Echoes of the Unseen

Part 1

Laura Kong relished university life. The 19-year-old undergraduate’s fixation on accents and imitating them had been a constant feature of her childhood. So interested was the young college goer on accents that she decided on being an interpreter as a career.

Traveling was another of Laura’s undying interests. So when the Professor of Linguistics offered the opportunity for some students to travel to a remote town to research an ancient dialect that would disappear if no one taught it to future generations, the young student jumped on the bandwagon.

This dialect, in particular, intrigued the inquisitive and free-spirited 19-year-old. Linguists deemed it to have unique mimicking abilities. Mimicking abilities associated with the mystery that would intrigue every 19-year-old.

Part 2

The young lady arrived in the remote, ancient town of Mi (Secret), a part of a remote Southern Chinese Province. She and an attractive, boyish classmate Michael Sim received directions that took them to a tiny, white-walled cottage on the outskirts of the town. Its arched windows and trimmed vines suggested care and maintenance, which was unusual for such a remote area.

“Hey, this doesn’t look abandoned,” Laura started at its Hansel-and-Gretel-like facade.

She turned to Mike, who had been at the wheel of an old, grey, and somewhat cantankerous Mazda the entire time. “Are you sure we’re at the right address?”

Mike stared at the map in front of him rather sheepishly. “I think I took a wrong turn earlier,” Eager to placate a fellow student he was eager to date, he tried to make light of the situation. “At least it looks liveable, right? Perhaps we can spend the night here. The nearest hotel’s some way away,” He consulted the map, then gazed at the attractive Chinese girl-next-door before him. “You know, just the two of us.”

“Alright, just until we have enough energy to find our feet,” Laura acquiesed, then gave Mike a hard look. “In separate rooms. I still have a mother to account to, you know.”

“Okay, okay,” Mike threw up his hands in playful surrender. “Let’s just get in there.”

The two of them gathered their rucksacks and threw the front door open. The cottage was somewhat dark – Laura fumbled for a switch by the main door. To her amazement, it actually connected to an electrical source.

With the lights on, the two took a few tentative steps into the living room. The small space was historic, yet cozy, with rosewood, antique chairs that were strangely inviting. Similarly, the bedrooms revealed comfortable rosewood beds, all made, complete with soft pillows and blankets.

“Strange. The door was unlocked, as if the place is welcoming us,” Mike uttered thoughtfully, “I say we accept the invitation, don’t you?’

Laura was nonchalant. She just wanted to get on with the research. “Why not. The place is liveable enough, and we can save on hotel rooms.” She gazed outside the window. “The town square may be some way away, but I think we can get there within a couple of hours if we leave early tomorrow. Alright, let’s spend the night here,” she carefully placed her rucksack on an oldish bedside table, still in good condition.

Mike looked at her hopefully.

“Take the next room please,” her voice rose assertively. Mike again threw up his hands. “Ok madam, whatever you say,” he carried his own to the adjoining room and left Laura to survey her surroundings.

Laura’s eyes swept over the room. It was old, for sure, but not decrepit, and there WAS electricity. It would suffice for the next few days.

Part 3

“Laura…Laura…” Laura woke with a start to the urgent tone of a female voice. Why would anyone use her name in a town where no one knew her?

She got out of bed and turned on the lights in the rest of the house. A quick walk-through of the premises revealed no one.

Ah well. Perhaps it was just her tiredness or the acoustics of an older home. Either way, she threw herself back into bed.

Part 4

The next day saw Laura and Mike driving their beat-up Mazda into the centre of town, where they sought for directions to its library.

“Le Hou Mou?” She spoke in Cantonese to an elderly man

The local seemed friendly enough. He nodded enthusiastically and pointed the two to a little building that housed a surprising wealth of research material. Mike helped by gathering clippings and other information about the townsfolk and various accents. Laura dutifully photographed the information and kept it in a folder on her laptop.

Laura made it her business to speak to the townsfolk after their library visit. She saw the elderly man she had spoken to earlier and approached him, eager for some insights about the local dialect, accents and perhaps a historical perspective of the house that served as their temporary abode.

Oddly enough, he brushed her aside. She went after him and tapped on his shoulder. He turned to her, somewhat aggressively. “Look, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get out of there as fast as you can.”

“But why?” Laura egged him on. “It seems comfortable enough.”

The silver-haired senior stared at her incredulously and pointed to the library. “You must’ve found something out there. Don’t you know about the people who’ve disappeared? And there’s something else -“

Laura tapped her foot impatiently. Mike, ever the dutiful sidekick, pointed a recorder in front of the old man, who simply stared back at them with equal impatience. “You’ll know if you stay there longer.” He stormed away quickly.

