(one)
I am a reporter for Misty Magazine. In order to meet the needs of readers and because of my job, I often have experiences in my life that are beyond human comprehension…
That day, I arrived in Bangkok. The purpose of this trip was not to travel or visit distant relatives, but because of work, I had the opportunity to set foot on this land for the first time, and it was also the first time that I had an incredible experience.
As the magazine was short of talent, the boss specially planned this trip for me so that I could go to Thailand, a country full of infinite wonders, and "fortunately" find a bit of inspiration to support the good momentum of Mi Li Society.
The weather that day was very balmy, just like my mood. I walked into an unknown inn with my bag on my back, and after a quick rest, I went to the purpose of my visit. According to the owner of the inn, there was a childless farmer not far away. Because he couldn't find anyone to take care of the farmland in the middle of the night, he raised a ghost boy not long ago, hoping to reduce his burden. So the owner suggested that I talk to him, hoping that he could give me some goals. Of course, the topic of raising ghost boys is no longer new, so it doesn't attract me very much, but it is much better than aimlessly looking for a needle in a haystack in this strange country with a vast sea of people. So I had no choice but to go there and lie down.
The road in the countryside was very rough, and I finally arrived at the farm the innkeeper had mentioned. This farm was a long way from the city and was located in the mountains, so I couldn't help but feel a little out of this world. After wandering around for a while, I found that a very old couple looked at me with strange eyes, perhaps because I was a foreigner. Later, after I explained my purpose in stiff Thai, they relaxed and entertained me very warmly. Of course, I am a reporter and I understand their feelings very well. Since they have been staying in the mountains that seem to be isolated from the world for many years and few people come to visit them, they will definitely do their best to entertain me well when a distant guest suddenly comes to visit. This experience is commonplace for me.
(two)
After they treated me kindly, I was taken to a rather large warehouse. I was surprised because there was nothing in the warehouse except a large table in the middle with altar items on it. None of this really attracted me. What caught my attention was a medium-sized coffin-shaped box in front of the table. The old farmer seemed to know what I was thinking. He took the box and said to me, "This box is what you want." I understood every word he said, but I still looked at the box in his hand quietly. Seeing that I didn't react, he opened the box very carefully. I looked at the contents of the box without blinking. It was the body of a baby who had just died, about ten months old. I guessed that it was a body that had just died, because I could still see maggots swirling around the box, and there was also a burst of unpleasant corpse smell that entered my nose, which made me feel very embarrassed. In addition, there was still a layer of wet mucus on the bones, so I thought my guess was correct. A sad voice interrupted my thoughts: "This is our 'child'" I shuddered for a while and came back to reality, but still didn't say anything, just stared at him. He said again: "We used up all our savings to exchange it from the Bala wizard." The old farmer sighed and shook his head, and continued: "He is a well-behaved and lively child, if he is still alive. Do you know? Since he came to our home, he has really helped us a lot. He will take care of the fields for us at night, and occasionally he will enter our dreams and play with us!"
At this point, I could see the joy in his face, and I could understand how important the "child" was in their hearts. He did not interrupt me, but continued talking. This time, he seemed more serious, and the joy in his heart subsided. He said, "Alas, he never wanted to call me dad.
Although we tried to please him and love him, he still called us master and considered himself our slave. I also know his difficulties, because he had been punished by the Bala wizard, asking him to be loyal to his master, that is, us, otherwise, the Bala wizard would kill him. So until now, he still dared not improve his status. "
After hearing this, I was also touched, so I comforted them and said, "Don't worry! One day God will grant your wish."
Of course, as a reporter, I had to bring my camera with me, so I took a few photos with their permission. At night, I said goodbye to them and gave them some rewards. Like ordinary people, they refused my kindness, but my determination made them reluctantly accept it.
(three)
It was midnight when I returned to the hotel. I fell asleep quickly with fatigue and sleepiness. I don't know whether I was half asleep or half awake, but I saw a child who looked at me with a very kind look. To my surprise, he said to me, "Dad!" Then he slowly walked in front of me and showed his lovely smile. I was at a loss at the time and wanted to run away. But the child seemed to be afraid of my leaving. He ran on my legs tightly and begged me earnestly, "Dad, don't leave me, save me…" I couldn't listen to his words anymore, because this dream was really absurd to me. I have always been career-oriented and have never thought about children's love affairs, let alone thinking that I am already a father! I have been struggling… I don't know how long it took before I finally woke up. It turned out that the ringing of the phone "saved" me. I gasped and picked up the phone. It turned out to be the boss. He misunderstood because of my panting, so he laughed at me and said, "Boy, I'm sorry, I didn't ruin your good thing, did I? Hehe…"
Because I was still affected by the dream, I ignored him and just asked, "What's the matter?"
