It was a cold, cloudy day. The chilly wind continued to wrap around me. We were at our uncle's place. My uncle's daughter and I sat on the floor of the verandah and were having a little chat.  Tommy, their pet dog, was fast asleep beside us. It was the new year. My mother, father, grandmother, younger sister, and I had gone to my uncle's house a week ago. We always visit my uncle's house for almost every vacation. The scenic village was truly breathtaking. It is located in Kegalle district. Many Esala trees can be seen all around the village. This village has a beautiful waterfall. I go there to spend time often. But this time I had a strange feeling. I was scared.  I was in an old room which was closer to the back of the house. The giant Mara tree was bent over my room. My cousin, sister and brother always spoke of ghosts. Late at night when I was alone, these stories haunted me.

The next morning, my aunt and my mother were preparing breakfast. My aunt is a great cook. Everyone loved her chicken curry. The smell coming from the kitchen was mouthwatering. Outside, the birds were chirping so loudly. I saw my younger sister and my cousin playing with Nethu and Ravindu. I ran outside to join them. We played for a while before my aunt called us for breakfast. So we went in. I needed to freshen up before I went for breakfast. I went to my room to get my towel. As I entered the room a flower vase fell onto the floor. I was startled. Was it a ghost?- was my first thought. I hurried back to the dining room forgetting about the towel.

I couldn’t sleep the next few days. I was all alone in that room with Tommy. The room was pitch dark during the night. Everyone was asleep. One night, as the clock struck midnight, I woke up to a rattling sound. The sound grew closer and closer to me. There was nothing to be seen. Later I felt like something was almost touching me. I slowly turned to look what it was but nothing was there. In the corner of the room stood an old cupboard and an old clock hung on the wall. I saw something move with my own eyes. My mouth went dry and I was covered in sweat. It had to be a ghost. I was terrified. I squeezed my eyes shut. The next morning, I was burning with fever. Everyone was worried. My mother hurriedly took me to the doctor.

When we were back, I told her about the ghost. She did not believe me. “Nonsense”, she said and dismissed it. Even after a few hours, my fever did not subside.  Everyone was worried. I kept blabbering about the ghost. My aunt and uncle heard me and looked at each other as if to make sure they heard it right. They knew what to do.  My uncle went to the temple and brought a pirith nool, a sacred thread, which has been chanted with the maha pritha by Buddhist Monks. He tied it in my hand like a band and then I instantly started to feel better. I finally felt safe and relaxed. I recovered soon and everything was back to normal.

That evening I was having a lovely time with my family as usual. My aunt and my mother had prepared string hoppers for dinner. It was accompanied by a milky potato curry and sambal. One of my most favourite meals. We all sat down at the table and had our dinner. I ate more than I usually did because I was feeling great. After dinner, we all went to sleep. I collapsed on my bed and thought, what a day it was and closed my eyes with a sigh of relief. I must have fallen asleep. Later that night, I heard a strong wind whistling. It was cold and a storm was brewing. The window was open. The calendar that was hung on the wall went flying. A bolt of lightning flashed and I saw something move on the old clock on the wall. I screamed at the top of my lungs. "A ghost!" Everyone rushed into my room to see what was happening. My uncle switched on the light and there it was- a tiny mouse sitting on the clock. My aunt said, “There, that’s the ghost that has been haunting you." Everyone burst into a fit of laughter.

K.A Shashi Sandalanka Dharmarathna

Pali Buddhist Studies

University of kelaniya