My Iyashikei Game

Peace Street was a commercial street. There were various stores on the street. Even at midnight, the place was bustling. The street got darker and dirtier as it moved to the west. Han Fei was now at the westernmost end of the street. He looked at the alley that led into the darkness and the madman that was tied to the post.

“What’s your name? Where’s your family? Who locked you here?”

The madman didn’t seem to understand Han Fei’s question. He continued to curse. As he got agitated, he jumped at Han Fei, causing the chain to rattle.

“As the street moves to the west, the dirtier it’ll be. However, the strange thing is that the stench has lightened.” Han Fei was confused. Trash was piled on the west end, but the source of the stench appeared to come from the east. While Han Fei was thinking, two boys ran over carrying broken bowls. They appeared to be brothers. One of them looked about twelve, and the other was about six. The younger brother was nervous as he followed his brother. His eyes darted about.

The boys appeared to have suffered a lot. They were more mature than their peers. They placed the bowls filled with leftovers before the madman. The madman lay on the ground like a dog and started to eat. He appeared to only have one meal per day. He didn’t care whether the food had soured or not.

The two kids also noticed Han Fei. They were afraid at first, but when they saw Han Fei didn’t harm the madman, they put their guard down. After the madman was done eating, the little brother went to collect the bowls while the older brother approached Han Fei. “You don’t seem like you’re from this street.”

“Do you know everyone from this street?” Han Fei asked.

The older brother shook his head. “I just want to warn you to find a place to stay as soon as possible because, after midnight, the princess will burn you to death if you stay outside on the street.”

“The princess?”

“She is the owner of this street. She is a crazy, vain woman. She will have anything that she sees. All the merchants hate her, but no one dares to say anything.” The boy whispered.

“This street doesn’t feel like it’s connected to any princess.”

“I’m not lying to you. My father is locked up here because he once offended the princess.” The boy’s eyes dimmed. “In the past, father was one of the managers of this place. After the princess arrived, she pushed him into madness. She used him as an example to warn the other merchants.”

“Big brother, we need to go. It’s almost time,” The little brother said. They appeared to have other things to do.

“Is it 11 already?” The older brother nodded. He turned and left. After taking a few steps, he was worried and turned around to tell Han Fei. “If you really have no place to stay, you can hide at my house. It’s the wooden shed at the west end of this street. Even though it’s dirty, at least you’ll be safe.” The brother ran away and entered one of the shops.

“The brothers look kind, but the big brother is clearly acting. He has hidden some key info from me.” Han Fei was a masterful actor. He saw through the brother’s bad acting instantly. To find the truth, Han Fei avoided the naked man and entered the shed.

The shed was very simple. The walls were cracked. The owner seemed to be a trash collector or a hoarder. As time passed, a horrible scent lingered in the shed.

“The brothers and their crazy father live here? But how come it doesn’t feel like this is their home?”

The shed only had female slippers. The old clothes were also pink and white in color. There were also many handmade toys. The family was poor, but the owner loved his children. He couldn’t afford the toys, so the owner made the toys for the girl. The owner didn’t have anything of his own, but as long as his kid was happy, he was happy.

“The things in here are for a girl. Why would the two boys say this is their home? However, based on their clothes, it does seem like they live here.”

Han Fei had two questions. First, the trash was all at the western end of the street, but the smell of trash burning came from the eastern side. Second, this wooden shed had a lot of female clothes and toys, but apparently, two boys and a madman lived there.

“Are the things on both ends of the street swapped?” Han Fei narrowed his eyes. He didn’t stay for long. He immediately left and ran to the eastern end of the street. As time moved forward, the number of pedestrians lowered. The legend about the princess seemed to be true.

Han Fei paused before the shop that the brothers entered. Han Fei casually glanced into the shop. This was the only hotel on the street. It had three floors. While the receptionist was busy, Han Fei sneaked in.

“This is not only your nightmare but also ours. Only by killing the princess could we escape.” The familiar voice came from inside the room. The madman’s two kids appeared to be inside.

“What should we do?”

