It was another dismal, wet evening. The rain didn't seem to want to stop and all the nuns sat huddled in one corner of the kitchen where it was warmer. Ning and I too sat near the stove trying to keep warm. It was very boring indeed until Ah Siew Kor, one of the younger nuns suddenly remembered that she had a video about the adventures of a cat and asked whether we wanted to see it. "It's quite funny," she said. Well, since there was nothing better to do, she set up the video for us and left us to enjoy it.
Milo, the star of the show, was a handsome tabby. He had somehow got lost in a forest and couldn't find his way out. Suddenly it started to rain heavily. He spotted an old house not too far away and decided to take shelter there. It was quite dilapidated inside but he managed to find a dry corner and curled up on a stack of old rags. Outside the thunder boomed and the wind howled but that didn't bother him. Soon he was fast asleep.
"What's so funny about this video?" yawned Ning. "It's been pretty slow and dull so far."
Even as he spoke, the scene changed. I felt a shiver run down my spine as a ghostly shadow emerged from somewhere and hovered over Milo. It let out an eerie howl but that didn't bother Milo. He slept on. Another howl, this time louder. Still Milo slept on. Then it extended a bony hand and gripped one of Milo's legs. Milo opened his eyes, shook off the ghostly hand and went back to sleep.
"He certainly is brave," I gasped.
Now the ghostly figure seeing that it could do nothing to frighten Milo, suddenly grabbed him, hurled him up in the air, spun him round, then threw him down onto the ground. This time Milo was really mad. He got up and growled, "Hey you, stop that nonsense! I don't like it when my sleep is disturbed!" He lunged at the ghost, flew right through him and landed with a loud thud on the floor. Our eerie friend laughed, then with a terrifying scream grabbed Milo and ......pop! Suddenly the lights in the room went out.
"Hey, just when it was getting exciting," exclaimed Ning. One of the nuns went to see whether she could put the lights back on and after a few minutes, it did come on. But strangely, the video could not play. Ah Siew Kor took nearly half an hour before she could get it going again.
"What happened, what happened?" asked an excited Ning.
There were a lot of lines all over the screen before the movie finally came back. And what we saw was terrifying. There, suspended from the roof, was a very dead Milo. His body had been cut open and all its entrails were hanging out .....
"OMG!" I screamed and shut my eyes in horror. Ning was equally stunned and could not say a word. Ah Siew Kor was even more stunned.
"That's not my video," she said. "Mine is a cartoon, not a horror movie." She then checked the cover of the video which bore the words "Happy Cat Cartoons" and said, "The video you saw must have got mixed up with mine. Where did that horror movie come from? I've never seen it before ...." It was indeed a mystery.
"Let's play it again, right from the beginning," suggested Ning.
It was a good idea and Ah Siew Kor did just that. We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw nothing but cartoons. No Milo, no ghost, no haunted house. We all went to bed quite puzzled especially poor Ah Siew Kor.
As for me, I couldn't sleep that night thinking not only about the mysterious video but also that gruesome scene before the blackout. Just as I was about to fall asleep, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and was shocked to see Milo from the horror movie! I'm having a nightmare, I muttered to myself but he was as large as life and standing next to my basket!
"Da (how did he know my name?), you've got to do something to save the cats in the neighbourhood!" he whispered in a quivering voice.
"What?" I gasped, sitting up.
"That ghost! It's killing all those cats in the forest! I'm not the first victim, you've got to destroy it and save all the other cats!"
"Ghost? You... you mean the one in the video? That was not just a movie?" I gasped.
"Of course not! I changed the cartoons in the video so that you could see what happened to me!"
"Wait a minute. Are you saying that that horror movie was for real and that you're Milo, the cat that got killed .... which means I'm talking to a ghost?" I asked incredulously.
Milo nodded his head.
"I don't believe it! Hey, is this a joke? You don't look like a ghost to me!" I said.
Milo sighed sadly. "Look, if you can't and won't believe me, I shall have to find someone else to help."
I didn't know what to think. Everything had happened so fast!
"The haunted house is down by the river where it merges with another stream," continued Milo. "You've got a good, kind heart, Da. Please, for the sake of our present and future generation, I beg you to go there and save our fellow cats. I've got to go now......." and he walked through the kitchen wall and disappeared right before my eyes! I gulped. If that wasn't proof enough that he was a ghost, I didn't know what other proof I needed!
Da Meets Ghost
So there I was, hiding under a small table, waiting for the ghost to appear. The house was dark and damp and reeked a foul smell. Cobwebs covered the ceiling and bits and pieces of skeleton lay scattered all over the floor. It was enough to make me want to run! What had I got myself into again! I hadn't told Head Nun nor Ning that I would be coming here. Ning would have scolded me for being swayed again by a heart too full of compassion and Head Nun would have forbidden me to go but Milo was right, I just couldn't stand by and allow our fellow cats to be murdered one by one. I had nothing to defend myself against the ghost and I was beginning to think how foolish I was. I only had Lord Buddha to protect me, so I began chanting a mantra silently in my heart.
