I recently took a trip to Japan to study abroad for a semester. While there, I made many friends who told me all about the history of this beautiful country, in case I came back to visit. One thing to know about Japan is that its advanced technology and cutesy anime characters almost wholly cover up the horrors lurking in the shadows. Unfortunately, I had a painfully terrifying experience with said horrors, which is the whole point of this post.

Anyways, it was a Saturday night, and my friends and I went barhopping from Kyoto to Osaka, since it's only about a 25-minute train ride. We were all pretty tipsy, fumbling and stumbling around each bar. We'd gotten thrown out of two bars by that point and were about to get thrown out again. My friends were arguing with the security guards and other tipsy people, and the mood was killed. I hadn't sobered up, but was still courteous and apologized profusely, practically dragging my friends out of the bar.

After all of that, I called them a taxi and went on my way. I had already spent so much that night, so I decided to take a 20-minute walk back to my dorm. There were still a good amount of people walking the streets, so I felt a little more comfortable. Still stumbling around, I decided to take a shortcut through a nearby park. I know what you're all thinking. In horror movies, taking shortcuts almost always ends up with someone dying. However, it was freezing cold outside, and the path was the quickest way to my dorm.

I walked through the park with my hands in my pockets, hunched over to protect my face from the cold air. Quick footsteps could be heard from behind me. Turning, I didn't see anyone, so I pressed forward. Immediately after I turned back around, the footsteps continued. It was as if a child was running around the park barefoot. I glanced around the area, but still nothing. I turned back around, and that's when my nightmares became my reality.

There, lit up by the dim street poles, was a woman laying flat on her stomach, staring at me. From what I could see, the woman's hair was unkept and all over the place. I squinted before shouting "Hello?" The woman had no reaction, so I assumed she couldn't understand my drunken words. I tried my best to sound sober and repeated myself. "Hello? Why are you on the floor?" I took a step toward the woman, thinking she needed help.

The woman propped herself on her hands, revealing the nonexistent lower half of her body. I slowly backed away, to which she moved closer. Something on the ground sparkled next to the woman in the moonlight. I could barely make it out, but it looked like a scythe of some sort. The woman let out a husky sigh before speaking. "Where are my legs?"

The woman looked around before fixing her gaze back on me. I had no clue what to say to the woman, so I just replied "I don't know". She tilted her head at me and inched closer. "Do you need your legs?"

At that point, I was fully sober. Thoughts ran circles in my head as I contemplated what to say next. I wondered what my friends were doing, if they made it home safely, or if they were having the same encounter as I was. I snapped out of my thoughts when I realized the woman was no longer under the street poles. After some time of looking around for the woman, I felt a slight stinging pain in my thigh. I peered down, and there she was, staring at me. Blood seeped from my leg and dripped on the woman's face. Analyzing the woman, I noticed that she seemed to be a teenager, as she wore a school uniform. In her hand was the scythe from earlier. I put two and two together and realized that she had just cut me. Her face was riddled with bruises and dirt, and her eyes were big and doll-like. "Do you need your legs?" Her voice sounded aggravated.

"What kind of question is that?" I cautiously eyed the young woman as a smirk grew across her face. Within seconds, she raised her scythe in the air and slashed my leg. I immediately started sprinting for my life, as loud pattering sounds grew closer and closer to me. Exiting the park, I turned a sharp corner, hoping to distance myself from the girl. The little path took me back to the main streets of Osaka, but it was completely dead. Nobody was on the roads like previously, and all the surrounding billboards and lights were off.

I glanced behind me, only to see the girl using her hands to get closer to me. My leg ached as I grew tired. As I continued, I recognized the area, and soon enough, My campus was in my sight. I managed to throw myself at the door, shattering it into pieces. I screamed, hoping anyone would come out and help. The girl was still a ways away from me, so I took the chance to use the elevator. Pressing the button, I grew more and more impatient. When the door opened, I saw my dorm mate staring at me in confusion. "I thought you were going out-" I shoved her and got in the elevator, pressing all of the buttons. She glanced around until her eyes fell on the girl, who smirked back at her as the doors closed.

At this point, the adrenaline had died, and I collapsed into my friend's arms. I sobbed into her shoulder as her grip on me tightened. "Who the hell was that, and why was she missing her legs?" My breathing hitched as the elevator stopped on the highest floor. We got out and met up with the floor assistant, who guided us to the infirmary to wrap the wounds on my body. I recounted my encounter with the girl to everyone in the room. "You've met the Teke Teke.." the assistant said in a soft voice.

Supposedly, the young schoolgirl had fallen onto a railway line, where her body was cut in half by an oncoming train. It's told that she wanders around cities in search of her legs, and will approach people. She'll ask them questions about her legs, and depending on their answers, she'll either leave them alone or chase them, cut them in half, and take their legs. I learned that I was one of the few people that managed to escape from her.

I have since left Japan and returned back to my hometown with my family. My mind to this day can't process what I've experienced, and not many people believed me when I told them. I know what I saw, and I have scars to prove it. You can choose to believe it or not, but I just wanted to put this out there in hopes that someone else has had a similar encounter.