Ghostly Voice in a Sunny Afternoon
A husky voice in my car said, “I want to go home.”
One morning, I met Wan, a Grab driver, in a coffee shop, and he told me he liked my story, ‘Yin-yang Eyes’. He mentioned that he enjoys ghost stories and thought my story was good. He said he had a real ghost story to share with me. He asked if I could post his story on my blog, and I agreed.
“Did you see a ghost?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, but I’ll leave that for the readers to decide,” he said.
In the story, Wan will be narrating it in the first person. The following is his story:
Picking up three passengers at a hotel
It happened on a scorching hot afternoon. Shortly after dropping off some passengers at a shopping mall in Kota Kinabalu City, I got a call to pick up a passenger from a nearby hotel. Once I arrived at the hotel, I saw three people waiting for my car: a woman in her thirties, a teenage girl, and an elderly lady using a walking stick.
While I opened the trunk to load their luggage, the young girl, carrying a wooden box, sat in the back seat. Meanwhile, the elderly lady had already seated near the other car door at the back. The woman, with a somber expression on her face, sat in the passenger seat.
Riding to Menggatal
They wanted to go to Menggatal, a small town about 20 minutes away from the city. Nobody uttered a word during the journey. I attempted to break the silence, but the stern expression of the woman in the passenger seat shut me up. Glancing at the rearview mirror, I saw the girl clutching tightly onto a wooden box that rested on her lap while gazing out of the window. The old lady sitting at the other end was lost in her thoughts.
The Arrival
When I turned in and stopped at a corner house, I saw an aged man standing on the car porch. While I was helping the woman with the luggage, the girl walked to the house. The aged man came out with an umbrella to receive her. I did not notice the old lady in the car. Presumably, she could have gone into the house before everybody else.
Hearing ghostly voice
When I was driving to Damai for my afternoon tea, I heard gentle knocks on the rear window. I saw a showy figure in the back seat out of the corner of my eye. I looked from the rearview mirror, but I saw no one.
While reversing my car in the parking lot, I heard a voice saying, “Why leave me in the car? I want to go home.” It was as if one spoke under the breath. I turned and looked into the back seat but found nobody there. I thought that was only my imagination.
I was about to cross the road after locking my car when I heard a husky feminine voice saying, “I want to go home.” It was a distinct and audible coming from my car. I stood petrified. I knew that was not my imagination. I opened the rear door of my car and peeped into it. There, I found a wooden box on the seat. The girl had left it there. I had no idea what was in the box. I never wanted to tamper with someone’s belongings. At this moment, the Grab center called me saying that the passenger had left a cremation ash urn in my car. She asked whether I could take the ash urn to her if she could pay me double the fair.
A good deed for a blessing
I was happy to do so, even if she would not pay me. I did not want to be involved in any funeral objects. They could mean an impending doom to me. Besides, it was all business, and I could never refuse to accept a great offer.
The next day, I washed my car with water boiled with pomelo leaves, following the Chinese tradition, to rid it of any impurities and ensure good luck.
Let me tell you that my business has improved tremendously since that day. I have been receiving more calls than ever before.
Well, I believe it is the old lady’s blessing in return for my kindness to take her home.
Prosperity will redound on the doers of good deeds
I believe in karma. Both good and evil deeds will eventually come back to the doer. Since Wan has been kind, he deserves prosperity.
Proverbs 19:17: “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.”
I wish Wan all the best, and I hope he will be kind and help more people.
If you get a chance to read my story, please leave a comment. Your feedback will help me improve my writing. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
