Maiko Katagiri is a taxi driver. After going through a divorce in her mid-thirties, she returned to her hometown to make a fresh start. Leveraging her past experience in retail and customer service, she earned her commercial driver's license to turn her love of driving into a career. Now approaching the fifteen-year mark behind the wheel, she has become a seasoned veteran—but there is one terrifying experience from her career that she will never forget.

It had been drizzling continuously since that morning, and nightfall brought no relief. Located in a resort area famous for hot springs, the rainy season weather meant there were far more passengers taking taxis from the station than usual for a weekday. It was 8:00 PM, and just as Maiko was thinking about wrapping up her shift and heading back to the garage, she picked up one last passenger.

"Thanks a lot. Sorry for the trouble."

The man climbed into the back seat, using a tiny handkerchief that seemed far too small for his bulky frame as a makeshift umbrella. When Maiko reached back to hand him a towel from the front passenger seat, he politely declined.

"Don't worry about it, ma'am. I didn't get too wet. More importantly, how long will it take to get to ___ Falls from here?"

When she told him it would take just under an hour, the man instructed her to head there.

"Man, it's really pouring out there, ain't it?"

The middle-aged man chatted non-stop after getting in. He mentioned he was visiting on vacation from the Kansai region. With his stout build, he gave off the vibe of a corporate executive. Though it felt a bit odd for someone on vacation to be dressed in a sharp, crisp suit, Maiko figured he might be on a company retreat.

Still, what bothered her was his reason for heading to ___ Falls at such a late hour. While it was a famous tourist spot, it was also notorious as a popular suicide location. Was this man heading to the falls to kill himself? Maiko couldn't help but suspect the worst.

"Are you from Kansai, sir? Have you already decided on an inn to stay at?"

Maiko subtly probed for answers. The man replied:

"Oh, I've got a place booked already. I had some errands to run during the day so I couldn't visit ___ Falls then, but I figured I'd take a look even if it's nighttime. Sorry for dragging you out at an hour like this."

"Oh, not at all. It's my job, so please don't worry about it."

Maiko gave her standard professional response as she drove down the road.

After driving for about an hour, they arrived at their destination, ___ Falls. The meter read just over 9,000 yen.

Handing Maiko a 10,000-yen bill, the man said,

"Keep the change. Not much of a tip, I know! (laughs)"

He laughed as he stepped out of the cab.

"Um, sir? What about your trip back? I can wait for you if you'd like."

Maiko called out to the man as he headed toward the falls without even holding an umbrella. The man turned around:

"Thanks, but don't worry about my trip back. Take care, now."

With that reply, he vanished into the dark night, swallowed by the sound of the cascading water.

A few days later, while taking a break at the office, Maiko was browsing the local newspaper.

Her eyes caught a headline: "Man Suspected of Suicide at ___ Falls." The article read:

Early on the morning of the [X]th, a local resident discovered a man lying near ___ Falls and reported it to the police. According to responding officers, search personnel found a man in his 50s lying near the waterfall basin. He was subsequently pronounced dead. With no signs of a struggle at the scene, the death is being treated as a suicide. Authorities believe he climbed over the fence of the 30-meter-high observation deck and jumped.

Belongings found on the body identified him as Saburo Manda (54), a resident of Osaka.

At the bottom of the article was a facial photograph—and it was without a doubt the very man who had ridden in Maiko's taxi just a few days prior.

(Oh no... I gave a ride to someone who was about to commit suicide...)

Maiko grew anxious that she might get dragged into a mess. Sure enough, while tracing the man's final movements, the police realized he had taken a taxi, and Maiko was brought in for questioning.

"Did he act unusual in any way on the day you picked him up?"

When questioned by the police, Maiko explained that while he was talkative, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The police didn't suspect her of anything, but having to cooperate with multiple rounds of questioning made a bad situation even worse.

A few days after that incident, the sky remained overcast with typical rainy season weather, and rain fell continuously all day long.

(Come to think of it, it was raining just like this the night I picked up that man...)

As Maiko looked up at the night sky while deciding whether to end her shift, someone tapped on the taxi window. Looking toward the sound, she saw a middle-aged man standing there. To her horror, standing right outside was the very man who had committed suicide. Maiko almost let out a scream.

When their eyes met, the man gave her a subtle nod. She hesitated, not knowing what to do, but running away wasn't an option. Reluctantly, Maiko unlocked and opened the rear door. The man dumped his heavy body onto the back seat.

"Sorry to bother ya, but take me to ___ Falls."

As the man stated the exact same destination as before, Maiko pulled out in silence.

"Man, it's really pouring out there, ain't it?"

