GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 17: Do Not Greet

“Hey Thup, if you’re going to stick this close, why not just ride on my back?”

“It’s getting cold.” Thup clung to Singha’s arm before walking with his head down, not looking up. The sun was about to set completely, but instead of heading back to the police station, what the older guy did was walk into the temple.

“Or should you just wait in the car?”

“If something happens to you, what then?”

“You look worse off than me, Thup.” he said, wearily nudging beside him, Singha rolled his eyes at the kid walking.

The atmosphere inside the temple during twilight seems peaceful but also eerie. The sky, a blend of orange and faint purple, is the time Thup dislikes the most, hating both the ambiance and the name of this period.

This is the time known as “ghost drying clothes.” believed to be a connecting time, making sleep a bad idea during this period, because there is a free flowing of spirits between the human world and other realms potentially allowing spirits, ghosts, deities, and humans to coexist at the same time. It’s believed that spirits might leave the body, and wandering spirits could take their place.

The sound of a coconut broom sweeping the ground came from behind the crematorium. The closer Thup got, the more his heart trembled.

“Hello, Uncle Khuen.”

“Oh, it’s you, the policeman from last time. What brings you here?” Uncle Khuen stopped sweeping the leaves and approached them with a smile, “Here for dinner?”

“No, I have some questions.”

“About another case, young man?”

“Yes.”

“Go ahead, if I can help, I will.”

“I wanted to ask if on Monday, there was a fifteen-year-old boy, about 160 cm tall, wearing a white T-shirt and black pants. He came to the temple around five to six in the evening and didn’t leave. Did you happen to see him?”

“Monday, huh? Let me think… No, there wasn’t anyone like that. On Monday, the villagers invited the monks for a funeral chant at a house. The only one here would’ve been the abbot, who was unwell and stayed in his quarters for several days.”

“Can I meet him then?”

“Sure, I’ll take you there.” Uncle Khuen leaned the broom against a nearby tree, then led both of them towards the abbot’s quarters. Along the way, there were many trees, both big and small, creating an ambiance that was both serene and eerie. This area was quiet and quite isolated, suitable for relaxation and prayer. As they approached the raised traditional Thai house, Thup gripped Singha’s arm tighter, prompting the older man to look at him.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just some wandering spirits.” Even though being near Singha keeps ghosts away, it doesn’t mean they’re completely out of sight. He still sees spirits and ghosts from afar; some look on with interest, others lament their own passing, murmuring about their lives, their loved ones, their families, or even those who can’t let go of worldly attachments, regretting the loss of external things.

“Turn your face here.” Singha said, stopping. He took out his sunglasses from his collar and put them on Thup, covering his beautiful eyes.

“Why are you giving me these, Phii? It’s dark.”

“Can you still see clearly?”

“Huh?” Thup looked around; although he could still see, the details were obscured by the dark lenses of the sunglasses. “Not very clearly anymore.”

“Good, now just walk, don’t fuss.” Singha followed Uncle Kheun again, with the boy beside him following with a grateful smile.

“Phii Singha, thank you.”

“Yeah, now shut up.”

The two walked up the stairs to the wooden door painted in dark’s color. Uncle Kheun knocked on the door three or four times before calling out to the abbot.

“Abbot, there are people here to see you.”

“Just a moment, Khun Kheun.” The shuffling sounds inside indicated that the abbot was not quite ready for visitors just yet.

“These days, the abbot’s been a bit sick, not really leaving the temple.”

“Have you tried taking him to a doctor?”

“We did, the doctor said it’s probably just old age. You know, they say you can escape anything, but you can’t escape old age, sickness, and death.” Uncle Kheun spoke with a resigned tone, while Singha just listened quietly.

Not long after, the wooden door opened, and a monk walked out with a weary expression. He sat down on a chair on the balcony before greeting Singha, and Thup in a friendly manner.

“What brings you to see me, my devotees?”

“Greetings, Reverend. I’m here to inquire about a missing child.”

“A missing child? Who this time?”

“He came here last Monday, around five to six in the evening. Did you happen to see him, Reverend?”

“I didn’t see him, my child. I believe I was ill at that time and was resting inside my quarters, and didn’t go anywhere. But I think I heard some noises outside a bit after five.”

“What kind of noises can you describe?”

“Maybe the sound of something being dragged? I’m not quite sure, I thought it might be the novices doing their evening prayers.”

“Is there any CCTV at the temple that might have caught something?”

“There is, but it’s been broken for over a month now. Since there haven’t been any big events at the temple, we haven’t gotten around to fixing it yet.” Singha merely nodded in acknowledgment.

“And what about others, Reverend? Thee, who comes here often, was here for merit-making on Thursday morning, but the neighbors say he didn’t return home. Do you know what he might have been doing here?”

“Thee, he often comes to make merit, help out at the temple, and change the flowers at his wife’s urn site daily. Some days he stays to listen to sermons, others he rushes back to tend to his garden.” The abbot explained, interspersed with bouts of coughing.

“But that day, he told me he was coming to see you, Reverend. I told him you were resting in your quarters, and I saw him walking towards you. Did you not meet him?”

“I heard someone calling, but I came out and told him I was unwell and not up for conversation, then it seemed like he left.”

Singha glanced at his watch before standing up to excuse himself, mentioning there might be some more questions another day.

“Of course, my child, feel free to come by anytime.”

