GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 20: Stories from the Past.

Darkness and cold were the first things Darin noticed, the wetness and sogginess at her toes made her look down, only to find she was not in her bedroom. Not even in a building, for that matter. Now, she was standing on muddy ground, her feet slowly sinking into the mud, the more she tried to pull her feet out, the deeper she sank into the mud pit.

“What’s this?” Darin looked around and realized she was in the middle of a dense forest filled with numerous tall trees. It was both familiar and eerie at the same time, “This place is…”

!!!

Darin’s eyes widened when she saw a human-like shadow on the ground as the moonlight shone down. She slowly lifted her head to look up and saw that the shadow belonged to seven people hanging from a tree branch. No matter how much she wanted to scream, no sound came out. When Darin tried to touch her lips, she found they were sewn shut with thread, preventing her from speaking or screaming. Tears slowly flowed from her eyes out of fear, for what was above was not as terrifying as what was now crawling towards her.

A pale-faced woman, her skin tinged with green to dark purple patches, her lips sewn shut with red thread, her eyes hollowed out revealing the flesh inside, purplish within. She drags her twisted body, trying to crawl closer, her face tormented, but as she stops in front of Darin, that expression vanishes, replaced by a cold face. Her hand reaches up to stroke her lips before attempting to tear out the thread, causing blood that shouldn’t exist to start dripping. Her laughter grows louder and louder until Darin’s tears flow down his cheeks in fear.

‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday…’

   The same word repeated in a hoarse voice. Her face dodges a long tongue that flicks out from her wide-ripped lips, stretching to her ears. The dampness on her face makes her tears flow endlessly, her heart pounding, her body trembling.

Gasp!!!

Darin wakes up suddenly, gasping heavily, the dense forest, the seven corpses, and the ghost he encountered all disappear. Left only with the comfort of her bed in her medium-sized condo room, the alarm clock rings again, making Darin jolt. She reaches out to turn it off, then buries her face in both hands. The nightmare haunts her, making sleep almost impossible. Every time she closes her eyes, the ghost of that woman appears, blurring the line between sleep and wakefulness.

“Hello.” Darin picked up the phone.

[Why do you sound so exhausted?]

   “Nightmare.” Darin says.

[Are you coming to the station today?]

   “I’ll come in later, I’m going to the temple first.”

[Why the temple?]

   “I’m serious, Say, aren’t you scared at all after being haunted like that?”

[A little, but you can’t live with fear forever, Rin. If you find the cause of that fear, it’ll go away faster.]

   “Yes, you heartless bunch, go stay with Singha then!”

[If you’re coming, call me so I can ask you to buy coffee.]

   “Why are you going to work so early, man? It’s only…” Darin turns to look at the clock on the headboard again, “It’s only six in the morning!!”

[I didn’t come early, I haven’t left yet. I’ve been here all night checking evidence, not to mention examining that kid who was locked up. Since ’ve switched to being a general physician, come and have another look. I moved him to the infirmary.]

   Sigh “Alright, alright, so you two are really taking on this case, huh?”

[Would we let Singha get haunted alone?]

   “Singha isn’t the one getting haunted, I am, just got haunted again!!” Darin sighed before getting up from bed and heading to the bathroom to wash his face. “I’ll hurry over after making merit. And has Singha left yet?”

[Not yet.]

   “Alright, see you later.”

Darin hangs up, looking at her weary reflection. She’s truly scared of what he encountered, but letting his friend face something dangerous alone seemed too selfish. Sticking with Say would mean not getting haunted alone, right?”

 

In the simply decorated bedroom.

   “At least the wide bed, king-size, which used to accommodate just one person, now feels narrow with two people lying next to each other. Thup, who has the habit of waking up early since childhood, opened his eyes groggily. But what makes his eyes wide open this morning is the tiger tattoo just inches away, not to mention the beautifully tanned, thick chest in front of him. Thup looks up at his older companion with sparkling eyes before smiling to himself, a night where he slept peacefully, a night without encountering anything strange or hearing any noises except for the steady breathing of his companion.”

Thup tried to get out of bed as quietly as possible so as not to wake something up from its rest. When he saw the older guy turn over, he stood still beside the bed immediately, before walking around to tuck him in and then heading downstairs to prepare breakfast. As he stepped down to the lower floor, before Thup could head to the kitchen, he glanced at the front door, the curiosity from the call last night still lingering. It wasn’t a mocking or hoarse voice like he used to hear, but a soft and strangely familiar voice. However, he couldn’t remember where he had heard it before. A pair of beautiful hands opened the curtains, letting sunlight flood onto his face. He didn’t know what he would face today, but one thing was certain, Singha had to go find the next doll.

The ringing phone distracted Thup from the outside sunlight. Hardly anyone called him, so there was no need to guess who it might be.

“Hello, Uncle Chai.”

[How are you doing, kid? Are you well? Don’t come back here often?] The elderly man greeted him in a friendly manner, making Thup smile.

“I’m doing well, and I’ll probably return soon. How about you, Uncle, are you well?”

[Just an old man, you know, aches and pains here and there. But last time you called, was there something wrong? I took the monk to pray at Choy’s house for a funeral.]

   “I wanted to ask you something, Uncle.”

[Go ahead, ask.]

   “Twenty years ago, when the venerable monk had to perform a funeral for a family of seven, do you remember? The monk wouldn’t let me go out to see.”

[Hmm, I think I remember because at that time, Old Sak and Grandma Phum, they cried so hard they collapsed. A few days later, Old Sak went to the hospital and died following his wife and grandchildren.]

   “Do you remember what the deceased looked like at that time?”

[I remember, their eyes were sewn shut, their mouths sewn, and it was a strange coincidence they all were like that. The villagers who came said it was because of black magic or perhaps they were sacrificed.]

