Thursday 31 October 2013

Poltegeist

Maryanne and Shufen were on a school trip to Malacca, a historical geographical trip to be specific. But as it is with all school trips, to the girls, it was an opportunity to get away from one's parents for four days and do things with your friends that you would never do with your parents around. It was half past eleven at night when they were with two other girls, Meiling and Filza in their room. It was the first night of the trip and they had checked into the hotel at one in the afternoon that morning. After a bit of sightseeing and bus trips past what seemed like a million rubber plantations to thirteen years old, they were finally free.

'Did you see the tombstone?' gasped Filza to the rest of them. 'Yah man! Did you see Weifen when we passed them? It was so funny!' This sent them into fits of hysterical giggles. They had passed the infamous graveyard that lay adjacent to the hotel just as they had been driven into the car park. Their teacher had already told them in Singapore that if there was anyone among them who was going to be melodramatic about staying next to the cemetery, they were advised not to come. She was not going to put up with 'adolescent whining' about strange noises and things happening in the night. The hysterical giggles eventually evolved into imitations of Weifen's face (she had not believed her teacher about the cemetery and its solidity had obviously shocked her into silence). the imitations then evolved slowly into short stifled laughs and hitching breathes. It was then that the noises started. A long scratchy sound reverberated throughout the whole room.

'What is that?' Maryanne said all of a sudden, her ears perking up immediately. 'What?' said Shufen. 'LISTEN!' whispered Maryanne forcefully. 'Oh my...' Said Meiling, when she finally heard. 'It's coming from OUR ROOM!' said Filza in a panicky voice. Filza and Meiling were sleeping next door to Maryanne and Meiling. All of them got off the bed, and plastered their ears to the wall, listening intently. The noise was much clearer now. Furniture was being dragged around their room. Meiling could not think of anything except not wanting to be there. Shufen just could not believe what was happening. Filza wanted to see what was going on. It was Maryanne who was having the most practical and yet the most terrifying thought. She looked around the room. The floor was parquet and everything was made of wood. Filza soon followed her gaze, wondering what she was thinking.

'Mary' She started as the others took their ears off the wall and looked at her as well. 'What is it?' It's the bed,' she replied. 'It's the only thing heavy enough to make the noise.' Her voice was one of rehearsed calmness. 'Who would be able to move the bed?' She kept it that way so she would not burst into delirious, scared laughter. 'Hey, let's give the person a call,' Maryanne suggested. All of them looked at each other and nodded. Meiling picked up the phone and dialed her room number. In the same silence of their room, they could hear their room's phone ringing through the thin hotel walls. The dragging noises stopped as someone answered the phone. 'Hello?' Meiling spoke nervously. 'I know who you are,; and the person on the other line hung up.

it was a woman's voice, but sounded much older than all of them. Meiling dropped the phone unknowingly, as the others gathered around her. She told them what happened. Filza was breathing rapidly as she stood up and grabbed hold of Meiling's arm. 'What do you think we are doing?' Meiling yelled. 'Duh. Going to see who is moving our bed!' 'WHAT?!' 'Erm... we are going to have to go back there tomorrow to change anyway right?' 'But...' 'We'll go with you Mei. Don't worry,' Maryanne said, getting off the bed, pulling a very reluctant Shufen with her. The corridor seemed too quiet and the light too stagnant as they stood outside the room next door, unlocking the door. Meiling held onto Filza's arm as she unlocked the door. The moment the door was unlocked, Filza charged into the room, only to stop short after two steps, causing the others behind to crash into her back. Their eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

The single bed was blocking the narrow corridor that led to their room. It was impossible. Someone had forcefully rammed the bed into that corridor. The wallpaper at the corners was scraped away by the two edges of the bed. Wood splinters were strewn on the floor and the wall in front of them. The bed was pushed halfway into the corridor. A meter longer and they would have to break the door down to get in. However, the damage was already done. long deep scratches in the parquet flooring stretched out behind the bed. They looked up in time to see a black figure leaving through the balcony.They clambered across the bed to get into the room, not caring that they were dirtying the sheets. When Filza pulled the curtains to the balcony, she realized that the balcony doors were closed and locked. Stunned, they looked at each other, not trusting themselves to speak properly. They could only look at the mess the room was in. Meiling saw it first, the lipstick markings on the television screen. The television was left on.

Against the static filled screen, what was written in Chinese chilled their blood. What you did to me, I'm merely returning the favor. You disturb me; I disturb you. The four girls went to their teacher immediately. They got into trouble for vandalizing the hotel property. However, even their cynical teacher doubted that they were responsible, especially after what he saw on their television screen. 'I don't care what you girls have to say,' he told them. 'But tomorrow morning, you'd better bring some flowers and fruits to her grave and apologize.'

Love Temptations

'I'm sorry, Mr. Myers,' The receptionist told him apologetically. 'But it seems that the hotel is fully booked for this evening. Hearing that, mark Myers could feel his blood pressure rising. 'But I've booked a room over the internet and paid for it. Look, I even have a receipt here to prove it.' He fished around his pocket irritably for the slip of paper he printed. Long plane journeys never got along well with him; it generally left him in a foul mood. Now, all he wanted was to get into his hotel room and sleep.

The receptionist looked at him sympathetically. She understood his anger. Besides, it was summer in the states and hotel rooms were scarce. 'I'm really sorry, Mr. Myers.' At this point, the hotel manager walked in. From the look on Mr. Myers's face, he knew that something was wrong. After consulting with the receptionist, he turned to back to Mr. Myers. 'Don't worry, sir. You will get a room for the night,' he turned then to the receptionist. 'Give them room 312.' 'But, sir...' A look from the hotel manager silence the receptionist. She turned back to Mr. Myers,' Please hold on while I see to the arrangements.' In a few minutes, Mr. Myers, his wife and his twin daughters, Erica and Renee were shown to their room. Exhausted from the flight, they had left most of their luggage unpacked and soon fell asleep. 'Renee, why did you rummage through my luggage?' Sixteen year old Erica went to her suitcase to find it unlocked and totally messed up.

'Huh? No,' Renee look surprised. 'Actually, I want to ask you why you went through mine.' 'Why did you girls leave all your clothing inside the toilet?' Their mother was the first to use the hotel bathroom. She came out with her damp hair wrapped up in a towel. 'Now, run along and clean them up.' Erica and Renee looked at each other and went into the bathroom. There, their clothing were strewn all over the place. Pieces of their clothing were mixed up in a pile next to the sink, as if someone had tried them on. 'Very smart,' Erica remarked.'You thrown your clothes in, just so that no one will suspect you.' 'Oh yeah? How come I've got more clothes in here?' Renee retorted, annoyed. 'This is a sick joke.' 'Yeah! And I didn't do it!' Erica picked up the last of her belongings and stormed out of the toilet. Renee quickly gathered her clothes and followed her sister. 'well, I didn't do it either.'

'Isn't it a bit too early to start fighting?' Their father rubbed his eyes sleepily, as he sat up in bed. Both Erica and Renee threw each other a disgusted look and started to pack their suitcases. After they had all washed up, they left their hotel room. The same thing happened in the afternoon. Both Renee and Erica has returned to their room first, while their parents loitered in the casino. Their clothes were scattered all over the bathroom, but this time it was worse. The twins looked on in dismay as they saw their intimate articles all over the place. Silently, both picked up their clothes. At that moment, both knew that the other did not do it. Just then, they heard the key lock turning and thought that their parents had returned. Quickly, they grabbed everything and ran to their suitcases. Even after their clothes were back in their suitcases, their parents had not returned. Renee threw Erica a puzzled look. Both wen to the door and looked outside. Their parents were just strolling slowly down their corridor. 'Mom, dad, you just came back?' Erica asked mildly.

'Yes,' their mother replied. 'Why?' 'Oh nothing,' Erica replied. They went back into the room. Erica did look at Renee, and saw the same question reflected in her eyes. 'Right ladies, let me ease myself and them we'll go shopping,' their father said with a sigh as he disappeared into the bathroom. A moment later, his angry voice boomed out from within the bathroom. 'Erica! Renee! he called. There was something in his tone that told them that something was wrong. The girls only knew it when they entered the bathroom. The mirror was covered with lipstick marks. The girls looked on in horror. The mirror was spotlessly clean earlier. 'Dad, we didn't do it,' Erica told her father. Renee was nodding her head vigorously too. Mr. Myers looked at his daughters dubiously. He knew that although they were mischievous, they were not liars. 'It's a nit hard for me to believe that. You girls returned to the hotel room first.'

Both girls looked panic stricken. In a rush, Renee blurted out, 'we didn't do it, Dad. We really didn't. 'Yeah, actually, when we came in earlier, the mirror was totally clean. Our clothes were all over the place, but we cleaned up. We even heard you unlocking the door, long before you came back,' Erica was always more articulate. Mr. Myers frowned thoughtfully. He had a bad feeling about the room since he entered, but since he and his family were so tired, he accepted the room anyway. Giving his daughters a stern warning, he let them off. 'Hello, Mr. Myers,' the receptionist greeted him warmly when he dropped by the reception to leave his key. His wife and daughters were waiting for him in the lobby. 'How did you fine your room?' 'The room's fine,' he replied offhandedly. His answer surprised her. She looked as if she wanted to ask more, but hesitated while biting her lip. Curiosity won out in the end.

'Did anything out of the blue happen?' she blurted. Mr. Myers looked at her, and remembered the incident with his daughters. 'Actually, something did happen,' and he went on to tell her about the incident. When he was done, her face was deadly pale. 'Let me check the computer,' as she looked into the terminal in front of her. 'There are a few spare rooms in the hotel today. Can I move your family into another room?' 'Why must we move?' Mr. Myers was puzzled. The receptionist deliberated for a long while before replying. 'The room was never rented out for a few years already. Two young female travelers had commit suicide in the same room three years ago.' When she said that, an involuntary shudder went through Mr. Myers. He did not hesitate any further and agreed to the change of room.

They moved to another room in the same hotel that afternoon. Since then, their holiday plans proceeded as planned.

Ghost From The Past

Four young girls, clad in blue pinafores, walked hurriedly into the empty classroom. Along the way, they had rushed past a few empty classrooms, looking out for the teacher, or the school security guard. It was in the late afternoon and almost everyone else had left school. Still, it did not hurt to be careful. They sat cross legged on the floor, around a small sheet of white paper. The classroom door was left slightly ajar, just so they can listen out for people approaching their classroom. Margaret sat opposite Karen. Jessie and Cindy sat on her sides.

'You draw it out,' Jessie held out the marker, with a mysterious look in her eyes. 'Okay,' Margaret grabbed the marker. Margaret held a black marker in her hand and along the top edge of the paper, wrote all the letters of the alphabet and along the bottom edge, the numbers zero to ten. At either two opposite corners, she wrote 'yes' and at the other two corners, she wrote 'no'. In the middle she drew a circle and wrote the word 'HOME' in it. They were about to play the Ouija Board. When Margaret was done, Jessie fished a coin out of a pocket, from a side pocket of her pinafore. Anticipation glistened in all their eyes, as Jessie placed the coin in the circle labelled 'HOME'. Slowly, they placed their index fingers on top of the coin. They looked at each other in silence, waiting for all to be ready. She stood tall and proud in the cool shade underneath the Arch of Triumph, a tourist spot in Paris. A cool breeze had picked up, and swept her hair across her face. Margaret, now at the age of twenty five, was marveling at the world, marveling at how happy she was. She had spent the last five days in dingy little hotel room. The mattress in her room was saggy and the refrigerator did not work. But the minute she put her head down on the pillow, listening to unseen voices from the roadside echoing three storeys up to her window, she was a peace with herself. She was in supposedly the most romantic city in the world and she had the whole week to herself.

