In 1998 a very close friend of mine passed away from a motorcycling accident in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. For people who don’t know Wan Chai, it is like a large suburb. Although it had been a few years since I’ve had contact with him, I remembered the times at college where we hung out, studied and so on. I was deeply sad when I heard the news regarding his passing. For the next few days I would regret not catching up with him, even a call or something would’ve been nice.
After an emotional week, I attended his funeral where I saw many of my old mates. It had been a long time since I’ve met up with them but it was a shame this gathering was due us losing a great friend.
The funeral parlour was fairly large, consisting of 12 individual rooms. As my friend’s family are Buddhist, the funeral was conducted in the traditional customs. For people who have been to Chinese funerals, you will never forget it as the atmosphere is terrifying. You would hear monk’s singing their prey’s constantly, while playing their instruments such as the Suona. The Suona is the scariest of all instruments as it has a distinctively loud and high pitch which will drive you crazy. Just listening to the music itself would make you emotional. My friend’s allocated room was right to the end of the hallway. While walking, you could smell the incense making the air so heavy. I would see to my left, other families burning paper cars, maids, money, houses etc. In Chinese tradition, burning these objects for your loved ones is a form of respect and final appreciation so they can use these objects in the afterlife.
After showing my final respect to my deceased friend and his family, I decided to leave with another friend called Mike. As I left, I had to walk through the long hallway but suddenly Mikes stopped which alerted me to look towards the right and saw a photo of a very attractive young female. Mike’s mouth was quicker to react than his mind which led him to say ‘did you see that girl? She was pretty! Such a waste she died at a young age.’ Although that was what I thought within me, it was disrespectful to say such a thing.
It was close to 11pm when we left and I decided to give Mike a lift home. While driving, Mike and I had a conversation about organizing a gathering with friends. Funny as it is, although you know how important friends and family are, you don’t learn to cherish them unless you’ve felt the pain of losing them. Since leaving the funeral parlour I had a strange feeling ever since Mike’s comments about the girl. I felt like there was something was wrong. While thinking about it, the tip of my vision something seemed to appear at the backseat. Within a nanosecond I looked at the rear mirror and saw the girl whose photo was in the funeral parlour. I couldn’t see her facial expression clearly but I just knew it was her. I was caught in my own world in that instance which made Mike give me a tap to ask, ‘Hey, what’s wrong?’ I quickly regrouped myself and said, ‘Oh nothing, just thinking about stuff’. Before I looked at the rear mirror again hoping that the girl had gone or it was me imaging things, I looked up and she was still their! My mouth was dry but I still tried to swallow what seemed like my last bit of saliva. I didn’t know what to do; I lost my directions which led Mike insisting if I knew where I was going. Although I couldn’t clearly see the facials of the girl I felt its anger directed towards Mike. The impression she gave me was that the world only had Mike and her, and I was just an outsider.
My fear started to evaporate but the feeling of apprehension regarding Mike filled in. As we were approaching Mike’s apartment I felt the presence fade, which alerted me to look at the rear mirror and to my pleasure it was gone! I quickly told Mike what I saw, but he did not believe me, and got quite angry instead. While Mike got off the car, he had to walk 50 metres to his apartment lobby and I watched hoping nothing would happen. At the corner of my right eye, I saw a greyish object moving slowly. When I looked again, it looked like outline of a half body women drifting. The object seemed solid enough for me to notice but it was evidently transparent. I could see the apartment lights shimmering through it. It drifted ever so freely without any distortion. It was a breezy night but not even the wind could affect its goal which became obvious, Mike. As Mike walked quicker, the object would pick up pace making Mike’s seem like a turtle.
I quickly called Mike’s Parents who were living in the same apartment and told them what I saw. His mum thought I was making a prank and asked me if I had a lot to drink. As their family were Christian, I knew it was hard for them to believe what I said. There was nothing I can do than hope nothing bad would happen.
After a week, I received a phone call from Mike who told me what had happened in the past week. He lost his job where he had worked there for 3 years and from previous conversations seemed like he was doing great, broke up with his girlfriend of 6 years and ended up in hospital with a broken leg while jogging on the treadmill. He finally believed me, and I through my close DJ friend of mine, passed me contacts of a priest who possibly could help.
I spoke to the priest via telephone and told him what had happened and he basically told me Mike was lucky to be alive. I passed on Mike’s details to the Priest who thankfully was able to help Mike.
Final thoughts: When I was young I always have heard stories where it is inappropriate to comment on the deceased when you’re at a cemetery or funeral parlour. It is a form of disrespect and possibly could result in death.
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