The boss also became serious and answered me: "By the way, I have a report that needs your help, so I hope you can come back as soon as possible."
After I hurriedly entertained him, I hung up the phone, thinking that this was fine. I always felt a little weird staying here, so I planned to go back to my country in a day or two. Unconsciously, I fell asleep again, but this time I slept very soundly. Unfortunately, a burst of noise disturbed my sweet dream. I was a little angry, so I got up and walked towards the source of the sound, hoping to find out what was going on. The noise came from the door of the hotel. When I walked to the door, my eyes lit up. I couldn't believe my eyes. Standing in front of me were the couple I saw in the morning? He seemed to be arguing with the innkeeper about something. But when they saw me, they hurried to me, knelt in front of me and begged me: "Please accept this thing! It belongs to you." I carefully looked at the item in the old farmer's hand. Eh? Isn't that… a medium-sized coffin? !
The old farmer continued, "We both dreamed about him just now, the ghost child we raised. He begged us to let him go so that he could get along with his father. He said you are his father! We saw how pitiful he was and felt sorry for him, so we agreed. Although we are reluctant to let him go, we have always treated him like a son and hope that he lives happily. If he can escape slavery by following you, we are happy for you to take him in!"
Me? Father? Son? This is even more absurd than my previous dream! I just felt that things were getting more and more bizarre. Could the child in my dream be the disgusting corpse lying in the box? How could I be his father? This is too ridiculous! So, I became a ghost father?
Of course I would never accept their "gift", but their sincerity and pleading were stronger than my determination, so the only thing I could do now was to agree to it.
On the day I left Bangkok, I handed the box to the shop owner and told him to return it to the farmer. Thus, this strange journey that had no beginning but ended came to an end. But the story did not end there…
(Four)
Back in my own country, everything felt relaxed. Because I was so busy, I quickly forgot about the incident in Thailand. Two weeks passed like this. It was Thursday, and I stayed in the office until late at night to finish a report. When I was about to leave, I heard the faint sound of children playing. Although the sound was very small, it was still loud in the night.
In a quiet environment, it sounded so clear. This made me a little terrified. Just think about it, in such a situation, who wouldn't have such a reaction when hearing such an illogical sound? I quickly packed up everything, and kept making excuses to comfort myself that the sound was fictitious in order to calm my mind. When I stepped out of the studio , I knew I couldn't deceive myself anymore. Because what I saw in front of me had proved the truth. There was a ten-month-old child squatting in the corridor at the door, playing with his small motorcycle by himself. From time to time, he laughed and seemed to enjoy it. My presence did not disturb him. Instead, he was immersed in playing with his precious toys as if he didn't care about anyone. I could feel that he was the child in my dream. I walked past him lightly, and he still ignored me. When I turned around, he finally raised his head and looked at me.
His eyes were a little angry, maybe because I left him without saying goodbye in Thailand? Just like in the dream, he still called me "Dad!" and continued to play with his toys. I was confused and just wanted to leave this place, so I quickened my pace and fled to the outer street where there were more people.
I continued to talk like this for another week with a trepidation in my heart. Nothing happened, everything was calm. His image gradually faded from my mind again.
One day, I asked my boss for a few days off so that I could go to Texas, USA to attend my friend's graduation ceremony. That night after the graduation ceremony, everyone went to the bar to celebrate, having fun and drinking. That night, everyone had a great time, talking about everything, and of course, I also told them about my experience with that ghost boy . No one believed me because I was a reporter and was the best at making up weird stories. So the public thought I was entertaining them. I didn't argue much, so I just passed it by. Everyone ate, drank and had fun until midnight, and then everyone was willing to go back. I was the driver because everyone was drunk, but I was sober. On the way, I braked in vain, and everyone ran around and blamed me. My friend sitting next to me saw that I looked a little unwell, so he asked with concern: "Are you okay?" I drove the car to the side of the road and asked, "Didn't you see a kid standing in the middle of the road waving at us?" Everyone thought I was playing a trick on them and made faces at me, which made me laugh and cry. My friend sitting next to me knew that I was a little scared, so he comforted me, "Don't worry! It's okay, maybe you just drank a few glasses and you're a little dizzy! Let me drive!" I could only smile at him and keep silent, because I knew that I had only drunk juice all night, without any alcohol…
Because the dormitory was crowded, I went back to the hotel to rest after sending my friends home. My heart kept beating that night, and every heartbeat seemed to indicate that my unfortunate moment was about to come. After a busy day, I was tired and a little uncomfortable, so I fell asleep quickly. In a daze, I saw him again. This time, he held a glass of water in his right hand and some pills in his left hand. He approached me and instructed me to take the pills. I could feel that if I took these pills, I could stay with the child for a long time. But I still took them because I had no resistance at all…
(five)
After I took those pills, I was in a coma. Two days later, the staff who cleaned the room saw that I was still asleep, so they quickly notified the hotel manager and sent me to the hospital. They also kindly contacted my family in the country. The inexplicable coma, no reason, no clues, made the doctors in the hospital helpless. Even the most famous doctor in the hospital asked my family to prepare for the worst and prepare for my death!
