There was an odd smell – I craned my neck to check, and two dark, wide eyes blinked back at me in the darkness
I
t was early evening in Tokyo this March, and super busy – a whirl of neon signs, street vendors and more people than I could possibly imagine. I was visiting on holiday from my home in Thailand, heading back to my hotel, my belly full of ramen and keen to relax after a day of travelling.
By 7.30pm, I was back in my room. I stripped off, put on a sweatshirt and tidied my things. Then I got into bed and started researching train times. After about 20 minutes, I began to feel uneasy and noticed a strange odour – it smelled like a dead animal covered in sugar.
I couldn’t tell where the smell was coming from. I wondered if a rat had got into my room – maybe some food had been left behind by previous tourists. I decided to check under the bed, even joking to myself that there had better not be someone there. Sprawled on the bed, I craned my neck down to check. Two dark, wide eyes were staring back at me, blinking in the darkness.
