Khemjira had already reached the end of the pier, but before he could leap off, his entire body was yanked back from behind. His eyes snapped open to his best friend's face.
"Khem! What the fuck are you doing?"
Khemjira looked at Jhettana's panicked face in confusion, then glanced around and realized he was standing at the edge of the balcony.
How did I get here...
Khemjira's eyes widened in horror as he realized what was happening. His legs nearly gave out, but Jhettana was there to steady him.
"Jhet, I...I was dreaming," Khemjira stammered, his voice shaking as he recounted the details of his nightmare. Jhettana, growing more agitated with each word, quickly dragged Khemjira back into the room and locked the balcony door.
"I think the yantra from Por Kru is losing its power," Jhettana said after they sat down on the floor. Khemjira swallowed hard, his ice-cold hands clenched tightly together.
"Normally, Por Kru's simple yantra like this could last for years. This fucking spirit must be a really powerful one," Jhettana continued. Hearing Khemjira recount the woman's voice telling him to go to the pier to make him jump off his balcony, Jhettana was certain it had to be Khemjira's karmic enemy that Por Kru had mentioned.
Khemjira's face turned pale. If Jhettana hadn't woken up in time, who knew what might have happened to him? The mere thought made him want to cry.
"Sorry, Khem. Shit, that was close. If that woman hadn’t woken me up, I mightn't have saved you in time."
Amidst the fear, a question arose. Khemjira furrowed his brows slightly, his eyes still red and swollen.
"Who?"
"Don't know, man. But a woman's voice called my name. When I woke up, I saw you right there on the balcony. I think it must be the spirit of someone looking out for you."
Khemjira's heart raced. There was only one person he could think of, the only significant person no longer alive in this world, someone who'd always cared for him, even in the last seconds of her life.
"That must be my mom..." Khemjira cried out, unable to hold back his tears. He was both terrified by what had happened and relieved that his mother's spirit was still with him.
Jhettana let Khemjira cry for almost ten minutes. Not very good at comforting people, he could only offer tissues to Khemjira to wipe away the tears.
"I'm too scared to sleep now," Khemjira said after he was done crying.
"Yeah, same," Jhettana replied, glancing at the wall clock before continuing, "Let's just watch a movie or something. It'll be morning in two hours. We can sleep on the coach bus."
Khemjira nodded in agreement and didn’t forget to say, "Thanks for saving my life."
Jhettana patted him on the head.
"Don't mention it. Once we get to Ubon Ratchathani, I'll take you straight to Por Kru. He’ll definitely be able to help." Jhettana had a plan. If Por Kru refused to help, he'd distribute Por Kru's phone number to all the young and old ladies in the village.
Jhettana and Khemjira arrived at the university looking sleep-deprived. Upon arrival, they had to wait for the coach and those who hadn’t arrived yet. Unable to bear it any longer, Jhettana dragged Khemjira to buy some coffee.
"I'll have an iced Americano with an extra shot," Jhettana ordered first.
"Sure, and what would you like?" the barista asked Khemjira.
"Iced cocoa, please. Oh, and make it strong," Khemjira replied with a yawn. He was sleepy, too, but coffee was just too bitter for him.
Hearing the order, the barista smiled affectionately at him but made no comments and quickly turned to prepare their drinks.
Once they got their drinks, they walked out of the shop and sat down, watching the upperclassmen and other club members walking back and forth. They'd just finished their drinks by the time they were ready to board the coach.
Jhettana led Khemjira to seats near the back of the coach. He sat by the window and had Khemjira sit by the aisle, fearing that his friend might see something strange during the trip.
After sitting for a while, they couldn't resist the drowsiness any longer. Both of them fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.
As they arrived at the gas station that served as a rest stop, Jhettana suddenly woke up, furrowing his brows as he looked around. He realized that this route wasn’t the one people usually used. Noticing that Khemjira was still asleep, he quietly got up from his seat and approached a staff member who was a senior member of the club, calling her by the name on her name tag.
"Som, why are we taking this route?"
