Tac Ke Bong’s face lost its color:
- Also by hanging them?
- No. The son climbed a mango tree, slipped and fell to the ground. Two months later, the father climbed on the roof, also slipped and fell.
Tac Ke Bong’s stomach churned:
- No one survived?
- Yeah, fell and stayed on the ground.
- So scary! – Luom shuddered and pulled hunkered down. If his neck could lower between his shoulder blades, he would.
- Why did the father climb on the roof? – Tac Ke Bong curious. At this time, he already sat down next to Luom, hoping that sitting closer together would chase away the fear.
- He raised a golden swallow. That morning, when he fed the bird, he did something that enable the bird to escape its cage and flew outside. He chased after it. The bird landed on the rooftop and he hurriedly scaled on top with a ladder. Unfortunately, before he could capture the bird, he fell to the ground, right on top a hoe.
Luom exhaled slowly:
- Truly scary. However, those deaths had nothing to do with the hanging ghost.
Tac Ke Bong’s face also loosened:
- Yeah, that were only misfortune
- Misfortunes? – Quy Rom exhaled loudly through his nose – Why don’t you guys started to use that brain of yours.
- What’s there to think about? – Luom eyes turned round.
Quy Rom half sneered:
- Hanging ghost always hovered above ground. All these deaths were the result of falling from above.
- Oh man! – Luom moaned and nudged closer to his older brother but there was no more space for him to nudge close to. It seemed he became close to jump right into Quy Rom’s embrace.
Tac Ke Bong nervously asked, beads of sweat forming on his forehead:
- So all these misfortunes were caused by…by….by a ghost?
- Now you all know!
Quy Rom didn’t answer directly, but his statement had more chilling effect than an admission.
Luom planned to open his mouth for another question but he discovered his jaw suddenly became hard like wood. This is why he was ecstatic to hear Tac Ke Bong stuttered the question he thought of asking:
- So…so…the hanging ghost pushed…pushed those people…to the ground?
- No one knows for sure. – Quy Rom gingerly answered – Ghosts are not like human, it’s hard to see them. It’s possible that it shoved, or maybe it pulled their hands or tripped their feet. You guys already knew that ghosts are full of mischief. What ever its method, we are still death.
His three friends don’t know what a ghost looked like, but Quy Rom was on a roll so he casually used the phrase, “You guys already knew”, as if ghosts are commonly seen outside in the market. Luom and Tac Ke Bong were in a middle of the conversation, their stomachs muscle tightened, no one minded Quy Rom’s statement.
Only Tieu Long protruded his lips and said:
- Ghosts are full of mischief is something I can’t say for sure, but I know you are up to something.
Sensing his best friend’s suspicious voice, Quy Rom thought of growling in disapproval. However, after taking a full breath, he thought of something and exhaled, permitting his body to relax:
- I’m not forcing you to believe me, Tieu Long. But it’s the truth. The owner herself told me those scary stories.
Quy Rom voice became conversational:
- I admit I myself didn’t believe in those stories back then. However, she was really scared and worried. Her eyes were in tear when she was begging me. She said her house now has a total of three people. Her two children and her, a son and a daughter. She had three children but the eldest died. She said if I don’t step in and help her, the hanging ghost will surely methodically spread misfortune to the rest of the family members.
- Ah, really pitiful! – Luom said out loud emphathically. Quy Rom’s melancholy voice caused his heart to soften without him realizing it – That violent ghost will surely find a way to pull hands or tripped feet…
- Luom! – Tieu Long interrupted – If the house really has that sort of ghost, the house owner will surely move somewhere else.
Tac Ke Bong nodded in agreement:
- Right, I think that’s the most effective and simplest way to “exorcise” the ghost!
- You guys don’t know anything to speak! – The first time Quy Rom lost his patience. He growled loudly and regretted that he didn’t have fire to exhale out of his nose – Everyone knows moving is the best option. But most important thing is money! Where can one find money to move?
As if Quy Rom just fired machine gun in the air. Tieu Long and the gang silent as if they were hit by the bullets. Tac Ke Bong’s face became truly pathetic. If the straw pile had salamander, everyone would believe that a salamander just pooped on his face.
Quy Rom’s mischievious eyes scanned back and forth his friend’s faces, his words gained momentum and his mouth speaking nonstop:
- To move you need money to buy a new house, am I right Luom?
- Correct, yes. – Luom timidly answered.
- To buy a new house you have to be able to sell the current house to obtain money, am I right Tac Ke Bong?
Tac Ke Bong lips quivered:
- Uh…uh…right.
Quy Rom pressed on with confident:
- To be able to sell the current house it must be ridded of ghost, am I right Tieu Long?
- You are wrong!
Tieu Long’s reply caused Quy Rom to stop on the spot. In the midst of his own momentum, Quy Rom forgot that Tieu Long was still mad at him. Like a vehicle happily cruising on the street and suddenly hit a speedbump, Quy Rom was left speechless:
- Where did you find something wrong?
- Where? – Tieu Long brushed his nose – at the part where there is no ghost in that house.
- Ehh…you…you…
- No ehh…! No one exorcises ghosts in the middle of the day. From then to now, all wrongly-death spirits only appeared at night. Meanwhile, you disappeared somewhere in the morning, came home at night to sleep, and you dare brag that you are exorcising ghost?
- Yeah, that’s right! – Tac Ke Bong laughed heartily – Do you think we are children, Quy Rom?
- To be honest I couldn’t help but think of you guys as little kids. – Quy Rom scowled – You guys don’t know much. Everyone knows ghosts usually appear at night. That’s because ghosts are afraid of the day, the warmth air. But those ghosts are low-level ghosts, common ghosts, ghosts with “low social status.” Ghosts with “high social status” are not afraid of anything.
