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One evening, on my way home from school, I noticed
lighted candles and burnt paper money along many lanes.
At first, I was surprised to see the fronts of many
houses littered in the same manner. Then I remembered
that it was a Chinese festival that day -- it was the
'feast of the hungry ghosts'. On that day, the Chinese
would pray and leave offerings of various types of food
at the altar for the 'wandering spirits'. I chuckled
softly to myself when I saw the offerings. Being a
science student, I was trained to think logically.
Hence, I did not believe in the existence of ghosts. I
reached home just in time to see my mother burning some
paper money.
"Mum, don't you think that all this," I said as I
pointed to the candles and the paper money, "is an
absolute waste of money ?"
"My daughter, how can you say that ?" my mother
replied, feeling rather vexed with me. She knew my
disregard for ghosts and things that go bumping in the
night. My mother continued, "This is the seventh month
of the lunar calendar. We must pray to the gods and give
offerings to the ghosts so that we can have a safe month
ahead." I shrugged my shoulders and walked off to my
room. Nothing could convince me that there was such a
thing as ghosts.
That night was a warm one. Although the windows were
open, my bedroom felt hot and stuffy. As I could not
sleep, I decided to go out into the garden where the air
was much cooler. As I lounged in a garden chair, a
sudden movement caught my eye. My hair stood on end when
I saw a figure in white among the trees. Before I could
stop myself, I let out a piercing scream.
Lights came on in the house as family members rushed
to the garden. They found me looking as white as a
sheet.
"There's a g .. g.. ghost there, among the trees," I
stammered as I pointed in the direction of the figure.
Imagine my amazement and embarrassment when it turned
out to be Mr Chen, our neighbor. He too was out in his
garden for a breath of fresh air and was dressed in a
pair of white pajamas. I felt so foolish when my family
laughed at my mistake. Well, at least it proved one
point -- ghosts do not exist !
My family returned to bed once more, leaving me alone
in the garden. I grinned sheepishly to myself as I
though of the incident. Some ten minutes later, I
decided to turn in. As I walked towards the house,
someone tapped me on my shoulder. Alarmed, I spun around
immediately but there was no one in sight. I broke out
in goose pimples as a cold breeze swept past me and a
sweet, cloying smell filled the night air. At a
distance, a shadowy white figure moved among the trees.
This time I knew it was the real thing. Wasting no time,
I took to my heels and dashed into my bedroom. I spent
the rest of the night hidden under my blanket, not
daring once to open my eyes just in case I saw the
figure again.
I have never related that incident to anyone for I
know that they would not believe me. Nowadays, I dare
not say that ghosts do not exist. |
