In the early hours of the night, around one in the morning, after Khem had fallen asleep from exhaustion, Jett woke Chan who was sleeping on the other side of Khem's bed.
"Chan, wake up." Chan opened his eyes, reached for his glasses beside the pillow, and with the light from the balcony which had been left on for the night, he could see Jett's tense face.
"What's up, Khun Jett?"
"Come downstairs with me." Jett whispered back, cautious not to wake Khem. His response made Chan furrow his brows a bit.
"And Khun Khem? Will we leave him sleeping alone?" Jett scanned the room once more for safety, ensuring all sharp objects and potential weapons, including pencils, had been removed and locked away in the apartment's locker since evening.
The balcony glass door from which Khem had once nearly jumped, as well as the bathroom door, were securely locked with padlocks. Not to mention the numerous protective amulets Jett and Chan had written and plastered on all four walls, and the legendary sacred object from Uncle Krai, laid with jasmine flowers on the wardrobe near the door, potent enough to make any resident spirits in the apartment hide away, truly justifying the half-million baht investment.
Despite all these precautions, Jett still felt uneasy.
After making sure everything was secure, he nodded.
"Yeah, he'll be fine in here. Are you coming or not? I'm asking." Chan sighed, clearly tired of Jett's habits.
Jett wanted to kick Chan but held back, mindful of the steel amulet the monk had given him, which he wore as a constant necklace.
Unable to do more than glare, Jett quickly got up, leading Chan out of the room with his satchel full of items.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to lock the door from the outside with another key, confident that Khem wouldn't sleepwalk outside.
After locking up, they descended from the fourth floor to the ground level. Walking until they reached the front gate, ensuring no one was around, Jett opened his satchel and took out twelve slender rattan canes, each about a ruler's length, handing them to Chan before saying:
"Take these rattan sticks and plant them in the ground, half a building's width apart around the perimeter; I'll tie the sacred thread myself." Chan was still groggy from sleep, but eventually couldn't help but ask,
"Why do we need to do this?" Jett, irritated, pursed his lips but then remembered that Chan couldn't see what he could, so he explained,
"This apartment doesn't have a spirit house. Spirits roam freely here. I've noticed it since the first time I came to visit Khem."
"..."
"We got something powerful, sure, but I'm not entirely sure about it, especially with Khem's birthday approaching, it's going to get dangerous.
Since yesterday, I've felt like I'm being watched all the time."
"..."
"Khem's karma spirits are already strong enough. If more come from elsewhere, you and I won't be able to handle it. Even the ebony wood, which has been enchanted for years, might not hold up."
"Let's ask the apartment owner to conduct a spirit house ceremony tomorrow, but tonight we need to perform a protective ritual to buy us some time. Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep. Understand?"
Chan nodded, turned around, and went to carry out his task. Jett, seeing this, picked up a roll of sacred thread and followed to tie it to the rattan sticks Chan was planting around the building.
Once the sacred thread formed a square perimeter, Jett sat down on the ground, took out a gold plate from his bag, placed it on the ground, followed by a silver bowl, then took out a bottle of holy water from the temple where they had stayed overnight, which Jett had requested from the abbot.
He opened the bottle and poured the holy water into the silver bowl almost to the brim, then placed a small Buddha image into it, wrapping the sacred thread around the gold plate three times. Meanwhile, Chan went to pick jasmine flowers from beside the wall to use in the offering.
Jett lit nine incense sticks, holding them in a wai at his chest, while Chan knelt beside him, lighting five candles and placing them on the remaining
space of the gold plate. They both closed their eyes, clasped their hands, and began to chant in reverence to the Triple Gem.
As soon as they started chanting, the lights around the building flickered on and off, followed by gusts of wind coming from all directions.
The incense smoke wavered with the wind, and suddenly, all five candles went out.
The putrid smell of ghosts crept into their noses, wafting around the area.
