
It does make sense that the woman was the murderer rather than the mother and the kid was running to the police station. But the tobacconist threw me off. That was my first thought... how would the tobacconist know if the case wasn't on the news? I guess they could have found out about it in another way.

Or... plot twist, the tobacconist is the murderous lady and the guy just didn't recognize her the night before because it was dark and he was drunk and tired! Yeah, I don't think that's likely, but hey, it's possible. :P
Unknown said…
Also my appologies for the double coments, saw in your profile you can swear in many languages kkk xD any Portuguese?

Dommo for the grest blog
Unknown said…
What if....the tobaconnist is a woman??? dun dun dun..... the tobaconnist is not gender oriented job right? So the "tobaconnist is a stabber" theory is plausible, but why would he or she tell the narator?? Unless he or she was like Zodiak Killer (where the killer taunts the police) why would they risk a potential clue for witness? So I stick with "another woman" theory where this woman is the one who ask "where is my son?" and probably want to kill the child. Unlikely, but the child is the killer , the woman who asked th question was a ghost or another witness (see? pretty unlikely). Anyway stay healthy , keep your spirit, please upload more scary and creepy stuff if you are not busy and....Break Your Limit! (moar 2chan stuff plz).
Unknown said…
A woman coming running searching for his son ? I'm a man but i have seen many women walk slowly when searching for her son at night and looking carefully to all direction specially if the kids are running away from her, not get lost.

If the child get lost then she wil do the same thing as the running women WITH AN PANIC EXPRESSION in her face . even the fact that narrator are drunk, he still can remember the kids afterward right ? So that mean he can see the women expression when asking about the child but he didn't say anything about it. For me, that mean he unconsciously feel something wrong with that women so he didn't tell where the kid go :3
Unknown said…
This video is very helpful, thanks saya
Eatme said…
Thanks for updating the new cryptic story. i've been waiting for the following story from you Saya.

Well, it is very interesting to read all the comment from beloved reader.
This is my assumption for the stabbed mother. The tobacconist was cooperated with the kid to rob the women stuff. When the kid robbed the women, he ran away because the woman ran after him. The kid met the man who bought warm tea while the kid attempting to escape. Of course the woman saw the kid's face and she could report it to the police, but the tobacconist stabbed her to stop reporting to the police. It is really weird when the tobacconist is the only witness.

Note: if the kid really need a help, why he didn't ask for help to man who bought a warm tea. if i was in such condition, i will ask for help to everyone i meet. THE STABBED WOMAN IS NOT A MOTHER OF THE KID, BUT SHE WAS A VICTIM. :)
Spectra said…
Hi Saya!
I hope you're doing well. :)
I absolutely love your blog and was just wondering if you're planning on updating it.

Don't overwork yourself and have a nice day! <3
Hemu said…
It hasn't been updated for so long....Saya-san, are you busy? There wasn't even your reply on the comment section even though back then you always replied. Saya-san is very busy then?
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mimikim1234 said…
I miss you Saya! Hope all is well.
あいし said…
初めまして、こんにちは。
最近SAYAさんのこのブログを見つけてから凄くハマっていて、何週間かけてやっと8年間の記事を全部読みました!
自分もホラーが大好きで、本当に面白かったです。

もう更新はないのですか?更新をとっても楽しみしてます!

是非是非また更新してください!(^-^)
Creepy story Saya-san. I'm waiting for you to post new stories.
G. said…
I hope everything is okay, Saya! We miss you.
Unknown said…
I hope everything is good with you, Saya. I still check this blog all the time and remember all the spooks you gave me ^-^
RR said…
I've been waiting for your updates, sayaa~ I miss reading your blog > <
Big Pollo said…
Saya come back! It's 3am and we miss your scary stories! My girlfriend is Japanese and she loves all the stories you've translated and we would love some more!

We hope all is well, take care and see you soon!
Lecolores said…
Curious fact: I'm a fan of this page, but I hadn't looked at it in a while...until today, which is the date of the first anniversary of this post...weird
G. said…
One year to the day since your last post! We miss you, Saya.
Unknown said…
Hi Saya, hope everything is well for you. Come back soon!
BlueRio said…
Saya..are you okay?? we're worried bout you..
Ritik said…
You ever gonna come back, Saya? I hope no ghost or crypid has gotten you.
Nanashi said…
Hello Ms Saya. I have a suggestion, and it's really good that you filter the comments first before they're published. And it'd be best you don't publish this, but kindly pay some heed to it. This is the only way for me to inform you after all.

You might want to add to the general warning; 'for those who have psychic ability please exercise caution'.

