9 Uncle…She is Following Me! Part III

Here came Doctor Aun in front of the morgue!

The door to the morgue was closed. On the right side of Doctor Aun was an empty white wall with a black iron letter on it saying, 'The Mortal Hall'. It was the normal words; however, it gave him an indescribable feeling of horror and fright.

Doctor Aun took a long deep breath in an attempt to console himself. Even though he summoned all the thought that there was nothing to fear, his brain told him that there must be something terrifying in the morgue. Because there was only the dead inside!

The doctor's hand trembled slightly while twisting the doorknob of the morgue. As the door opened, the rusted hinges scratched loudly until his blood ran cold. The smell of formalin for body preservation welcomed him as soon as he opened the door. Doctor Aun calmed himself and opened his eyes to scan the room. Nevertheless, the old man he met hours ago in the ER ward was nowhere to be found, not even his shadow.

This was the first time Doctor Aun had entered the hospital's morgue alone…

There was a spacious open area inside the room. The floor and walls were covered with white tiles that were now yellowish due to the passage of time. One side of the chamber was filled with refrigerated mortuary cabinets along the way. There was a human-sized basin in the center of the room for washing and dressing the corpse before the relatives took the bodies to religious ceremonies.

It was so quiet… so quiet that Doctor Aun could unmistakably hear his breath.

“Is anyone here?” asked the young man, even though he knew there was no one with him. Which was an utterly wrong guess...because he might encounter 'something' that existed but didn't physically appear...who knew!

Bang... Bang... Bang!

Suddenly, a knock rang so loud that Doctor Aun accidentally let out a cry. It roared louder and louder as if someone was trying to break all restraints that had been put on them. The doctor was trying to compose himself and looked for the source of the sound. Until he eventually realized that the sound was thundering from inside the corpse cabinet!

Bang... Bang... Bang!

The sound kept ringing. It was like the person inside wanted to escape from the cabinet. But how was it possible... since the only person in it could no longer breathe? And why would a breathless person wake up and smash the lid of the corpse freezer?!

Even though he told himself that it was a fool, he got goosebumps all over his body. As he took a step back bit by bit to walk out of the morgue, he didn't even think about opening the corpse cabinet. Even though he was a doctor, it was not that he dared to challenge something that hadn't been scientifically proven or what people called a 'ghost.'

However, he didn’t make it to the exit like he hoped as the door of the corpse cabinet suddenly opened by itself. The doctor stood dumbfounded with his stiff legs and widened eyes staring directly at the corpse freezer before him. He wished to close his eyes and thought it was just a dream...a dream in which he secretly fell asleep while on his shift. Wake up, Aun... Wake up... Wake up!

Unfortunately, it was not a dream...it was a reality.

The reality that Doctor Aun needed to face!

And then the unexpected occurred...when there was suddenly a figure of someone gradually crawling out of the cabinet. It was a girl with long hair wearing a maternity dress. Her face was bloodless pale. The girl stood up and stayed still before letting out a bloodcurdling cry. Then she screamed her heart out and used both hands to tear her abdomen off. It revealed that the baby inside was squirming until the blood splashed all over the place.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh…”

The ghost girl screamed as her unborn child burst out. The umbilical cord was still attached to the mother as the child slowly grew and crawled straight to the doctor. The young man's eyes widened with his body trembling. He tried to chant every prayer he could remember; however, he couldn't think of a single word other than 'Help'.

All of a sudden, another door of the corpse freezer burst open. The tray in it slid out until it almost fell to the ground. There was a body lying on her back on a tray. Of course, Doctor Aun didn't want to look at it one bit. However, the pregnant ghost turned around and pulled the corpse's head to face the young doctor. She roared out blaring laughter.

Doctor Aun stood there, eyes wide open, when he saw that person's face...

Classical music spilled in softly...

Doctor Aun found himself standing in the dining room of a luxurious house, a typical house of the wealthy. At the long dining table, there was a dazzling array of food. A beautiful-looking girl named 'Petch' reached out to scoop up a green chicken curry for her husband, who was sitting at the head of the table.