Outside the protective lines, numerous dark shadows appeared, including both children and adults, from young to old. Some looked normal, others were twisted and distorted, moving closer yet unable to cross the protective boundary.
Jett's ears heard screams mixed with laughter that seemed to mock them.
Cursing, wailing, and cries as if on the verge of death filled the air, all intended to break the concentration of the young men, but both Chan and Jett maintained their focus.
"Pahuneyo, Dakkhineyyo, Anchalikaraniyo"
"..."
"Anuttarang, Punyakhettang, Lokassati"
After the chant, Jett placed incense beside the building and returned to kneel in his original spot, hands clasped in prayer.
"My name is Jett, surname, Nakantakul."
"My name is Chanwit, surname, Charoenkiatprecha." After stating their full names, they spoke together:
"Also, Khemjira, Chantharapisut. We three respectfully offer our homage to all the Buddhas, the Dhamma, and the noble Sangha throughout the cosmos, to the Brahma, deities, and to all our masters. Please bless this holy water for us to protect us from all misfortune and malevolence. Amen."
As their prayer ended, the protective lines and the golden tray suddenly glowed with a golden light, though Jett and Chan, not yet at the highest level of training, couldn't see it. What they felt was a warm breeze that cleared away the stench of the spirits, and their ears were no longer assaulted by the disturbing noises. The dark shadows that had crowded around retreated, leaving emptiness in their wake.
Jett then took out a jasmine garland from his satchel, dipping it into the sacred water. He had Chan help carry the tray as they walked around the building, sprinkling the holy water to complete the ritual.
"Alright, let's go back to sleep." Jett said, yawning so hard his eyes watered, before leading Chan back inside.
Upon returning, seeing Khem still fast asleep, they both felt relieved and quickly settled back into their own sleeping spots, falling into a deep sleep.
That entire night passed peacefully as they had prayed for.
The following day, Jett, representing the group, negotiated with the apartment owner to set up a spirit house. Although the owner followed a different religion, Jett managed to persuade him by briefly explaining the problems and offering to cover all expenses themselves. The owner agreed, providing his name, surname, and birth details to Jett for selecting the auspicious time.
Jett combined the owner's birth details with Khem's to find a suitable time. Fortunately, they found an auspicious time three days before Khem's birthday.
During those three days, everything remained calm until the day of the ceremony. Jett ordered the necessary items for the ritual from a delivery company to avoid going outside, and also called a Brahmin priest known to Chan to perform the ceremony.
Since there wasn't enough space beside the building to place the spirit house, they decided to set it up on the rooftop.
On this day, the sky was overcast, and the atmosphere was not conducive to the ceremony, despite it being the best day of the month. The priest felt an uncomfortable pressure in his chest, reluctant to proceed, sensing as if someone's malevolent gaze was upon them continuously.
However, having accepted a significant sum of money, he felt compelled to continue despite his discomfort.
Jett, Chan, and Khem also felt uneasy. Throughout the ceremony, Khem kept looking around, while Jett and Chan continuously chanted protective mantras without pause, even though nothing seemed to interfere with the ceremony.
Finally, the spirit house ceremony was successfully completed. The Brahmin priest hastily excused himself after finishing his duties, and Jett, Chan, and Khem returned to their room.
It seemed their worries might have been self-induced, as after the ceremony, the sky cleared up, the sun shone brightly, and the atmosphere no longer felt gloomy like it did in the morning. It also appeared that the spirits
that had been lurking in the apartment had vanished as if they never existed, something all three could sense.
This meant that setting up the spirit house to invite the guardian spirits had worked wonderfully. Even though their bank accounts were nearly depleted from purchasing the items and hiring the Brahmin priest, it was an investment well made.
When they felt the situation was safe, Jett and Chan began to take turns going out more often. Whether it was to go to school, return home, or fetch delicious food to bring back for Khem, with Khem always staying in the room with one of them, not going anywhere. Three days had passed safely without incident.