Some of these stories are real, and the 'traces' still linger there even though you're only translated them.

I'm saying this out of good intention. I sincerely apologize if I may have caused you discomfort. And please be careful. I am very concern of you.

All the best.
Nunu. said…
Really miss your writings, Saya-san. I hope everything is well with you.

- nunu -
Mahouscream said…
Hi Saya! It's October now. I check in periodically anyway but is there possibly any chance of an October update? I ask as I would figure traffic here might normally increase around All Hallows Eve.

Even if not, I hope you are doing well Saya! No updates since 2015 are a little worrying. Less from a fan perspective, more from a wondering if you are okay perspective. I hope you're doing well and are just too busy/lacking interest to update rather than anything bad keeping you away.

Have a good October!
Unknown said…
Saya we miss you! Please come back!
Unknown said…
Saya seems to be gone because of the collection of earthquakes in Japan.
Spectra said…
We miss you Saya-san!♡
Please let us know you're doing okay.
Diego Canizo said…
Saya-san. I hope you are doing ok. I hope we can a word from you soon.
Diego Canizo said…
Saya-san. I hope you're doing ok! You've been long missed and we miss your stories aswell. Hope to hear from you soon.
Shishou said…
Hope you are doing well.
Unknown said…
Oh man, it's been a while since I've last checked here. I hope you're doing well, Saya.
Unknown said…
Saya! Are u ok ? At least tell us u ok !
Mohamad Irsyad said…
Saya where are you? D: We miss you so bad! D: Hope you're okay and just being busy with life.
Unknown said…
Saya we miss you :( I hope everything on your side is okay and that life is treating you well!! <3
Nunu. said…
Hi Saya-san!
I miss your stories, so I started reading all your old posts again. They're still hair raising now as when I first read them. Sometimes I challenged myself to read them late at night before I went to bed. Haha.

I hope everything is well with you, Saya-san. We(all your fans :D) all miss you, and we hope to hear from you.

-nunu-
Anonymous said…
Hey Saya! I hope you're doing alright, I'm a long time lurker finally coming with the urge to comment. I've checked your Twitter to confirm you were alright (in which, for people commenting, Saya has recently posted there last year in December, pretty recent.) Continue staying safe, its alright if you dont want to continue updating the blog, your safety is our priority! Thank you for providing such a great horror blog.
Hidekichin! said…
ive been coming here every week since the last update :c
are you coming back someday? im sure we all would like to know about you.
Unknown said…
Thank you for all that you've done and sharing,


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Saya we miss you! Please come back!

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Unknown said…
We all really miss you Saya-san, I really hope nothing bad happened.
witchp said…
I'm worried about Saya now, if she allowed spam to get through like the above comment, that means comments are autoposting and not moderated.
witchp said…
I'm worried about Saya now, if spam is getting through like the above comment it's likely she isn't reviewing comments anymore. I hope she's just too busy with real life and forgot this blog. I hope she's okay.
Unknown said…
Saya iam hope you still ok it almost 3 years since your last update and i still love your story so at least tell us y ok and well😂
Unknown said…
Saya we really miss y pla tell us y ok
Unknown said…
Saya we really miss y pls tell us y ok
Unknown said…
pls tell us y ok saya we miss y a lot
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Unknown said…
this is cool, is this a dead blog though?
Unknown said…
happy 2018! cool blog wish it would continue
Unknown said…
It's 2018 and still waiting. I hope that you're doing fine Saya.
Unknown said…
It's 2018 and still waiting. I hope that you're doing fine Saya.
Unknown said…
Happy New Years Saya, hope everything is okay!
Spectra said…
Hello, I hope you are doing well Saya-san ^^ I always come back to this site to read some stories. They're just so captivating and eerie! Anyway, I hope you have a great 2018 ♡
Unknown said…
It's almost about to be 3 years since her last update here. I've been reading these stories since 2012 and read the ones before I discovered this blogspot. I really do wish for your reappearance or how you are doing, whether you'll be translating more stories or what you'll wish to do next. You have a lot of fans eager to want to know what is the next step to Saya. But I do accept it this is the last stories to hear from you.
Unknown said…
Come back Saya! We miss ya :(
Unknown said…
Miss you, Saya! Hope you are doing well!!!!
Mellanie Sweet said…
miss you saya :(
hope you're doing well!
thysolist said…
Saya, are you okay? You haven't updated in a very long time.
hankyje said…
I hope everything is okay Saya, still think about this blog every once in a while
Anon said…
By the way Saya, you ever going to give us the answer to this one? Hehe