Staring Contest in the Dark

I slipped back inside just as the hallway dimmed, hauling myself up onto the wooden shoe cabinet. Towering right above me was a traditional red Daruma doll, staring dead into the darkness with completely blank, unpainted white eyes. In the gloom, it had the exact menacing aura of a sealed yokai waiting to wake up. I didn't flinch. I marched straight up to it, planted my feet, and gave its round papier-mâché snout a solid rap with my knuckles. A dry, hollow thump rattled through its base. Completely inert—just an unfinished wish waiting on someone to ink in an eye. Not bad company for the night.