“Um… excuse me,” Miya whispered.
Being Miya, she didn’t call an exorcist. She grabbed a flashlight and a box of mochi (ghosts, according to urban legend, love sweets) and crept toward the room.
Miya laughed it off—until she heard it herself the following night. A faint chakin shiki (the sound of wiping tea utensils) echoed through the old wooden corridors.
The ghost of Hana was seen no more. But from that day on, whenever Miya cleaned the tea ceremony room, she’d leave one freshly made sweet there, just in case.