It was already the fifth day of her trip. Just as she was about to turn and leave, The air beneath the Arch of Triumph turned chilly. Goosebumps erupted all over her arms. 'I would like to go home now,' a low deep voice came from behind her. She spun to see a man in an army uniform, standing some distance away. Looking around, she was wondering whether if he was talking to her. When she looked back, he was now covered in blood, his previously smart army uniform now torn in several places. And he was standing right in front of her. Margaret gave  startled cry and took a step back. Just as she was about to chide him, his eyes bulged as he gave a single shriek of pain. In slow the back. 

She froze. She wanted to run away, there was no mistaking that. but she simply could not. Her feet seemed rooted to the ground. Closing her eyes, she told herself to breath slowly and all she saw was just an illusion, or a figment of her imagination. When she opened her eyes a minute later, he was no longer there. She glanced around but could not find him. She put her hand to her forehead and felt her heart beating within her chest. The other tourists were looking at her queerly. Surely there was some kind of explanation. Surely there was a reasonable... 'Please send me home,' the same voice reiterated. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Margaret turned and ran. As she made her way away from the Arch, something struck her. Realization. 'Spirit of the coin, please come,' breathed Margaret slowly. 'Spirit of the coin, please come.'

She repeated again, but this time, the others chanted with her. They repeated the plea again and again, each time with a greater urgency. 'Spirit of the coin, please come.' All of a sudden, a chill came upon the room, and Margaret felt her skin prickling. she glanced at her arms and saw it covered in goosebumps. The coin had moved. Or had it? With racing hearts they looked at one another. Finally Margaret spoke, 'are you here?' Steadily, the coin picked up its pace and moved to the top right hand corner... YES. 'You're moving it!' Jessie accused Margaret. 'You're moving the coin!' White with fear, Margaret just kept shaking her head. Yet deep inside, excitement was brewing. 'What's your name?' Margaret asked. Slowly but surely, the coin moved to the different alphabets: J-O-S-E. 'Jose?' giggled Karen. 'What kind of name is Jose?' 

'Sound French to me', said Cindy. 'What are doing here?' Jessie asked, who could not help but be drawn in. 'We called him here, you idiot!' muttered Margaret to her. E-X-A-C-T-L-Y. So they talked for about ten minutes. But Jessie had a doubtful look on her face. If she had been a year or two older perhaps, the rest of them would have defined it as 'cynical'. 'Prove it! Prove that you are here and that someone is not pushing that darn thing!' The others looked at each other doubtfully. They obviously didn't think that there was any room for confrontation here. Margaret especially doubted whether they were in any position to confront anything anyway. Suddenly the door slammed. GET OUT OF THE GAME... That's not all. J-E-S-S-I-E. 'What??? Who is doing that!' Jessie called out, her voice getting more and more shrill.

YOU HAVE A BLACK HEART 'STOP IT!' Jessie screamed. Then the coin moved downwards. Fear gripped all their hearts. Margaret's instincts told her to get her finger off it, but she didn't want to. She knew too well that if she did, she would have been possessed. Jessie, by then, had started to scream hysterically. Her eyes were fixed on something in the distance. Margaret looked but saw nothing. 'What is wrong Jess... Please, talk to me. Talk to us', Karen pleaded, her voice close to tears. But Jessie would just continue screaming. As she ran down the street, trying to remember which bus she was supposed to take back to her hotel room, she knew what she had to do. But would she ask? Would she ask why he had done that to Jessie? She had never really found out what had happened to her friend. She had become withdrawn ever since that incident. She never told any of them.

But as the coin moved towards the bottom, her eyes were so wide that they filled the entire room. The coin moved towards the number five. 'Five?' asked Karen, breathing rapidly, obviously trying to get hold of her senses. It moved to the number four and then to the number three and immediately they knew what was happening. 'Jose' was counting. He was counting down to something. The coin moved to 2 and paused there for awhile. Then it jerked to the number one and immediately Jessie jerked up and ran out of the class. She was screaming as she ran, not looking back. 'Jess!' Xingjun cried. Margaret panicked. 'Leave your fingers on the coin!' The familiar sound of footsteps came echoing up the stairs. The common sound of footsteps that were more ominous at fourteen than any spirit could be... ...a teacher was coming up the stairs. She took out her note pad and sat at the hotel room desk. Trembling, she picked up the pen did what she had done nine years ago as a young teenager, but this time, alone.

When everything was ready, she spoke aloud the words she realized she must have almost forgotten. 'Spirit of the coin, please come. Spirit of the coin, please come. Spirit of the coin, please come.' It was different. The French coin was smaller and denser and this time it started moving immediately. 'Who are you?' YOU KNOW. She knew who he was. 'Jose?' YES. 'What do you want, Jose?' SEND ME HOME. 'How?' SEND ME HOME. It moved around the blank space on the paper as if waiting. It took Margaret a while to realize. She said slowly and clearly, 'Spirit of the coin, go home.' 

THANK YOU. The coin moved straight into the centre circle and ceased to move after that. The large figure loomed in the doorway. With their minds astray, the girls screamed in terror, only to discover that it was the teacher. At that point in time, fears of possession and the likes were nothing but tiny imprints in their minds. 'What are you girls still doing here? The gates will be locked in ten minutes', she shrieked. Quickly, the girls reacted instinctively. Margaret grabbed the paper and crumbled it quickly while the others stood up to shield her. As they did, all forgot about the coin that fell off the paper.

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Ghostly Visit

It happened on a backpacking trip to Indonesia. Five of them went in a group, Pamela, Martha, Linda, Ben and Tee. Their group, consisting of five of them, was on a backpacking trip to Indonesia. They had spent the past few weeks driving all over Sarawak. Their journey had ended with an overnight's accommodation in one of the colonial houses in Saba, Sarawak. That night, all were tired from the weeks of travelling but as if to make the most of their time together, it was spontaneously decided that they should have a party.

They lounged around the living room, encircling a half eaten feast bought from the supermarket. Two roasted spring chickens, cold now since it had been sometime since bought from the street hawkers, a potato and tuna salad and packets of chips and nachos scattered among bottles of coke. A tall lone bottle of Wild Turkey stood next to Martha, half empty. The music from the portable stereo system, belonging to Pamela, played music softly in the background, a repetitive synthesized sound that was unmistakably techno music. The living room's lights were off, but the adjoining kitchen's lights were left on, so that they could see. Among them, the tea lights and pillar candles cast flickering shadows against the walls, and a soft glow against their faces. Martha, totally red faced, held up a paper cup filled with two shots worth of bourbon coke, without the coke. She thought she had never laughed so hard as she did in the past half an hour or so. 'I... I propose a... a... ah! A toast! I propose a toast!'

'Oh dear,' said Pamela, starting to laugh together with everyone else. Martha and alcohol had an understanding... The latter had always been to strong for the former. 'So what's your toast?' 'I don't have one, but I have always wanted to say that!' She burst into peals of hysterical giggles and sat back down as everyone started to talk at the same time. 'It's such a pity that tomorrow, we would have to go back,' Linda started. 'This trip was really such fun.' everyone nodded, as they were all too clear that the good times must come to an end. Come the next day, Linda would fly back to Singapore, en-route to Sweden. Pamela, Martha and Ben would head straight to Australia, in time to catch the opening of the new school term. They had all met in the students hostel in Jakarta, and hit off immediately. It was not long that they decided that they would travel all over Indonesia together. Tee, an Indonesian student, was Martha's friend and joined the group in Bali. 'But we will keep in touch, right?' Pamela smiled. She had already taken down all their contact numbers.

'Still, I will miss you all,' she said, looking in Ben's direction. Linda and Ben had got close in the past few weeks. However, they both know that when the holidays were over, both would return to home, she to Sweden and him to Australia. 'We could arrange to meet up in another country next year,' Tee suggested. He spoke with an accent that was common to the other Indonesians. 'Yeah, we can even do Nepal next year!' Martha added, giggling away. 'Oh no,' Ben objected. 'Not with you again! You take forever in the shower.' Everyone laughed, even Martha herself. Pamela got up to change the music, and started to dance. The others joined in and impromptu dancing was on the way. Soon, all thoughts of leaving were forgotten as everyone threw themselves into the spirit of the party. As the bottles were being emptied, everyone was busy getting high. Linda felt a little warm in the room, and stepped out to take a breather. Standing on the veranda, she tugged at the neckline of her T-shirt, feeling flushed all over from the alcohol. There was a light breeze, causing the trees around the house to rustle. The crickets were singing their nightly song. Still she, coming from Sweden, was unused to the weather on the Equator. Wiping her face with the back of her sleeve, she smiled as she saw Ben stepping out to join her.

'Hey there,' Ben grinned as he stopped next to her. 'Hey,' Linda smiled. He looked so cute. 'Great party, huh?' 'Oh yeah,' he agreed. 'One of the best. They don't have such great parties in Australia.' She laughed, knowing that he did not mean it. She remembered the parties he would describe to them throughout the journey. However, her laughter soon stopped as his hand covered hers and he stretched over to kiss her. The alcohol in her blood had made her bold. Throwing all caution to the wind, she kissed him back. She turned, so that she was facing him and ran her hands up his arms and into his hair. His arms went around her, and pulled her close.

All this while, she did not notice that an unnatural silence had descended around them. The crickets stopped singing, and the light breeze earlier had died away. She was only too conscious of Ben, and nothing else. Screams tore through the night. Linda tore away from Ben, feeling a little dazed. It took her a while to realize that the screams were coming from inside the house. Ben ran in, pulling her with him. Inside, Pamela and Martha were screaming. Even Tee looked a little white faced. The kitchen's lights were off, and the room was unreasonably dark. 'What happened?' Ben asked. Just as he had asked, all of them heard a faint drum beat, coming from all around. 'What's that?' Linda asked. 'It sounded like a war cry,' Martha whispered. Her eyes were wide in terror. Tee heard something whizzed past his ears. Before they knew it, the whole room was alive with flying objects, whizzing past their faces. Ben yelled, as one of them had struck him on the face. The others gathered in fear. All of them froze, not knowing what to do.

Just then, a coarse male voice spoke in a language they did not understand. Linda had the feeling that he was talking to her. The lights had come back on, but were flickering as if spoilt. In the flickering light, she thought she saw a tall dark figure in a corner of the room. 'Let's get out of here!' Ben yelled, as he pulled Linda to the door. The others, upon hearing it, broke out of their paralysis and started to rush for the door. They ran out of the apartment, relief that the chanting war cry did not follow them. Quickly, Ben got into the driver's seat as the others huddled in behind. As they drove off, Pamela and Martha could be seen praying that it did not follow them. It was three kilometres later, that Ben finally slowed the car and stopped it in the well lit lobby of a hotel. He turned around to look at his passengers. 'Let's just stay here tonight,' Tee suggested. None argued with him. Linda looked at Ben and saw something protruding from the skin of his cheek. She reached out and touched it, as the others gathered close.

'Ouch!' Ben winced as he pulled it out. As he did, the wound opened and he started to bleed. Linda started to look for tissues. 'It looked like some kind of dart,' Pamela said. 'Let me see it,' Tee said, as he took it from Pamela. He looked at the dart closely for a while. 'Hmm... Do you know what this is?' Ben asked, nursing his cheek. 'Pamela is right. It is some kind of dart that the native used in their hunting,' Tee said. 'Normally, they would use it with poison.' Ben looked stunned. 'You're very lucky. There's nothing on this one,' Tee continued. 'Do you know what he said?' Linda asked. They looked at her, stunned. 'What?' Tee asked. 'He said something. Didn't you all hear it? I saw him too, he was standing in a corner of the room.' They looked at each other, the confusion clearly written on their faces. 'He was there? What did he say?' Den asked.