“Well, that was rough,” Laura shrugged her shoulders. “Better luck tomorrow, hopefully.” She and Mike headed off to a nearby teahouse for lunch and hopefully more information from its chef.

Part 5

“Laura! Quick, I need your help,” Laura heard Mike’s voice and shot up like a lightning bolt in bed. She scrambled over to Mike’s room and heard loud snores. She wrung him, hard.

“What is it?” He looked at her, sleepy eyes not quite registering. “Since you won’t keep me company, I’m trying to sleep on my own here.” He yawned. ‘

“No jokes now. Didn’t you just call me and ask for my help?”

Mike looked at her, nonplussed. “No, I didn’t. Why?”

“I clearly heard you. It was you speaking!!” Laura felt her anxiety rise. She looked about, feeling increasingly awkward and tense.

“I was sleeping, Laura, never said anything.” Mike held her shoulders and tried to be reassuring. “Go back to sleep.”

Reluctantly, she headed back to her bedroom but could not get to bed for the rest of the night.

Part Six

“Laura, come home quick, your dad needs you,”

Laura once again woke up, startled. Why was her mother’s voice so clear when she was safe, at home, in another COUNTRY?

The next day, she and Mike went about the centre of town. The young student was determined to get to the bottom, not only of the peoples’ accents, but also of the mystery of the house they were temporary occupants of.

She saw the old man she had met the day before. Strangely enough, he smiled and replied. “This is your home.”

Laura was stunned. “Thank you,” with no other response from him, she approached another elderly lady, who gave her the same odd grin. “This is your home,” she smiled, looked at her, and strolled away.

Mike approached a young boy next. He gave them a similar, affable yet sinister grin. “This is your home.”

The duo looked at each other wordlessly. The responses made no sense. They made their way back to the abandoned house.

That night, Mike came knocking at her bedroom door. “What is it,” Laura grumbled. “Can’t you hear that?” The laughter of children seemed to come from the kitchen.

Laura grimaced. She needed to get to the bottom of this.

Part 7

Laura scoured the bookshelves of the library, scanning the books frantically for some information about the town’s dialect or their temporal abode. There had to be something…

Finally, she came across a little red book hidden in the recesses of one of the shelves. She’d not seen it earlier – it was small. She eagerly opened it and turned its yellowed pages.

“Look Mike,” Mike came over and gazed at the pages over her shoulder. “Sorry, can’t help you, madam, ” He turned to his laptop. “My Chinese isn’t so great.”

“This is a diary written by an ancient Chinese Linguist,” she pointed to the paragraph she was reading. “Says here that the dialect that was  spoken by the locals some decades ago was used to summon an unseen entity that mimicked others’ voices.” She looked up at MIke. “I think you can sense that it’s still here.

“Ok, ” Mike, ever the pragmatist, looked at her squarely. So how do we stop it? I can see you becoming more tense each night we’re here.”

“We’ll have to leave here eventually, of course, ” She intoned resolutely. “But before doing that, the diary advises that we perform this ritual to stop the entity. Or it’ll follow us wherever we go.”

Mike nodded. The carefree young adonis was just as determined to give them, and the townsfolk, some reprieve.

Part 8

Laura steeled herself for an eventful night in their “home.” Mike darkened the room and lit a few candles.

“Alright, I know you can hear me. We want you to leave and not disturb us.”

After a few minutes, she clearly heard herself. “Alright, I know you can hear me. We want you to leave and not disturb us.”

Laura gritted her teeth. “Okay, that’s enough. COME HERE NOW.”

A dark shadow of herself appeared at the door frame.

Laura stood up and raised her hands. The figure did the same.

An abrupt confidence overcame her. Following the directions in the diary, she spoke in the town’s ancient language.

“Qing Le Na Shang Tou,” The words, nothing she or Mike had ever heard, flowed out of her effortlessly.

The shadow at the doorframe froze, its hands mid air. After a while, it vaporized.

Part 9

Laura and Mike spent a last, peaceful night in their dubious host home. They had to pass the centre of town to reach the exit of the province, where they paused for lunch.

They saw the familiar old man, who looked up at them and nodded with a friendly greeting. “Hi, weren’t you the ones who asked for directions to the library a few days ago?” 

“Yes, we were.”

“Well, it’s there,” He pointed to the library building, seemingly oblivious of the entity that had overcome him some two days earlier.

“We know sir, ” Laura smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Glad that you’re ok now.”

The old man looked puzzled. He walked on.

Laura and Mike got into their beat up Mazda and made their way out of town.

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