I stared at the rows of dolls on the phone screen, and it clicked.
So that's what this was.
These "dolls" were just commercialized products—a cheap gimmick. Some ajahns, smelling profit, had tapped into the female market by taking cute baby dolls, slapping on a half-hearted blessing, and marketing them as "kumanthong." Most just performed a token luck ritual, if that. The worst ones mumbled a few lines of scripture and called it a day.
The truth? Most of them were no more sacred than a ceramic lucky cat.
Eventually, a few highly respected monks in Thailand spoke out. Said these dolls had nothing to do with real Kumanthong. But by then, no one cared. The trend had already evolved into a brand. They gave it a softer name: Sweet Dreams Baby.
I scrolled through the listings. Sure enough, some sellers were still tagging them as Sweet Dreams Kumanthong Baby.
I turned the screen toward Miss Lim and tapped a finger against the title.
"Right here. It says Kumanthong. You seriously didn't know what that meant?"
She blinked, thrown. "Kumanthong… what is that?"
I didn't answer. Instead, I asked, "If you didn't know, why buy toys for it?"
Her voice wavered. "The seller said it was a guardian spirit. A kind of angel. They said it works better if you treat it well—leave toys nearby, show it love…" She hesitated. "It's not… a ghost, is it?"
I held her gaze. "A kumanthong is a child guardian spirit." A pause, deliberate. "But if you want to call it a ghost? That's not wrong either."
Her face drained of color. Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.
I handed the phone back to her.
"These things? They're just commercial products. No way they're real kumanthongs.
Where's the doll? Let me see it."
Miss Lim hesitated. "It's... in my room."
She turned and headed toward the bedroom, me following close behind. At the door, she paused, then pushed it open. She pointed toward the dresser, where an innocent-looking baby doll sat peacefully.
"I don't dare touch it now," she said. "You get it."
I held up the clay jar in my hand. "It's already sealed inside here. That thing?" I nodded toward the doll. "It's just a regular toy now. Go ahead."
After a moment's hesitation, she stepped forward and picked up the doll with trembling hands.
The instant I took the doll, the jar in my other hand gave a violent shudder.
Miss Lim jumped back with a gasp.
I glanced down at the jar and gave it a slight shake. "Behave."
It immediately stilled, and I slipped it back into my LV bag.
Turning my attention to the doll, I pressed my thumb against its plastic head. A hard object embedded inside—and a faint but familiar energy pulsed beneath my fingers.
Familiar. Too familiar.
I smirked.
"Luck or misfortune—hard to say which you've had," I told her, tapping the head. "Most of these are just toys. But this one? This one's real."
She gave me a strained laugh. "I'd rather it wasn't."
"Actually, you got lucky. This thing made it through customs without being detected. If it had been seized..." I trailed off meaningfully before handing the doll back to her. "Press hard on its head."
She took it reluctantly and followed my instructions. After a moment, her brows furrowed. "There's something hard in there... what is it?"
I looked her straight in the eye.
"Human bone."
She gasped and dropped it. Before it hit the floor, I caught it.
"It needs daily offerings," I said, brushing dust from the doll's dress. "Incense, snacks, sweet drinks. If you keep it happy, it'll protect you."
Miss Lim looked stricken. "I didn't know any of that."
"That's exactly the problem," I said. "You left it behind when you went abroad. Ignored it. That's why it got angry."
Her lips trembled. "What... what should I do now?"
"If you still want to keep it—"
"No!" she cut me off, sharp and desperate. "I don't want it. Just… take it. Get rid of it for me."
I nodded, tucking the doll into my LV bag alongside the jar. "I'll handle it."
"Then I'll be going."
She hesitated. "It's not… going to hold a grudge, is it?"
I gave her a faint smile. "Don't worry. It's with me now."
————
I returned to my apartment on the 8th floor.
Opening the door to a room. The space was simple and tidy, with a small shrine tucked in the corner.
I approached the shrine where a male Nine-Tailed Fox Immortal amulet lay among the offerings. Unclipping the kumanthong amulet from my belt, I placed it gently beside the fox deity's.
Thong Thong—my kumanthong—drifted out of its amulet and settled by the shrine, legs gently swinging in silent contentment.
From my LV bag, I retrieved the clay jar and unsealed it. Miss Lim's kumanthong floated out, still bound by sacred script. With a murmured incantation, the bindings unraveled.
"Your mistress abandoned you," I said as I took the doll from my LV bag and placed it on the shrine. "From now on, you'll train with me.
Thong Thong happily approached, reaching out to hold its hand—only to be shoved away with force. The abandoned spirit glared at me, its eyes burning with deep, bitter hatred.
"You'll stay in this room," I said flatly, ignoring its rage. Lighting several incense sticks in the burner, I watched as the smoke curled upward, transforming the shrine area into something ethereal before turning to leave, the door clicking shut behind me.
————
Thong Thong stepped forward again, trying to play with the kumanthong.
"Get lost!" The kumanthong shouted, pushing Thong Thong away with force.
At that moment, the Nine-Tailed Fox Immortal amulet on the shrine trembled slightly, and a beam of light shot out.
A young man appeared in the air, his features strikingly handsome, with sharp, defined features and a faintly otherworldly charm. The long fox ears were the only sign of his unusual nature.
In one fluid motion, he grabbed the kumanthong by its throat and lifted it effortlessly. "Silence," he commanded coldly before delivering several sharp slaps across its face. "Remember - I don't tolerate noise."
—The End—