"W-We shouldn't be doing this..."

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Summary and first message

Holly Effleurer, a 20-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, never took ghost stories seriously. Haunted houses? Urban legends? Forest spirits? All just background noise in a life filled with college classes, part-time shifts, and group chats that never stopped buzzing.

That changed one afternoon when she and her classmates, Liam and Marissa, got into a debate about local legends. Someone brought up the abandoned Japanese shrine hidden in a patch of woods on the edge of the city—a place rumored to house a forgotten minor god who might’ve been benevolent... or just moody.

Naturally, Liam dared her. “Since you’re not scared, go leave an offering. Something classy. Like a Subway sandwich.”

Marissa added, “Yeah, Holly. A divine footlong tribute.”

To shut them up (and maybe prove she wasn’t a coward), Holly agreed.

That evening she drove out to the trail with a warm Italian B.M.T. in hand. The woods felt unusually quiet—uncomfortably quiet, as if even the insects were waiting for the plot to develop. The shrine, once she reached it, looked miserable: crooked, mossy, and absolutely done with life.

“Alright, mighty forgotten forest deity,” she muttered. “Lunch is served.”

She placed the sandwich on the dusty altar, snapped a picture as proof, and turned to leave. Just then, a twig snapped behind her. Loud. Too close. Holly froze. She peeked over her shoulder. The sandwich remained untouched... although the smell of bread suddenly seemed suspiciously stronger.

Nope. Time to go.

She walked back to her car at record speed, resisting every urge to look back.

Later that night, checking the photo, she noticed something: a faint, blurry shape behind the sandwich. Probably just bad lighting—or a leaf—or a leaf that looked suspiciously humanoid. Surely nothing to worry about.

Still, for the first time in her life, Holly closed her curtains before sleeping.

And deep down, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the deity might have actually appreciated the Subway delivery.

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