Jett glanced at the clock while the three of them were watching a movie on the bed; in just a few hours, it would be Khem's birthday. But he felt they couldn't let their guard down until the very last moment tonight. Jett and Chan decided to stay awake all night watching over Khem.
"Damn, it's like clockwork; he shuts down at 11 PM sharp." Jett muttered to Chan, explaining the situation while Khem was leaning against his shoulder. Chan, on the other side of Khem, looked away from the laptop screen to see Khem's eyes fluttering shut, then helped adjust him to lie comfortably on the pillow.
Lately, at 11 PM, Khem would fall into a deep sleep and not wake until morning, which was good because he would sleep without nightmares or sleepwalking, which had been a concern.
Jett watched the clock for a moment before announcing, "Let's go, Chan, it's time for the chants." Chan nodded, closed the laptop, placed it on the bedside table, and followed Jett to sit for chanting. Jett had placed a Buddha statue on a chair, with the Black Rosewood box on the floor beside it.
Jett lit two candles, placing one on either side of the Buddha statue, opting not to light incense to avoid disturbing Khem's sleep. Chan turned off all the lights in the room, leaving the candles to provide illumination.
Jett and Chan sat facing each other with the Buddha statue and the wooden box between them. They raised their hands in a prayer gesture and began chanting, starting with the homage to the Triple Gem according to the scriptures, followed by the Itipiso chant, which they recited one hundred and eight times, as taught by the monk for enhancing one's destiny, warding off spirits, and strengthening the mind.
The two voices blended together in a soft, rhythmic chant within the room:
"Itipiso, Bhagava, Arahant, SammasamBuddho, Vijjacaranasampanno..."
The hour hand of the clock moved steadily until it reached ten, but during the one hundred and seventh recitation of the Itipiso by Jett and Chan, everything turned pitch black.
At that moment, Khem got up from the bed, his feet slowly touching the floor, and he stepped quietly past Jett and Chan, leaving the room.
At fifty-five minutes past nine in the evening, Chan suddenly jolted awake. The light from the balcony illuminated the room enough to see Jett sleeping on the other side. Chan's eyes widened as he turned to look at the bed, only to find that where Khem should have been sleeping was now empty.
"Khun Jett, Khun Jett!" Chan woke Jett with a louder and more urgent voice than usual, driven by fear. Jett woke up startled by Chan's shout.
Their eyes met for just a moment, and the panic in Chan's eyes made Jett immediately turn to check the bed.
"Shit!" Jett sprang up and ran out of the room, not even pausing to look at the knee he scraped when he stumbled.
Breathing heavily, Jett looked left and right before deciding to head downstairs, but before he could take a step, Chan grabbed his arm.
Chan shook his head and said,
"No. Not downstairs." Something told Chan that the direction Jett was about to take was wrong. Jett was about to ask what made Chan think that, but past experiences had taught him to trust Chan's instincts without question. He then led Chan in the opposite direction.
Jett ran up the emergency stairs to the rooftop with Chan following closely behind. The first thing they saw was the newly set up spirit house from a few days ago, now turned into a dilapidated shrine covered in cobwebs and emitting a foul, nauseating smell.
"Khem!!" Jett shouted when he saw Khem standing with his back to them on the edge of the rooftop wall.
Jett's heart pounded harder with each passing second, his legs shaking as he took cautious steps forward, trying to get as close to Khem as possible.
In contrast, Chan moved slowly and steadily behind Jett, silently devising ways to save Khem.
But it seemed they were too late.
The wind blew past, sending a chill through the air, and Khem turned back to face Jett and Chan.
At fifty-nine minutes past nine in the evening, Khem's eyes, which were once a clear brown, had turned completely black without a trace of white.
His lips slowly formed into a smile, and he spoke briefly to the two,
"I'm taking him."
With that statement, Khem's body leaned back and fell off the rooftop.