'I didn't see anyone,' Martha added. 'I don't know, but it sounded something like this,; Linda tried her best to recall what he said. 'It sounded like the Dayak language,' Tee said. 'The language of my people.' 'You are a Dayak?' Pamela asked. 'Yes,' he nodded. 'Anyway, I'm not too familiar about what he said. I think it is...' Tee broke off, not sure whether if he should say it. 'What?!' The suspense was killing Linda. 'After so many years, you're back,' Tee stopped. 'That's what he said to you.' Linda felt chills running down her spine when he said that.

Tuesday 29 October 2013

Honeymoon

Albert and his wife, Mavis, were holiday makers in Kuantan, Malaysia. Both from Australia, Albert had met Mavis at work. Although Mavis was an Australian permanent resident, she had relatives in Malaysia and wanted to take the opportunity to visit them, whilst on honeymoon. The young couple spent their honeymoon, like what most couples. Amidst passion filled nights, they had gone all around the town, exploring batik factories, admiring the intricate handicrafts and the like. By the third day, both were exhausted. Mavis was also not feeling well. In the past few days, she had insisted on eating at the street hawkers outside the hotel, instead of eating in the hotel. Although she claimed that eating out would be a more authentic and flavorful experience, Albert suspected that she was worrying too much about their budget.

Alas, her stomach proved too weak to deal with the unhygienic standards of food preparation and she had come down with food poisoning. In the end, they decided to stay in their hotel room and Mavis shall rest. 'That would be too early anyway Al,' she laughed groggily, as she laid in bed that evening, trying to ignore the ache in her stomach.' I don't think I am going to get up until we have to go home.' 'Well,' Albert said. 'As long as you get better.' He kissed her on the cheek as he pulled the covers up to her chin. She smiled sleepily and muttered something lovingly under her breath. after Mavis had dozed off, Albert decided that he would go for a swim in the hotel pool.

He went into the bathroom and changed into his swimming trunks. As he did, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. He turned to his side, looking at the tell tale signs of a paunch that was building up over the waistband of his trunks. 'Wonder what Mavis saw in me,' he thought, looking at himself. 'That's too many years of oily bacon for breakfast. After he had changed, he threw on a robe and slipped quietly out of his apartment. As he went down, he tried to imagine life without bacon and pizzas. Disappointment greeted him when he arrived at the swimming pool. The gate was locked, and would not opened until seven in the morning. It had struck him as ridiculous, that the pool usage should be restricted in such a manner. He stood there, hesitating whether to climb over the fence or not. However, his reservations fleeted from him as quickly as it had settled in. Seeing no one around, he climbed over the small wooden fence with little effort. Although the lights around the pool were off, underwater lamps lighted the pool. Slipping off his robe, he placed it on the beach chair nearest the pool. As he stepped to the edge of the pool, he dipped his toe in.

Seeing that the temperature was just nice, he walked to the deep end of the pool, and dove into the cool waters. Pulling strong strokes, he swam a few lengths of the pool to work off the excess energy. The water felt good against his skin, and he luxuriated in the feeling. On his third lap, Albert sensed something and looked out of the pool. A woman was standing at the other end of the pool. Without his glasses, Albert could not see her clearly, but he assumed that she had climbed over the small wooden fence, like he did. He continued on his laps. It was only after his tenth lap that he felt that enough energy had been expended. Stopping at the shallow end of the pool, he looked up again. Scanning the pool, his eyes searched for the woman he saw earlier, but she was nowhere to be seen. 'Looking for me?' A sultry voice came from his back. Albert spun around to see a beautiful woman standing in the water behind him. Being closer, Albert could see her more clearly now. He could feel his heart beating more rapidly, for she was stunningly beautiful.

In the dim light of the pool, Albert could see that she was a native Malay. Tendrils of luxuriant hair that was pinned up snaked down and framed her oval face. large almond eyes were looking at him intensely, as her well defined lips were drawn out in a smile especially for him. Albert smiled back, as he felt his blood pump faster. 'Hi,' he grinned. 'Hi. Here on holiday?' She was lounged against the side of the pool, besides the pool lamp. A cloth with an elaborate design, that Albert recognized to be a sarong, clung onto her nubile body. His eyes could not resist roaming all over her, as if it was his hands touching her. 'Uh? Oh yeah,' Albert realized that she was waiting for an answer. As if she knew his discomfort, she giggled while her eyes cast him a sidelong look. 'Alone?' She came closer to him.

Albert try to swallow. She excited him. Even the scent of jasmine that clung to her hair excited him. The flickering light from the underwater lamp accentuated the cleavage in between her full breast. Her question took forever to reach his drugged brain. When it did, it hit him in full force. Pulling his eyes away, Albert stepped backwards unconsciously. 'No, I came with my wife,' he muttered. 'I see,' her smile remained on her face. She trailed a finger along his arm, as she stepped closer to him. 'She doesn't hove to know.' For a long while, Albert was torn between duty and desire. He could feel his blood rushing through his loins, and knew that she could see it too. Eventually, duty won out. Uttering his apologies, he rushed out of the pool. He did not look back. he was afraid that if he did, his resolve would fail him. he did not even bother to pick up hos robe lying in the beach chair. Back in his hotel room, Albert stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower to the coolest setting. Despite the chilly water washing over him, the memory of her touch burned on his mind. It was only fifteen minutes later that Albert stepped out of the shower.

Unable to resist himself, he stepped to the window that overlooked the pool and looked down. She was still swimming in the pool. The sight of her was enough to excite him again. Albert could feel himself wanting to go down to the pool an join her. Quickly, Albert dropped the curtains. Keeping his resolve firmly in mind, he went to Mavis who was peacefully asleep and slipped under covers besides her. In five minutes, he was sound asleep. He dreamt that she came to him in the night. Invitation was written all over her face and her body, without a single stitch of clothing on. As he laid there in bed, he was ready for her. after all, he had spent the entire night thinking of no one but her. When she touched him, he felt as if he was on fire. Just as he was about to make love to her, Mavis appeared in front of him. immediately, guilt swept over him and he awoke.

Albert opened his eyes to see Mavis smiling at him. 'Slept well, darling?' She asked, hugging him. 'Hmm... nope,' he replied, smiling back at her. 'But I know how we can fix that.' At that, he made a grab for her. It was considerably that they left the hotel room for breakfast. By then, Albert had forgotten about the mysterious lady. They spent the entire day visiting Mavis's relatives. Mavis had relatives in the neighboring town. The first meeting with her relatives was awkward, for they were unused to Mavis having a Caucasian husband but the ice soon melted for her relatives were extremely hospitable. Upon their insistence, Albert and Mavis had agreed to stay over at her relatives place for the rest of their honeymoon. Seeing that Mavis was tired, Albert told her to remain with her relatives while he drove back to the hotel alone to get their things. Since the journey was relatively long, it was night when he got back to the hotel.

Along the way, the thought of the mysterious lady surfaced involuntarily in his mind. He wondered whether if she was a tourist staying in the hotel, for he head not seen many single tourists in the hotel. Getting back, he went straight to the receptionist. 'Hi, I would like to know whether if there is a single Malay lady staying in this hotel?' The receptionist looked at him queerly. Albert felt uncomfortable after a while. 'Oh no,' he tried to explain. 'I met her last night...' 'Sir, there are no single Malay lady staying in this hotel,' the receptionist cut in. Albert looked at him, a little surprised. 'Oh perhaps she could be a staff.' 'We have a lot of single Malay ladies among our staff. May I know what is her name?' For a while, Albert wanted to tell the receptionist that he met her in the pool, but held back when he realized that he might get her into trouble for doing so. He knew that he was not supposed to be in the pool that late.

Thanking the receptionist, Albert was still wondering when he saw the mysterious lady, She walked into a lift. Running up to the lift, Albert looked up and note the floor the lift had stopped. Immediately, he got into the adjoining lift and hit the button for the twenty third floor. In the lift ride up, Albert wondered why he was doing this, but as the doors opened, his reservations soon vanished. As the door opened, Albert caught a glimpse of the lady at the end of the corridor just before she disappeared around the corner. Quickly, he dashed out of the lift and ran down the corridor. When he reached the corner, he saw her disappearing into the fire escape. Just as Albert was about to start down the corridor, he felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped. When he recovered, he turned around to see a young Malay bellboy smiling at him. 'may I help you, sir?' The bellboy spoke. Albert looked at his name tag; it read Hamis. 'No, I was just trying to catch someone I know,' Albert smiled, turning to go.

'It is not a good idea, sir,' Hamis said quickly. 'Why?' 'She is not who you think she is,' Hamis explained. 'Come, you'd better go down.' When Hamis said that, disappointment hit Albert. She was already attached. He should have guessed that she  was married, or in the very least attached. he walked back to the lift and hit the button for the lobby. He remembered that the key was still with the reception. As the elevator doors opened, Albert was surprised to see Hamis in the lobby. He was still on the twenty third floor when Albert went down. Extremely curious, Albert went up to Hamis. 'Hi, just wondering, how did you manage to get down so fast/' Albert asked conversationally. 'I'm sorry, sir?' Hamis was extremely polite. 'I saw you on the twenty third floor a while ago, remember? You told me to come down here,' Albert wondered why he did not recall. 'I was here all along, sir.' 

'No, you were on the twenty third floor,' Albert insisted. 'Sir, how did you go to the twenty third floor?' Hamis asked, a little curious. 'The higher floors were closed off, because we get less tourists now during the economic crisis. The lifts serve only the lower floors. No one can go to the higher floors without the key, and only I have the key.' 'Come, I'll show you,' Albert was getting impatient. When he stepped into the lift, Hamis stepped in with him. Albert hit on the twenty third button but it refused to light up. 'I really went up there,' Albert insisted. Hamis took the key car from his pocket and inserted it into a lost on the lift control panel. He them pressed the button for the twenty third floor. This time, it lit up, and the lift jerked as it started climbing. The climb was a slow one. Albert did not recall it being so long. When the doors opened, he stepped out and walked to the end of the corridor. Gesturing to Hamis, he started to explain. 'Okay, I met someone I know and was following her. When I came around the corner, she had just disappeared into the fire escape, when you came and told me to go down.

As he explained, Hamis face turned pale. 'Are you sure it was me you saw?' he asked. Albert nodded. 'Yeah! I saw your name tag.' Hamis reaction was not what Albert had expected. He began to shake, and perspiration appeared on his forehead. He stood there, in a loss, not knowing what to do. A moment later, he stepped into the lift. 'Please come down with me, sir,' he asked. Albert wondered at his strange behavior. inwardly, he was getting worried. 'No, I am not going with you. Please explain to me what is happening,' he insisted. Hamis began to get angry. 'Look, I don't care whether if you follow me down or not. There are only two ways down thi building. One is through this lift, the other is through the same fire escape the pontianak went through earlier,' he uttered the word 'pontianak' in a hoarse whisper.

Albert looked at Hamis. It seemed that something genuine was bothering him. At that moment, Albert decided to take his chances and stepped into the same elevator with him. The lift doors closed and the elevator started its slow descent. Time seemed to drag out within as minutes went past slowly and excruciatingly. At first, Hamis seemed more calm now that they were on their way down. Albert saw that he was in no mood to explain, and decided to leave him alone. He would ask the hotel management later, he thought. However, Albert's thoughts were interrupted when Hamis gave a cry of frustration suddenly and punched the wall of the elevator with his fist. His actions shocked Albert, and he began to worry once more. 'Why did you have to see me up there?' Hamis turned to him and cried. 'What?' Albert was really lost. 'Do you know, the last time someone was seen up on the twenty third floor like that, he died the very next day?' Hamis eyes were wild with fear. 