   “Sacrificed?”

[Oh, right. At first, some villagers said not to cremate because the death was violent and not good, but the old monk advised to go ahead with the cremation. He had to chant all night, sprinkle holy water, and set up a sacred thread around the hall. It couldn’t be left for long because the death was not peaceful.] Thup listened while taking out ingredients for breakfast from the fridge.

[The villagers think it might be the work of that policeman who lives in the house by the woods, you know, because that house practices black magic.]

   “A policeman?” Thup paused immediately.

[Yeah, his father was a policeman, his mother a nurse, they seemed fine but their two kids were seriously ill. Some villagers who went into the forest for herbs said they heard chanting from the house around two or three in the morning. Then, a few months later, their kids were running to school just fine. So, they believe he might have used black magic to save his children’s lives.] Thup could only listen intently, as the old monk never told him about these matters for reasons of inauspiciousness.

“But maybe they were just chanting normally, right uncle? And perhaps took their kids to see a doctor too. If the mother was a nurse, she would take good care of them, right?”

[Well, I don’t know either, it’s just what the villagers keep saying. But then, about ten years later, they found that house was abandoned. No one lives there. No idea where they moved to.]

   “Ten years… and after that, were there any similar incidents or did the old monk ever handle another funeral like that?”

[I am not sure, around that time the old monk was often sick and in the hospital, didn’t go out much. You should remember that.]

   “Yes, I do remember.” Thup thought back to his late high school days when he had to juggle between school, the temple, and the hospital, encountering wandering spirits everywhere. “Then, uncle, could you ask the villagers for me if about twenty or twenty-five years ago, did anyone have a funeral where the eyes and mouth were sewn shut?”

“I can ask, but it’s been so long, no idea if those who were there are still alive, haha!” Uncle Chai laughed humorously, followed by a cough typical for someone of his age. “But why are you asking about this, kid? The old monk warned you not to mess with these things. The red thread for sewing eyes is to prevent seeing, the red thread on the mouth is to keep from speaking. It means whoever did it was afraid the spirit would find him, curse him, so he had to sew it shut. Doesn’t seem like someone practicing white magic, Thup.”

“There’s a necessary reason, uncle. I’ll tell you about it when I get back.”

“Do as you wish, but if you’re coming, call me so I know. You can stay at my place; your aunt misses you.”

“I miss her too.”

“That’s all for now then, I am going to pay his respects to Buddha.”

“Goodbye, uncle, take care of your health.”

After a long goodbye with Uncle Chai, Thup hung up. He had finished making breakfast and was about to shower and get dressed before starting on the meal. The young man stood in front of his bedroom door for a while, unsure whether to wake the older man or let him sleep. Just as he was about to turn away to go downstairs, the door opened, startling him.

“What are you doing, standing there in front of the room?” Singha walked out, his upper body bare, his hair a mess, yet somehow still looking good.

“Uh, I was about to come wake you up.”

“Yeah, yeah, move aside.” Singha headed towards the bathroom, preparing to brush his teeth. He walked back to the door, brushing his teeth while looking at Thup, “Aar-ahm aew?” [Showered yet?]

“Yes, I’ve showered.”

“Ur-ah-ah-a-ay?” [Why are you up so early?]

“I wake up early anyway. Why don’t you brush your teeth properly?” Singha frowned, took the toothbrush out of his mouth, and pointed it at Thup.

“Got a problem?”

“Who would dare have a problem with you?”

“Good that you know. This morning, we’ll go to the station first. Need to drop off the doll for Say to check, then we’ll head to Khun Orn’s house.”

“Take the Phra Tao Vaisravaṇa with you, so Khun Say can work safely.” Place it in the examination room.

“You go get it, carry it carefully; my mom treasures it.” Singha went back into the bathroom to rinse his mouth.

“Yes, yes.” Thup walked into the room, then raised his hands in a wai to both the Buddha statue and the statue of Thao Vaisravaṇa, before beginning to chant the devotion to the Buddha, then carefully took the statue of Thao Deity down from the shelf. But before he could walk out, his eyes caught sight of a glass cabinet in the corner of the room, filled with certificates, medals, and badges of Singha. However, what caught his eye more than anything was a picture frame standing there, showing a boy and a girl, standing with their arms around each other, smiling broadly. He thought the boy must surely be Singha, but he didn’t know who the girl beside him was. Thup walked out of the room and paused again at the bathroom door. “Phii, I’ve brought it.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Can I ask something, please?”

“Always with the questions, huh? What do you want to ask?” Singha shouted from inside the bathroom.

“Who is the girl in the photo with you, Phii?” The sound of the shower stopped immediately after Thup’s question. Seeing the long silence from inside, the young man started to worry. “Phii Singha, are you okay?”

“Don’t…”

“What did you say, Phii? I didn’t hear you.”

“Don’t meddle!” The harsh shout made Thup slightly startled.

“Phii, I’m sorry.” The sigh from the bathroom made Thup feel even more uneasy because he didn’t know if he had done something to upset his elder.

The bathroom door opened, revealing Singha with only a towel wrapped around his waist, his body wet from head to toe, which made Thup feel anxious. Singha looked up and met the eyes of the young man in front of him. Seeing Thup’s beautiful eyes trembling, all Singha could do was sigh.

“Go wait downstairs.”

Thup had never seen this kind of demeanor from this older guy since they met. He simply walked into the bedroom and picked up a towel to drape over Singha’s jet-black hair, where droplets of water glistened.

“Dry your hair too, please, you might get sick.” Thup walked down to the living room, greeted guests before placing a handsome photo he was holding onto the table in front of the TV, then settled himself onto the sofa, his beautiful eyes with long lashes looking towards the stairs with concern. He had never seen Singha act like that before.

He had never seen such a pained expression like that before.

  

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