American Spring Break Horror Book

Chapter three

Messages can't stop trickling into the w******p group. Amber Ray apologizes for being away that day. She felt terrible that her friends sought her, but she wasn't nearby. "I am sorry, guys. Today was a bit hectic for me." Amber Ray apologizes as she tries to read the overwhelming messages on w******p. She can't understand a bit of it. "Seems like I have missed a lot today," Amber Ray sends the message as Sandra Roberts promises to fill her in before they retire. "Never mind, we feel you," Sandra replies. They anticipate an adventurous stay in South Korea in a few days.

Dhruv's Khan Narrative

The plan to visit South Korea revealed a secret between my parents. The fair treatment I received from them never made me question whether I was their biological child or not. But something strange happened while looking for my passport. I was almost missing the opportunity to travel with the rest. My mother had misplaced it and was almost going to file for a missing key and begin the process of getting another one soon. However, when my father arrived in the evening, he informed us that he had kept my passport, birth certificate, and other documents in a safe place. I was eager to have access. I asked him where he had kept them, and he excitedly directed me to where they were. "Well, is it that I am an adopted child?" It was the first question that lingered in my mind when I saw a congratulatory message claiming that the adoption process was successful. The process was done fourteen years ago. Coincidentally, it is my age. I have never felt different, but I am concerned about my parents' decision to keep it away from me. Why would they hide something like that? I feel betrayed. Although I remember my first day at school, some of my classmates were shocked to learn that the woman who took me to school was my mother. I didn't understand. Another student was rude enough to point out that my mother looked way older than he thought she should. I still have these memories fresh in my mind. Maybe I was young, but when I informed my mother about it, she looked for a different school. That's how I ended up at Gilbert Classical Academy. The first friend I interacted with was John Paul; he was kind enough to show me around the school. With time, he introduced me to some of his friends, who were also excellent. Jun Suravi, Damian Pena, Henry Sayo, and Sandra Roberts became terrific companies. The discussions and plans to visit South Korea followed immediately after the school opened. We were all looking forward to having a good time away from our parents' watch. It's not that we are up to making any mischief, but we long to have the freedom to do anything without instructions from our parents.

I don't think I can stand before my parents and question my origin. Firstly, it will be a lack of respect. However, I still have an urge that needs to be accomplished. These questions have never fazed my view of being adopted. When I took the documents to my father, he noticed the sadness in my eyes. He quickly imagined that I had read through and found the adoption papers. There was less he could do; he immediately decided to take me out for lunch as he categorically explained what had transpired. I felt a bit relieved. I love my father because he cares about my feelings.

Weeks later, the awareness of being adopted began as far back as I can recall and has never been a taboo family topic. Adoption didn't affect my life in any sort of way as a child. As I matured, the realization of the impact being adopted has had on my life has evolved. This insight created new gratitude for my family and my life. Although memories don't exist for me before my adoption, as I was only nine months old, there are recordings of this momentous event. A family friend recorded these videos. However, at the time of the tapes, my mother and grandmother had just met our soon-to-be lifelong friends on the plane to India. In the video, the moment when my mother meets me for the first time is when I consider my life to be starting. My mother was calm throughout the chaotic event. The video shows my mom taking me from the caretaker's arms and holding me. The one part of the video that surprises me is that I begin to cry the moment I'm in her arms, almost as if I were a newborn being held for the first time. Depending on the person, many reactions to a baby crying—some panic, while others are composed and collected. My mother was able to soothe me to sleep despite the noisy disorder around us, almost as if we were the only two people in the room. I guess that's the effect of a mother's gentle touch.

