GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 25: Every Suffering

Singha woke up feeling constricted around his torso, not for any other reason but because the kid sharing his bed was hugging his waist tightly. Moreover, the kid’s face was buried in his chest, so he could feel the warm breath indicating both were asleep last night.

“Oi, Thup.” Singha turned to check the clock and saw it was only five in the morning, still dark outside.

“Mmm…” A soft groan came from the kid’s throat, but he didn’t wake up, making Singha sigh. He gently removed the young man’s arm from his waist before getting up to stretch out the stiffness.

“You wake up, and I’ll deal with you for sure.” Singha flicked the sleeping figure on the forehead. The person just frowned slightly before snuggling deeper into the blanket.

The homeowner walked downstairs, looking around his house, which was cleaner than ever before. Upon opening the fridge to grab some water, he noticed ingredients and food neatly organized, unlike before when it only contained beer and frozen meals. Singha took out a chilled beer and sat on the sofa, his sharp eyes glancing at some papers stacked on the table.

The two sheets in his hand were portraits of two women. The first was an older woman with messy hair, white eyes devoid of pupils, her lips torn wide to her ears revealing molar teeth and a long tongue, her face contorted in anger. The other sheet showed a young girl, probably not over ten years old. Both her eyes were missing, leaving only hollow sockets, her face hinted at sorrow, her lips also torn to her ears but not in a smile like the first. Whether it was Thup projecting his emotions into the drawings or these were visions he actually saw was unclear. Another sheet on the table, with just pencil outlines, depicted half a woman’s face; her eyelids seemed stitched with thread-like lines. The lower half was just unfinished pencil strokes.

“Is this the ghost that Thup saw?” Singha muttered softly before taking photos of the three and sending them to Lieutenant Khem for further investigation. At least this should help figure out what happened to these two.

Time passed until six in the morning when the light started to filter through the curtains, and the sound of footsteps on the stairs made Singha turn around.

“Why are you up so early?” Thup approached his older brother on the sofa, still groggy. “Because some kid I don’t know was crowding me in sleep.”

“Hmm? Me?”

“Not you, then who? A ghost?” Singha looked at the disheveled young man sitting on the floor in front of him, his youthful face still not fully awake, making him want to tease, “You hugged me so tight I couldn’t breathe.”

“Wh… what? I hugged you?!” Thup exclaimed in surprise, his face starting to blush, prompting Singha to continue teasing by hugging Thup’s leg, unable to help himself.

“Yeah, you even snuggled into my chest.”

“S… sorry, please don’t be mad. I’ll move to sleep downstairs. On the floor, if that’s okay.” Singha watched as the young man hugged his leg and rested his chin on his knee, noting how increasingly bold he was becoming each day!

“Will you ever get a wife, acting so clingy?”

“I… don’t know.” Thup looked up before having to turn away from the older man, too shy to meet his eyes. “Let’s not talk about this. What do you want for breakfast?”

“Stir-fried pork with basil.”

“Seems like we have some pork mince, but let me check if there’s any basil.” Thup stood up and walked into the kitchen, beginning to prepare breakfast as if he’d been living there for a long time.

Singha watched his broad back for a while. He had lived alone for so long, working every day, eating takeout, sleeping, and then going back to work. Having someone to talk to both before bed and upon waking wasn’t so bad. After breakfast, a shower, and getting dressed, he left the house to go to the station to handle various matters before heading out to find the remaining two dolls.

“Lieutenant Prom, where is Lieutenant Khem?”

“Lieutenant went to eat, Inspector, but Lieutenant left some documents for you, Inspector.” The young policeman handed a document to the station’s inspector.

‘The kid named Song has returned home, but his family reported back that he went out again last evening. I followed the CCTV from home and traffic cameras until here before the car disappeared.’

   The note was written only this much until Singha had to bend down to read all the papers in his hand again. The traffic CCTV footage has the location written on it, indicating where it was, and his instincts told him it would come back here.

“Lieutenant Prom, go get the CCTV footage from the shop in front of Santithamaram Temple.”

“Yes?”

“Urgent. If you get it, come back and check if this car entered.”

“Understood, Inspector.”

As he was about to walk inside, King walked into the station. Beforehand, both stared at each other quietly, similar to how Thup was looking back and forth between the two. King’s face had both bruises and cracks, making him want to know what happened last night between them.

“Song has gone missing after returning home. Here’s the footage from the traffic camera. The last known location isn’t far from here, so let’s check the temple.”