'Calm down,' Albert tried to soothe him. 'It could be just coincidence.' It was useless. Albert really regretted choosing the lift over the fire escape then. 'I don't care! I don't want to die. I'm going to quit tonight!' At that, Hamis punched the number '5' on the elevator controls. 'Actually, I'm going to the servants lift to pick up my things and run now!' The next few minutes were the longest in Albert's life. When the lift doors finally opened on the fifth floor, Hamis rushed out. When he left Albert heaved a sigh of relief. when the lift finally reached the ground floor, he dropped by the reception to pick up his keys. This time, a different receptionist was tending the counter. A tall Malay receptionist with green eyes was on duty. While waiting for her to retrieve his keys, a question popped into his mind. "What's a pontianak?' He asked curiously. "What?' the startled receptionist looked at him curiously. 'What's a pontianak?' He asked again.

The receptionist laughed, as her eyes darted around the corners nervously. 'Where did you come by that word, sir?' 'Oh, I was up on the 23th floor earlier, and Hamis told me that a lady I saw was a pontianak,' he explained. The receptionist was thoughtful. After a while, she said, Sir, I think you better not stay in the hotel tonight.' At that, she put the key back into the slot. 'Don't ask anymore questions, and leave now. Come back in the morning, and all your questions will be answered.' Albert opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off,' don't worry about the hotel charges. The hotel will not charge you.' Albert was totally mystified. However, he decided that he had enough of strange happening for the night. He turned and walked out. Albert reached his wife very late in the night. By then, she was already asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, he slipped into bed quietly. However, sleep evaded him as too many questions filled his mind.

The sleepless night passed slowly. A few hours before dawn, Albert gave up sleeping. Leaving a short not for his wife, he went out and headed back towards the hotel. He reached the hotel an hour after daybreak. After getting his room key from a different receptionist, he went up to his room and started packing. He carried his luggage out into the lobby an hour later, ready to check out. The lift door opened to revealed a few police officers loitering in the lobby. Through the glass door, he could see an ambulance arriving. He glanced around the lobby, and everyone seemed exceptionally solemn. The hotel manager was occupied, talking to some bellboy. Albert waited until he was free and went up to him. 'Hi,' Albert gestured towards the police officers. 'What happened?' "Oh, nothing to worry, sir,' he tried to explain, seeing Albert with his bags. 'One of our employees had fallen into the hotel pool last night. No one knew why or how.'

'Is it Hamis?' Albert asked. The hotel manager nodded. Albert could see the question in his eyes. 'Don't ask me how I know. As far as I'm concerned, there are too many spooky things happened in this hotel that I don't understand. I just want to get out of here. One minute there's a pontianak, next minute there's Hamis. When Albert mentioned pontianak, something flickered in the manager's eyes. However, his face remained impassive. 'I see,' was all that he said. 'What's a pontianak?' Albert asked on a after thought. 'In local folklore, the Malays believed that a pontianak is a female vampire who attacks men and babies only.' Albert face paled when he realized how close to death he had come. Not wanting to remain in the hotel longer than necessary, he bid the manager farewell and went to the reception counter to check out. Halfway through the paperwork, the hotel manager came up to Albert and spoke to him.

'The hotel will not charge you anything.' 'That's exactly what the receptionist said last night,' Albert uttered in surprise. The hotel manager looked at the receptionist with annoyance. Albert saw this and quickly explained. 'No, it's not her. It was a different receptionist. I did not get her name but she's tall and have green eyes. The manager looked at him for a long time before replying. 'We do not have a receptionist with green eyes in our hotel,' he nodded to the girl over the counter. 'She was the only one on duty last night.' When he was finished, Albert said nothing. He simply picked up his bags and walked out of the hotel. All the while, the hair on his neck stood on ends. 

Sunday 27 October 2013

Vampire

Jiang Shi, or stiffen corpse in direct translation, is actually the Chinese version of the vampire. Jiang Shis are believed to rise when the dead bodies are not buried deep enough. Exposed to the mercy of weather elements, these corpse will rise and disturb the people until someone can rebury them. In ancient China, this job falls to the vampire herder, whose duty is to herd these vampires to a final resting place where he can bury them. While not common to the South East Asian region, some people naturally assumed that Jiang Shis can only be found in China, or so they bought.

It was an unlucky year for Madam Chen. She had left an unhappy marriage, and her aged father was diagnosed with cancer. One of her friends had told her that a doctor in a rural village in Malaysia had performed many miracles, including curing cancer patients. With nothing to loose, Madam Chen decided to pay a visit to this miracle healer. On reaching Perak, she proceeded on to look for a guide. Strangely, no guides would take her there. All of them turned pale, and rejected her immediately. On walking away, she noticed that most of them were praying, some carrying things in their hands and chanting. Finally, she found a guide willing to bring her there, but for an exorbitant fee. However, he would only take her there; she had to find her way back alone. Left with no other choice, Madam Chen agreed to his conditions. By the time they reached the village, her tour guide had already told her that the villagers were strange people. Also, people who stayed out after dark would be found dead the next morning. No one could explain the cause of death, but every corpse had markings on his neck.

Madam Chen looked at the village. The huts were built with coconut leaves and bamboo sticks. It was late afternoon then, and the village was bustling with activity. Peddlers were peddling their wares, a wide variety of goods. On a closer look, she noticed a boy exchanging a basket of durians for some rice, and an old woman using fish to buy cloth. The village was a throwback to the colonial days of Malaysia! Stepping into the village, she noticed that everyone was looking at her queerly. It was no wonder. There she was, dressed in body hugging tank top, shorts and boots, but everyone else were in traditional Malay wear. Asking directions from one of the peddlers in rusty Malay, Madam Chen realized that the doctor stayed deep in the rubber plantation. They told her to walk towards the north of the village, but none offered to bring her to the doctor's hut. Following the given instructions, Madam Chen soon reached the outskirts of the village. True enough, there was a rubber plantation across a dusty dirt track. Crossing it, Madam Chen was soon deep in the midst of the plantation.

It was chilly inside the compounds of the plantation, despite the scorching heat outside. The leaves shaded Madam Chen from the hot sun above, letting little light through. She had to remove her sunglasses to see clearly. Apart from the occasional smokehouse along the way, all she could see was rubber trees spreading out around her. After a long walk, she came across a bigger hut, with several strange looking herbs drying in the yard. it should be the doctor's hut. Keeping her fingers crossed, she opened the door of the hut and walked in, noticing an octagonal shaped mirror hanging above the door as she entered. The hut was empty. An altar filled the figurines of Taoist deities stood at the back of the hut. On the table, a thick stack yellow talisman laid besides a yellow satchel. There was a tall shelf on the right wall, lined with many small bottles. Pretty sure that this was the doctor's hut, she sat down and wait.

Two hours later, a man entered the hut. Looking at Madam Chen with an almost hostile expression on his face, the man asked, 'Who are you? What are you doing here?' 'Hi. I'm looking for the village doctor. Can you help me?' Madam Chen had begun to regret not waiting outside for the doctor. She did not want him to think that she was rude, not especially when he could save her father's life. 'I am the village doctor. What do you want ?' If Madam Chen thought the villagers dressing were strange, the man facing her was dressed in a long yellow robe, inscribed with Chinese words down the front and back, and a funny looking hat with a black and white sign on it. Manner wise, the man was as unfriendly as the villagers. 'At least he speaks to me.' Madam Chen thought. She ignored his cold tone, and decided to push on. 'I've heard that you are a very good doctor, and known for treating incurable illnesses like cancer. Please help my father.' 'Go home. You're wasting your time.' The man replied curtly. With that, he snatched a yellow satchel and walked out of the hut, leaving the bewildered Madam Chen behind.

Not one to give up easily, Madam Chen followed the man. 'Why can't you help me? I am willing to pay any price. Please, just take a look at him.' 'Money cannot solve everything.' he stopped in his tracks so suddenly that Madam Chen, who was following closely behind, almost ran right smack into his back. Turning around, he said to her, 'Look, madam, I am very busy now. Please don't bother me. It's getting dark soon, and I supposed none of the villagers told you to stay indoors after dark. You'd better find a place for the night, and leave first thing tomorrow morning.' With that, he left madam Chen standing there. madam Chen watched him walk off in a hurry. Looking up at her watch, she realized that it was almost seven in the evening. The rubber plantation around her was getting quite dark to see clearly, and the trees seemed to stretch forever. Doubting that she could make her way back to the village in time, she retraced her steps back to the doctor's hut.

By the time she reached the doctor's hut, it was already dark. Sitting down at the table, she realized that she had not eaten at all for the whole day. She ate some snacks from her bag. Weariness caught up with her, and soon she dozed off. A noise woke her up later. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she looked around and realized that the doctor had not returned. Checking her watch, it was already past twelve. 'Thud.' There went the noise again. Two seconds later, the noise repeated. It seemed to be coming from outside the hut. Looking out of the window, she saw no one there. After a while, her curiosity got the better of her, and she walked out of the hut. Around her, the village had gone to bed, and not a sound came from the streets, except for the sound of crickets calling. 'Thud.' The sound seemed to be coming from the back of the hut. Walking towards the back of the hut, Madam Chen caught a whiff of foul smell that made her fell like throwing up. As she approached, the smell got stronger and stronger. By the time she reached the back of the house, the smell was overwhelming and Madam Chen had to hold her breath.

Turning around the corner, what she saw made her hair stand. Dressed in traditional Malay costume, the thing was a corpse with a badly decomposed face. The skin was peeling off the face, while worms were pouring out of the eyes, nose and mouth. The thing had its hands outstretched in front, and was hoping towards Madam Chen with incredible speed and agility. 'Jiang Shis' thought Madam Chen as she turned quickly and made a run for her life. She recalled the distinctive way they move around. With their body stiffened, Jiang Shis cannot walk, and so had to hop around. With the trees blocking the sky, and her compass left inside the hut, Madam Chen had a lot of difficulty trying to tell directions. After a while, she was lost inside the rubber plantation. 'Thud.' The sound seemed to be getting louder, no matter how hard she ran. The Jiang Shis was catching up on her.

In the distance, she saw a bonfire. Thinking that it was the doctor, she ran towards it quickly. No matter how hard she ran, she never seemed to reach it. As she ran faster, the bonfire appeared to be further and further away. 'Thud.' The sound was much louder now. After a while, she noticed a smokehouse coming up. Too tired to run anymore, Madam Chen ran inside the smokehouse. There was a big wooden tub in there. Thinking quickly, she climbed into the tub and pulled the lid after her. Recalling that in Chinese horror movies, Jiang Shis seek out their victims by following the sound of their victim's breathing, she pinched her nose tight and held her breath. The sound seemed to stopped outside the smokehouse. Madam Chen froze. She could hear her heart beating rapidly against her chest. After a while, the sound was heard again, but were getting softer and softer. Thinking that she was safe, Madam Chen were about to leave her hiding place when a ringing sound ripped through the quiet night.

