Centennial Royal

In the height and peak of its true beautify the Centennial Royal Hotel was everything that luxury could be. Bellhops, valets, and servicemen of every kind were at every corner waiting on the whim of everybody that walked through the doors.

A room with a view wouldn’t do it justice when you actually stood out on that terrace overlooking beautiful blue ocean. Just across the way perfectly molded mountains standing proud and at attention for vacationers.

The manager of the hotel Matsuo Miyamoto was a serious man who was dedicated to his work and making every bit of the hotel as luxurious as the next. He prided himself in managing the Centennial Royal it was the number one 5 star hotel in Japan. It was clean and only welcomed its doors to the finest of guests.

The summer of 87’ however, was the last summer Miyamoto would stand proud at the check-in desk greeting his guests. That summer it was rumored a mysterious billionaire from somewhere in the west was going to come and stay with his two daughters.

One, a beautiful young woman of 20 named Lacey Grey was a quiet one. Quiet as she was Lacey got into trouble and she loved to put her dad in the spotlight. It keeps him humble and sane. She would tell reporters upon being asked.

The other was younger, 16-year-old Tamara Grey. Tamara on the other hand was not quiet - she hated her family and she wanted the world to know it. Every time her parents would open up their doors for her to leave as she so often threatened to so - she would quickly draw back into her room.

Clyde Grey, their father was a down-to-earth man who spent most of his time and money on being an international philanthropist. He felt that he owed it to society for how horrible of a human his father was. My girls will never know the true evils of a man with money. He would often say.

Mrs. Grey on the other hand was far from her family. She reveled in the money, the spotlight, and the grandeur that came with her husband being a rich man. She openly had affairs and would often basque in the scandal of it all. This particular summer vacation she chose to stay home for she wasn’t much for international travel.

On the day that the Grey’s were due to arrive the workers at the Centennial Hotel worked eagerly in preparation for their arrival. The Greys were their first high-profile foreign guests of that stature. Miyamoto was not nervous though, he was ready for this and as manager of the hotel, he took great pride in preparing to greet them in his best English.

The Grey’s arrival came and the hotel staff were sure to be ready and waiting for them outside of the hotel. The valets were in position and the bellhops were at hand for bags - the greys were greeted with all hotel staff bowing in unison.

“Welcome, Mr. Grey!” Miyamoto said bowing as low as he could. He was surprised to find Mr. Grey bowing back.

“Shall we show you and your girls to your rooms?” In an instant, the bags were on their way up the car was parked and the Grey’s were in their room like clockwork.

“Here you are ladies,” Miyamoto said opening the door to their own personal presidential suite. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

“Yes!” Shouted Tamara. “Who are the Funayurei?”

The color and feeling drained straight out of Miyamoto’s face, hands, and feet. “Please,” he said, “Ms. Grey do not speak of such things here.”

“Well, it was your maid who told me to find the funayurei.” She crossed her arms, “so who are they?”

Miyamoto’s heart raced and he could feel his cheeks warming up. “Please, can you tell me which maid told you this?” He tried to keep composure but even as he looked down he could see that his hands were trembling.

“I just told you the maid lady who was just up here. She had gray hair and she was very small.”

Miyamoto’s bowed but only to close his eyes and hope for something better than this. There was no maid who fit that description at the Centennial Royal. All the employees were young because of policy they needed younger employees to keep up with demand and status for the guests.

Somehow, someway a funayurei had made its way into the hotel. Miyamoto’s heart pounded harder this time. He had to brace himself for what was to come - there was no stopping it now.

Miyamoto excused himself without answering Tamara’s question but he just hoped that she assumed he didn’t understand.

As soon as he got to the front desk he called for his assistant manager Miyako Okoda who was a very beautiful woman who Miyamoto had grown very fond of.

“They’re here.” He said as Miyako shut the door behind her. Her face looked flushed and immediately he knew what she was feeling. “How, who -”

“I don’t know.” He said sitting at his desk “one has already spoken to one of the Grey daughters.”

Miyako put her hand to her mouth in shock. “We have no time.”

At that moment a blood-curdling scream shot its way through the manager’s office door. Then a scuffle and more screams came shattering through.

Miyako and Miyamoto rushed back out of the office to find a crowd surrounding a body in the middle of the lobby floor. As they came closer they could see that the corpse was swollen and blue - it was clearly waterlogged.

