"We should probably call grandma to ask her how to deal with this situation," suggested Shaun as he grabbed his phone and video-called his grandma, an old Taiwanese lady with snow-white hair tied into a bun, who seemed barely a day over sixty, despite her age being well over eighty. She was in her apartment in Taipei.
"Good morning, Shaun," said the benevolent, old lady in mandarin. "Is everything alright? You look agitated."
Shaun and Blythe explained their situation to their grandma.
"I'm afraid that, this time, you won't be able to handle everything by yourselves," replied the old lady gravely, after hearing their words. "You will have to seek professional assistance from a local monk or priest. Fetus ghosts are the most troublesome of all spirits. One can even classify them as yōkai, a demonic, monstrous creature common in Japanese folklore. Like yōkai, fetus spirits have no discernible shape because they died before they were born, so they were deprived of the right to have a body. That's why they could not go to heaven or reincarnate to their next life. Fetus spirits are more powerful than ordinary spirits, their only weakness is that they are extremely bonded to their mothers. However, if, like in your case, the spirit could not locate its mother, it would start a tantrum like a baby and cause massive destruction."
"That's why Mr Enomoto, who had no connection with Yuki whatsoever, had been killed," muttered Shaun.
"Unlike a normal spirit, which was practically rooted to the surroundings of where it died, fetus spirits do not have a fixed abode, so can roam around freely," continued the grandmother.
"That's why it was able to follow us back to the hotel," thought Blythe.
"The reason why I say fetus ghosts are the hardest to deal with is because they could not communicate with humans. It's a baby, after all," added the grandmother. "Unlike other spirits, one cannot exorcise a fetus ghost, either by force or by its own will. So, a ceremony is often held in which the fetus ghost is enticed into a temple where it resides in a tablet that resembles a baby doll. The doll symbolizes a human's body. Although the body of the doll is made of plastic, it is home for the fetus ghost while it waits to move on to the next life, which may take up to three years."
Therefore, that afternoon, the detectives visited a local shinto shrine near the school, where they sought the assistance of a monk. Like a typical Japanese monk, he wore black clothes with an obi over his shoulders, as well as a large conical hat which covered his eyes. From beneath the conical hat, one could only discern his features from a long, grey beard.
After Shaun and Blythe explained their situation to the old monk, he agreed to help them.
"I see. Indeed, I have noticed the strong yōki radiating from the school after passing by recently," the monk replied in a deep, booming voice. "The Hokoro had been set up by my ancestors, but you mentioned that it has been accidentally damaged. I will perform the necessary ceremonies again to restore the Hokoro."
~To be Continued~
No comments:
Post a Comment