Young Writers Society

Stumbling into his dorm room, Paul collapsed in front of his computer, staring at the screen with glazed eyes. He had a ton of homework to do, but he couldn’t muster up the energy to do it, so he just opened Facebook and scrolled listlessly through the comments. Some of his friends had posted links to funny pictures, and he scrolled through those without laughing or even really looking at them. His mind was completely absorbed in his talk with Lucy. Things had turned out so much worse than he could have imagined. For an instant, he had been given a vision of being a father, but then it had just been cruelly snatched away. His heart ached for the little life which could be his own son or daughter. Could be—if only Lucy would decide not to have an abortion. But Lucy hated him now, and the more he thought about it, the more he began to hate her too.

The doorknob rattled, causing him to start out of his Internet-stupor and look up. It was his roommate, a foreign student from Japan named Masaya Kataoka. Masaya’s hair was dyed brown, and he always worked overly hard at his classes and homework as if he was trying to regain some lost honor. Paul and Masaya didn’t talk very much—mainly due to the fact that Masaya was continually focused on school—but they shared a sort of mutual understanding that they were friends.

Masaya bowed his head slightly in greeting to Paul then went over to his desk against the other wall, opened his computer, and started working on his homework. Paul sunk back down into his swivel chair and continued to scroll down his Facebook wall. He was looking at statuses he had already seen, but he didn’t really notice.

After a while, not looking up from his computer, Paul said, “Hey, Masaya…”

Masaya turned around in his chair. “Yes?”

Meeting his eyes, Paul cautiously asked, “Have you ever...hated anyone?”

Masaya looked like he hadn’t been expecting that question, and he turned uncomfortably back to his computer screen. He was silent for a few seconds. Paul had just begun to think that he was ignoring him when he replied, “Yes. There was…a man who slandered my father and ruined our family. I hated that man.”

“What did you do?”

Masaya looked at Paul again. He seemed embarrassed. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Of course I would,” said Paul.

“I summoned Jigoku Shoujo,” Masaya told him.

“I don’t know what that is. Is it some kind of satanic ritual?”

Masaya smiled slightly. “You could say so. Except, all I had to do was type the name of the person I hated into the website, Jigoku Tsuushin, which can only be accessed at midnight. Then Jigoku Shoujo appeared, and she gave me a black straw doll with a red string around its neck.”

“She? You mean ‘Jigoku Shoujo’ is a girl?”

“Yes, her name means ‘Hell Girl’ in English because she can ferry the person you hate to Hell if you pull the string on the doll.”

“Did you pull the string?” Paul inquired.

“Yes,” Masaya told him, nodding, “And the person I hated disappeared. But I got this mark on my chest.” He pulled down his shirt collar to reveal a black mark which looked something like a flame with a circle around it. “The mark means that I will go to Hell too when I die, because I sent that person to Hell. Paul— ” he suddenly looked into his friend’s eyes with concern, “—Is there someone you hate?”

Paul nodded.

“Then forget I said this,” Masaya told him quickly, “It’s not worth it, knowing you’ll go to Hell too. Don’t access the website.”

“I won’t,” Paul lied.

~

~

~

That night, after Masaya was asleep, Paul quietly opened his computer. He looked at the time. It was just a few minutes before midnight. Hurriedly opening Google, he typed “Jigoku Sooshin” into the search box, trying to guess how it would be spelled. Fortunately, he was close enough: the Google search engine said, “Did you mean Jigoku Tsuushin?” and the first option it brought up looked like the right place.

Paul clicked the link just as midnight struck and surveyed the website that came up. It looks simple enough, he thought, So I just type her name in here, huh? He clicked on the text box, but then hesitated, his heart pounding violently in his chest. It’s all right, he told himself, It won’t happen right away, only if I pull the string. I wouldn’t send her to Hell now anyway, not with my baby inside her. I’ll only do it if she kills the baby. And so he typed, “Lucy Wright” into the box and clicked “Send”.

When he looked up, he was up on a hill with a tree in front of him and blood-red light surrounding him. Enma Ai stood before him with red eyes, pale face, and straight, black hair. Beside her stood the young man, Ichimoku Ren, and the beautiful woman, Hone-Onna. Paul’s eyes rested on Hone-Onna for a few moments, but Enma Ai’s intense stare drew his gaze back to her.

“My name is Enma Ai,” she said, “You called me.”

“Jigoku…Shoujo,” Paul whispered, watching her in amazement.

“Do you really hate your girlfriend this much?” Hone-Onna asked in her smooth voice, “It seems that you loved her just yesterday.”

“I-I won’t pull the string unless she does it,” Paul stammered, “When she makes her decision, I’ll make mine, but I’m going to change her decision. I won’t let her kill my baby. I can’t.” His voice cracked as he held back a sob.

“What? Are you going to use the doll to manipulate her?” Ichimoku Ren guessed.

“Ichimoku Ren,” Enma Ai said, as though rebuking him.

“Yes, Young Miss,” the young man sighed. He kissed a golden coin hanging around his neck, and then bent down, turning into a very dark blue straw doll with a crimson string around its neck.

Enma Ai held the doll out to Paul. “Take this,” she said.

Paul snatched the doll away from her with trembling hands.

“If you really wish to take revenge you may pull the red string,” Enma Ai told him, “You make a covenant with me when you pull the string. The recipient of your revenge will be ferried straightaway to Hell.”

Paul stared at the doll, a sick feeling in his heart. He knew what she was going to tell him, but her words and voice made just as strong an impression on him as if he didn’t know.

“However,” Enma Ai went on, “Once the revenge has been dealt, you are required to pay the compensation. Two holes appear when you curse a person. Your soul will also fall into Hell. You will not be able to go to Heaven. You will be plunged into pain and suffering, left to wander for all eternity.”

“Wait—y-you mean right away?” Paul gasped.

“Well, that’s later, when you die,” Enma Ai said.

“Even so…” shuddered Paul. He felt like his knees were about to give way.

Suddenly, he was back in his dorm room.

“The rest…” Enma Ai whispered from behind him, “is for you to decide.”

Masaya awoke with a start, thinking he had heard the voice of Jigoku Shoujo. However, by the time he looked down from the top bunk, Paul was lying on his side in bed, facing the wall, apparently asleep.