8 ft. Tall

K-san's rule

It all sounded so crazy, I wasn't sure what to believe.

When Grandpa came back, there was an old woman with him. She introduced herself as "K-san" and handed me a small crumpled piece of parchment, saying, "Here, take this and hold it." Then, she and Grandpa went upstairs to do something. I was left alone in the kitchen with my grandmother again.

I needed to go to the toilet. Granny followed me to the bathroom and wouldn't let me shut the door. I was beginning to get really frightened by all this.

After a while, Grandpa and K-san took me upstairs and brought me into my bedroom. The windows were covered in newspaper and lots of ancient runes had been written on them. There were small bowls of salt in all four corners of the room and a small Buddha figure placed at the center of the room on top of a wooden box. There was also a bright blue bucket.

"What's the bucket for?" I asked.

"That's for your pee and poo," Grandpa replied.

K-san sat me down on the bed and said, "Soon, the sun will be setting, so listen carefully. You must stay in this room until tomorrow morning. You must not come out under any circumstances until 7 o'clock tomorrow morning. Your grandmother and your grandfather will not speak to you or call you until then. Remember, do not leave the room for any reason until then. I will let your parents know what is going on."

She spoke in such a grave tone that all I could do was quietly nod my head.

"You have to follow K-san's instructions to the letter," Grandpa told me. "And never let go of the parchment she gave you. And if anything happens, pray to Buddha. And make sure you lock this door when we leave."

They walked out into the hallway and after saying goodbye to them, I closed the bedroom door and locked it. I turned on the TV and tried to watch, but I was so nervous, I felt sick to my stomach. Grandma had left some snacks and rice balls for me, but I couldn't eat them. I felt like I was in prison and I was very depressed and scared. I lay down on the bed and waited. Before I knew it, I was asleep.