Story 60
My Friend Who Was Cursed by a Mountain Spirit
A friend of mine once told me a strange story.
About half a year ago, he was driving through a mountain road in the middle of the night, on his way to a campsite early in the morning.
Apparently, he got lost. No matter how far he went, he couldn’t reach the campsite. Eventually, his car navigation system stopped working, the streetlights disappeared, and he found himself on a narrow road—barely wide enough for one car.
Following that road straight ahead, he said, he came across what looked like an abandoned village. A few decayed wooden houses stood in a row, half-collapsed. He kept driving carefully over the bumpy gravel road that could hardly be called a road at all.
Before long, he said, he found himself lost in a bamboo forest.
He told me that at the time, he didn’t even think to turn back. He just kept driving through the pathless bamboo grove. Eventually, he reached an open clearing. There, standing alone, was something—he couldn’t tell if it was a grave or a shrine.
It consisted of three stones stacked neatly together. They weren’t naturally shaped rocks; their surfaces had been smoothed and polished.
When he got out of the car and looked around, his eyes met those of a huge crow.
He said it must have been at least a meter tall.
He was terrified, but somehow, he managed to drive away. By nightfall, he did make it to the campsite and spent the night there.
My friend had always hated animals, so he said he’d been scared out of his mind and just hurried back the same way he came.
I remember thinking it was strange—after all, I’d never heard of a crow that big. I figured it must have been some rare mountain bird.
That was just eight days ago.
This morning… my friend was found dead.
His mother discovered him—he had hanged himself.
Right now, I’m at his funeral. His mother handed me an envelope addressed to me, in his handwriting.
When I opened it, I found a folded A4 sheet of paper inside. On it, he had written:
“The crow comes every day to kill me.
If I die, it’s the crow’s doing.
Maybe you’ll be cursed by the crow too, since I told you about it.
I just have that feeling.
I’m really sorry.”
…Do you think my friend was really cursed by that mountain spirit?
And if he was… does that mean I’m cursed too?
