Hanako of the Toilet - The Wet Hand That Answered from the Third Stall
Back then, I was attending an elementary school in Japan.
I had just transferred, so I didn’t know the pranks the kids liked to play.
It was right before lunch break ended.
A few kids told me to come with them to the girls’ bathroom on the third floor.
I asked why that bathroom.
One kid grinned and said,
“Hanako-san is in the third stall.”
I thought it was just a childish prank.
But the kids walking with me looked strange.
Too quiet for kids who were planning to tease someone.
The third-floor hallway felt stuffy even though the windows were open.
When we stood in front of the bathroom, the smell of bleach hit us.
No one was inside.
The kids pushed my back.
“Knock three times.”
I stood in front of the third stall.
The bottom of the door was dark.
If someone were inside, I should’ve seen their shoes, but there was nothing.
I knocked with the back of my hand.
Tok.
Tok.
Tok.
Then I said what they told me to say.
“Hanako-san, are you there?”
At first, there was no sound.
Someone behind me giggled quietly.
Feeling embarrassed, I reached for the doorknob.
That was when a voice answered from inside.
“I’m here.”
A girl’s voice.
The kids behind me all went silent at once.
One of them grabbed my arm and tried to pull me ba