Suddenly, the lid she was holding on to was being lifted. The first thing she saw were a group of Malay people, dressed up like the Jiang Shi she saw earlier. With yellow talisman pasted on their forehead, the Jiang Shis in front of her were motionless. Among them stood the Jiang Shi that chased her earlier. he too, had a piece of yellow talisman stuck on his forehead. 'I thought I told you to stay indoors? What are you doing, running about at this hour? Don't you realized how dangerous it is for you?' The doctor said. Madam Chen noticed then that he was carrying a bell. After sending madam Chen back to the hut, he told her to stay there and went off. He did not return until dawn the next day. Explaining that he was a vampire herder, he was invited by the village to keep the plantation safe at night, so that the people could harvest their rubber safely.

Hear No Evil

I picked up the phone, unsure whether to give Anna a call. It had been sometime since we talked and I wondered whether if she still remembered me. Ring... Ring... 'Perhaps the number Hua Min gave me was wrong', I thought to myself. Still, I decided to give it another try. I has tried to call Anna earlier this evening, but her old number was no longer in use. Hua Min knew her new number, but it was after much pestering that she finally gave it to me. Before she did, she made me promise to keep it confidential.

'Anna wanted it kept that way,' she claimed. 'Anna? Confidential? Doesn't sound like the social butterfly I once knew', I thought to myself. I had thought of giving Anna a call after a dream that evening. It was a strange dream of my childhood friend, Anna. We were meeting under the old rain tree in the schoolyard again. 'Yvonne, I am leaving.' 'Leaving? Going home?' 'Yes.' Her eyes were filled with sadness. 'Why so sad?' 'No. I'm going to a faraway place.' The sad look in her eyes touched me to the depths of my heart. I reached for her hand to comfort her, but snatched my hand back when the skin I touched was icy cold. 'Why?' before she could answer, Anna began to fade. Slowly, I could see through Anna as she grew more and more transparent, as if she was disappearing, particle by particle.

I reached out to grab hold of Anna, but my hand merely passed through thin air. 'Anna!' 'Bye, Yvonne...' The space that Anna once sat at was empty. An overwhelming sense of loos hit me. I began to cry. And as I did, I began to rock to and fro, like how a mother would console a crying baby. I rocked faster and harder, my body shaking with sobs. I could no longer control the savage rocking. No matter how hard I resisted, I could not stop... 'Yvonne! Wake up!' The voice came through a thick mist. I woke up suddenly. My mother was standing there, shaking me, telling me to wake up and prepare for dinner. I could feel something hot and wet flowing down my cheeks. There were fresh tears in my eyes. A deep sense of misgiving was within me. I decided to give Anna a call. Someone picked up the phone on the second try.

'Hello.' 'Hello? Can I speak to Anna, please?' I asked the person on the other line politely. There was a moment of silence. 'Hello? Anna please?' I asked again. 'Yes, this is she.' 'Oh, my! I'm glad I've finally got you. You don't remember me, do you?' 'No.' Her voice was low. 'It's me! Yvonne. Remember? Your buddy from primary school? The one with long hair and bug teeth?' 'Yes, I remember now.' She sounded reluctant to acknowledge that. 'What do you want?' 'Are you alright? Am I calling at a bad time? I don't mind calling you back again.' 'It's alright. How are you getting on?' Anna warmed a little, but continued in her low weak voice. We talked for a quite a while. Throughout the conversation, she sounded wan and weak. I felt a bit uneasy to her voice like that. It was an interesting conversation, and we caught up with one another.

She asked me this question suddenly. 'Did you know that one of your friends was admitted into hospital?' 'What?! Who? When?' I asked, not waiting for the first answer. 'Not long ago. She's still there. Why don't you go down and see her? I heard she was in quite a bad shape.' Then she stopped. I heard sounds of sobbing from the background. 'Anna, are you alright? By the way, who's this person?' Just go down to General Hospital, war 511.' With that, she hung up abruptly. Hua Min not know anything when I called her. When I called Anna's number again, no one picked up the phone this time. There were a lot of familiar faces outside the ward. It appeared that the whole class was there.

'Hey Yvonne! Hua Min! How did you know? We tried to contact you but no one knew your numbers,' Lifang said. 'What happened? Anna told me last night that someone was warded.' 'Yvonne, don't joke. She's in such a bad condition, and you can still make jokes like this,' Lifang frowned, as she pulled me aside. 'Who is?' 'Anna.' I looked at Lifang in confusion. 'But I really did talk to Anna over the phone last night,' I insisted. Just then, Anna's parent came out of the room. They were sobbing grievously. 'What happened, auntie? Uncle?' Hua Min went up to them. 'She's... she's... dead!' Anna's mother wailed, confirming my worst fears. everyone there was stunned by the news. Dimly, I heard Anna's father say, 'Anna slipped into a come last evening, She was down with an extremely bad case of flu for the last week. The doctor said it was complications.'

I could not speak. Staring at the two grief stricken parents, I was wondering who it was I talked to last night.

Friday 25 October 2013

A Visit To Hell

The cold breeze that wafted through the graveyard sent a chill down his spine. In the breeze, the bare branches of a nearby tree seemed to be bony fingers reaching for him, threatening to pierce through him like needles through a voodoo doll. Silence seemed to drape over the entire cemetery, punctuated only by the ticking from Poh Kwong's watch and his heartbeat. Poh Kwong faced the freshly built tombstone, slowly, with a shaky hand he picked up the handphone he borrowed from his friend. His heartbeat quickened as he watched the second hand of his watch ticked towards midnight.

He must complete his mission, he had given his word. A man must honor his word, even if it meant going to hell. his thoughts raced back to the day before. 'At precisely the stroke of midnight, you must dial this number twelve times to get through to the other side,' his friend told him. 'Then what do I do?' Poh Kwang asked. 'When you hear something on the other side, you must say the deceased's name and say that you have lost your way and ask for directions.' These were the exact words that Poh Kwang remembered. He must not fail or else everything that he worked for would be gone. The second hand reached the unearthly hour of the night. With a trembling hand, Poh Kwang pressed the button twelve times and waited with abated breath for an answer. Even the moment's silence seemed unbearable for him. He was almost relieved when he heard the ringing tone. After six rings, he heard a click and a rasping sound on the other side of the phone. In the background, over the phone, he could hear moanings and howlings. It sounded so near that he thought that they were here in the cemetery with him. He must have got through to the right place.

The person on the other end did not say a single word. All that he heard was a heacy breathing, not unlike that of a huge animal or monster. 'Hell...' A very deep voice soon boomed over the receiver. He must have meant 'Hello'. 'Hello... I.. I.. I am lost...' he began to stammer. 'Name!' 'Chan Kai Seng,' Poh Kwang said slowly. he had tried almost every means to talk to Kai Seng but to no avail. He tried using mediums to call him back up. The first medium he went to was highly recommended by a friend and this medium was known to let the spirits possess her body and use it to talk to the living. Upon the request of the family, she can call up the deceased and let them chat for a while. While being possessed by the spirit, she will act, talk and sound exactly like the deceased. She stayed in an old two room apartment block near Tiong Bahru. As he entered the dimly lit room that night, he felt a chill brush past the back of his shoulders. All he saw in the small room was a table, four chairs and a huge red altar against the wall.

The altar was big and took up a lot of wall space. It was the centerpiece of the entire room. On the altar were numerous statues of Chinese gods, some of which looked like demons with their menacing looks. She was not much to look at either. Pale and ashen, she look pathetically fragile and weak. He guessed her age to be around her late thirties. She asked for the particulars of the dead. Fortunately, Poh Kwang had the particulars. It took him some time and a lot of effort to get them from Kai Seng's mother, as the very mention of his name would send her weeping. After Kai Seng's particulars were given, the medium converted the birth date and time to the Chinese calendar system and began to chant, and sharply after the chant, she stamped her foot on the floor a few times. Poh Kwang was expecting Kai Seng's spirit to speak through her. However, the medium fell back from the chair instead and collapsed onto the floor. She began writhing in agony. Poh Kwang was too much in shock to do anything. Suddenly, an unseen force pushed him back towards the wall and he felt as if he was pinned there. An unexplained heat filled the room. It was as if the entire house was caught in a raging fire.


As she writhed on the ground, a word kept issuing from her lips, 'Avi-something', a word he could not understand. After what seemed to be an eternity, the heat subsided. She stopped her moaning and simply lay there on the floor unmoving and drenched in her own perspiration. Poh Kwang wiped the sweat off his face. By then, his entire shirt was wet as well. He quickly went over to help her sit up but was rudely pushed aside. Without a word, she just ushered him out, warning him never to summon such a spirit up ever again. While he was leaving, he could hear her chanting, in between, he heard his name being mentioned. He sought another medium, this time to ask questions. Since he could not bear the employ a medium to summon the spirit to talk to him directly, he needed to learn how to get in touch with the spirit personally.


He was taught a few tricks by this medium. Some of these required a lot of courage. Poh Kwang was not courageous by nature but he was running out of time and was at wit's end. He needed to talk to Kai Seng fast, even if it meant risking his own life. His first attempt to personally contact him was to ask the medium to open his 'Ying Yang' eye. The medium was reluctant to do it, as it was dangerous. It is believed that once this eye is opened, a person could see the spirits that still wander on this earth. Normally, the sights of these spirits would scare the person half to death, but Poh Kwang was in dire straits. He knew that this medium was known to take 'tokens' for 'favors' and he came prepared. It did not take long, or much, for the medium to be convinced about the urgency. When the medium asked for the reason, Poh Kwang just shrugged it off as having a need to find the spirit so that he can ask it a few questions about a certain inheritance. 'Let me warn you that if you should see spirits other than the one you are looking for, do not look at them in the eyes or else...' the medium warned him.


'What?' Poh Kwang asked, half afraid what the answer would be. 'Or else you will be haunted by it. Since you are not a 'tao shi' you would not be able to rid yourself of them, so be careful.' 'How can I tell... tell...' '...if it is a spirit?' the medium interrupted him. 'Trust me, you will know, but ignore them and do not in any way let them know that you have seen them,' the medium said as he took a 'fu', a strip of yellow paper with chants written on it, and burnt it above a bowl of water. He mixed the ashes and took two leaves from the altar that they were standing, next to and dipped them into the bowl. With the wet leaves, he began a chant and placed them onto Poh Kwang's closed eyes. After the chant ended, he asked Poh Kwang to open his eyes. 'What I have done is just to open your third eye or 'tian yian' for a short while, by tomorrow it will close by itself. Hopefully you will not go mad by then.' These were the parting words he had for Poh Kwang. 


As he stepped out of the medium's house, The sight of all the spirits that wandered the streets of the night assailed him. They appeared to him in all shapes and sizes. Some looked human while others were grotesquely deformed, probably died of an accident or was in actual fact, demons or devils. What they were doing sent a chill down his spine. At a nearby bus stop, he saw a spirit sitting on a person's shoulders, while another was licking a lady's arm with its long green tongue. What was strange was that the people behave normally, not knowing a thing, as they couldn't see or feel what these spirits were up to. Poh Kwang ignored them but nonetheless he could not help having goosebumps. He almost threw up when he spotted a headless spirit wandering with his entrails hanging out from his abdomen. He wondered how this guy died. he knew then, why some people go insane once they opened their third eye. It takes a lot of guts to be able to live with such sights. Even though he ignored them, he could sense that they were watching him. He flagged for a cab. A taxi with a lighted top slowed down and stopped right in front of him. He stepped into the taxi but to his surprise he was sitting right next to a teenage girl. He knew immediately that she was not human as she was sitting on thin air, leaving no impression on the soft cushioned chair. However, he had no choice but to ignore her as he was already in the cab and did not want to shock the taxi driver. He asked the taxi driver to head for the 'kopitiam' where he and Kai Seng normally have their dinner and drinks. 