Looking at him through the rearview mirror, the man was talking away just as he had before. Why would a dead man...? she thought, but tried to convince herself that maybe he was just someone who looked strikingly similar.

"What business do you have at ___ Falls at this hour?"

Maiko plucked up the courage to ask. The man replied:

"Oh, nothing major. Just a little personal errand."

He answered nonchalantly. But that lighthearted tone only filled her with dread. This wasn't a teenage test of courage—what kind of errand could anyone lightheartedly have at a place like that at this time of night? His response only deepened her suspicion and unease.

After driving for about an hour, they reached the destination, and the man handed over a 10,000-yen bill.

"Keep the change. Not much of a tip, I know! (laughs)"

Paying the fare, he said the exact same words as last time and stepped out of the car with a chuckle. Naturally, Maiko had no desire to ask about his return journey this time and sped away as fast as she could. Glancing in her side mirror, she could see his figure walking straight toward the falls.

"To tell you the truth, that man who committed suicide just got into my cab..."

When she returned to the dispatch station and told the colleagues who were still there what had happened, they all expressed sympathy, telling her how awful that was. Under normal circumstances, such an absurd story would be dismissed as a fabrication. However, for veteran taxi drivers, it wasn't unusual to have experienced one or two strange, unexplainable events. They all urged her to go get an exorcism or purification ritual as soon as possible.

Being skeptical of paranormal things, Maiko didn't follow their advice to get purified.

But she would soon regret not going. Yes, as you might have guessed, that middle-aged man was about to get into her taxi once again.

"To ___ Falls, please."

It wasn't raining that day, but he got into her cab again just after 8:00 PM. Maiko hesitated, wanting to refuse the ride, but she was too frozen with fear to say no. Having no choice, she started the car toward ___ Falls as he requested.

(Why does this guy keep getting into MY taxi...?)

As she gripped the steering wheel with these thoughts racing through her head, the middle-aged man spoke up.

"Man, sorry for making you drive out at an hour like this."

"Oh, no... it's just my job..."

"Come to think of it, didn't you give me a ride before, lady?"

Mid-conversation, the man asked if she had driven him before. Unsure how to answer, Maiko decided to be honest.

"...Y-yes. I remember you quite well. You mentioned you were here for sightseeing, right?"

"Ah! I knew it was you, lady!"

The man leaned forward, continuing the conversation in high spirits.

"It's a real lifesaver having you drive me all the way to ___ Falls at this hour every single time."

"No... I'm just grateful for your continued business."

"Man, talk about a coincidence! To end up in your cab three whole times!"

As Maiko carefully chose her words to respond, the man dropped his voice to a low tone and uttered his next words:

"...Tell me, lady, how does it feel to drive a man who's committed suicide three times?"

Their eyes locked through the rearview mirror as he wore an audacious—no, eerie—expression.

It wasn't just that Maiko didn't know how to respond; she was so terrified that her voice wouldn't come out, and she could only clutch the steering wheel tightly. After a long pause, she finally managed to answer his question.

"S-sir... please stop making bad jokes. If... if you were really dead, there's no way you could be riding in my taxi, right? Or are you telling me you're really a ghost?"

Hearing her response, the man's expression turned dead serious, and he fell silent for a moment.

"Heh... hehehe! Hehehehehe!"

The man burst into a vulgar laugh.

"Sorry, sorry! My bad, lady! I just wanted to spook ya a bit, it was just a joke. Forgive me, will ya?"

Saying this, the man took on a slightly solemn expression.

"You see, I've been traveling all over looking for a place to die. ___ Falls is one of those places. Truth is, I came here once long ago with my ex-wife. She loved this place, so I thought it'd be a good place to die... but..."

The man paused for breath before continuing.

"Turns out it ain't so easy to pass over to the next world. Guess I still got lingering attachments to this one."

Right as he said those words, they arrived at their destination.

Taking the 10,000-yen bill, Maiko was about to make change when—

"Keep the change. It ain't much of a tip, but take it."

As he stepped out, Maiko called after him:

"Sir... as long as you're alive, good things will happen eventually."

Hearing those words, the man stopped dead in his tracks. And then—

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Letting out a crude, loud laugh that echoed through the area, the man shouted:

"Lady! I'm already DEAD! There ain't no good things left for me!"

Leaving those final words behind, the man sprinted away at incredible speed.

Maiko says:

"It was a truly incomprehensible experience. I never did figure out what that man's goal was in the end, or how much of what he said was true. They say 'third time's a charm,' but after that third time, I felt like I was finally freed from him. I can tell you, whenever he got into my cab, I didn't feel like I was going to make it out alive."

After that third ride, the man never appeared before Maiko again.