As for me, after taking the medicine, I felt that everything around me was pitch black, and my body was sinking. The ground seemed to be a bottomless abyss, and I kept falling. I don't know how much time passed, but I finally saw a ray of light, but I continued to fall. I saw people appearing around me, and they all seemed to laugh at my arrival. I couldn't be sure because their faces were blurry. Some people even tried to tease me with their hands. I couldn't struggle because I seemed to have lost the ability to control my limbs. I kept falling down, and soon, I saw a relative who had been separated from us for a long time. He was very surprised to see me. Then he said to me in her gentle voice when she was alive: "Why are you here? You shouldn't come to this place! Wake up and go back quickly…" I was very helpless . I couldn't move, couldn't speak, and couldn't tell her that we missed her very much since she left us… I felt that my eyes were a little wet, but no tears came out. In the blink of an eye, my relatives were no longer in front of me. I could only stay calm and let fate dominate everything for me.
I didn't know how long I had been sliding down, and I felt that my body's energy was almost exhausted. I thought my day was over. I had no regrets, the only thing that bothered me was that I didn't say goodbye to my family… As I thought about it, my body gradually dissolved into the air. I lost consciousness, like a sleeping child, completely unaware of the outside world. The difference was that I would never wake up again!
I was wrong. When I regained consciousness, I was under a strong light, and there were many miserable cries around my ears. I didn't want to open my eyes, but my will told me that I had to open them, otherwise I would lose my last chance. I reluctantly opened my eyes, and the cries in my ears immediately turned into exclamations and laughter. I thought, I am back to my own world!
When my will was completely under my control, my relatives and friends who cared about me told me that I had been in a coma for more than a month in the hospital, and my condition was getting worse every day, and there were reports of death. Fortunately, the doctors were very positive about me and never gave up, but they had to prepare for the worst.
During the month when I was unconscious, my parents worked hard for me and tried to save my life, showing the instinct of parents. Since there was no conclusion on my condition in science and medicine, they had to turn to the traditional Chinese superstition. On the tenth day after I fell ill, they found a monk to "diagnose" me. Since the monk was also from Thailand, he could tell what "disease" I had at a glance. He said that I was cast into a kind of black magic from Thailand, called "soul dragging". The patient would fall into a coma for no reason. In fact, the real reason is that the soul is constantly dragged down by this magic. If it is after the fourteenth day, the soul will be dragged to the eighteenth level of hell and will never be reborn! Only the person who casts the magic can save the soul, but the spirit will be a slave to the person who casts the magic for life… Hearing this, I feel very fortunate that my parents did not completely trust Western medicine and found this noble man before the fourteenth day, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. But according to the master, I was trapped in the hell for ten days, and my soul had been dragged into the gates of hell, so he was helpless. The only thing he could do was to cast a spell to protect my soul so that it would not be disturbed by the evil spirits in the hell. Then, with the consent of my parents, the monk used a trick called "Soul Transformation Technique" to make my soul disappear before reaching the end, and then save me from the principle of resurrection from the dead. Of course, the risk was very high, and the chance of success was one percent! Therefore, the monk repeatedly reminded my parents not to have too high expectations, but this was the only way to save me, so my parents had no choice. Before casting the spell, they hoped that I had not committed any heinous crimes in my life, so that God would have mercy on me. As expected, I lived up to their expectations. I have been a gentleman and down-to-earth in my life, so I think I easily escaped this disaster, right?
As for the ghost boy, what happened? When I came to my senses, I told him the whole truth, and the monk offered a tablet to the ghost boy in his temple, declaring me as the father and the ghost boy as the son. From that day on, I became a "father"!