The girl was staring out the window. He did not look into her eyes but saw her face. She did look sweet but her face was one of sadness. They entered a dimly lit lane, a shortcut that the driver took. In the darkness, he could see in momentary flashes, her face, as the streetlights came in through the window. It glowed an eerie green as the light filtered through. He could see blood trickling down the side of her mouth and eyes bulging out from her sockets. Her clothes were torn ans she had a very deep gash around her neck, so deep that it almost seemed as if it separated her head from her body. Poh Kwang's hair stood on ends but he quickly composed himself and remained seated without moving until he reached his destination and got off the cab.


He took a glance around the place. There seemed to be a lot of spirits in there, other than those in dispensed from bottles. Kai Seng's spirit however, was nowhere to be seen. Poh Kwang spent the rest of the night going to their normal haunts, avoiding all the ghosts ans spirits that still wandered around. His search was futile. He went back to his flat in Bedok. As the lift door opened, What he saw made him take a step back, for he could see a lady with a torn and blood stained dress standing alone inside. he did not dare to look straight into her eyes but in swift glance, he noticed that there was a trickle of blood from the corner of her lips. He saw that there were stab wounds in her breasts and abdomen. Blood seeped from the worm infested wounds. She must be the victim of the rape and murder case a few years back, before he had shifted into this apartment. He could not just run, for she would know then that he had seen her. He thought fast. With a snap of his fingers, he turned around and immediately headed for the mailbox. Just the excuse to catch the next lift. He saved a sigh of relief as the lift door closed as he was 'searching' for the mail box key. He took to the stairs instead. It was not much of a climb to the eighth floor. Anyway, he needed the exercise, he thought to himself.


He was hesitant to enter the hall to his five room flat but he remembered that his mother had convinced him to get a priest to cleanse the place before moving in. Even though he cursed her then, he was thanking her with all his heart as he turned the doorknob to his house. He did not sleep well that night as he kept seeing the wandering spirits that filled his mind. He tried to think of something good instead. He reminded himself of his mission and the urgency of it. Kai Seng was a good friend and above all, a good confidante. They got to know each other in school. Kai Seng was the gangleader and he was the 'goody two shoes'. Kai Seng was never good in his studies and normally would have to stoop to copying in the exams. He was good at that though, and would normally get a passable grade. Poh Kwang was the brains and by some god willed coincidence, they were both paired up to sit together and they had to bear with each other for the whole of their final year. Somehow they managed to get along fine, Kai Seng kept teasing him but Poh Kwang knew that he was envious. It showed in his mannerisms. They began to talk more that was when he found out Kai Seng's weakness for Chinese poetry. One day, he found Kai Seng had a sneak read of his Chinese poetry book. Of course he denied everything and threatened to whack Poh Kwang up if he should spread any rumors about a tough guy reading such sissy stuff.


As time passed, Kai Seng began to expose more of his soft side to Poh Kwang and soon they got to be very good friends. They would spend time with each other, away from Kai Seng's gang, and talk about poetry and life. Their views differed due to their different upbringing but their common love tor the written word was enough to bond them for years to come. Even after they left school they would meet and chat for hours. Kai Seng soon become a bouncer in a discotheque while Poh Kang finished his studies in the University and became a social worker. Ironically, instead of Poh Kwang counselling Kai Seng, the latter was more of a help to Poh Kwang as he was able to reveal the thoughts and ideas behind a delinquent mind. The entire incident started when one of Kai Seng's gang member, Ah Teck, was in a financial crisis. Ah Teck's sister was critically ill and he needed money, a lot of money for surgery. As none of the members were well off and Kai Seng was the gangleader, he felt he had to do something, even if it meant robbing someone. he told Poh kwang about his plot to rob his 'good for nothing' manager. His plan was meticulous, even Poh Kwang was amazed by the intricate details.


As an alternative if the plan should fail, Kai Seng wanted Poh Kwang to ensure that the money would end up with Ah Teck. He made Poh Kwang swear to it. Poh Kwang as was his nature, tried to think alternatives to get money and tried to convince Kai Seng that it was mot worth the risk. His advice fell on deaf ears. Poh kwang knew that once Kai Seng set his mind on something, even the gods could not change it. As a friend, Poh Kwang knew that he had to help him succeed, even if it meant imprisonment. To Poh Kwang, even that would be better than to lose such a friend and confidante. Poh Kwang did not know when Kai Seng would execute the plan, but he soon got to know when there was a report in the Lain He Zhoa Bao concerning a murder and robbery at a local disco. It seemed that Kai Seng's plan was not foolproof as the newspaper reported  that his dead body was found somewhere near the discotheque. The strange thing was that the money meant for the salary and bonuses of the disco's employees were missing.


No body was able to recover the money. Even Poh Kwang failed to find it in the spot Kai Seng said he would stash it. However, a man's word must be honored. Poh Kwang must find the loot and pass it to Ah Teck, even if it meant he had to go to hell for the answer. 'There are many versions of hells. In our scriptures, it records that there are generally three types and within each there are numerous hells, each to serve a different punishment.' 'Hmm... that complicate matters... How does one go to hell, short of dying of course.' 'There are many unorthodox means but I would advice you against such thoughts. Why is it that you are interested in these things anyway?' 'Erm... I am writing a short story for a local publisher,' Poh Kwang had to lie to get the information he wanted from Toh Tuck, his staunch Buddhist friend.


'Well in that case, there shouldn't be any problem in telling you...' Poh Kwang took out his notepad and started scribbling away as his friend rambled on about death, hell and ways to tour Hades. 'Well there are many versions of hell, the Christians have their own. The Taoists have theirs and so do the Buddhists, I guess as a Chinese, you would be more interested in the 18 levels of hell...' He went on to explain about the different punishments a person would get in hell and the judges that ruled it. He spared no details in the descriptions. Somehow, Toh Tuck friend seemed to be very well versed in this field as he had attempted suicide, before ending up as a Buddhist monk. It would seem that Toh Tuck was facinated with death and did some research before his attempt at ending his own life. His views were enlightening but it was the methods suggested to get to hell that Poh Kwang was interested in. He jotted down the various ways, from phone calls and mediums, to trips to Hong Kong's gateway to hell. Toh Tuck confessed that these methods were not safe, if workable at all and none of them are Buddhistic by nature. Only two methods seemed to entice him. Poh Kwang had to extricate himself towards the end of the chat as Toh Tuck started blabbing about the way of the Buddha and enlightenment. Poh Kwang already got what he needed to begin his descent.


Poh Kwang's thoughts were broken by a horrible laughter that broke over the other side of the phone. It sounded much more like a horse snorting than laughter. 'Good try, but he has already been sentenced...' the voice said gruffly over the sounds of wailing from behind. Another burst of that horrible laughter and the phone went dead. Poh Kwang was really in a jam now. He has tried almost everything in the book. There was only method left. It has to work. He stared at the picture of his friend on the tombstone for a while longer before making his way back home in his Morris Minor.


The following night, just before the stroke of twelve, Poh Kwang laid on his own bed, his eyes set on the clock. 'This will work, this will work,' he kept telling himself as he prepared himself for the ritual. His bedroom was pitch dark with only the moonlight streaming in from the window. The pale moonlight somehow added a macabre touch to the entire setting. Poh Kwang shivered a little in the cold night air. At exactly the stroke of midnight, he began, first bending his thumbs and placing them behind his ears while turning in the specific directions, then placing his left thumb on his solar plexus and turning it again in the way told to him. He close his eyes. Darkness soon devoured him. He knew he was falling through the darkness. A hot and sticky sensation soon engulfed him, almost the same heat that he felt when he visited the first medium. he could feel slimy hands reaching out to him, touching him, groping all over his body, almost slowing down his fall. He struggled to open his eyes but they seemed to be sealed shut. Gradually, a red glow penetrated through his eyelids and grew so intense that it made him scream in pain.


He finally hit ground. He wished that he didn't, for it seared through his flesh making him leap up onto his feet. He opened his eyes slowly, afraid that he may be blinded by the bright light that shone right into his eyes. In the darkness he could hear incessant screaming and moaning that seem to be emitting from all around him. The agony reflected in sounds was so vastly concrete that he could almost feel it. He felt something or someone going through him and he opened his eyes. He found himself amidst a crowd making its way towards a huge door built into a cliff that seemed to stretch to the heavens. Poh Kwang followed the face of the cliff up towards the sky. Instead of a bright blue sky, it was a burning red glow, filled with swirling black clouds which seemingly threatened to choke anyone who dares to stare at it. Strangely, everyone's heads were bowed as they trudge towards the entrance. All of them were dressed in modern clothes but some of it were tattered and torn. Some older people looked peaceful while the younger ones had tears in their eyes. Others were so gruesomely mutilated that it was impossible to tell if they were human.


Poh Kwang tried to tap an elderly person nearby but his hand went right through him instead. He tried again and again, turning to others instead, but all he did was pass right through them. He went forward and instead of bumping into them, he went right through them, his entire soul. He realized then that he was a ghost to these ghosts. He quickly went forward towards the door. Guarding the massive door were two giants, towering twice a person's height. Both had human bodies but one had the head of a horse while the other had the head of a cow. Niu-Tou and Ma-Mien, the infamous guards to the entrance of Hades. Niu-Tou was holding onto an axe, stained with what seems to be blood while Ma-Mien was holding onto a spear. They had eyes red like raging fire and they had muscles that could tear any souls apart. He shivered as their eyes scanned the souls that passed  the entrance. His heart stopped when he saw Niu-Tou staring right at him


Then it happened. Niu-Tou snorted and let out a roar. Poh Kwang knew he was spotted and made a mad rush to get past the gates. niu-Tou and Ma-Mien were right behind him. The crowd hurriedly ran aside to let the giants through but as the both of them were huge, a few were trapped under their hoofs, crushed but whatever parts that remained intact, were still moving. As he went past the door, he realized that it was a fortress of rock behind the cliff walls with the sky still glowing red above. Right in front, a distant away he could see a hall and a black figure in it. On his left, next to the hall was another entrance. He headed straight for it. Poh Kwang was able to run right though the throng of souls, literally, and that was an advantage but the mere stride that the giants took greatly reduced the distance between their sharp weapons and his head. Niu-Tou swung his axe at him, meaning to chop off his neck but as he ducked, gushed out from the stumps that remained but the hands were still failing. A head landed right in front of his path and he could see the horror that was written all over it.


His mouth was still moving, crying for help but its plea was to get him out of hell. Poh Kwang knew he couldn't help. As he got nearer to the hall and made his turn towards to other entrance, he saw that the hall was actually an open court with a hideous man sitting upon a throne with two attendants next to him. As he got closer, Poh Kwang realized that he was not a man. The creature that sat high above the heads of souls had five eyes, two where it should be with one right between them and one each on its cheeks. It had a black smoke like mane that seemed to emit wisps of death. On the top of its head, it had four horns, two short ones in front and two longer ones towards the back. He had fangs protruding up from his thin lips and a hairy chest infested with maggots and worms. The two attendants were the 'patrols of the day' and the 'patrol of the night' and they were aptly dressed. Both wore long flowing robes, one was in white and the other black. They wore high hats that resembled that of a chefs but with Chinese inscriptions down the center of the hat. They were not much to look at for their eyes bulged from their sockets and their long tongue hung out, red with blood. Floating around them were little balls of fire that glowed not red but green, casting an eerie glow on them. When it saw Poh Kwang trying to escape from Niu-Tou and Ma-Mien, the creature on the throne immediately rose from his seat, displaying his full stature. He was even bigger than Niu-Tou and Ma-Mien put together. Poh Kwang shivered at the sight of this monstrosity but kept racing towards the entrance. From behind, Poh Kwang heard Ma-Mien snorting out to his master. He realized that the creature in front was none other than 'Guei Wang', the King of demons. The creature let out a scream that seemed to charge the raging sky above with energy. The thunder roared along with Guei Wang. Poh Kwang saw flashes of light from above illuminating the creature, showering him in an eerie light that only made it look more gruesome. From where he was standing, Guei Wang reached for Poh Kwang with his right hand, extending his long arm towards him. The sharp claws on his hand glittered in the flash of lightening that came down. However, he was too slow as Poh Kwang was running like the wind towards the entrance where all the souls were headed. Poh Kwang knew he had to get out of here fast.