Miyamoto stood in shock as a woman began to weep hysterically. “FUNAYUREI!” Another shouted.

Miyamoto could only hear the background noise of the panic he couldn’t hear past the unfamiliar laughter in his head. A voice invaded his thoughts “we will not wait for full moons or sundowns.” The voice was cracked and fluid all at the same time. “Don’t hesitate, now we are here and you are for the picking.”

“Miyamoto-san!” The voice of one of Miyamoto’s employees broke through the sea demon’s threats.

“Miyamoto-san, the police have arrived.”

“There is nothing they can do.”

“Sorry, sir?”

“Oh, I mean - yes, of course, I will be with them shortly.” Miyamoto looked back as the ambulance took the waterlogged corpse away. It wouldn’t be the first one they were going to take in the coming days or even hours.

The conversation with the police was exactly as he imagined it would be - pointless. He told them about the funayurei and the police just grew more suspicious of him. Even Miyamoto was a skeptic until today.

When Miyamoto got the job he was told to always be grateful and always smile because the Centennial Royal was a special place built on the grounds that were dedicated to the water “gods.” However, the truth came out through a string of rumors that the hotel was actually built on stolen land from the sea demons known as the funayurei.

Just as the commotion was being dealt with he could see as the crowd was clearing Lacey grey sat at a small table speaking with an elderly woman. Lacey looked to be absolutely captivated by the conversation. NO! He thought. Immediately Miyamoto made his way quickly only to find that Lacey was comforting the elderly woman who happened to be the mother of the deceased.

“Can I help with anything?” Tamara was standing expectantly at Miyamoto who seemed to forget where he was or what he was doing. He put on a smile as wide as he could.

“Oh, no no no Ms. Grey please let me know how I can help you!” He said.

“Tell me about the funayurei.” She said standing firmly in front of him this time.

“I cannot.” He tried to move on forward but Tamara only kept blocking his path.

“Who are they?” She asked firmly again “Who are the FUNA-”

“PLEASE!” He quickly gained composure “do not speak that name out loud like that.”

“Only if you tell me.”

Miyamoto scratched his head, he watched as his employees frantically moved about trying to fill their time with things to distract them from the incidents at hand. Miyako stood at the check-in desk taking calls and calming one hysterical employee in particular.

“Fine,” he said, “I will tell you but I don’t have much time.”

“I’m listening.”

“Funayurei are sea demons they are like - like mermaids?” He struggled to find the words “not like mermaid more like they kill they are not nice.”

“Sirens?”

“I don’t know.”

“They sing a song and lure people in and then they drown them.”

“Yes! LIke that except now, they are on land and they do not wait for full moon or darkness.”

“Oh, shit.”

Suddenly, a body came flying through the main lobby window that overlooked the sea. Again, it had been drowned above land. The corpse was swollen and blue like the other one and unmistakable to all the hotel staff and the Grey girls - it was Clyde Grey.

Screams burst out all over the hotel lobby, Lacey ran to her father’s body and Tamara only stood in absolute terror.

Again, Miyamoto’s headspace was invaded “We have the rich man and the poor girl. You’re next. Don’t forget that we don’t wait for the full moon and we won’t wait for darkness to rise.”

Nothing good came of the following hours that night. Little is even really known about the funayurei who were responsible. Only speculation and rumor was thrown around of why the funayurei came to shore and why they seemed to take a rich man and a poor girl. The girl, however, was not poor in the physical sense but had recently lost the most valuable things to her and that was her son and her husband who had died only months earlier.

The funayurei massacred everyone who was there. Now, the Centennial Royal Hotel sits an empty shell of a building that once spoke of luxury and grandeur. With windows shattered one can only see through to the other side when standing outside it.

Empty as it may seem, however, wonderers and thrill-seekers all claim to see the same spirit. A man in a hotel manager’s uniform. Often he is just standing and staring, other times he seems to be running away from something. Some have even claimed to see him opening his mouth wide to scream or shout but no sound follows.

Miyamoto on the other hand only hopes for the day to be set free back into the realm of the humans. If only to see Miyako’s face, to feel the ocean breeze, to smell the fresh ocean morning, and to again greet guests at the doors of the Centennial Royal hotel.