monsters

Hachishakusama (Eight Feet Tall)

My grandparents lived in japan.Every summer,my parents would take me there on holidays to visit them.They lived in small village and had a big backyard. I loved playing there during the summer. When we arrived,my grandparents always welcomed me with open arms.I was their only grandchild, so they always spoiled me.

The last time i saw them was that summer when i was eight years old.

One day,I was out playing in the backyard.My grandparents were inside.I lay down on the grass and. I stared up at the clouds. Enjoying the of the soft rays of the sun and the gentle breeze. just as I was about to get up, I heard a strange sound.

"po ... po... po ... po...po... po... po..."

I didn't know what it was and I was trying to found out where it was coming from.It sounded like somebody was making the noise themselves ... as if they were saying " po ... po ... po ..." over and over again in a deep, masculine voice.

I was looking around, searching for the noise when suddenly noticed something on top of the tall hedges that enclosed the backyard. It was a straw hat. It wasn't resting on the hedge, it was behind it. Thats where the sound was coming from.

" po... po...po ... po... po... po... po..."

Then,the hat began to move, as if someone was wearing.The hat stopped at a small gap in the hedge and i could see a face peer through. It was a women. But, the hedges were ... high.... almost 8 feet tall....

I was surprised at how tall the women was.I wondered if she was wearing stilts or some high heeled shoes.Then a split second later, she walked off and the strange noise disappeared with her, fading into the distance.

Bewildered,i got up and wandered back into the house.my grandparents were in the kitchen drinking tea. i sat at the table and, after a while i told my grandparents what i had seen.They weren't really paying attention to me,until I mentioned that distinctive sound.

"po...po...po...po...po...po...po"

As soon as i said that, both of them suddenly froze.Grandma's eyes grew wide and she covered her mouth with her hand.Grandpa's face became very serious and grabbed me by the arm.

" This is very important" he said in an intense voice." you tell us exactly... how tall was she?

"As tall as the garden hedge" I replied,beginning to get scared.

My grandfather bombarded me with question... " where was she standing? when did this happen? what did you do? did she see you?"

I tried to answer his questions as best as I could.He suddenly rushed out to the hallway and made a phone call. I could't hear what he was saying.I looked at me grandma she was trembling.

Grandpa came barging into the room and started talking to my grandmother

Then he left.

When grandpa came back, there was a old women with him.She introduced herself as "k-san" and handed me a small crumpled piece of parchment saying, "Here, take this and how it" then, she and grandpa went upstairs to do something.I was left alone in the kitchen with my grandma again.

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 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.

"Thats for u to use the bathroom" grandpa replied.

K-san sat next to me on the bed and said," the sun will be setting, so listen carefully.You must stay in your room until tomorrow morning.You must not come out under and circumstances until 7o'clock tomorrow morning.Your grandma and grandpa will not speak to you or call you until then.Remember ,do not leave the room any reason until then.I will let your parent know what is going on". I nodded my head to let her know i understood.

After that , I turned on the tv and tried to watch ,but i was nervous. 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.

When i woke, up it was just after 1 AM. All of the sudden, I realized that something was tapping on the window.

"Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap..."

I felt the blood drain my face and my hear skipped a beat. I desperately tried to calm myself down,telling myself it was just the wind plating tricks or maybe the aches of a tree. I turned up the volume on the tv to drown out all of the noise.Eventually, it stopped all together.

That is when heard grandpa calling me.

"Are you ok in there?" he asked. "If your scared you don't have to stay in their all alone. I can keep ya company."

I smiled and rushed over to open the door, but then, I stopped in my tracks.I had goosebumps all over my body. It sounded like grandpa's voice, but somehow, it was different. I couldn't tell what it was , but I just knew...

"What are you doing?" grandpa asked. "You can open the door now".

I glanced to the left and a chill went down my spine.The salt in the bowls were slowly turning black.

I backed away from the door. My body was trembling with fear. I fell onto my knees in front of the buddha statue and clutched the piece of parchment tightly in my hand.I started desperately praying for help.

"Please save my from Hachishakusama" I said.

Then, I heard the voice outside the door saying:

"Po... po...po... po...po... po... po..."

The tapping on the window started up again. I think to myself "will I survive"