“Hmm.” King took the documents from Singha’s hand and walked away with a stiff demeanor as if they didn’t know each other.

Singha walked to the forensic department room and found Darin curled up on the sofa. Say had just walked in behind them. The young forensic doctor looked like he was at home, with a white towel over his head, a t-shirt, and black track pants, good thing he still wore his lab coat over them.

“You’re here?”

“Didn’t you guys go home?”

“Yeah, I’m waiting for lab results. And she’s scared of ghosts.” Say said, nudging the tip of Darin’s foot with his own without any courtesy. “Got anything? About that seven-day birthday thing of yours?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hmm, it’s still just speculation, gotta wait for the answer first.”

“That Rin, always fussing about being born on a Wednesday or whatever.”

“Has the lab result come out yet?”

“It’s out. From the bodies of all seven victims, from the pottery under the monk’s quarters, and from all five dolls.” Say said, locking eyes with his close friend with a serious look, “It’s all the same type of soil. The source of the soil is from all the crime scenes.”

“Cemetery soil. If used in a ritual, it’ll have even more effect.” Thup added after listening for a while.

“I think it’s getting clear, Singha.”

“I need you to watch Rin, Thup, and those three kids. Don’t let them leave the station at all.” Singha was about to turn and leave the room but was grabbed by the wrist.

“You stay here.”

“No way. I’m going with you, Phii.”

“Don’t be stubborn, Thup!!”

“What day were you born?”

“Is now the time? I’m in a hurry!!”

“Tell me what day you were born first!” Thup grabbed both shoulders of Singha, insisting loudly for the first time, making Singha pause.

“Saturday.”

“No… I can’t let you go alone. If we go, we go together.” Thup looked into Singha’s eyes with determination. If the killer was choosing victims, he might be one because the ghost lady mentioned his birthday, and he was genuinely afraid it might shift to Singha instead, “I obey you in everything, but anything that puts you in danger, I won’t have it. Let me come with you, Phii.”

“…Then follow me.” Singha turned to look at Say, and upon seeing his friend nod in understanding, he immediately walked out to the car.

On the bus, there was only silence, no music, no conversation, just like always. Even though Thup felt guilty and uncomfortable, he was relieved that this older guy allowed him to come along. The fact that Singha mentioned the names of the three ghost-hunting gang members, including Darin, clearly indicated they must have gotten some leads.

“Phii Singha.” Thup gathered his courage before calling out to the person driving, but when there was no response, he pursed his lips in frustration. “I know you’re angry because I didn’t listen, but… I have no parents, and even the monk who took care of me has passed away. I just… I just don’t want to lose you too.”

Throughout the journey, there was no response from the young inspector until they arrived at the gate of a warehouse. This place operated as a truck rental company and also had its own large-scale shipping business that required such vehicles. Inside, there were dozens of storage warehouses and trucks, as well as workers’ quarters. Singha stepped out of the car to speak with the guard at the front.

“Hello. I’m a police officer. I’d like to meet Praphat about his son’s disappearance case, and also to inspect something inside the quarters.”

“Oh, they’re not here, officer, neither him nor his wife. After learning about their son’s death, they’ve been working like mad. They said they didn’t want to stay at home because it made them sad and depressed. They left yesterday; they won’t be back until tomorrow.” The elderly man told Singha before opening the gate. “But you can go in, officer. Their house is right at the back, past where the old trucks are stored.”

“Thank you.” After confirming the directions, Singha walked in, with Thup following at a distance, not wanting to intrude.

As they walked deeper, they passed various trucks, some being loaded, others parked and ready to go. The deeper they went, the more dilapidated and old the trucks became. It wouldn’t have been so eerie if the sky hadn’t turned dark with gray shadow, making it gloomy with the threat of rain, the wind gusting like a storm was approaching. Thup quickly looked left and right when he heard intermittent honking but saw no truck that was running or ready to move.

‘Should I crash into it?’

   The faint voice made Thup look up at Singha immediately. Seeing the older man stop, he rushed over, fearing something might happen. In front of them was a small single-story workers’ quarters, just enough for sleeping. The dampness and the chilling atmosphere around the house told Thup that the cursed doll must definitely be inside this house.

Singha shook the door a few times, and it opened easily. Inside, the house had few belongings. There were only two separate rooms, making it easy to search. While the older brother went inside to check, Thup, standing at the door, felt a gentle breeze pass behind him. Turning around, he saw a young woman with red threads sewn at her eyes and mouth, wearing a tattered traditional outfit, her skin pale and starting to decay. She slowly raised her hand and pointed to the right where a wrecked car was parked.