Then I heard that eerie howl. It came nearer and nearer to me, then a voice said, "I'm Ghost, I have been waiting for you to come!"
I was taken aback. Waiting for me to come? How could that be? And that voice sounded very much like any human's voice. I began to think that it wasn't a ghost but someone who had escaped from an asylum and was terrorizing the cats. I decided to come out of hiding and take the bull by the horns, so to speak. I snapped angrily, "Look, I don't know what you're up to but you don't scare me. Take off that sheet and stop fooling around! You're not a ghost for sure!"
I wasn't prepared for what happened next. Ghost stared at me, then burst into tears .... boo hoo!
"I'm not fooling around, I'm truly a ghost .... boo hoo ...."
Oh no, two ghosts at one time, it was really too much to take.
It continued, "A little bird told me you're some kind of hero and can save lost and helpless souls. Please, you've got to help me! I have been cursed by a demon, after midnight I become a monster and kill every cat in sight. Believe me, I don't want to kill all those cats but I cannot control myself. Look, if you don't believe I'm a ghost, why don't you try to touch me?"
I gingerly stretched out my paw and it went right through its "body". Ghosts don't have bodies, at least that's what they say.
"Now are you convinced I'm a ghost?"
I sat down wearily and said, "So you're a ghost but I don't know how I can help you."
Ghost started weeping again. I was lost for words and my mind suddenly went blank. I certainly wasn't prepared for all this!
"Well," I said finally. "Only the Lord Buddha can help you, not me. I shall start chanting His mantras, only He can remove the curse."
Ghost floated above me and listened as I chanted. I went on throughout the night and must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes, there was a streak of weak sunshine coming from one of the windows, and to my amazement I found I was surrounded by dozens of cats and Milo was one of them!
"Milo," I cried. "Where did all these cats come from? And where is Ghost?"
Milo came up to me and hugged me. "You did it!" he cried.
"What?"
"You did it! You have saved us! All these cats you see here had been killed by the ghost but thanks to you, they have all been returned to life, including me!"
"But what about Ghost? Where is it?"
"It said the prayers you chanted have removed the demon's curse! It has returned peacefully to where it belongs," said Milo. "Thank you so much, Da!" The other cats also crowded round me to give their thanks but as I told them, it was Lord Buddha who saved them, not me.
Once again, I had an incredible story to tell Ning and Head Nun, and of course poor Ah Siew Kor. Little did she dream that her "Happy Cat Cartoons" would one day save the lives of so many cats in the neighbourhood!
Milo, the star of the show, was a handsome tabby. He had somehow got lost in a forest and couldn't find his way out. Suddenly it started to rain heavily. He spotted an old house not too far away and decided to take shelter there. It was quite dilapidated inside but he managed to find a dry corner and curled up on a stack of old rags. Outside the thunder boomed and the wind howled but that didn't bother him. Soon he was fast asleep.
"What's so funny about this video?" yawned Ning. "It's been pretty slow and dull so far."
Even as he spoke, the scene changed. I felt a shiver run down my spine as a ghostly shadow emerged from somewhere and hovered over Milo. It let out an eerie howl but that didn't bother Milo. He slept on. Another howl, this time louder. Still Milo slept on. Then it extended a bony hand and gripped one of Milo's legs. Milo opened his eyes, shook off the ghostly hand and went back to sleep.
"He certainly is brave," I gasped.
Now the ghostly figure seeing that it could do nothing to frighten Milo, suddenly grabbed him, hurled him up in the air, spun him round, then threw him down onto the ground. This time Milo was really mad. He got up and growled, "Hey you, stop that nonsense! I don't like it when my sleep is disturbed!" He lunged at the ghost, flew right through him and landed with a loud thud on the floor. Our eerie friend laughed, then with a terrifying scream grabbed Milo and ......pop! Suddenly the lights in the room went out.
"Hey, just when it was getting exciting," exclaimed Ning. One of the nuns went to see whether she could put the lights back on and after a few minutes, it did come on. But strangely, the video could not play. Ah Siew Kor took nearly half an hour before she could get it going again.
"What happened, what happened?" asked an excited Ning.
There were a lot of lines all over the screen before the movie finally came back. And what we saw was terrifying. There, suspended from the roof, was a very dead Milo. His body had been cut open and all its entrails were hanging out .....
"OMG!" I screamed and shut my eyes in horror. Ning was equally stunned and could not say a word. Ah Siew Kor was even more stunned.