"Oh, Jhet. Well... Prez didn’t want us to arrive too late, or we wouldn’t have enough time for the activities. After discussing with the driver, he suggested this shortcut. He said it’s faster."
Jhettana’s frown deepened, and he said, “But this route is dangerous.”
He wasn’t lying. The road ahead was surrounded by nothing but forest, with no more gas stations to stop at. It was full of sharp curves and narrow, eerie roads. He’d come through this route before with Por Kru, but only in urgent situations. Por Kru would avoid it otherwise… because it was full of spirits.
This road might lead to their destination faster than the main route, but at what cost?
“It’s too late to change anything now, Jhet. I’ll tell the driver to go slow, okay?” Som offered a weak smile, feeling awkward around the son of a politician who was also the main sponsor of the event. They’d made a last-minute decision that morning and hadn’t informed him in advance. She hadn’t expected him to be this upset.
Realizing that further discussion would only stress Som out for no reason and that they were unlikely to change their route now, Jhettana nodded and went to buy some snacks in case Khemjira woke up hungry—and also to keep himself awake because, after this, it’d be impossible for him to sleep now.
As the vehicle entered the forest, the atmosphere began to shift. Jhettana started to see dark, human-like shadows emerging from both sides of the road. But what was even more alarming was the sheer number of them. They were chasing after the vehicle, leaping to cling onto it.
Jhettana jolted when one of the spirits climbed up the window and stopped right in front of him, seemingly looking past him at Khemjira, who was still deep in slumber. Other spirits began to congregate and press against their window.
Jhettana steadied his mind, lips moving silently as he recited a khatha, his gaze fixed intently on the murky black mass before him. “Itisukhato arahang phuttho namophutthaya...”
The dark mass in front of him began to retreat, some darting away, yet new ones continuously emerged. Jhettana chanted the khatha all the way, grateful to himself that he’d bought a large bottle of water; otherwise, his throat would’ve surely dried like a desert.
At that moment, Jhettana was unaware that someone sitting across from him on the other side of the coach was furrowing his brows, looking at him with a mix of suspicion and curiosity.
‘What is he doing? He’s been muttering to himself for almost half an hour now,’ thought Charnvit.
Charnvit knew both Jhettana and Khemjira because they were first-year students in the same club, but they weren’t particularly close. He sat in an aisle seat next to them, which allowed him to clearly see what they were doing.
‘He’s acting like a shaman from those horror movies.’
Then, Charnvit glanced at Khemjira, who was fast asleep. Although he didn’t believe in magic, he found Jhettana’s behavior somewhat untrustworthy.
Jhettana and Khemjira were close, but Khemjira seemed too naive. It was possible that he was being deceived by Jhettana. Charnvit thought he should find a moment to warn him to be cautious around Jhettana.
Just then, Jhettana, who was in the midst of reciting a khatha, forgot his verses when he saw dozens of towering dark shadows staggering out of the forest and into the sky.
“Shit…” Jhettana cursed in disbelief.
Such a large number of ‘pretas’ in broad daylight was something Jhettana had never experienced before in his life.
A sharp, piercing scream rang in his ears, but it seemed like no one else could hear it.
They were following Khem.
Jhettana’s sweat broke out as he quickly recalled Por Kru’s protective khatha and recited it anew. However, it had no effect on the spirits; none of the figures vanished from his line of sight. Some even emerged from the forest, nearly colliding with the car window. A preta that stood blocking the way reached out toward the vehicle. Jhettana raised his arms to defend Khemjira and closed his eyes immediately.
Every action was in the watchful eyes of Charnvit, whose brows remained furrowed.
What’s the meaning of—
Screeeeech!
“Hey, what’s happening!”
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!”
As the car braked abruptly and began to swerve, Jhettana decided to rise from his seat and staggered toward the driver’s area. Charnvit wanted to follow but was held back by a friend sitting next to him, gripping his arm so tightly he couldn’t move. All he could do was watch Jhettana.
