Chapter 18: Chapter 17: Don't say "Hello"

“Damn Thup, why are you so close? “You’re about to climb on my neck.”

“It's very cold Phi.” Thup clung to August's arm as he walked, and looked down at the ground, refusing to lift his head. The sun was about to set completely on the horizon, but the person involved decided to enter the temple instead of returning to the police station.

“Why don't you go wait in the car?”

“What will I do if something happens to you?

Your condition is more worrying than mine.” Singha rolled his eyes tiredly as the boy walked closely beside him.

The atmosphere inside the temple at sunset seems peaceful but also scary at times. The orange sky mixed with purple is the part of the image that Thup liked the least, because in ancient times, it was said that at this time, the connection between the human world and other worlds took place, thus causing ghosts, spirits, angels and humans lived on earth at the same time. And that leads to the belief that, when sleeping at times like this, the spirit will leave the body and may be replaced by a spirit from the other world. The sound of a coconut broom hitting the ground came from behind the crematorium. The closer he got, the harder Thup's heart beat.

“Uncle Khuean, hello.”

“Oh, you're the police officer from last time. What are you doing here?" Uncle Khuean stopped sweeping the leaves off the ground and walked towards the couple with a smile on his face. “Are you coming to eat something?”

“No, I have something to ask.”

“Another case, young man?”

"Yeah."

“Well… if I can help you with anything, I will help you.”

"I want to ask you something. I would like to know if you remember that last Monday, there was a boy of about fifteen years old, over one hundred and sixty tall, dressed in a white t-shirt and black pants, who entered the temple between 5 and 6 in the afternoon, but did not come out. . You've seen?"

"Monday? Monday? Ummm, no, young man, on Mondays there were locals who invited the monks to pray for the funeral in their homes, only the abbot stayed here during that time, the Venerable Yapatha stayed for many days, so he stayed in his hutti.”

“Could I go see him?”

"Okay, I'll take you there." Uncle Khuen left his broom on a nearby tree first, and then led them towards the abbot's chambers. On the road there are few very large trees, giving a gloomy and scary look at the same time. This area was quiet and remote, much further away from other people, making it suitable for resting and praying. Walking toward the tall Thai-style monastery, Thup tightened his grip on August's arm, causing him to turn to look at him.

“Don't worry, it's just a meeting.” Although being close to Singha he knew that ghosts did not come close to him, that did not mean that he did not see them at all, he could still see ghosts and spirits in the distance. Some looked at him with interest. Others simply mourn their own passing, when they were still alive, their loved ones, their family, or even those who still cannot get rid of their desires and are still jealous, they talk about things outside their bodies with grief. and repentance.

“Don't look at them,” Singha said as he stopped walking. He took his sunglasses from the collar of his own shirt and placed them on Thup.

“Why are you putting them on me? There is no sun anymore.”

“But you can see them, right?”

“Yes,” Thup responded as he turned to look around. Although I could still see, the images were not as detailed, because the glasses were quite opaque, to the point of obscuring several details. "Well. Now, I can’t see much anymore.”

“Okay, now walk, don't make a fuss.” Singha walked behind the monk again, with the young man at his side, who now gave him a grateful smile.

“Thank you Phi Singha.”

“Oh, shut up already.”

The two went up the stairs and arrived in front of a dark wooden door. Uncle Khuean knocked on the door three or four times before yelling at his father.

“Reverend Father, someone has come to see you.”

“Wait a moment, Yom Khuean,” said the inner voice, indicating that the abbot was probably not very comfortable receiving guests.

“During this time, the Reverend Father has been very ill and has not been able to leave the temple much.”

“Have you been taken to the doctor yet?”

“You've already seen it. The doctor said it's because of old age. You can escape anything, but you cannot escape old age, illness and death,” Uncle Khuean said calmly. August himself simply listened in silence.

Soon the wooden door opened and a monk came out, with a tired expression. He sat in a chair on the balcony before greeting August and Thup.

“They came to see me, what's going on?”

"Father's blessing. “I am here to ask about a child who went missing in the temple.”

"Who?"

“He came here last Monday, between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. “Maybe you remember, Reverend Father?”

"I did not see it. During that time I was sick, so I slept in the cubicle and didn't go anywhere. But around 5:00 p.m. I remember hearing sounds from outside.”

“Can you tell me what the sound was?”

“A sound like things are being dragged. I'm not sure. “I thought they were novice monks doing rituals together.”

“Excuse me, but are there security cameras in the temple?”

“Yes, we had them, but they have been broken for more than a month now. Since there was no major work done in the temple yet, we have not repaired it yet.” August just nodded.

“And what about the others? Khun Tee, often came here, did merits on Thursday mornings. But the neighbor said he had not returned home. Do you know what he was doing in the temple?”

“Oh yes, he often came to make merits. I helped with the work at the temple, and then changed the flowers. He was in charge of keeping his wife's ashes every day. Some days he would stay and listen to the sermon, other days he would rush back to garden,” the abbot recalled, covering his mouth and coughing from time to time.

“But that day he came and told me he wanted to see Luang Phor. Then I told him that Luang Phor was resting in the monastery and he walked away. But the Father did not see it.” Uncle Khuean said.

“I heard a voice calling, but I went out and told him that I was sick and that I couldn't talk. And then he seemed to walk away.”

Singha raised his wrist and looked at his watch before standing up. "Thanks, Dad. “Then we should leave now, I may come to ask you other questions another day.”

“Yes, of course, you can come at any time.”

"Thank you, then we will go back first." Singha headed down the stairs, without waiting for Thup, who was bowing goodbye to the abbot.

