2024-10-24 00:04:28I took a deep inhale before moving on. Slowly, but steadily, I ascended the stairs and soon found myself in the living space. The yellow Orchids were still there but this time it has faded to a lower tone of white.
There seemed to be an assortment of sounds coming from the rooms down the corridor.
I tightened my grip on my brush and paced down the corridor like a panther.
I pushed open the first door, it had a bed and dressing table. The walls had a coat of pink with a nice desk. There was a working desk placed adjacent to the the window, and I saw some photo frames. I stepped closer and found them to be pictures of Mavis with her parents. There was also a picture of her in her graduation gown.
This must be Mavis’s room.
Suddenly a thump from my back snatched my attention. I swung around and heard something from the other room. The corridor had taken on a pale light. Something is not right.
“Who is it?” I demanded but was only greeted by an eerie silence.
I tightened my grip on my golden brush and slowly stepped back onto the corridor.
“Is anyone there?” I asked.
This time, I was greeted by a soft groan.
My skin went cold. It was coming from the last door at the corridor.
Who could it be?
**
I dashed towards and with my golden brush, wrote on the door of the room. This is a talisman meant to suppress any dark spirits. If there is a dark illumination, there is an ominous presence but instantly the talisman glows.
A benign presence? I opened the door slowly and found a pint-sized figure stranded on the floor, huddled.
“Who are you?”
“Oh goodness, you did not see me, you did not see me.” The quivering voice goes.
“What happened to you?”
I bent over and saw an aged lady with bushy eyebrows.
“Who are you? You are who?” She asked. “Don’t attack me. Don’t…” her pleas came through in quivering voice.
Judging from her silken robes, and facial features, I could guess her identity.
“You must be the 地基主 local guardian of this mansion?”
She turned and peeked at me
“How did you know? You are…” She raised her head and drew closer, studying me from head to toe. “Who are you?”
“I am Adam Wong Takahashi, the Spirit Master, an Onmyōji. I can travel between the worlds. Are you the guardian of the Chua Mansion?”
She struggled to her feet and I realized she had a crane on her right hand.I helped her to a seat. This was then I noticed the bruises on her forehead and cheeks
“What happened to you?”
“You are? What’s your name again?” Her expressive eyes narrowed into slits of inquisitive light.
“Adam Wong Takahashi. Just call me Adam”
“What a name.” The old lady straightened her back. At full height, she stands at about 1 meter, is slightly hunched. She has a protruding forehead that was heavily lined by time. Despite her age, her eyes were bulbs of gentle kindness.
I know such guardian spirits usually carry a red aura but the lady in front of it had a dim aura.
“Ah, Sir Adam. I am surprised to see you.”
“I was recruited by the police to investigate.”
“Recruited?”
“There was a questionable death and I had been asked to investigate. How do I address you?”
“I am Gui, the 地基主, household guardian of the Chua Mansion.”
“How long have you been here?”
Gui started numbering with her fingers and then spoke
“This would be the fifty-eighth year.”
“That’s a long time.”
“Once I served 60 years, one cycle. I am ready to be promoted to the next realm.”
“A long tenure but I wished you ascension.”
“Looking at me now. It is so unexpected.”
“What happened?”
“I am not sure too but why are you here in this realm? I know not many humans can cross over.”
“I have my powers.”
“Ah, you are the rare ones.” She studied me like a book and remarked “What brings you here, Sir Adam?”
“There was a questionable death just twenty-four hours ago.”
Instantly Gui’s face straightened and her mouth went agape.
“Horrible. I knew it. I sensed blood a few days ago and then when I investigated yesterday, I was attacked. “Do you know….”
She put her fingers to my lips instantly
“Did you see it?” She asked, wide-eyed.
“See what?” I asked.
“When you arrived. Did you spotted it?”
I shook my head.
“Who is ‘it’?”
“It is a horrible energy. Fifty-eight years, and this is the first time I witnessed such horror. I don’t know where it came from and the reason for it but it just exploded into my world.
“What happened?”
“I tried to stop it but it blew my altar to pieces.”
“You have your powers?” I said “That should be adequate.
“I thought so but I was wrong. This is a powerful force, a dark presence.”
“Even you could not suppress it.” I whispered.
“It surprised me. I did not expect the spirit to have such powers.”
“Why surprised? You have been around for a while.”
“Many years to be honest. This is a fine property with benign vibes. Look at the beautiful lawn and you can tell the congregation of positive energy. The inhabitants have good character except…”
“Except for what?”
Grandma Gui shook her head
“There is something that lurks.”
“A spirit? The dark presence.”
