3rd December 1999Love at first sight is one of the most inexplicable, yet beautiful, thing in the universe.This phenomenon is the reason for my existence. My parents’ love story reads like a novel. I was born to a Japanese mother and a Singapore-Chinese father in 1993. My mother, Yoshiko Takahashi, had followed her parents to Singapore in the mid-1980s. My maternal grandfather has been deployed to the island state as the plant manager at a Japanese biochemical multinational. My mother could finish her final year at the Singapore National University, majoring in Economics. It was the fateful year at university when she met my father, Jonathan Wong, a research fellow at the university. According to my mother, they met at an uneventful book signing ceremony for one their professor. It was love at first sight and an unexpected one. My mother was slim and tall for a Japanese standing at 1.7m while my father, though bookwormish, always provided a calming influence with his soft-spoken

As Marcus Chua flashed a pointed finger at me, Visnu hastened to explain“Dr Adam is a faculty at the National University. He majors in sociology.” Visnu looked at me and winked. He has been our trusted partner. We have worked with him on some unique cases where traditional forensic methods fail to solve but his methods worked.”“Unique cases?" Marcus looked at me questionably.“Yes, Dr Adam is a credible authority in exorcism and quite a track record. I think he will be very helpful in our investigation.” Visnu added. Marcus looked unconvinced but I stepped in with a question. “Wouldn’t you like to know what happened last night?” I turned to John Chua.“I heard from Hock that you had done something?” He asked. “Yes. There was a ritual.”“Ritual? Dad, you paid for this?”The comment earned a frown of reproach from John Chua and I knew I had to jump in“Mr Chua graciously allowed us to conduct the session and it was a successful ritual. The process was an eye-opener.”“Eye-opener?” M

After we were left alone, there was an awkward moment.“You are really a teaching faculty?”I nodded “Why do you ask?”“You looked too young and good-looking to be one.”I swallowed hard. Wow “Are they all bookworms and intellectual snobs?”“I, I am different,” I replied, nervously.“How did a PhD become an exorcist?” Mavis asked, playing with her cup.“You cannot blame my Daddy or Ah Kor for being sceptical. Usually, they are very nice to strangers.”“I don’t blame them too. The wariness is something I have grown used to. This is the usual reception I get from people. When they announced Master Adam Wong -Takahashi, they were expecting a fifty-year-old with grey moustache and armed with a wooden sword and ninja hairstyle.”“You don’t have any of those?”She chuckled " Not forgetting the booming voice and fierce eyes."“I do have some tools of trade but no sword and moustache!"Both of us giggled “So how long have you been doing this?”“My first exorcist assignment was with my master,

We arrived at the mortuary, that was located within the General Hospital grounds, slightly past noon. After Visnu parked, we walked down a long well-covered corridor that connected the carpark to the building. The mortuary was situated in a nondescript but functional building which had yellow walls. After submitting my ID for records, I was brought down a short corridor, through a security gantry, and then through a secured door. Then I found myself looking into the mortuary. There was a sense of deja vu. I have been here for a past assignment. The mortuary is always a memorable place for us - spirit masters. For some of us with the ability to see supernatural spirits, the sightings of a drifting spirit are common. As we walked down the corridor to take the lift,, Visnu leaned over “What are you planning to do? The usual?"I smiled at the phrase 'The usual' as it reflected the chemistry between us. There is always a tacit understanding that I am doing the right thing and Visnu wi

The episode at the mortuary sapped some of my energy and left me flat. On my way back to the office, I was sipping continuously from the water bottle. Despite emptying a one-litre bottle of water, I felt dehydrated. However, the sight of Claudia's distressed spirit dwelt in my mind. It is hard to erase it but it did not affect my moods. I was determined I would find justice for her - find the killer and bring him or her to justice.Back in the office, my mind shifted to my hunger pangs. Earlier, I had asked Ah Mui to order a hearty meal and she did not let me down. When I arrived at the office pantry, I found a table of food and she was laying out the paper plates.One of the key conditions for a successful exorcist assignment is to be fully fed. A full stomach gives us energy and stamina to create the talisman and spells to quell the malevolent spirits.Over a meal of bak-kut-teh(pork ribs soup), fried carrot cakes, and my favourite Wan Ton noodles, we chatted“I got your favourite