Goddess Bless You From Death

Case File 14.

The young detective stood before James's house, the first victim in this disappearance case. The family's sobbing intermittently echoed from the front of the house. This townhouse was not very large, so neighbours had gathered to watch, prompting him to have his subordinates keep them away.

"Boss, we're ready."

"Alright," King replied, entering the house and carefully observing everything. Suddenly, his shoulder was roughly bumped. The only person who would dare to do that was none other than-

"Such a hurdle!" Sei said as he walked past him.

"If you're just going to stand there posing, do it outside!" added Darin.

"Don't let anyone into the house until the forensics team is done," King said, shaking his head slightly, unbothered by their remarks, before turning to give orders to the others.

"Understood, sir."

"Also, look for a clay figurine with an animal head. Notify me if anyone finds it."

"Yes, sir."

King followed Darin and Sei upstairs. According to James's parents, no one had entered their son's bedroom since the incident, so all evidence should still be intact.

Sei opened the door on the left. As soon as the door cracked open, a putrid stench wafted out, causing all three of them to turn away.

Sei pushed the door fully open and looked inside. Once the foul smell had gradually dissipated, he turned to Darin, who was clutching his arm, signalling her to let go. However, as close friends for years, the only woman in the room punched him on the arm with all her might.

"I'm not letting go until I'm sure there's nothing in there."

"And how am I supposed to investigate, ma'am?"

"You go in first, then we'll see."

"Still afraid of ghosts?" King asked

"Mind your own business, Detective."

"Did you just tell him to mind his own business? Isn't that a bit harsh?" Sei feigned surprise, then walked into the victim's bedroom, ignoring King's chuckle behind him.

The bedroom resembled that of a typical teenager, with nothing unusual about it. Darin let go of Sei's arm and looked around, rubbing her own arms.

"Don't you feel chill? Like goosebumps?" She turned to ask Sei, who was walking, to open the curtains. Although the room appeared normal, it was devoid of light, both stuffy and damp, making it difficult to breathe comfortably.

"If the deceased left home before disappearing, there wouldn't be much evidence here," King said, taking a book off the shelf to take a look.

"Did Singha mention anything about the doll?"

"The clay doll?"

"Yes."

"He sent one for examination."

"What's the doll you're talking about?" Darin looked back and forth between King and Sei, who both focused on their tasks, refraining from eye contact.

"The clay doll with a tiger's head," the young detective explained.

"The clay doll?"

"He said to look for them in each victim's house. If found, bring them back to the station."

"What's with that doll?" Darin muttered as she continued to search the room. She walked to the bed but then immediately covered her nose-the stench of decay was overwhelming. Determined to locate its source, Darin lifted the bolster and the quilt. Suddenly, she felt like someone was watching her. When she looked towards the headboard, she saw nothing, so she began to pick up the pillows one by one.

'Hee, hee!

A faint laugh came from the headboard, causing Darin to freeze mid-motion as she lifted the pillow and slowly turned to look at it again. She was sure she hadn't imagined it, but saw no one there. Making a fuss would only make Sei scold her.

"H-Hey... D-Did you hear anything?"

"Hear what?"

"Oh, nothing," Darin pressed her lip together and looked at the bed again. "Sathu! I'm here to help, not to harm. Please don't haunt me."

She mumbled softly to herself while raising her hands in a prayer-like gesture to her forehead. She took a deep breath to steady herself before switching from searching on the bed to searching under it. She turned on her flashlight and shone it under the bed, the beam slowly moving from the headboard to the middle and finally to the foot of the bed. Her eyes fell upon a clay doll, positioned to face her, with a twisted body and a head that was...

"A lion?"

Bang!!!

The lights in the room suddenly went out with a loud slamming of the door. The curtains also fell, plunging the entire room back into darkness once again. Only the beams from Darin's and Sei's flashlights continued to illuminate. Startled, Darin quickly looked around. When she saw that the situation was becoming increasingly strange, she turned back to look under the bed to grab it and make a quick escape. But as she turned back, what lay under the bed was not just the clay doll anymore. Instead, the pale face of a young woman appeared right in front of her. 

The young woman's face was ghostly white, with eyes so hollow that you could see right through to the inside. Her pale, thin lips slowly formed a smirk aimed at Darin. From lips that were of normal human size, they gradually extended into a long, jagged tear that reached up to the earlobe. Her face was mere inches from Darin's, tilting slightly as it gazed at her.

“Take it! If you want it, take it!'

The clay doll was pushed towards Darin by a pale hand. She felt like she was unable to breathe, as if she wanted to cry out, but no sound would come out. Tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking them wet, yet she found herself unable to raise her hands to wipe them away.

'Hee, hee! Take it! Take me with you!'

As the terrifying face was about to approach, her ankles were grabbed, pulling her entirely into the light again.

"Why are you crying?" Sei asked in shock. He had opened the curtains and seen Darin under the bed for too long without moving, so he chose to pull her out.

Darin felt a weight lift from her body. She quickly got up and ran out of the room, ignoring the calls from the two men behind her.

"What's wrong with her?" Sei muttered, looking under the bed and shining his flashlight. He found a doll, placed it in an evidence bag, and left the room, as there was no more evidence to gather.

"That's the doll Singh mentioned"

"Aha."

"Then, there might be similar ones in other victims' houses." The two left the house, and King went to talk to the victim's family. Meanwhile, Sei headed to the car, where he found his friend sitting inside, her face shocked.

"What's wrong with y-"

"Throw it away," Darin said before glancing at the evidence bag in Sei's hand. " Throw it away, Sei! Get rid of that doll! Otherwise, I'm leaving myself!"

