Ghosts, spirits and black magic........Part 5

The next day, I felt better. Slept like a log and woke up fresh and ready for some adventure in Kuantan. There were some shops selling salted fish and dried seafood nearby but I wasn't going to put up with the smell all the way back to Penang. In the end, we didn't do much... just walked around a bit and it was already time to go the jungle!

We arrived early so that we didn't have to trek through the jungle in the dark. But then, come to think of it, we still had to trek through the jungle in the dark when we wanted to leave. Still, one trip in dark was better than two. Heheh!

Noon was waiting for us when we arrived at his house. His mother managed a slight curl on her lips while his two wives (yes, two) were chirping happily among themselves. Noon, as usual was trying to sell us his plants and herbs and told us to wait for nightfall.

A tropical rainforest that's more than a million years old can be quite scary. Even scarier when you are used to the sea breeze, wide open seas and soothing sounds of waves rushing to the shore. I felt like a trapped human in a jungle of old looming trees, thick undergrowth (snakes lurking !!!) insects, hooting noises, crickets and unfamiliar noises from wild animals.

Luckily we already in Noon's little house. Little because where we sat was also where he, his mother, his two wives and his five children slept (with one more on the way). Don't ask me where they do it...... obviously that didn't stop him, hehe!

As the sounds of the jungle began to ease off in my ears, Noon's face froze into a fierce grimace amidst the incense smoke. He took a bunch of leaves and began waving it into the air like he was summoning something. Then he took a sharp metal object that looked like a spearhead to me and slowly smoked it with the incense.

Then, as if to prove to us he was not faking it, suddenly, he cut his arms with the spearhead and stabbed his own chest. No wounds... but I was rather taken aback by it, being the cynical one all this time. Suddenly I realised my mouth was gaping and quickly closed it.

After the show of prowress, Noon spoke with a throaty voice,`This evil spirit is very powerful..... he won't let you go!' He stared at me (why me ???) with piercing eyes. I cleared my throat and pleaded in a small voice, `Datuk, please help us.'

Then suddenly, Noon grabbed his leaves and stood up. He walked towards me and waved the leaves over my head, mumbling something. Outside the house, the wind began to stir. It was cooling at first but that was just the beginning. The wind became stronger and started wailing..... the jungle was silent. Oh c'mon.... thunderstorm now ??? Flash and Boom!!!! Yes, thunderstorm. Wow, I thought, this is so Thailand ghost story scenario......only problem was, I was in it!

Whether it was a coincidence or the battle of the spirits whipped up the weather mayhem, I don't know. But there I was, sitting uncomfortably crossed-legged at the mercy of Noon in trance. I didn't know which was worse. The thunderstorm, the `exorcism' or sitting cross-legged in pain. But then, come to think of it, they all added up to the torture.

By the time Noon finished sweeping his leaves all over me, Tom was about ready to leave in panic, if not for the rain. `Haha!' I thought in mischief, `You wanted to do this so badly, now you have to sit through it yourself! Serve you right!' Then my attention shifted back to Noon.

Well, at least he didn't use the spearhead, I thought. But just as my thought finished, another came in, Oops, said it too early, as I saw Noon reaching for his spearhead. He dipped the spearhead into some oil container... couldn't make out what it was in the semi-darkness, he chanted something and hailed me to move to him.

I crawled my way there and sat, cross-legged, yes, very painful for someone not used to it. Then he put the spearhead over my head and chanted something, sometimes like scolding someone. I kept quiet, looked down and didn't want to think anything. Seemed like my thoughts were going against me all day, so I decided to blank out everything. Finally, he finished his exorcism by circling me with some smoke.

He did the same thing with Tom, who was more at ease because he knew exactly what was going to happen. It was still raining cats and dogs outside...... actually more like monkeys and tigers. At the back of my mind, I was worried that the lighting might strike a tall tree and fall onto the tiny house we were in. Oh no, don't think bad thoughts, not today, not now !!!!

While waiting for the rain to subside, we paid Noon for his services (which was not cheap), but Noon was quite a charmer. He had that salesman in him and when he was not possessed, he was quite a friendly and talkative guy. Again, he was trying to sell us his herbal concoctions for a variety of illnesses. I thought, `Poor fella, he goes into the jungle and searches for all these stuff for days in a row, so I guess it's only common courtesy for us to buy some. Afterall, he has a whole family to feed!' So, we bought some tongkat ali for Andy (who is always interested in some kind of manhood enhancement) and when the rain stopped, we got on our way.

Looking back, seriously, I really don't know whether it was effective or not. All I can say is that, at least it put Tom's mind at ease. That much it did, at the very least. And as for me, well, it was quite an experience. No doubt I didn't feel anything dramatic, like me shivering or talking in ancient languages or spitting out green vomit..... (thank God!)....but I'd rather think of it as paying for a real-life Thailand ghost story adventure and came out safe and sound.