Jhettana reached the driver’s area, where the driver and his assistant lay unconscious. The driver’s eyes were wide with shock, his mouth agape, drooling—a sign that his soul had been startled out of his body, probably by the sight of a spirit clinging to the front windshield, which Jhettana saw as nothing more than a murky black shadow shaped like a woman hanging upside down.
Jhettana swiftly removed his own amulet necklace and placed it around the driver’s neck. With one hand, he steadied the steering wheel, and with the other, he held it up in prayer, asking the forest deities to forgive and guide the driver’s soul, or khwan, back to his body. Then, he recited a khatha that he’d just remembered:
“Sapphethawapisachewa alawakathayopiya.”
The dark, murky shadow in front of him writhed for a moment before being swept away by the wind.
Gasp!
The driver’s assistant woke up first, and upon seeing the situation, he cried out in alarm. He bounced up, grabbing the steering wheel from Jhettana, and after shouting to wake the driver a few times, the driver jolted awake in a panic. Together, they slowly managed to steady the swaying car and guide it back into its own lane.
Jhettana gasped for breath, wiping the sweat from his face. Thinking the danger had passed, he turned to head back to his seat, deciding to ask for the amulet necklace—which was his family heirloom—back from the driver once they reached their destination.
“What happened, Jhet?” Khemjira asked, noticing that Jhettana was no longer in his seat when he woke up. The commotion and shouting had jolted him awake, and he quickly realized the coach had been swerving dangerously and had nearly gone off the road.
Jhettana returned to his seat, looking exhausted. “I’ll tell you about it when we get there,” he murmured, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening. Khemjira nodded, making room for him to sit and rest. He handed Jhettana a bottle of water.
“You’re a lifesaver,” Jhettana said, gratefully taking the bottle and nearly finishing it in one go. His throat felt dry from reciting khatha for so long.
Khemjira gently patted his friend on the head. “Well done, Jhet.”
“Do I need to bark now?” Jhettana joked with a tired smirk.
Khemjira laughed, only to receive a playful smack on the head in return. They shared a few lighthearted moments, chatting about other things until they eventually drifted off to sleep. Jhettana reassured Khemjira that they were now safely out of danger.
All the while, their actions were closely observed by Charnvit, who remained silent, still wary and curious.
The coach arrived at a village in Ubon Ratchathani in the late afternoon. As they pulled up, the village chief and a few villagers, whom Jhettana knew well, came out to welcome them, and everyone pitched in to help unload the luggage.
Finding a brief moment when no one seemed to be paying him much attention, Jhettana approached the driver to retrieve his amulet necklace.
“Kid, gotta say thank you so much for your help. Things could’ve turned ugly without you,” the driver, Sorn, said, placing the amulet necklace into Jhettana’s hand. His assistant had already recounted the whole ordeal—how this young man had stepped in to steady the vehicle and even lent his own amulet for protection.
Jhettana nodded and slipped the necklace back around his neck. He then asked, his curiosity piqued, “What did you see, Uncle? Did you realize your khwan left you? I had to call it back for a while.”
Sorn swallowed hard, clutching the Jatukham Rammathep amulet he wore around his neck. He raised it above his head, murmuring a prayer for forgiveness before he finally described what he had seen.
“I saw a woman dressed in traditional Thai clothes, like those of the old slaves,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “She was hanging upside down in front of the car. Her skin was so pale that I could see her veins. Her hair was long and wild, her pupils were tiny, and her dark lips... they twisted into this evil smile.”
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1. Khatha (คาถา): Sacred Pali prayers, mantras, and magical incantations used for protection and warding off spirits.
2. Preta (เปรต): In Buddhist belief, a ghost or restless spirit.
3. Khwan (ขวัญ): The bodiless entity or “soul” believed to exist in each person. When khwan leaves the body due to fear or shock, the person may feel weak or sick, requiring a ritual to call it back.
4. "Itisukhato arahangphuttho namophutthaya..." and "Sapphethawapisachewa alawakathayopiya": Examples of khatha chants Jhettana used to ward off the spirits. The specific phrases carry protective power in Thai spiritual practices.
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