"What's wrong with you?"

"If I told you I saw a ghost, would you believe me? If I said this doll was weird, what would you say? So please, Sei, just leave it with the forensics van. Then take me to a temple, please." 

Normally, Sei would scold her for such nonsense, but seeing Darin genuinely terrified, with her face showing unmistakable fear and anxiety, he couldn't bring himself to do so.

"Alright, wait a moment." Sei left the car, placed the lion-head doll in the forensics van, and instructed them to put it on his desk when they got back and to head to the next victim's house in advance. He returned to the car, raising his hands to show. 

Darin. "It's gone. Happy? Which temple do you wanna visit? You want to go now?"

"Yeah, any nearby one. Just a quick visit."

"Alright, alright." Sei drove out of the neighbourhood towards a temple he had passed earlier. If he remembered correctly, its name was Santidhamwararam Temple. King, in the meantime, questioned James's parents and sister about the doll's origin and how it had ended up under the bed.

"Hic... Did you find anything, Officer?" James' mother sobbed, her eyes swollen and red from the loss of her son.

"We found nothing unusual except for the doll under the bed."

"The doll? What kind?" James' father, who was supporting his wife, asked with curiosity.

"The clay doll with a lion's head. Do you recognise it or know where he took it from?"

"I don't know, but before he disappeared, he was acting strange, locking himself in his room. He hardly ate, and when he did, he would vomit. My wife and I thought it was because he was stressed about his university entrance exams, so we tried to leave some light meals in front of his room."

"Was there any strange behaviour or any unusual people he met before this?"

Both James's parents shook their heads, hugging each other tightly, but his sister, who was standing with them, looked like she had something to say. 

"Do you have anything to tell me?"

"Well... Before this, James had told me he was afraid he wouldn't get into the program he wanted. He said he was considering taking a vow. I don’t know if he would actually do it, so I didn’t stop him. One night, I came downstairs in the middle of the night and saw him standing facing the wall, muttering something. When I got closer, I realised it was...a chant."

[In this context, it refers to the act of making a vow or pledge to a deity, sacred entity, or spirit, requesting their assistance with a particular issue or desire.]

"A chant?" King asked again.

"What kind of chant?" James's father inquired.

"I don't remember all of it, but I do remember the first part."

"What did it say?" King asked, taking out a notebook to jot down the information.

"Ji Jaruni Jittang Jetasikang Rupang... That's what I heard," King jotted down what James's sister had told him. As he finished writing, a sudden gust of wind blew, making him turn to look at the second-floor window. In the brief moment when the thin, white curtain fluttered, a shadowy figure of a woman appeared, staring down at him. But as the curtain moved again, the woman vanished.

"Thank you for your cooperation. If there are any updates, I'll let you know," King said, bidding farewell before instructing his team to head to the next house. Even though he still felt uneasy about everything that had happened in this case.

A luxurious white car pulled up in front of the ubosot at Santidhammararam Temple. As soon as Sei turned off the engine, Darin quickly opened the door and got out, hurrying inside to kneel and pay her respects to the large golden Buddha statue. She prayed fervently, her actions hurried and frantic, prompting Sei, who followed her in, to comment.

"Your tongue gets all tied up! Do you think the Buddha will understand your chant?" Sei asked before sitting down beside her.

"I don't care! I just need something to hold on to right now. Namo Tassa Pakavato..."

"Are you here to make merit?" The muffled voice from behind made them both turn around.

"Luang Por! I'm here for merit-making! I've... I've just seen a ghost! What should I do? Are there ghosts following me? Can you please sprinkle holy water for me?" Darin hurriedly spoke with urgency.

An elderly monk, around sixty years old, smiled kindly as he entered the hall and took a seat on a monastic cushion in front of them.

"Calm down. Ghosts are often referred to as the spirits of deceased individuals, and spirits are the souls of deceased individuals. The dead are lifeless; how can they follow anyone?"

"But I really saw one! It was a terrifying woman."

"Alright, I'll sprinkle some holy water to bring back your Kwan? No matter what you encountered. Put your hands together." Darin quickly clasped her hands in prayer and bowed her head. The cool water dripped onto her skin, soothing her agitated mind. She sighed in relief, prayed, and touched her forehead to the ground. "There, it's done. Now, where are you from?"

"A nearby village, Luang Por."

"Do you live there?"

"No, we are forensic investigators here to work on a case."

"I see."

"How long have you been here, Luang Por?"

"Many years. I am the abbot here."

"Oh, that's great! I'll be back often for blessings. Recently, I've been dealing with so many strange things."

"Keep doing good deeds. When you have free time, come and meditate or have a meditation walk here."

"Understood," Darin responded. After a brief conversation, she excused herself. As she was leaving, she noticed Buddha statues representing each day of the week displayed in a nearby pavilion. She decided to make merit by dropping all her coins into the alms bowl in front of the Buddha statue on Wednesday night. She clasped her hands together, praying, "May I not see anything like that again. May my life be smooth and free from disturbances. Sathu!"

After finishing, she returned to the car, feeling calmer. Although still fearful, she believed that making merit and praying would help improve things. Little did she know that not everything could be resolved through merit-making alone…

[The soul, or "Kwan," is an important belief in Thai culture. When the Kwan is lost, the individual succumbs to illness and a weakened mental state. Thus, ceremonies must be performed to preserve or retrieve lost Kwan of individuals. The Buddha images for the days of the week correspond to different days (Monday through Sunday), each associated with a specific Buddha posture. Additionally, Wednesday has two designated images: one for Wednesday morning and another for Wednesday night. It is traditionally believed that people born on Wednesday night may possess heightened intuition or a "sixth sense."]