I understand my presence in their lives as they feel about my travel plans to South Korea. After we had a father-son moment, I sincerely appreciated their decision to have me as their adopted child. I swear I will never feel like a less person again. I apologize for being erratic after finding out about my true identity. The preparation to leave for South Korea is still on course. Traditional stories and superstitions about the paranormal are prevalent in Korea. There are a plethora of well-known Korean ghost movies. Ghosts are a standard plot device in drama. They are a reflection of the culture and traditions of Koreans displayed in the film. Along with ghosts, of course, comes one of the legend's most significant figures: the Grim Reaper. When so chosen, the Jeoseung Saja can easily pass as a human, or it can completely transform into a non-corporeal apparition. Entities classified as "reapers" serve to transport souls to the afterlife. They play an essential role in maintaining the balance of psychokinetic energy on this plane of existence, but they can occasionally become overzealous. When this occurs, as it has with this one, they will attack living creatures in an attempt to transport the souls to the afterlife early. Exceptionally hazardous. Similar to the Grim Reaper in other cultures, the ones in Korean folklore represent death. In contrast to its Western counterpart, a faceless figure in a black cloak holding a scythe, the ones in traditional Korean folklore wear a gat, a Joseon-era black hat. Death is often conceived of as a personified force. In Korean mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (typically depicted as a skeleton wearing a cloak and wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by collecting their soul. In ancient times, there was a family with a sickling child. Despite having six other healthy children, they felt terrible about this child's illness. They spent much of their fortune-seeking men from traditional healers, medicine men, and seers, but nothing came out positively. They walked long distances to seek a better healer for their sick child, but nothing came. Finally, they found the 'Hanbang,' also known as Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM), hoping it would cure their child's sickness, but all was in vain. They were desperate. The sick child started showing signs of being weak at an early age. What was seen as a mere sickness grew by the day, becoming worse. Eventually, the sick child could not walk or speak. She was carried from one point to another. The condition could not permit her parents and siblings to be away from her for a long time. It robbed them of their joy as a family. Their lives were filled will worry and despair. They lost hope. At night, the sick child would cry the whole night: neighbors would complain about the disturbances from the cries, but nothing could be done to calm the ill baby. In Korean culture, children are a source of inspiration to parents, particularly the eldest sons. To them, sons are legally obligated to care for their elderly parents. Hence, they gave their parents hope for the future. The presence of a sick child spelled doom among the family. Usually, Korean men are the breadwinners, while women care for the home and children. Additionally, children are proof of the continuity of the family lineage. To Koreans, it is an inseparable part of Korean culture both within the country and abroad. Traditional Korean herbs have been used to treat illness and injury for thousands of years. Oriental medicine reflects the knowledge and experience of their ancestors, and as the elderly population in Korea rapidly increases, so does the significance of their health issues. The sick child's family sought all avenues to cure their child's disease, but all was in vain. One morning, the sick child's mother was lighting up firewood to prepare breakfast for the family when the eldest son came to inform her about his nightmare. The eldest son was around eleven; he wasn't familiar with the Korean folklore of the grim reaper. But mother, in my dream, I saw a middle-aged man carrying a sickle and a wide black cap covering his face while dreaming around our house, looking for my younger sister. When he found her, he carried her, and she became well. But mother, there was something strange about his visitation; when he left, there were wails in our compound, but I didn't understand why the eleven-year-old boy narrated. Her mother was tongue-tied, scared, and worn out. She had come a long way with her sickly child and hoped she would get well someday. She felt terrible about the dream that her eldest son had announced.

"Mother?" the eldest son questioned, but his mother became numb. She never spoke a word. There were tears in her eyes. She looked weak and dropped the things she had grabbed. "Mother, what is the problem?" the eldest son kept asking, but she never responded. "Mother… mother..." the eldest son cried as his mother began running towards the main house. The other children were outside the home, basking in the morning sun. They looked at their mother without saying a word: they were pretty young and could hardly understand, and the majority could not even speak. The description of the man in the eleven years old boy's dream fitted with the grim reapers. Usually, dreaming about the grim reapers is a sign of a bad omen. Koreans believe it is a message of death. The previous night, the sickly child hadn't slept a wink. She was exhausted and fell asleep at 5.00 am. It was getting to 9.00 am, and no one heard her cry. It was strange. The mother quickly dashed to her room to check on her sickly child, only to meet her lying lifeless in bed. She wasn't breathing. There was a foul smell from where the body was lying. Her body was cold and turning to a greyish color.

"My heart aches for the days to come. I could see myself being pushed down the lonely path of my life, without joy or hope, and with each passing minute being just as gloomy as the previous one." The mother lamented cursing and fussing the day she was born. She hated life. To her: all children of the world should die, at the peak of their youth and beauty, with all of their lives ahead of them, leaving their parents to grieve, just as she was suffering. Even though that did not lessen her grieThe death of her sickly child came through the nightmare of her eldest son. After the burial, they had to go for cleansing as the evil spirits had dwelled in their household. It is in Korean tradition to follow the procedure. Failure to do so, there may be more death in the particular family. The Jeoseung Saja had to be cast out immediately. After the successful operation, the Korean tradition involved slaughtering a goat and smearing the blood in their house. Later, they washed their feet and hands with the goat's blood before getting into the house. The bedding where the deceased was sleeping was to be burnt along with the remains of the slaughtered goat. After that, they believed to be free from any calamity. f, she continued to look after her remaining children, who had survived. She becomes a monster as a result of her experiences with pain.