“Thank you, I’ll be heading back first.” said Singha as he began to walk down the stairs without waiting for Thup, who was still bowing to the abbot. Singha glanced over and noticed a pottery wheel set up under the stilt area. Upon reaching the bottom, he immediately went to inspect it. Seeing no one around, he used his handkerchief to collect some dried clay fragments, wrapped them up, and tucked them into his coat pocket. Hearing footsteps descending the stairs, he returned to stand at the foot of the staircase as if nothing had happened.

“Let’s go, let’s go, I’ll walk you out. Will you have some food? There should still be some left at the communal kitchen. Want to take some back?”

“No, thank you, Uncle, I don’t want to impose on you.” Thup replied, his face streaked with grimness.

“What’s there to feel bad about? Wait for me, I’ll go get some from the aunties for you.” The three walked back out to the temple grounds once more, but this time, Singha was quieter and more composed than usual, prompting Thup to ask with concern, “Is something wrong?”

“No.”

“Are you feeling unwell? I told you to change out of those wet clothes.” Thup, concerned, touched the older guy’s cheek. “You feel a bit warm.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sick, happy now? Get in the car.” Singha pushed Thup towards the car before pulling out his phone to call his close friend.

[What?]

   “Are you at the station?”

[Yeah, I’m checking the dolls now. What’s up?]

   “Is it the tiger head?”

[Yeah, it’s the only one here.]

   “And is Rin there with you?”

[No, she asked to be dropped home. Said she wouldn’t come in if the dolls were still here.]

   “Hmm, I’ll come.”

[…]

   “Hey, Say.”

[…]

   “Hey, Say, can you hear me?”

[…]

   “Say.”

“Come on, young man, take this—green chicken curry, stir-fried yellow noodles, and soy milk.” Uncle Kheun said as he returned with a large bag of food.

“Thank you, Uncle.”

“Safe travels.”

Singha got in the car and headed back to the station immediately, feeling something was off from the earlier call because he had a premonition.

“What the heck is with this guy? He doesn’t even talk when spoken to.” Say hung up when there was no response from the other end, thinking it might be a signal issue since this room was always bad for reception.

Say was at the forensic examination table in the lab, surrounded by various tools and equipment, including a broken doll with a tiger head. He shone his flashlight and used a magnifying glass on the clay doll in front of him. Earlier, he had only done a brief examination before being called to inspect the victim’s house. He knew it was a doll made from clay, shaped into a woman holding a child. There was a twist mark at the neck, likely from when it was molded, and damage on the head from four teenagers who had broken it before. The head was crudely shaped like a tiger but still recognizable.

“What’s this?” Say muttered as he used the magnifying glass along the body to the back, noticing some tiny marks that made him focus intently, “A… Ka… Lai?”

!!!

Suddenly, the lights in the room started flickering without any apparent reason, causing Say to stop what he was doing with his doll and look up at the light switch. He reached out to turn it off and on again; the lights returned to normal. But as Say was about to sit back down, a noise came from the adjacent autopsy room.

“What the heck?” he muttered with curiosity, unaware that in this world, there’s a belief passed down that if you hear a noise at night:

Don’t Greet.

   Don’t Respond.

   Don’t Answer.

   Entering the autopsy room, Say noticed one of the morgue cabinet doors was open, even though he was sure it had been closed before since it wasn’t in use. He approached without fear, intending to close it, but then the lights began to flicker once more.

“Power surge, maybe?” Say mumbled, looking up at the bulb. When he looked back into the cabinet, he saw a dark shadow inside, where it should have been empty. He leaned closer, amidst increasingly frequent light flickering. When the light was on, he saw only the empty cabinet, but when it went dark, what he saw were a pair of stark white eyes staring back at him.

‘Cut the thread, cut the thread, cut the thread…’

   The repeated phrase made Say frown before he instinctively let go of the cabinet door. He slowly backed away, not trusting his eyes, because every time the light was on, the cabinet was empty, but when it darkened, those eyes and a sinister smile appeared.

‘Cut death, cut death, cut death…’

   !!!

The lights, which had been flickering rapidly, went completely dark, leaving only the faint light from outside filtering through the door. Say kept his eyes fixed forward, his heart pounding as never before. The sound of the morgue cabinet door slammed shut with a loud bang, followed by what sounded like several bones breaking and the eerie noise of skin dragging across the floor.

‘Heh, heh, heh, cut it, cut it, cut the thread now, so it can see.’

   “Damn it!!!” Within a split second, Say’s ankle was grabbed before he was yanked to the ground and dragged towards the morgue cabinet. The more it tried to pull him inside, the more Say felt a growing sense of fear inside him, terrified that if he were to come out, he would be as a lifeless body.

Just as he was struggling to escape from the invisible grip, the room’s door swung open with light flooding in. The force on his leg, the foul stench, and the chilling atmosphere vanished, and the lights that had been off came back on.

Singha rushed in to support his friend, whose lower half was already inside the morgue cabinet, pulling him out. They looked at each other without a word before collapsing exhausted on the floor.

“We need to talk.” Singha initiated the conversation first. “Let’s start with that incident just now.” Say lay flat on the floor, trying to steady his rapid breathing.

“Call Darin, tell her to come here. I’ll go get King.”

“Don’t tell me it’s really about that ghost nonsense.”

“And what do you think just happened to you?”

“Damn it! My head’s killing me.”

“Yeah, mine too.”

Thup watched these two older guys lamenting on the autopsy room floor, then glanced up at the still-open morgue cabinet. What he saw were eyes and a smile slowly disappearing into the darkness at the back of the cabinet.

  

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