When he went down he saw a pottery wheel at his feet, he immediately went to inspect it. He looked around and when he saw that no one was there, he used his own handkerchief to pick up some dry dirt, then put it in his pocket. When he heard the sound of those coming down the stairs, he stood up as if nothing had happened.

“Come on, I'll accompany you, are you sure you don't want to eat anything?” There is probably still food in the asylum. Do you want to bring some?”

“It's okay, uncle, you are very considerate.” Thup turned to him with a smile.

“Who is being considered? “Wait here, I will go to the aunts and they will take care of it.”

The three returned to the temple courtyard, this time things seemed calmer than usual, to the point that Thup looked around with concern. They said goodbye, paying homage to the monk, and went towards the car.

"You feel good?"

"Clear."

“Are you sure you don't feel sick? Tea I said it was better to leave, because you're still in those wet clothes, you should have gone and changed.” Thup extended his hand on the person's cheek with a worried expression. “You have a little fever.”

"Oh no! I'm sick. Are you satisfied? Get in the car." Singha pushed Thup's hand towards him, and let him get into the car. She then leaned against him and grabbed her phone to call her best friend.

[Say.]

“Are you at the station yet?”

[Oh, I'm checking your wrist. What's happening?]

“The one with the tiger head?”

[Oh, it's the only one I have.]

“And Darin is there?”

[No, it's not here. He said he would go to his house because he wouldn't go in where the doll was.]

"Um, I'll go now."

“...!!!”

“Ai Say, what was that?”

“..”

“Come on, young man, bring some food. There is green curry chicken, and yellow noodles stir-fried with soy milk.” Uncle Khuean returned with a large bag of food which he handed to August.

“Oh, thanks, man.”

“Safe travels.”

August hung up the phone, and immediately decided to get in the car to head back to the station. I had a hunch, something strange was happening.

…

"What did you say? “Oh, you can’t hear anything.” Say hung up the phone when he didn't hear Singha respond on the other end of the line. He thought that the signal might be failing, because this room he was in was isolated, and sometimes that interferes with the signal.

Say was on the examination table in the forensic room. On the table were various equipment and tools, including the tiger-headed doll. One thick hand held a flashlight to illuminate the object, and with the other he held a magnifying glass, to observe the clay doll in front of him. He had previously done only a little research, because he had been called to first inspect the victim's house. Until now he had only deduced that it was a doll made of clay, molded into a human shape, holding a child in its arms. The back of the neck has a kink, probably from when it was made, and a crack caused by the four teenagers who broke it earlier. The head area is different because it is shaped like a tiger's head, which is not very flattering, but…

“What the fuck?” Say muttered as he used a magnifying glass to look inside the body. He found a small mark, something that made him stare at Akaloy. Suddenly, the lights in the room turned on for no reason, causing Say to raise her hands and lower her wrist to stand up and look at the light switch. He reached out and turned it off and on again, and the light returned to normal. But as Say was about to sit back down, something happened. A loud noise was heard coming from the adjacent autopsy room.

"What was that?" , he said curiously. Something that Say didn't know was that there was a belief that if you hear someone talking to you in the middle of the night...

Don't answer him.

Do not scream.

Do not speak.

Say entered the autopsy room and found the door of a morgue cabinet was opening, so he entered without any fear and closed it, after seeing that it was not in use. But then, the once bright lights began to flicker again.

“What happens to the light?” Say muttered to himself as he looked up at the light bulb. And when he looked back into the cabinet, he found that there was a shadow inside, when it was supposed to be empty, Say slowly leaned over to look while the light flashed more frequently again. When the light turned on, he could only see an empty cabinet. Until the light went out completely, and then, what Say saw was a pair of white eyes looking at him.

Cut the thread, cut the thread, cut the thread, cut the thread

A voice repeated this over and over, causing Say to frown before unconsciously releasing his hand from the cabinet door. He slowly opened it again because he couldn't believe his eyes since every time the light turned on, the cabinet was still empty, but when the lights went off, he would immediately see those eyes and that smug smile.

“Cut it, cut it, cut it.”

The lights that used to flash rapidly were completely off, but the light from outside could be seen peeking through the door. Say stared ahead, heart racing, anxiety level like never before. The sound of the morgue door slamming shut caused a loud noise, before another sound like several bones breaking was heard, along with the crunch of skin dragging on the floor.

“He, he, he, cut it, cut it, cut the thread, you'll see what happens.”

"Shit!!!" In just a split second, Say's ankle was grabbed, and because of this, he fell to the ground. Then he was dragged to the front of the cabinet and was beginning to want to get him inside. Say felt even more fear in his heart because it seemed like he would die.

Just as he was struggling to escape his invisible restraints, the door to the room opened and a bright light streamed in. He felt the force that imprisoned his body and made him feel numb fading, as did the strong stench that filled his nostrils.

The cold atmosphere disappeared, including the lights that were once off, as the light suddenly turned on again.

August ran and helped his friend get the lower half of his body out of the cabinet, and ended up carrying him out of the room. They both looked at each other without saying a word, they sat on the floor, exhausted.

“We have things to talk about.” August was the first to start the conversation, “starting with the incident just now.”

Say was lying on the ground trying to adjust his rapid breathing to return to his usual calm, “Call Darin and tell him to come here. “I’ll go find King.”

“Don't tell me it's about that story. What kind of crazy ghost is that?”

“With what just happened to you, what do you think?”

“Damn bastard! “It was terrifying, what a headache.”

"Oh, I understand you."

Thup sat and watched the two elders confide in each other as they lay on the floor of the autopsy room. He looked up and looked at the morgue door that was still open. And the only thing he saw were eyes and a smile that little by little faded and disappeared into the darkness inside the cabinet.