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Granny Gui shook her head “I tried to investigate but to no avail." She rubbed her temples "There are days when I saw traces of a spirit but all the searches yielded no answer.”“Is this the first time you encountered such a spirit?"Gui nodded frantically as her eyes scanned the space behind me. She was afraid the door would open suddenly. “This is. Indeed it is."She swallowed and then stammered, "I had a couple but the last few has been extremely stressful and ...""And what?""Violent." She said silently as the wrinkles on her lips looked more pronounced"All unpleasant ones. I am unable to understand the reckless anger. I do not even know where the spirit came from. It is too powerful, I am just..I had to take refuge here.”I inhaled. “Granny Gui, what did you see? Can you tell me about the form or characteristics?"“You have not seen it, have you?” She lowered her head “Sometimes you do not need to see fear. You only need to feel it. I took so long to sense it. Useless me.” “I
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My eyebrows raised in sharp inquisition."No wonder you are in Singapore."Kelly flashed an evil smile. I understood her too well.“I needed your tool.”“Which one?”She bent over and helped me to my feet."Which one?" I repeated“I had an assignment in Singapore. There is spirit on the loose and had created some havoc.”“Let’s talk later then," I said.“ Thank you." "I hadn't agreed." I said, "I have this assignment.""What’s this transition about?” “I suspect there is a source of grievance. I think my hunch is right.""That will mean..." Kelly was cut off in mid-sentence.“Look, people! I am sorry to disrupt your disciple lovey-dovey catch-up chat, but can I know what happened?” It was May and her face was strained. Whenever she is stressed, I am irritated.“I am sorry…” I said, "Our conversation is part of my investigation."“Then please share with us.” She demanded.Ah Mui had brought over a huge cup of warm water. I had been drained and felt dehydrated, so I grabbed the drink.
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I turned around and found myself looking at the voice's owner, walking down the corridor towards us with a confident sashay. She is tall and walked with confidence. Her long and wavy hair projected an air of easy confidence. Closer up, she had a beautiful oval face with an impeccable complexion that seemed to have just received some sunshine. I am luckily half a head taller, still.Despite the displeasure on her face, she was pleasing to the eye. One is compelled to be civil in front of the lady. “May I know what is going on?” she demanded as she stood looking at us all.“Hi Mavis.” Uncle Hock called out dropped his mop and walked over "Good to see you back home."“Uncle Hock, what is happening here? It is such a mess. Who are these people?”She gesticulated and looked around “Where is Daddy?”“Your daddy has gone to the condominium at Sentosa. He is not feeling well.”“Still upset about Claudia’s passing?” Mavis saidThen she turned in my direction and looked at us. “Who are these
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6th March 2024I woke up with a sharp pain in my temples, ramifications from my exertions during the transition. I looked around my apartment. Kelly was gone. When did she leave?Morning comes quickly and I was awoken by incessant ring. I forgot to put to silent mode. I picked it up, my eyes half closed“Mui?”“Dr Adam? Its Visnu. I need to see you urgently.”“The Chua Mansion?”“Yes. Our investigation of Hock and Aminah did not yield anything.”“What do you mean by that?”“So far we checked their phone records and WhatsApp message history but there are no evidence of bad relationships with the deceased.”“What did May say?”“I have asked her to continue her investigation but May being May, she is not easily convinced.”“If I help you, my primary objective is to solve the case and find the person who killed Claudia. It is not to satisfy May. Is that fine with you?”“I have absolute trust in you, Adam. If I hadn't, I would not have looked for you.”“Thank you.”“As for you and May….”
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Kelly understood intuitively what I meant“Like when I need to climb that big tree in our temple grounds,” she asked, with glee glowing on her cheeks.“Like we used to do when we were kids,” I said.Saying she placed one foot on a shelf and held her hands out as a leaping platform. I took off my red jacket and flexed my muscles. Oji Hasegawa said “Don’t break my shelves or cupboards. It is very expensive.”“I will not. Rest assured, Oji”Oji Hasegawa returned to his seat and sat down in comfort.Without battling an eyelid, I ran and stepped on her palm. At that moment, she gave her hands an upward thrust and I threw myself upwards. Using my powers, I propelled myself towards the kite and stretched my handsHowever, just as I reached, the kite darted off with a glimmer. In the flash, I lost my balance and fell backward. At the nick of time, I managed to grab the corner of a cupboard to steady myself but it was too late. The grip was slippery and I had a bad landing on my hip. The sh
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I took a deep inhale and pronounced my intentions. “I would like to borrow the Kanji from you.”Oji was unfazed and said in a deep voice ‘The Kanji?”I nodded, waiting for the icy rejection. Oji leaned forward and then smiled. “Do you think you are here to borrow a pair of pants?”“I am sorry if I sound too impetuous?”Oji Hasegawa began pacing in front of me and stopped within inches of me, face to face.“You young Onmyojis behaved like you could do things with ease. There is no respect for rituals. You think have the powers to behave as you please.”“I did not intend to offend. I am sorry.” I bowedOji Hasegawa shook his head “Remember to show respect for tradition, and show regard for the other realms,”“I will bear that in mind.”“Borrow the Kanji? For what purpose?”“I know I may sound rude to come here uninvited...” I continued with my courtesy but Hasegawa replied curtly, cutting me in mid-sentence.“Reason?”“We needed to help us solve a mysterious death. There has been evid