"That's not my video," she said. "Mine is a cartoon, not a horror movie." She then checked the cover of the video which bore the words "Happy Cat Cartoons" and said, "The video you saw must have got mixed up with mine. Where did that horror movie come from? I've never seen it before ...." It was indeed a mystery.
"Let's play it again, right from the beginning," suggested Ning.
It was a good idea and Ah Siew Kor did just that. We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw nothing but cartoons. No Milo, no ghost, no haunted house. We all went to bed quite puzzled especially poor Ah Siew Kor.
As for me, I couldn't sleep that night thinking not only about the mysterious video but also that gruesome scene before the blackout. Just as I was about to fall asleep, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and was shocked to see Milo from the horror movie! I'm having a nightmare, I muttered to myself but he was as large as life and standing next to my basket!
"Da (how did he know my name?), you've got to do something to save the cats in the neighbourhood!" he whispered in a quivering voice.
"What?" I gasped, sitting up.
"That ghost! It's killing all those cats in the forest! I'm not the first victim, you've got to destroy it and save all the other cats!"
"Ghost? You... you mean the one in the video? That was not just a movie?" I gasped.
"Of course not! I changed the cartoons in the video so that you could see what happened to me!"
"Wait a minute. Are you saying that that horror movie was for real and that you're Milo, the cat that got killed .... which means I'm talking to a ghost?" I asked incredulously.
Milo nodded his head.
"I don't believe it! Hey, is this a joke? You don't look like a ghost to me!" I said.
Milo sighed sadly. "Look, if you can't and won't believe me, I shall have to find someone else to help."
I didn't know what to think. Everything had happened so fast!
"The haunted house is down by the river where it merges with another stream," continued Milo. "You've got a good, kind heart, Da. Please, for the sake of our present and future generation, I beg you to go there and save our fellow cats. I've got to go now......." and he walked through the kitchen wall and disappeared right before my eyes! I gulped. If that wasn't proof enough that he was a ghost, I didn't know what other proof I needed!
Da Meets Ghost
So there I was, hiding under a small table, waiting for the ghost to appear. The house was dark and damp and reeked a foul smell. Cobwebs covered the ceiling and bits and pieces of skeleton lay scattered all over the floor. It was enough to make me want to run! What had I got myself into again! I hadn't told Head Nun nor Ning that I would be coming here. Ning would have scolded me for being swayed again by a heart too full of compassion and Head Nun would have forbidden me to go but Milo was right, I just couldn't stand by and allow our fellow cats to be murdered one by one. I had nothing to defend myself against the ghost and I was beginning to think how foolish I was. I only had Lord Buddha to protect me, so I began chanting a mantra silently in my heart.
Then I heard that eerie howl. It came nearer and nearer to me, then a voice said, "I'm Ghost, I have been waiting for you to come!"
I was taken aback. Waiting for me to come? How could that be? And that voice sounded very much like any human's voice. I began to think that it wasn't a ghost but someone who had escaped from an asylum and was terrorizing the cats. I decided to come out of hiding and take the bull by the horns, so to speak. I snapped angrily, "Look, I don't know what you're up to but you don't scare me. Take off that sheet and stop fooling around! You're not a ghost for sure!"
I wasn't prepared for what happened next. Ghost stared at me, then burst into tears .... boo hoo!
"I'm not fooling around, I'm truly a ghost .... boo hoo ...."
Oh no, two ghosts at one time, it was really too much to take.
It continued, "A little bird told me you're some kind of hero and can save lost and helpless souls. Please, you've got to help me! I have been cursed by a demon, after midnight I become a monster and kill every cat in sight. Believe me, I don't want to kill all those cats but I cannot control myself. Look, if you don't believe I'm a ghost, why don't you try to touch me?"
I gingerly stretched out my paw and it went right through its "body". Ghosts don't have bodies, at least that's what they say.
"Now are you convinced I'm a ghost?"
I sat down wearily and said, "So you're a ghost but I don't know how I can help you."
Ghost started weeping again. I was lost for words and my mind suddenly went blank. I certainly wasn't prepared for all this!
"Well," I said finally. "Only the Lord Buddha can help you, not me. I shall start chanting His mantras, only He can remove the curse."
"Milo," I cried. "Where did all these cats come from? And where is Ghost?"
Milo came up to me and hugged me. "You did it!" he cried.
"What?"
"You did it! You have saved us! All these cats you see here had been killed by the ghost but thanks to you, they have all been returned to life, including me!"
"But what about Ghost? Where is it?"
"It said the prayers you chanted have removed the demon's curse! It has returned peacefully to where it belongs," said Milo. "Thank you so much, Da!" The other cats also crowded round me to give their thanks but as I told them, it was Lord Buddha who saved them, not me.
Once again, I had an incredible story to tell Ning and Head Nun, and of course poor Ah Siew Kor. Little did she dream that her "Happy Cat Cartoons" would one day save the lives of so many cats in the neighbourhood!
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