“This is your first time at Peace Street. The princess doesn’t know about you. After she leaves her castle at midnight, you can sneak in to burn her favorite crystal shoes.” The older brother said softly. If not for Han Fei’s sensitive hearing, he wouldn’t even hear it.

“Princess and crystal slippers, this nightmare is like a fairytale,” A female player grumbled.

“Is the castle the tallest building on the eastern end? What do the crystal shoes look like? Where would the princess hide them?” The other player was more cautious.

“The crystal shoes will be inside the deepest room. The room also hides the princess’ dark past. She is not as pretty as she looks on the surface. She is a very ugly and vain monster.” The big brother said seriously. “Remember this. The princess’ only weakness is fire. Only fire can burn away everything she loves and kill her.”

“Will there be ghosts inside the castle?” the players were still worried.

“The whole castle is the house of the princess and her dark knight. They are always together. They will leave the castle together at midnight. At the same time, the merchants on the street will rise up against her to buy time for you!” The brother hated the princess a lot.

“Alright. We’ll move out after midnight!”

Footsteps echoed in the room. Han Fei left in a hurry. He was not discovered.

Peace Street became emptier. Many shops closed. It only took thirty minutes to go from busy to deserted. Han Fei came to the eastern end of the street and saw the princess’ castle. It was a large western-style building. The place was white. The sharp smell of trash burning came from this place!

“This looks like a luxurious place. Why would the stench be coming from here?”

Han Fei didn’t sneak into the castle. Instead, with some persuasion, he entered a deal with the boss of a convenience store. The boss said he could stay as long as he liked.

Han Fei stayed there until midnight. Han Fei saw the gate of the luxurious house open. The whole street changed at that moment. Everything became dreamy.

Several black horses dragged a giant pumpkin-shaped carriage out. A knight in pure black armor sat on the tallest horse. He was tough and impressive. He would protect the princess at all costs.

The horses stomped on the ground. Curses soaked into the ground. The princess and her knight started the patrol.

“This nightmare belongs to one kid? This is her fairytale?”

They were the only ones on the street. The princess’ laughter came from the golden pumpkin carriage. After the carriage left, Han Fei immediately sneaked into the castle. The interior was as luxurious as the exterior. There were many treasures and jewels. Han Fei ignored these things. He ran down the corridor. “The smell of trash burning thickens. The source is behind this painting!”

Han Fei entered the castle gallery. Han Fei stopped. Before he was a giant oil painting. The painting was of Cinderella wearing her crystal heels and going on her date with anticipation. Han Fei removed the painting. Behind the painting was a charred door frame.

“What is this?”

Han Fei entered the door, and his eyes changed. The room behind the painting was similar to the wooden shed where the boys and the naked madman lived. All the hoarded trash has been burned. Walking among the ruins, Han Fei found a pair of half-burnt pink female slippers.

“The bustle of Peace Street, the merchants and the pedestrians, even the princess and the castle feel unreal. However, this burnt room feels so real.” Han Fei believed everything on Peace Street was imagined by the nightmare owner. This burned room was the only real thing. Han Fei replaced the oil painting and stayed in the burnt room. He looked around and finally dug out a rusted box under the ash.

Inside the box were a ruined adopted paper and an old photo album. The yellowed pictures in the album recorded the life of a girl baby with mental difficulty.

The ‘father’ was a thin and short limp. He was a street cleaner, and he was responsible for cleaning up Clean Street.

He was unmarried. One day he picked up an abandoned baby. While he couldn’t keep himself fed, he decided to take in this cute girl. He didn’t dare to leave her alone at home, so he would carry her to work with him. When the girl was older, he would place the girl on top of his orange garbage truck. He had designed a special seat for his darling there.

They fed the black strays on the streets. The father made rings out of the rings of aluminum cans. He ground the broken bottle shards down into jewels and cut open CDs to make sparkling princess dresses.

They were once so happy. They were each other’s everything.

After the din of the city faded away, the man would bring his princess into the night like a knight. When they were alone, there was no mockery and prejudice. This was their safe little world.