My Grandma's House

I'm currently living in Malaysia, but I was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia. On August 2007, my family went back to our home in Jakarta for the summer holiday. And then suddenly, my Mum got a news that my Grandma is sick, she's a diabetic. My Grandparents' house is in Medan, Indonesia. My Aunts and Uncles took turn to take care of my Grandma, so my Mum told me to go to Medan to take care of her for a few days. So I was like, okay why not?

I have completely forgotten that it was the hungry ghost month, the Chinese believe that the 7th month of the year is when all the ghosts escape from hell (for a month) to go back to families. Now during this particular month, the Chinese would prepare some paper clothes, hell money, paper cars or houses, fruits, roasted pigs, and much more for the dead, it's to keep them happy and comfortable in the after life, or else, they will be bothering you during the hungry ghost month (festival as some people calls it).

The day before Mum sent me to the airport, she stopped by a temple to ask for a charm for me, to keep me save from any harm (read: ghosts). At first I was confused, so then she explained that one of my Aunt, who has a sixth sense, said my Grandma's house has been pretty 'busy' and 'crowded' especially after 6pm (when the sun set). Mum told me to keep the charm close to me, it's a paper with some Chinese scribbles. I'm a Christian, but well I guess there is no harm in keeping safe.

To make this short, I ended up in my Grandma's house. My Aunts and Uncles were thrilled that it would be my turn to take care of my Grandma, so they left me there in my Grandma's house. It's a pretty old house and big too, my Grandma has a chicken farm on the back of her house and a big front yard. But seriously, it is rather creepy, there is a well right in front of the bathroom, and the bathroom has a few brick holes where you can see the chicken farm on the back of the house. So in that big old house, it was only my Grandparents and me.

On my first night, I asked my Aunt to stand right in front of the bathroom door while I took a bath, because it was after 7pm and it was really dark. That night, I slept on a bamboo chair, afraid that if I share one bed with my Grandma, I might squash her legs. That night, I felt something was poking me from underneath the chair, many times, but I kept quiet, thinking it was just my imagination.

The next day, I was going to wash my face, so I used a tap right outside the bathroom. As I washed my face, I saw a tall dark figure standing right beside the well. I washed my face hastily and quickly ran to the living room.

Around noon, my Grandma was taking a nap, my Grandpa went to town so I decided to do my homework in the living room. The housekeeper was somewhere in the house, so as I did my homework, from the corner of my eyes, I saw dark and sometimes gray figures walking towards me from the bathroom, but then it would stop at the empty room beside my Grandma's room or the water dispenser. I thought it was the house keeper, so I ignored it.

Then when I was watching TV, I swear I can see a figure of an old woman walking and sat on the sofa next to me, I thought it was the house keeper, but when I looked to the sofa next to me, it was empty and the house keeper is ironing some clothes in the empty room. That's when I was sure I wasn't imagining things! I told my mum about, she believes in all this supernatural stuff, she can feel and sometimes see them. So then she asked my Uncle to pick me up the next day. I was relieved, thinking, just one more night to bear!

That night, I slept nicely, thinking, it's over! But I was wrong, I used a slow cooker to cook porridge for my Grandma and I woke up around 3am to see if it was done, my Grandma got a doctor appointment and we were supposed to get ready by 5am because the doctor's house is far away.

The kitchen is just next to the bathroom with the creepy well. From the kitchen's window, you can see the chicken farm. It was 3am, the house was really dark. I used a spoon to stir the porridge, I can hear a few chickens clucking outside, suddenly... I hear a voice of a girl, singing! It came from the back door, just a few feet from where I was standing, feet glued on the floor. For a second there, my brain and my whole body froze, I didn't know what to do, I was really scared! I finally gathered up whatever courage I had left and made a run back to my Grandma's room. And stayed there until my Grandpa woke up to make a cup of coffee at the kitchen.

That afternoon, my Uncle finally came to the rescue and took me to his house, I was so exhausted with my lack of sleep, I slept in his car and quickly dozed off in my cousin's room 'till morning. That was one weird summer, I mean, I've never experienced anything like that before in my Grandma's house.

I'd visit my Grandma's house once a year, and when I do, I stay where it is crowded, the living room. My Grandpa would ask, "Why don't you stay for a night." When I visit him, and I'd say..."Naaah, maybe next time." Or not.