Ouija

The words he shouted were not his. His body levitated in the air, head titled up to the dark sky as he screamed in Korean. The four of us standing below him, eyes full of tears, so confused.

“Andy...” I heard his girlfriend Rosio whisper desperately. She fell onto her knees and puked into the dirt.

I felt frozen. I couldn’t move. One minute we were laughing and taking shots, then Jeremy pulled out the Ouija board.

The five of us had been invited to teach English in South Korea. We’re newly graduated English majors from UCSD. The opportunity knocked on our doors and we readily took it. We gave up immediately going to grad school for the sake of travel. For the sake of opportunity. None of us had been to South Korea before. We stayed on a high school campus in dorm rooms all next to one another. Karinne and Rosio in one room, myself and Jeremy in our room, and Andy in his own room. I envied him for that. However, it was just luck of the draw. The rooms are what you would expect. Two full-size beds on opposite sides with a small window above them. A desk to the right, a wardrobe, and a decently sized bathroom. The rooms were identical mirrored copies of one side to another. We’ve been here for two weeks, enjoying the city of Gwangju. During the day, we each teach for about 4-5 hours, then we regroup and go out for dinner at night. I’d never traveled out of the United States, until now, and the feeling is extraordinary. I’m going through, as we say, “culture shock!” My feeble mind is trying to pick up bits and pieces of the Korean language.

I’m a very quiet guy. I enjoy observing more then contributing to a conversation. My friends are so extroverted, and I love them for it. I met Karinne, Rosio, and Andy during my senior year of college and I’ve known Jeremy since high school. That man keeps me young.

Tuesday night wasn’t anything special. We all went out for soju and dinner, laughing about the past, or interesting words our students want to know about.

“Alright not to sound like a 19-year-old...” Jeremey said.

“Here we go.” Karinne sighed with a smile. “What stupid thing are you going to force all of us to do tonight?” Everyone laughed. It’s true. Jeremey is always getting us into trouble and making us feel like we’re still freshmen in college. I’ve always shaken my head at him, but secretly, I love all the hijinks he gets me into. He’s like a little bottle of paprika.

“Let’s take a ride to the backwoods tonight, drink and ya know… just chill.” Jeremey said.

“Just chill?” Rosio said. “Sounds like you have a plan, but sure, I’m game.” We all clinked drinks and toasted to Jeremey’s idea.

“David please do something!” I heard Karinne scream my name from the left. I tilted my head towards her. I was holding in my tears. There’s no way this is real. I stared at Andy’s body as he slowly descended back to the ground. He kept chanting the same sentence over and over again. On instinct my hand slyly slid down into my pocket, every so quietly, grabbing my iPhone. My hands trembled a bit as I finally got to the voice memos and began recording his voice. Andy flew back into the sky and screamed words I couldn’t understand.

“Naneun yeogieseo museun il-i iss-eossneunji algo, dangsin-eun modu da-eum-ibnida!” His body stretched out like Christ on the cross.

“Please help me!” Andy’s real voice came back for a moment, the expression on his face was new to me. I’d never seen fear that deep. Andy’s brown eyes disappeared as they rolled away to the back. His body thumped to the floor, unmoving.

We were investigated and sent home after Andy’s “mysterious” death. Once we got back home, Jeremey killed himself. Rosio wanted nothing to do with us and I hardly speak to Karinne anymore. I sought out a Korean man who translated Andy’s last words; “I know what happened here and you’re next.”