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When we reached the given postal code, we were met with a row of shophouses without any clear indication of the specific address we were looking for. When Kelly was about to give up, I had noticed something. I squinted my eyes to be sure and, when I was, told Kelly about it. I pointed to the display facade of the shop in the middle of the row which seemed to be well lit.“Toys? Adam, what are you telling me?"“Look at that.”I pointed to the Daruma Doll that perched on the highest shelf of the shop's facade. Daruma Dolls are quite easily found in Singapore though it is not common and the ones at department stores are regular wares from the factory - presentable as home decor but are not endowed with powers.The one that caught my eye is as big as a football. To any amateur, it looked just a display set but to me, it looked different. There is a conspicuous dot on the forehead of this Daruma Doll and most importantly it was wooden. In my sect , only the highest Onmyōji gets to dot th
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er witnessing Aminah's frailty, we decided not to continue our interrogation. I executed a prayer of serenity that put her to rest. After she slid into a slumber, we left. We walked out of the ward and headed down to the carpark. Kelly took over the wheel. She had quite a way with cars and had a penchant for racing on the roads. In the past, I had genuinely feared for my safety but somehow reached my destination, safe. This time, as I needed time on my own, I took the back seat. My head was brimming with thoughts as I tried to digest the information mess in my mind. As our vehicle exited the carpark, back onto the street level, we passed by a red Mercedes GLA. The polished exterior and the glimmer of newness captured my mind. I was pretty sure I had seen it before. However, my mind captured something else - the driver.It rang a bell but as we were already about to join the main traffic, I did not ask Kelly to pause to investigate but I made a mental note to follow up on it. I sa
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I summoned my ‘qi’ and mastered the movement of the energies. “I need help.” She cried. The agony in her heart-wrenching vocals drummed in my heart.“Breathe, Aminah! ” I commanded, "Breathe and look at me." I said " Her eyes widened as her grip on my hands tightened. Instantly, in my body, I felt a surge of energy travelling up my veins. I tried to fight it but the strength of that force grew. This is the power of the dark spirit. I inhaled and used my internal powers to control the darkness. However, it slithered Images begun to form in my mind like a series of files have being downloaded onto a laptop - the mansion, the rooms, the Chuas- John, Marcus, Mavis, Jonathan, and the lawn with its towering trees. In rapid succession, I saw the images of the pictures on the walls, the children playing on the lawn and in the drawing room with its furniture and the street outside the mansion. Then there many more and I felt my mind working at a feverish rate to digest them until there was
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Every nerve in my body was charged as I hopped onto Visnu’s car. I was eager to talk to Aminah again. I owe her an apology after my rash act. More importantly, she is key to unlocking information that may help the investigation. The journey to the hospital was swift with Visnu behind the wheel. Kelly sat at the back, anticipation written on her radiant face. She has that dauntless vibes that infects you and gives you that boost. Her strength and independent streak can be attributed to her upbringing and training. At the hospital, we found Aminah warded in a single ward on the twelfth floor. It was a thoughtful arrangement knowing the trauma Aminah has experienced. There was a policeman stationed outside the ward to assist, and he swiftly snapped to attention upon seeing Visnu.As we were about to enter, Visnu held onto the doorknob, looked at me and asked.“How do you want to do this?”I sensed his reservation and immediately understood his concerns."I promised I will be careful i
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“You promise.” Visnu’s stern look made me uncomfortable and I repeated my promise“Thanks, Adam. We know you are working hard to uncover the truth.”"Let me share my findings?” I said looking down at the pad in front of me. “My transition last night yielded two key findings. Let’s talk about Mavis Chua. I had planned to start with her because I needed a family member to assess the predisposition of the spirit. It was a correct decision as the spirit did not attack her.”“Only you?" May askedI nodded “I suspected the spirit could be a member of the family who is long deceased.""This is sounding ridiculous," May remarked as she eyeballed Visnu. I bit my lips."Who are you suspecting?" Visnu asked"The most likely one would be the deceased Mrs Chua," I replied"The mother?” May added, skeptical and continued “Mother? You suspect the mother is unhappy with Claudia and came back to attack her?”Visnu asked. “Looked there may be some animosity or can you provide some causes for that nas
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We never found a satisfactory answer. The best way to find out is to visit the columbarium. Though it was past midnight, every cell in my body called for action. However, I knew that was not possible.After we wrapped up our discussion, I headed to the showers. There was a certain humidity from the action and I felt sticky on my back and arms. As I stood under the showers, thoughts of the mansion flowed into my mind. I worked out the possible scenarios when there is an attack by a supernatural entity. A resident spirit in the residence or neighbourhood? Or it could be a spirit sent by a family that was unfriendly to the Chuas? Could there be another spirit that is deeply unhappy with the Chuas?As I turned off the tap, the steam from the hot water bath cleared but my mind remained cluttered. After I dried myself, and walked out to the corridor, I was treated to a symphony of whistles and snorts. Kelly has fallen asleep. She told me she had a hard day. What had she been up to in the
