Waan

The last few weeks had been very quiet. We were all in a lethargic mood and the hot weather didn't help.

Then a pleasant surprise - an unexpected visit from the young monk, Om.  He had not come to the temple for some time and we were very pleased to see him.  Only this time we noticed that he was no longer dressed as a monk but was clad in civilian clothes, and he had a young girl with him.

Om told us, much to our surprise, that he had disrobed because he had fallen in love with Waan, the pretty girl he had brought with him and whom he intended to marry. He said he had met her on his travels and would be returning home for the wedding.  Frankly, I was rather disappointed that he had chosen to give up his monk hood, I remembered he was so earnest and sincere in his spiritual practice.  But it was really none of my business.

We congratulated him and Head Nun gave instructions for lunch to be prepared for them. Om requested that they be allowed to stay the night before leaving the next morning and Head Nun readily agreed. She then asked me to show Waan around the temple.

I was glad to offer my services and took her first to the prayer hall.  She was not very friendly and spoke very little English, in fact there was something about her that made me feel uneasy.

The prayer hall is adorned with huge beautifully decorated mirrors and as we walked past them, I happened to glance up and I found to my shock that I couldn't see Waan's reflection in any of the mirrors!  I blinked and looked again - I could see myself but there was no image of Waan!  I rubbed my eyes several times to make sure there was nothing wrong with my vision.

The girl however was not aware of what I had discovered and went about with a bored expression on her face. Fortunately one of the nuns came in at that moment, announced that lunch was ready and shepherded Waan off to the kitchen.

I remained in the prayer hall and stories of the supernatural that I had heard came to my mind - they said ghosts and spirits do not have reflections and can even swallow humans alive!  Could Waan be a ghost or an evil spirit?  No wonder she made me feel uneasy!  My hair began to stand on end.  I had to tell Head Nun and after lunch was over, I took her to one corner and told her what I had seen (or not seen)!

She looked at me and asked, "Are you sure?"

"As sure as I'm standing here before you, Head Nun," I cried.  "I'm not drunk nor do I need glasses."

"Hmmm.  Alright, don't say anything to anyone.  Remain calm and leave the rest to me." she said.

Head Nun then approached Waan and said she wanted to show her the garden.  There is a small pond there with a few tortoises and I knew it was Head Nun's intention to find out for herself.  They came back in a little while and Head Nun said Waan could rest in the small room next to hers while Om used a spare room at the back of the kitchen.

When they were both safely out of the way, I asked Head Nun what happened.  She looked at me gravely and said, "You're right. How on earth did Om get involved with her!  We've got to do something fast otherwise Om will be in great danger."

"Is she going to eat him?"  I gasped, round eyed.

Head Nun smiled.  "I hope not.  Look, leave this to me, alright?  I'll see you at dinner time."  With that she went into her room and closed the door behind her.

I couldn't do anything the whole afternoon and by the time the dinner gong sounded, I was a mass of jangled nerves. We all sat down at the round table in the kitchen where the food had been laid out.  Head Nun was very courteous and served her guests like royalty.  At the end of the dinner, she announced that she had prepared a special dessert - birds nest soup with rock sugar.  It is a great favourite with everyone and Head Nun personally served the soup.  Of course all this while I could hardly eat or drink and sat as far away from Waan as possible.

As we were tucking into the birds nest soup, we heard a horrible scream.  It was Waan.  Her face had become deathly white, her eyes rolled and she fell to the floor shrieking.  Om ran to her and tried to help her but to no avail.  Then suddenly, in front of our terrified eyes, she vanished completely.  A shocked Om knelt there, unable to move.  The nuns huddled together, too frightened to speak.

Head Nun gently lifted Om up and consoled him.

"You know, Om," she said softly.  "You are very lucky.  The Lord Buddha has saved you from a horrible death.  Your girl friend is a wandering spirit with nowhere to go.  Spirits like her take over the body of a human in order to survive.  They behave like normal human beings but after a while they change bodies. If Vege Cat had not discovered she had no reflection, we would not have known who she really is. She would have taken over your body and you would have been like a zombie.  Earlier this evening, I had prepared a talisman, burnt it and put it in her bowl of birds nest soup. The talisman is very powerful and has sent her back to wherever she came from. You need not fear, she will not return to trouble you."

Om was trembling and could not speak for several minutes, shocked as he was.  It was an unbelievable experience for him to know that the girl he loved was an evil spirit.  He went to bed soon after and left in the morning for home. Several weeks later, we heard that he had gone back to his monastery.  I was very happy for him and hoped he would find peace and solace there.