Note: I'm not the authour of this story. I've translated it from original Japanese into English. Please do NOT copy and paste it somewhere else on the web without my permission.
This is a cryptic story!
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I bought a camera which was supposed to be able to photograph "a person's appearance ten years from now."
I took a photo of myself for fun, but the picture that came out had nothing in it.
'What? It's broken! lol'
Then I took a photo of a friend who happened to be nearby.
The picture that came out showed an image of him looking like a beggar.
Now I'm really worried about his future.
This is a cryptic story!
*********************************
I bought a camera which was supposed to be able to photograph "a person's appearance ten years from now."
I took a photo of myself for fun, but the picture that came out had nothing in it.
'What? It's broken! lol'
Then I took a photo of a friend who happened to be nearby.
The picture that came out showed an image of him looking like a beggar.
Now I'm really worried about his future.
Comments
i dont think i would dare to see what i will become in 10 years if i had something like that :p what are you gonna do if you had something like this, saya? hehe
'What? It's broken! lol'
no dear, you're gonna die soon.
@Mimi: your huge eyes! lol
@Hasumi: no dear, I would throw away the camera!
@ryuu: your English is very good, dear. Don't be so modest! It's sweet that you think he's a kind-hearted person, I've never heard someone comment like that :)
@Time Waits: Yep. lol
@SAYA - thank you for your kind words.^^
@Princess Pon: Hello dear Princess! Your smiley faces are cute! Thank you for coming and reading my stories ;) I'm glad you like my creepy stories!!
I think this person is either very kind or very dumb; thinking of their friend first!
On a related note, this camera reminds me of the Camera Obscura on the Fatal Frame series. It doesn't predict the future, but it does see (and exorcise) ghosts!
Which brings me to a question: what is Shinto's view on human sacrifice, if any?
@Zanyuki: Thank you dear, I corrected the spelling. I really appreciate it!
I haven't heard many tales of human sacrifices related to Shintoism. I think there are certain times, such as in a time of natural disasters, or when constructing a new building, human sacrifices were made to appease gods or ensure good luck
There's a funny article I've found about "Human Pillars,"
the ancient Japanese's practice of sealing living people into buildings as sacrifices:
http://www.cracked.com/funny-7186-8-scary-japanese-urban-legends/
You're a Cracked reader too?! I love it. Yeah, I saw that. But if it's any consolation, it's not confined to Japan. In our country, there's this urban legend about a bridge that used the bodies and flesh of children as mortar, just as those people were used inside pillars. Supposedly, the bridge couldn't be erected because the spirits opposed its construction, and some genius decided that children would make a good sacrifice. Shortly after, as the urban legend goes, the bridge was successfully built and it still stands today.
Thank you for the answer, though. It just occurred to me because of Fatal Frame II (Project Zero in Japan), which was set against a backdrop of an ancient Shinto rite where a twin sister would need to be sacrificed to keep the mouth of hell shut, which was situated right beneath an isolated Japanese village. It sort of backfired and the entire village became a haunted place, a la Silent Hill.
That urban legend of yours sounds gruesome!
I've never really meditated on the sacrifical rites in Japan before, but now you brought it up, I shall be looking into it, I'm sure! Thank you dear!
I'm basing the idea of Shinto sacrifices off popular media such as video games and TV shows, so they may not be entirely true. Shinto is a little noteworthy and peculiar (no offense meant), however, so no wonder there are a lot of stories about it. Unfortunately, some of these are either downright inaccurate or in the realm of wild fantasy.
I'm from the Philippines. :) The bridge in question is called the San Juanico Bridge, which was built in the early 70s.
How is your name written in Japanese characters? If I remember correctly 'saya' means the scabbard of a sword, right? If it is, it's awesome, considering in our language, 'saya' means either happiness or a traditional women's skirt. :)
in our language, 'Saya' means 'me'. now do you have any idea which language it is? :p
Indonesian? :)
Saya is only a pseudonym, actually. "saya" can mean a sacabbard, but not always.
In Japan you get alot of people who have the same sounding names but with different Chinese characters applied to them.
Oh but I'm glad it means happiness in your language. It's after all just a random name I picked up.
@Hasumi: Is is Indonesian? I think another blog reader of mine might have told me once before?? I don't remember.
I may know who they are! :3 I'm spreading the love of your blog all the time. I used to run this message board and the thread I created about your blog is one of our most popular ones. Sadly, this was around 2009 or 2010 and the forum in question is already defunct, but the people who were both interested and creeped out by your stories are still avid readers of your site. When I posted the link of this blog on Facebook, for example, a LOT of people commented and visited again. :)
Woe to me if I'm not any good in English - as I'm a writer! Hahaha. Nah, seriously, I'm not as good as I advertise. I suffer from spelling mistakes and grammatical errors just like the next guy. And as for people here, not quite. We mostly use it in corporate and business settings, but very few people use it beyond that. I'm one of those, I guess. =))
I understand the same-sounding names/words but with totally different meanings when they're written. I'm a great fan of your language, Saya, and one of these days I really am going to take up a Japanese language course! :)
I wonder what your name really is...
I notice a lot of people from the Philippines are flooding in to see my blog recently. Is that your doing? :D
Oh do not deprecate yourself so! You sound very sophisticated. Not many foreginers know that they can start a sentence with "woe to me" unless they read Shakespeare or something.lol
I feel exactly the same as you about myself. Has there ever been a day when I did not make some grammatical errors or spelling mistakes? Non, Monsieur. Non!
As ever, English language remains a kind of swamp to me, in which I will drown the moment I let my guard down.
Japanese is difficult, but someone as smart as you will find no problems in mastering it!
My real name is a name of a flower, and I love it! :)
haha you both got that right ! :D yes it's indonesian. and there's still loads of us who are into this blog and your stories, Saya.
oh and not forget to mention, yes, i think you're so skilled in english. both of you. supposed i could work up my english by wandering around and eye on all of these comments :p
Probably not just by reading comments here, but reading books. A lot of them. :)
@Saya
Yuri? :O
; A ; I was like, "I've seen this girl before." It turns out she went to the same high school as I did.
I have one counsin who died years ago in earthquake. She was Taiwanese and about the same age as me (I'm half Taiwanese). I only saw her when we were small but her death still haunts me to this day.
And aww Saya, I'm so sorry about your cousin! I hope she's resting in peace and my condolences. ._. :(
That's alright! Thank you :)
I'm so sorry about your cousin, Saya san.
Thank you dear. It happened a long time ago. I wish she was still alive though. She had such an unhappy childhood too.