Guei Wang let out another roar and almost instantly, a host of demons of all sorts materialized from the walls that surrounded the area and he soon found himself surrounded by the vile and slimy creatures. He was only about five feet away from the entrance when one of the grisly creatures blocked his path entirely. Poh Kwang tried hard to stop but the momentum carried him forward. His heart almost stopped as he went right through the monster. He almost froze from the icy cold feeling of the beast. The beast roared out as it failed to stop Poh Kwang. It sharply turned around and used its clawed hands to slash at Poh Kwang. Poh Kwang thought that the talons would merely go through him just like everything else. He kept on running. Suddenly he felt weak and cold. He turned around to see what was happening. What he saw terrified him. The beast was holding on to his shirt and green fluid was dripping from it. He shivered at the realization that his life clung onto that bit of cloth.


'Shen ren wu jin!' (the living shall not enter!0 Guei Wang finally shouted to Poh Kwang from where he was still standing. With that, a bolt of lighting from the sky stopped Poh Kwang dead in his tracks. The ground in front of him was burnt to a char. The gate was only inches away and he could almost touch it. But by then, all the demons have already gathered around him. 'Bring him to me!' Guei Wang commanded the demons. As the demons were about to lay their sharp talons on him, amidst the screams and moans that filled the air, a sharp shriek cut across the din, so sharp that it momentarily distracted the demons and even made Guei Wang turn his massive head. Poh Kwang knew this was it, the moment he was praying for and quickly fell on his knees and hurriedly ran past the demons. Guei Wang turned away from the distractions and immediately sent another bolt of lightning from the sky to stop Poh Kwang but it was too late, he had already run past the gates to the inevitable river.


As he ran past, he looked back one last time to find out who was the kind soul who distracted them and save him. In the crowd he spotted a familiar face, a smile, a pair of eyes that glistened in the dark. A sense of unexplained sadness engulfed him as he realized who it was. A foul river of blood flowed past him. The stench form it was overwhelming. Poh Kwang knew this was Nai-he, the river of inevitability that Toh Tuck mentioned. All souls will have to cross this river to be judged. A big long spanned the river. The problem was that it was only one foot wide and the chance of slipping was great. The log was filled with souls walking along it to the other side. Poh Kwang joined the line. As he was about to step onto the log, a pair of hands suddenly appeared and held onto him, guiding him and saving him from falling. He saw to his pleasant surprise, a smiling boy no more than five to six years old holding his left and a sweet girl holding to his right. He looked ahead and saw some more souls guided by such children. Some however, were less fortunate and had to walk and balance themselves precariously on the log to get to the other side.


Poh Kwang witnessed a few of them falling into the bubbling river of blood, they were immediately devoured by serpent like dragons. With one snap of their large jaws, the body was bitten into two and the falling pieces of flesh were eaten by other smaller serpents in the river. The boy noticed Poh Kwang squirming at the sight and softly said, 'Don't pity them. They were wicked man in their lifetime. This is what they deserve. You are not, that is why we are helping you across this river.' 'What's on the other side?' Poh Kwang asked. 'The registrar of life and death,' the girl answered. 'You will be meeting Imperial Judge Chin Kuang to decide your state of rebirth.' With that statement, Poh Kwang landed on the other side of the river. The two children vanished just as they appeared, but before they did, Poh Kwang caught a sneer from out in the corner of the boy's mouth. An unexplainable chill went up his spine. Before long, Poh Kwang was in another court. This time, it was more gruesome. There were a lot of people huddled in fear. They were not afraid of the judge as he looked dignified in his traditional official robes. Neither were they terrified of the bearded official standing next to the judge, nor the young man or the beast with the human body.


What made them quake with fear was the sight of a man being hoisted above them. The middle aged man looked quite shaken and terror was written all over his face. he had a big tattoo on his back and Poh Kwang spotted a few numbers next to it. Obviously the man belonged to the triad. The beast man pierced a hook through his lower back and a heavy weight of sin was tied to his hands and feet. Shortly after he was hoisted into place, he began to scream, his back was totally bent and snapped into two. He must have done quite a lot of bad deeds in his life. He was let down and the sentence was passed to sent him for torture in the eight chamber. Two demons then dragged the man away. Poh Kwang quietly slipped behind the crowd and made his way towards the entrance on his right, where the man was led to by the two demons. Poh Kwang followed behind them.


A mirrored passageway opened before Poh Kwang once he passed the entrance. He did not look at the reflections on the walls as he knew this must be the mirror of sin where all the sins in life would be reflected as one is made to look into it. He kept his eyes on the two demons to make sure that they do not know that they were being followed. The temptation to look at the wall mirror was overwhelming and Poh Kwang could not help but turned his head for a moment for a sneak preview of his sins. What stared back at him was not his own reflection but that of his friend's Gabriel, the one whom he copied his assignment from during his varsity days. They were not tutorial mates but would normally sit next to each other during lectures. It happened that one day, Poh Kwang forgot the deadline for his Social Science assignment and instead of burning midnight oil to finish it, he simply borrowed the completed assignment from his friend and plagiarized it. Instead of him being blamed, Gabriel was accused instead for plagiarism and was expelled. Poh Kwang had to lie to protect himself but it was merely survival. He had a reputation to keep in school as being diligent and bright. It was a pity that his friend did not have such a reputation to upkeep.

Poh Kwang felt a pang of sorrow as he witnessed the expulsion of his friend from school and how he worked in a small trading firm as a storeman. His entire future ruined because he was kind to Poh Kwang. Slowly the image of Gabriel changed into that of Poh Kwang himself but naked in bed pushing himself against someone else. Slowly, the face of the other person came into focus, it was Lorina, his first love. They met at the last party Toh Tuck threw before he became a monk and since then, they had been going steady for about a year or so. Being a staunch Catholic, she denied him any physical pleasures and always had marriage in mind. That was the last thing on Poh Kwang's mind. Towards the end of his own housewarming party, he was slightly tipsy after all the liquor and shortly after everyone left, he forced himself on her. She fought back but because of his brute strength, she was subdued and finally let him have his way.


They made love. She left that morning out of his house and ran out of his life. He tried to patch things back but she would not even speak to him and avoided him totally. The image shifted again. Poh Kwang closed his eyes to stop the images from flooding his mind. Feeling remorse from his actions, he trudge on along the passageway, no longer daring to look into the wall that reflected his deepest fears. he concentrated instead now on the two demons in front of him. Soon the passageway opened to a gigantic cavern where all forms of torture took place. Screams ensued from the mouths of those who were tortured. The voices echoed through the entire underworld. The cavern was dark and the only light eminating was from fires at various points. A river ran through what seems to be an underground desert. each section of this place was used for different forms of torture and there were a lot of souls undergoing it. He was standing on a staircase landing. The steps led all the way down into the depths of the torture chamber. He could see a lot of souls and demons from where he was standing. At a distance, he saw another open court with what seems to be a man presiding over it. There was a big bonfire where a crowd of souls gathered in front of a judge.


He made his way in the dark slowly and carefully, along the edge of the landing where he wouldn't be seen. He had to be careful not to walk too close to the walls as they were dry and hot to the touch. Inch by inch, he made his way along the side of the giant cavern. As he moved closer to the court, he could distinguish the features of the judge. He was too terrifying to even gaze upon. His upper torso was bare and the mane he had around his neck was in turfs. Tusks protruded from his mouth. He wore only a cape tied with a chain of human skulls in the center. In his right hand he held a mace. There he sat like an emperor as names were read and sentences were passed by the judge pointing his mace in the direction of the torture the poor soul was to undergo. It would have been difficult to find anyone in this mass but Kai Seng's tattoo made things a lot simpler because his entire body, every inch of it, was emblazoned with a picture of a dragon. even from afar his body would be easy to identify.


Poh Kwang scanned through the entire area. In one corner, people were being strung upside down by demons and blood drained from their bodies from one cut on each of their neck. The cut was expertly done by a larger demon with a butcher's knife who ensured that they were kept alive while their blood flowed out from their bodies. The blood was heartily drank by the demons who stood underneath those who were hung up. The shower of blood and their thirsty open mouths made them look more demonic than ever. The stench of blood filled the air and assailed Poh Kwang's nostrils even from where he was standing. In another section, demons were busy pounding up humans in what seemed to be a huge mortar. The people were thrown in and a giant demon welding a stone club was pounding away at them. Those who were freshly thrown in tried to escape by clawing their way out of the mortar but the sides of the mortar was slippery with blood. Blood that spurted from those pounded into a pulp.


The grisly sight of pounded human flesh and blood made Poh Kwang want to puke. The pounded flesh was then gathered by another smaller demon using a giant ladle. The mess was then carted off to another section of the underworld. Poh Kwang could not even imagine where it was headed for what it could be used for. He edged on towards the other side of the cavern. Down below he saw a small knoll with spears, knives and sharp metal pieces protruding from it. on this knoll painted red with blood were numerous bodies. Demons were hurling the bodies of men and women onto this mountain of swords. they just kept on hurling them onto the sharp edges, drawing blood. Those whose bodies were badly mangled were left on the knoll until they were drained at blood and life. Poh Kwang could still detect some moving and writhing in agony with swords penetrating through their entire bodies. A group of smaller demons were constantly clearing the mountain of bodies while the stronger ones kept on piling it with bodies. next to this hill of swords was a large cauldron boiling with blood and humans. People were thrown in and slowly cooked into a mess of meat.


All their bodies were bloated and on the top of this blood filled cauldron was a mess of eyeballs, fingers and other parts of the body. All cooked flesh was torn into pieces by a demon who constantly stirred the pot with a menacing grin on its face as some tried to swim and stay afloat in the stench. He would use his ladle to push and keep their heads under the boiling blood. A snort would issue from his fanged mouth once in a while. Kai Seng would not sentenced here. Poh Kwang had to proceed to the other chambers. As he shuffled towards the other entrance to a passageway, he beheld a sight that really made him puke. For right below him, he could see blood spewing from people who were being chopped into pieces by demons welding butcher's knives. Their parts, some still moving, were thrown into a giant basket and carted away. Even the bravest of men would quiver at such a gruesome sight. He could not stand it anymore and threw up over the edge of the landing, right onto a small demon's head below. There was an immediate growl and it only took the demon a fraction of a second to spot Poh Kwang on the edge trying to hide in the dark.


Poh Kwang made a bolt from the exit as the small demon tried to get the attention of the rest. Before anything happened, Poh Kwang was out of the place. behind hi he could hear the noise and commotion growing. Hopefully no other demon spotted him and no demon would believe that poor little devil. The temperature soared as he managed his was pass the passageway, which was bigger than the previous one. He was then getting quite used to hiding behind boulders and between crevices to avoid being seen by demons which dragged souls around. Before long he turned into another chamber. his nostrils were hit by the strong smell of sulfur  The entire chamber was filled with cries of agony even sharper than that of the previous one. As his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit chamber, he could see demons piercing spears into the ribs of souls. Some others were gouging out the eyes with their claws and the demon nearest to Poh Kwang was scraping the face of a soul with its claws.