“Today, I made green curry myself, only for you, Trai. Give it a try, I don't know if you will like it or not."

“It must be delicious since it is your cooking.” A young man named 'Traithip' praised her. He swiftly scooped up green curry on his plate and widened his eyes. “It's amazing, Petch. I've never eaten green curry this delicious before.”

“You are overcomplimenting me. I just followed the recipe.”

“Even so, what about you, honey…? I don't see you eat anything. You’re too busy worrying about me. Let’s try this. I've tasted it before...it was nice," said the husband before reaching to give his wife's three-flavored snapper.

“Eat up and stay healthy."

“Got it.” She smiled, about to scoop the three-flavored fish that Traithip put onto a plate for a bite. But then the woman skewed her face while making a fussy nose. “Do you smell something foul, Trai?”

"What's that smell, hon?" Traithip tried to sniff for the smell, his wife said. But then he shook his head in denial.

“There’s no foul smell, Petch."

“There really is. The smell is so stinky… stinky, oops…." Without a word, the woman abruptly shut her mouth and ran out of the dining room. The husband dropped the spoon and ran after Petch. She was throwing up at the sink. So, Traithip rushed in and patted his wife's back until she recovered. After that, he walked her back to lie down on the sofa in the living room.

“What’s wrong, Petch?”

"I don't know either, I felt dizzy all of a sudden."

"Or…" The husband's eyes widened with utmost joy. “You are pregnant!”

“I don’t think so, honey. My monthly cycle is still normal.” Petch's answer immediately made Traithip's face fall. The young man had been trying to have an heir for two years but was unsuccessful. Having a child was his highest dream… and Petch totally understood him.

“Trai, I know how much you want to have children. I want that too. I come to think about it... since we can't have children on our own. Should we consult a doctor? In case there is another way for us.” The wife reached out and held her husband's hand, and Traithip nodded back.

“Then tomorrow I will take you to the hospital for a checkup, Petch. I have a friend who is a doctor in the OB/GYN ward. You might know him too, Doctor Kawee. He should be able to help us, or maybe I’m the problem. I'm going for the checkup too. So, we will finally know.”

“Okay.”

The next morning, Traithip and Petch arrived at a hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department. Just a glance at the entrance door... Doctor Aun immediately recognized that it was the obstetrics and gynecology department of the hospital where he was practicing. The couple walked towards the counter, where a nurse sat with her head bowed. The nurse was dealing with the patient's queue with a very tired look on her face.

"Excuse me, I'm here to see the doctor whom I called to make an appointment with," said Traithip. The young nurse looked up.

“I see… just a moment.”

That nurse was...Nurse Pia!

All of a sudden, those images vanished like electricity had been turned off. It came to light again when the corpse's head lying in the freezer hung and freely swung in front of Doctor Aun.

That corpse's head was Nurse Pia's!

It was impossible! He had just met Nurse Pia at the ward this morning.

The ghost holding the head of the nurse cracked up with laughter. The sound reverberated in his ears until Doctor Aun had to cover his ears with his hands. He closed his eyes and told himself that it wasn't true. He was having a nervous breakdown… or was sleepwalking.

Doctor Aun felt a cold hand touching his shoulder for a split second with his eyes closed. The young man flinched, waking up from his reverie. Sweating until his shirt was wet, he looked around.

“I knew you would come.” The old man's voice rang out with a laugh in his throat before pushing the bed of the dead into the morgue. Doctor Aun, who was still stunned by what he saw just a moment ago, was speechless. After a futile attempt to compose himself, he swept his gaze towards the now sealed corpse freezer. Not a single door was ajar.

“Do you believe me now that there is a woman with you everywhere…every time, Doctor?”

Haven’t given out an answer, he felt a warm breath on the nape of his neck...the breath that had no origin but knew it was there!

Have you ever been alone...but felt like someone else was with you?

That was what Doctor Aun was feeling...

The young man rolled his eyes and whispered softly to the old man standing next to him with a low but firm voice with absolute certainty.

“Uncle… she is really following me!”