Story 36
The Car Driving Ahead
There were eight of us. One summer day, we decided to go to a pool about an hour’s drive away.
At the time, we were still students. Since we were all broke, we rented two small cars—four people in each.
I volunteered to drive since I tend to get carsick easily.
On the way there, we were loud and laughing the whole time.
Sometimes, the friends in the car ahead would wave their hands out the window, or make funny faces and weird poses at red lights.
That’s how the whole trip went—playful and full of laughter until we reached the pool.
The pool was amazing.
It was a weekday, but since it was August, it was still packed. Maybe because elementary kids were on summer break, and the adults took time off to match—or maybe it was because of the Obon holidays.
Anyway, even though it was a countryside pool surrounded by mountains, it was crowded.
We probably had more fun than the little kids there. Actually, we were definitely the ones making the most noise.
By the time we were heading home, it was already evening—around 7 p.m.
Even after the pool closed, the eight of us stayed in the parking lot, still chatting and laughing until the staff finally came to tell us, “We’re closing the lot, please leave.”
Reluctantly, we got in our cars and started heading home, driving into the warm glow of a summer evening.
Just like on the way there, I followed behind the car my friends were driving—me still at the wheel, of course.
The four people in the car ahead kept waving through the rear window, turning around to look at us and mess around again.
Everything felt the same—just another fun, carefree drive.
But then… I noticed something strange.
There should have only been two people in the backseat of the car ahead.
Yet I could clearly see three heads.
And one of them… looked like a woman’s head.
That made no sense. We were eight guys—no girls came with us.
And that head would sometimes appear… and then disappear.
I thought about telling the friend sitting in the passenger seat next to me.
But I didn’t.
Probably because no one else had noticed.
You see… I’ve always been sensitive to those kinds of things.
Sometimes I can see what others can’t.
I tried to ignore it as a chill ran down my spine.
Eventually, we made it back to the rental shop and returned the cars.
After I got out, I took one last look—
and sure enough, there she was.
The woman was still sitting in the backseat of the car ahead.
I decided to just ignore it.
But as we were leaving the shop, I suddenly felt a gaze on me.
I turned around.
The rental car we had borrowed was parked there.
And in the backseat of the car that had been driving in front…
the woman was still there.
Our eyes met.
And then—
a voice echoed directly inside my head.
“So… you can see me, huhhhh…”
The woman leaned forward until her face was nearly pressed against the front windshield—
grinning with a twisted, eerie smile.