“Found it.” Singha’s voice startled Thup back to reality. Turning back, he saw in Singha’s hand a doll with a deer’s head, severed. But when he looked back for the ghost woman, she had vanished.

“Phii… I saw…”

“What?”

“She pointed over there.” Thup pointed in the same direction the ghost woman had indicated.

“Who?”

“The ghost of the woman I saw as a kid, just now she was standing there and pointed.” Thup said, still in disbelief.

“You believe in ghosts?” Singha raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical.

“I don’t know, but… maybe she wanted to tell us something.” Thup replied. He had nothing but a faint intuition, something he rarely felt. Singha sighed before leading the way into the car graveyard as directed by the young man.

The smell of oil and rust filled the air. This place had both cars parked for dismantling and those already dismantled, waiting to have their scraps removed or sold. They walked down a path lined with cars on both sides as far as the eye could see. Singha frowned deeply, sensing not just the smell of old, rusty cars but also a hint of blood!

Thup grabbed Singha’s hand to stop him, stepping back in horror. What Singha couldn’t see were numerous spirits and wandering souls in various distorted forms. These cars weren’t just abandoned due to age; they were involved in severe accidents or stolen and sold from crime scenes, explaining the twisted, broken forms of the spirits attached to them.

“You asked to come in here.” Singha noted, seeing the trembling fear in Thup’s eyes, immediately understanding that his companion was seeing something supernatural.

“Let’s keep going…” Thup said, holding Singha’s hand before following behind the older man. Because if he gave up now, the promise he made last night to himself and Singha would just be empty words. He didn’t want to be just a burden to anyone anymore.

As they walked further, Singha noticed a familiar car. Upon closer inspection, he found that the color, make, and license plate all matched the target vehicle they were currently searching for.

“Khun Meen’s car.”

“Is… is that Khun Meen’s car?”

“Hmm.” The young inspector took out his phone to call someone at the station immediately.

[Yes, Inspector?]

   “Lieutenant, send the forensic team and evidence collection to Thawirat Company.”

Honk!!

The sound of a car horn made both of them turn around instantly.

[What was that, Inspector?]

   “Send someone to the Thawirat Truck Rental Company.”

Honk!!!

“Damn it.” Singha decided to hang up because talking now wouldn’t be productive. Turning around, he inspected the car’s condition and shone a light inside to check.

Thud!

The sound of something falling and rolling made Thup look down. A round object rolling towards him caught his eye, stopping almost at his feet. A chilling cold gripped his body, preventing him from moving away, because what lay at his feet wasn’t a tire or any car part, but a charred human head, its inner skin visible, with a moaning sound of agony. Its eyes, protruding from their sockets, stared at Thup through a veil of tears.

‘Help… hot… so hot…’

   Thup tightened his grip on Singha’s palm before closing his eyes. Any prayers he could remember were recited to calm his mind. Thup slowly turned towards Singha. No matter how difficult it was, when he opened his eyes, he saw that the older man was looking down through the car window, but what made Thup’s eyes widen was a large iron hook swinging towards him, Thup rushed and before it crashing onto the car roof, he managed to pull Singha into an embrace.

Bang!!!

The roof caved in down to the seats, all the glass shattered. Luckily, Singha reacted in time and used his leather coat to shield Thup.

“Hey!! Who’s that? I told you not to come here today because they’re wrecking cars!!” A shout came from the side, causing Singha to quickly stand up.

“Stop. I’m a police officer, I order you to cease damaging this important piece of evidence now.”

“Huh!!!” The sound of the engine they should have heard from the start stopped, along with a sigh of relief from both.

The young inspector reached out to pull Thup up from the ground; if the kid hadn’t pulled him back, that iron hook would’ve smashed his head. Thup looked around with a pounding heart, hearing laughter from afar, making him focus his gaze.

‘Almost got you on a Saturday, on a Saturday.’

   A ghost girl with stark white eyes was now standing far away, laughing. Her tongue flicked out, licking her lips hungrily before she vanished among the wandering spirits.

“Are you okay, Phii?” Thup turned back to look at Singha, who had just finished talking heatedly with an employee.

“Yeah, that ghost of yours deserves a good thrashing.”

“No, sir, the ghost doing this is the doll ghost.”

“Then this doll is the troublemaker.” Singha lifted the doll with a head like a deer and a human body, named Kalothuk, a mae Sue for Thursday—

 

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