But that was not the case..... when we met Ariya, AY for short...

Look out for my new Label for this series..... The Supernatural World.

Ghosts, spirits & black magic.....Part 4

It was a long way to Kuantan.... Thoughts ran through my mind..... some of it, angry, some, anguish but no fear. Somehow, I was preocccupied with questioning my own sanity and playing a part in this whole charade.

We arrived in a small town about 70km away from Kuantan at about 4.30 a.m. We couldn't call Kak Sal at that hour so decided to wait for her to give directions. To play safe, I parked the car near a police station and took a quick nap.

At day break, the town began to stir and I was still drowsy when Tom managed to get hold of Kak Sal. After washing my face at a nearby coffeeshop, off we went to Kuantan.

We met Kak Sal and her brother, Zaim and they took us to their house. It was an interesting house, next to a plantation. After a quick bath and breakfast, we left for the BMH's house. Before that, we had to do some shopping. Apparently, it was considered rude to go there empty handed. We had to buy 2 kg of sugar, a 10 Kg packet of rice, chocolates, sweets, a tin of Milo and a tin of biscuits. I thought, `Wow.... like Chinese New Year hamper' !!!

After 2 hours of driving (yes, 2 hours into some remote road), we reached the place. It is a settlement for `Orang Asli', the aborigines of Peninsular Malaysia. My stomach turned and I started to get worried.

When we got down from the car, I could see and even feel eyes staring. They don't quite like visitors, it seems. We had to walk into the jungle and finally reached a small hut. There was an old woman sitting on a small stool, smoking rolled tobacco.. .she stared at us with suspicious eyes. Zaim flashed a big smile and showed her our goodies and her face mellowed. Then he cautiously walked towards her and asked for her son, Noon.

`Noon is collecting herbs and wood', she said. `Wait!'

I tried to put on a cordial smile and whispered to Tom, `Are you sure about this ? This is really spooking me out !' Tom looked worried too but he put up a brave front and said, `We drove all the way here, maybe they can help, ok ?'

`Yes, too late to back out now', I thought. About an hour later, a boy ran out from the jungle and announced that Noon was back. I heaved a sigh of relief but at the same time, worried that he might be even fiercer than his mother. Surprisingly, he was very friendly.

We could not get down to business straight away, it's considered rude. We had to talk about the weather, the beautiful jungle (excuse me, I didn't sleep the whole night!!!), his wild orchid collection, his fern collection, his tongkat ali (an aphrodisiac herb) which was for sale. To be fair to him and being an avid gardener, I did find his fern collection fascinating.

Finally, after an hour or so of appreciation, cordial talks and lots of smiling, we got down to business. I did't mean to be a fake but I was tired, sleepy and I was trying my best to be nice cos I didn't want to be the jerk there.


We sat in the hut in a circle and Noon was in the middle. Soon, smoke from the `kemenyan' (incense) filled the room....Noon's eyes rolled, his body and head began to shake and in a hoarse voice, he began to talk.....

Tom's face paled and I could see him shudder, but, I wasn't scared. Being Chinese, I've had my fair dose of mediums in Chinese temples during festivals, so it looked perfectly normal to me.

But his voice gave me chills.... it was throaty, hoarse and hissing. `Apa... hajat... kamu ?', he croaked.(What do you want?) Everyone looked at me and I gave that `Why are you guys looking at me for ??? Hello, I'm just the driver !!!'

obviously Tom panicked. He hissed,` Say something !!!'

`Err....er...Datuk! Ada orang mau bunuh saya ka ?' (Datuk, someone wants to kill me,is that true ?' The moment I blurted it out, I told myself....Oops, that didn't come out right, did it ? At that time, I didn't know whether to laugh out loud for being so stupid or feel embarassed for being so dumb.

Anyway Noon stared at the incense burner and gave a loud, `Hmmmm !!!' He closed his eyes and started waving a bunch of leaves, mumbling something which I could not make out.

I tried to school my expression to look serious and concerned. My mind was multi-tasking at that time, deciding whether this was a con job, trying to make sense of what was going on, trying to figure out why he did that, wondering what spirit had entered Noon, if, there was one in the first place, wondering if it was a good or evil spirit, wondering what he was going to do next, wondering how how much his ferns would cost, wondering how much he would charge for his services..... Oh gosh!!!

Then he stopped. `You have lots of enemies', he said. Hmmm... I wondered. `They want to put you out of business and if that doesn't happen, you have to die' Woah, this is serious business.

I went blank for a while but quickly composed myself and asked Noon,` Can you remove it for me ?'

`Yes, but not today. Come back tomorrow.' And with that, Noon came out of his trance....