The terror in the eyes of the poor victim was beyond what Poh Kwang had ever seen. Blood dripped where the scratches  were and the peeling skin exposed the veins and flesh. Somewhere further back, Poh Kwang could make out hand and foot racks with chained souls attended by demons that pulled out their fingers and toe nails. Poh Kwang winced as he imagine the pain. Suddenly, Poh Kwang felt something moving below him. He dropped his head and saw to his horror that the entire floor was filled with insects which were biting through his shoes. He could not scream as it would mean another group of demons chasing him through hell. He quickly shook off that insects and exited the place. He was now at a loss. There was no way to find Kai Seng without a guide who knew the place. He was searching for a needle in a haystack as there were too many dead people around and... It suddenly occurred to him that he pocketed the notes that he scribbled during Ton Tuck's discussion on hell. He immediately dug into his pockets and flipped through the notes. He recalled the fact that Kai Seng committed a murder and robbery. If he was the judge and Lord of Hades, where would he send such a foul person? He thought to himself and searched through the notes to find an answer.


In his list of hell, he came across numerous types from each different school of thoughts. There were in fact more than the common belief of eighteen levels of hell. Some even believe there were twenty level of hell. he was almost in despair. Nothing matched the ones he saw. He was really trapped right now. However, as he read on, he noticed that a word came flashing across. 'Avici', 'Avitchi', 'Ah-pi', it would seem that it was a common idea to have this hell. He read on. Avitchi - men of the worst crimes are punished here in this flaming iron city. Avici - those who have killed their fathers or mothers will be burned in this hell as if they were kindling. Ah-pi - receives all who committed the five capital sins: taking a life, thieving  debauchery, lewdness and lying. Such sinners will receives damnation immediately. Well, Kai Seng fitted the one described as Avici... somehow it sounded familiar. Yes! It was the word that the first medium he visited uttered when she was under a trance. He knew then where he was to head to but the question remained, how is he going to get there without a guide?


As if he was destined to go there, he heard a scream along the passageway. He quickly hid behind a big boulder as two demons dragged a soul struggling to escape. 'I am innocent! I did not kill him! I swear! It was an accident!' he kept on shouting to the demons that pulled him by his two wrists which were already all bloody, cut by their sharp claws. The demons were about Poh Kwang's size but grotesquely deformed. Both of them had only patches of fur on them. One of them was skinny and had blood red skin. Its head was bald and looked like a blood covered skull with the exception of a single horn growing from its forehead. 'Shut up!' One demon barked at him as it was obvious it was sick and tired of his whining. 'You took a life, a human life and that's that,' the other one answered. This one was stout and had two horns and had a mane of green hair growing around its neck. Its voice was gruff as it spoke. 'Whether you wanted to kill him or not, murderers are to be sent to Avici.' The blood skinned one started laughing. 'Yeah! Avici. Even we would not go there unless we have to. It is the place where even devils dare not thread,' he growled. 'Thanks to you that we have to go there,' the one with the green mane snorted. 'So shut up before we eat you up here and now!' The threat silenced the man but it did not stop the fear from showing on his face. he was crying like a baby as they dragged him further down the passageway. Poh Kwang thanked the heavens as he started to follow them. The path that they took descended lower and lower into the depths. Along the way, he went through various chambers and halls that dealt with punishments to the wicked sinners. The further down he traveled  the more gruesome the punishments. There were chambers where people were tied to poles and set aflame, others where they were put onto beds of iron spikes and beds of hot flames, while some others were roasted. Further along the route, Poh Kwang saw a women being skinned alive, supposedly for being vain and men were being slowly sawed into pieces for hypocrisy.


Most of the hell were hot but there were distinctly cold hell as well where people were frozen and broken into pieces. They soon reached the lowest level where the stairways ended and there were no more entrances other then the one they came from. Before Poh Kwang was a sea of fire and a bridge that spanned across the sea to an iron fortress in the center. He could see numerous columns sticking out from the sea of fire, each with a few bodies that seemed to have partially melted into it. The screams from these victims were beyond normal and it sent Poh Kwang a few steps back. He had never heard such desperate cries for help in his entire life. He stared down and saw to his horror that the people were not charred or singed and were completely intact even though the flames engulfed them. The pain must be immeasurable. Avici... where the most unmentionable criminals are punished. 


The demons started on their way towards the fortress. Poh Kwang was completely lost as the place was too big to search for one lost soul. It was folly to even try to look for Kai Seng in here. Now he wished he had not come at all. Lost in his own thoughts, he did not noticed the quiet gloom that was casting over him. The shadow soon blanketed him, as soon as he realized it, a shiver crept right up his spine. He turned his head back and looked up, only to find Guei Wang staring down at him. He immediately felt as if death was staring at him straight in the face and he was doomed to die a terrible death. He found to his surprise that he was completely surrounded by demons again, all of them eyeing him menacingly. It was as if all of them wanted to tear him up into shreds and devour him. Suddenly, Guei Wang grinned at him. 'So... Poh Kwang how was your tour of hades?' he growled. Poh Kwang was at a loss of words. Guei Wang jnew his name and exactly where he was... 'You are looking for Kai Seng, aren't you?' he snapped his fingers and one of the columns rose from the sea of flames.


Kai Seng was attached to the people and was screaming in pain as the flames leapt up and encircled him. 'This is Avici... no one gets out of here alive. No one.' Guei Wang snorted. 'Kai Seng!' Poh Kwang managed to shout out to him. 'Poh Kwang!' he answered back. 'Get out of here! Get out!' 'Go on, ask him where the money is.' Guei Wang said abruptly. Poh Kwang was taken aback. Guei Wang knew everything. 'I know exactly why you are here and I know every move you have made. This is Hades and my demons are everywhere. You cannot escape me.' 'Why?!' Poh Kwang burst out, after realizing that he was left alone on purpose to find his way down here to Avici and maybe even guided here by the demons. 'Why did you set me up?' 'Because I want your soul.'


'My...' Poh Kwang stopped once he realized Guei Wang's plans. 'You see, I checked with the registrar of life and death. What you do not know is that a day in hell mean fifty human years.' Poh Kwang was stunned. He was here for almost three hours already. That would mean... 'You have been in a coma for about two years now. Your mother has already decided to let you go.' 'No... this can't be true. Tell me it isn't true!' Poh Kwang shouted. 'Toh Tuck didn't tell me about this!' He almost screamed. 'Toh Tuck is not dead, he can't possibly tell you what he has not experienced. All his knowledge is from books. That can be very deadly.' Guei Wang said gruffly. 'By the way, did he tell you that Avici is also known as 'Wu jian di-yu', the hell of eternal damnation? No visitors are allowed in here because no one is allowed to go out. You see, what you don't know is someone has already killed you. 'Why did you come?' Kai Seng interrupted, shouting from where he was. 'I could not find your goddamn money!' Poh Kwang screamed back. 'And a promise is a promise,' he added.


'Someone hit me from behind and took it, before I could meet Ah Teck!' Kai Seng shouted. 'Would you both like to know who did it?' Guei Wang laughed out as he snapped his fingers. Another column rose up from the sea of flames. Tied on it was Ah Teck! The very man whom Kai Seng robbed. He stole the money and killed Kai Seng! Why?! 'He was afraid that Kai Seng would use the fact that he robbed and murdered someone for him and blackmailed him for certain favors. He could not believed that anyone could go through all that just because they are sworn brothers. But because he took Kai Seng's life, he's now paying for it,' Guei Wang answered the question. 'Ah Teck used the money to pay for the bills but was found out and hanged a year later, after you went into a coma,' he added. 'But I know his sister. I visited them before I came here. If he used the money to save her, she should be alive. His sister is dead! She is at the entrance... she was the one who screamed to save me! If he paid for the surgery... how...?'


'She killed herself when she found out that her brother murdered and robbed someone to save her. Funny world you live in isn't it?' Guei Wang laughed. A feeling of despair swept over Poh Kwang. He knew then that it was all over. Everything that they had planned and worked for had failed. He dropped onto his knees and broke down in sobs. 'Tsk, tsk, tsk Poh Kwang, don't you know better than to try and cheat the devil? Don't pretend to be so naive and kind! You intended to learn the whereabouts of loot and then take it from both of them. That is why you came!' Guei Wang had exposed Poh Kwang's devious plot. Poh Kwang was completely taken aback. No one else knew. Only he knew about his plans. He opened his mouth to deny the matter but it was too late. No one cheats the devil and gets away with it. With one stroke of his clawed hand, Guei Wang dug it into his mouth and from out of his claws, worms and maggots crawled their way like ants to honey into Poh Kwang's orifice, eating their way into his stomach.


Blood spewed from Poh Kwang's mouth and flowed down his throat, filling his lungs and depriving him of air, choking him. Poh Kwang struggled with all his might to get Guei Wang's hand out of his mouth. He grabbed it with both his hands but as they touched Guei Wang's slimy skin, they began to melt right before his eyes and hideous worms crawled out of every pore in his skin. Guei Wang shipped his hand out and along with it, Poh Kwang saw his tongue, red with blood, torn right out from his mouth. He screamed but no voice came from between his lips. He choked and threw up instead all over the ground. Instead of spew, the vermins from his stomach squirmed amongst his blood. 'This is for even thinking of lying to me!' Guei Wang roared. 'And this... is for for greed and hypocrisy!' With that, Guei Wang raised his hands. Between them a cloud of darkness formed, drawing in the air around it until it became a monster of unimaginable horror. Totally deformed, it looked like a person inside out. Its muscles were like intestines. Its neck was stretched far from its body. And it had eyes that bulged from its tiny skull like head, as if they were falling.


It had no feet or hands but worm like tentacles that covered his formless body. Its mouth was open, exposing green, fang like teeth. 'Behold, this is the true form of greed!' And with that he let the monster loose. It gave a blood curdling screamed as it tore down onto Poh Kwang who was helpless at this stage. It landed onto Poh Kwang who was a blanket of ice. There was a nerve numbling feeling as Poh Kwang fought to get it off. However, because of its formlessness it completely engulfed Poh Kwang in its gello-like body. In the dark bowels of such a vile monster, Poh Kwang felt an unknown pain, not like the external physical pain that he felt earlier when Guei Wang tore his tongue out but a pain that sank right into his soul. An overwhelming sense of sorrow filled his heart, a feeling that flowed from his repentance. Tears formed in his eyes as he felt the pain that he gave his parents when he demanded his own way, the pain that his friends felt when he stabbed them in the back, the pain that everyone felt when he wronged them.

The pain caused by the follies of being a human, concentrated in essence in just a short span of time. The feeling tore right into his soul. Soon, the unbearable feeling of grief passed as the formless creature moved in. The protruding eyes on its deformed face stared right into Poh Kwang. In its deformity, Poh Kwang saw a sense of sadness in its eyes. right before his eyes, the head burst and split into hundreds of pieces. Poh Kwang soon discovered himself face to face with a multitude of souls. All was crying out to him to save them as they were trapped in their own greed and misdeeds. How could he possibly help them when he was destined to become one of them? Slowly, he felt his own form dissipating, joining the rest in his own true form. Slowly, it grew darker. in the darkness, he felt warm again. The warmth came from a sense of hatred. A hatred for humans. A hatred for being human once.

He wished that humans never walked this earth and contaminate it with their evils. He felt as if he needed to cleanse the earth of its vermins; humans. It was the voice of Guei Wang. 'Welcome back, my servant, welcome back home.'