Luom jumped:
- So are you saying this hanging ghost appears in the daytime?
- Yup, this particular ghost doesn’t bother to appear at night. It follows…office hours.
Tieu Long’s eyes narrowed:
-How did the house owner know you? She lives in the neighboring hamlet!
Quy Rom was ecstatic to find Tieu Long asked too easy of a question. He quickly answered:
-Mr. Sau Canh introduced us. The time you and Tac Ke Bong busied fixing the cow pen, I biked to Nga Ba market for fun. While there, I also stopped by Mr. Sau Canh’s brick house, coincidentally ran into him.
Tieu Long surprised:
-He hasn’t sold his house?
-Not yet. Currently he is renting it to someone to put a rice grinder there. The owner of the haunted house also came that day to grind her rice. That was when he made the introduction. To be honest, I didn’t want to accept the task. I was thinking I’m here to enjoy the summer vacation with you guys, not to waste time with this nonsense. However, the house owner cried really hard that day. Furthermore, Mr. Sau Canh, who stood nearby, occasionally added: “Only someone with the master’s level of expertise can control this malicious ghost. You graduated from Ta Lon mountain, you were able to remove the one-legged demons at my house that one time!”, “Master, please considers building a good legacy for tomorrow and place high-importance on saving others’ lives. Our ancestor has a saying: Building a nine storied pagoda doesn’t equal to saving a person’s live.”
Quy Rom spoke at length without any hesitation caused Tac Ke Bong off guard:
-Huh? So you didn’t invent something up?
-Why would I need to invent a story! Do you think I have that much free time Tac Ke Bong?
-How come you are not inviting us to come along like the previous times? –Tieu Long intently gazed at his friend, his suspicion shown through his eyes.
-Tieu Long, I gotta be honest with you. – Quy Rom stroked his chin and intentionally spoke in a patient voice – Before this I had always called you a “dimwit”. That was when I had an itch on my mouth and accidentally called you that name. When I realized the err of my way, I regretted it very much. Sometimes I couldn’t sleep the whole night out of regret because I realized I shouldn’t call my best friend by that name. However, until today, I think if I don’t use the term “dimwit” for you, I confessed I don’t know what else to refer to you as.
-Huh…you little…- Now it was time for Tieu Long to be speechless and he unconsciously repeated Quy Rom’s voice.
-No “Huh huh”!- Quy Rom devilishly repeated Tieu Long’s words –Am I not right? If you were not a “dimwit” naturally you wouldn’t question my last statement. Why did I bring you guys along the previous times? Simply because I knew Cat Co hill and Mr. Sau Canh’s place don’t have ghosts and the stories were all made up.
- So this time around it’s a real ghost? – Luom jumped in, his voice both nervous and interested.
- One more person! – Quy Rom scowled at Luom, his voice disappointed – If it’s not a real ghost, I already asked you guys to come along. This hanging ghost is so malicious I wouldn’t dare invite you guys to come along, even so far as wouldn’t dare tell anybody. Today, because you guys interrogated me so much that I cracked my lips slightly to reveal the story to you.
-You are a spirit master so of course the ghost is pugnacious toward you. – Luom blinked – We are only sitting home listening for news, we don’t do anything toward it, right?
Quy Rom looked toward the heaven:
- Sitting at home listening for news is also unacceptable. To say so indicates you haven’t…haven’t encountered a ghost before. This ghost is truly fearsome. These last few days we’ve been fighting each other without a clear winner. Many times it even chased me down the street and we fought along the way. With that pugnacious nature, there bound to be a day when it will track me here. Maybe it is sitting around here at this very instant. If it knows you guys are asking questions about it, surely it will not leave you guys alone…
Quy Rom’s words passed through like a cold wind, causing the hairs on his friends’ back to stiffen. Luom fearfully looked around:
-Goodness…you’re really saying something scary.
Tac Ke Bong nudged closer to Luom while simultaneously attempted to shrink his body:
-Did it really chase and attack you along the way?
- Why wouldn’t it be true! – Quy Rom swung his fists in the air – I used a bicycle, it ran along, oops I forgot, it hovered in the air. It was on top, me on the bottom puching each other like crazy. People on the road really were caught unprepared when they saw me punching the air and didn’t comprehend what I was doing.
- Hehe! – Tieu Long hugged his stomach – Such lies you tell! It’s hard to believe someone would punch against a ghost like he was in a boxing match.
Quy Rom sprung up. He pulled down his shirt to reveal one shoulder:
- Like I want to make it up! You guys come here and take a look! I always speak with concrete evidence to back my words.
Tieu Long curiously bended down to examine his friend’s shoulder. Tac Ke Bong and Luom also slowly stood up. The three strained their eyes to take a look.
- Do you guys see anything yet? – Quy Rom anxiously asked.
- Yup, I see. – Luom nodded quickly.
- What do you see?
- A shoulder.
Quy Rom furrowed his brows in displeasure:
-Why would you mention just the shoulder? Is there anything on the shoulder?
- Nothing to see.
- Hmm, you guys don’t see a bruise?
- How can we see, it’s dark.
- Then you guys come here!
Quy Rom hurriedly walked ahead. The three friends excitedly tagged along. Upon reaching the kitchen and under the bright light, Quy Rom once again showed his shoulder for his friends to examine.
This time, upon resting his eyes on the shoulder, Tac Ke Bong exclaimed:
- Oh man, that’s scary! Your shoulder is all bruised.
E-mail to a friend 
Print version
To top
