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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Over the phone, Diana spends the next hour explaining her situation.<\/p>\n
Shortly after leaving her home, Somchai\u2019s followers began bombarding her. They filled her inbox with messages, some honeyed, some vitriolic, calling her to return and receive the monk\u2019s forgiveness, else she be damned for uncountable lifetimes. The senior members kept calling her, either telling her to return and apologize to the monk or chanting secret sutras.<\/p>\n
I suspect the sutras were more than mere words. At least she had the good sense to hang up and block them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour magic was supposed to protect me!\u201d she whines.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou contracted with me to break the curse,\u201d I say. \u201cI did that, but Somchai escalated. We need to escalate too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to call for backup. But there\u2019s a few things you need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFile a police report.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUm\u2026 I think\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want them to keep harassing you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she says emphatically.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen inform the police.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sighs. \u201cOkay. What else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSave all the emails you\u2019ve received and record all the phone numbers they used to harass you. The police will need them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood. Consider setting up alternate emails and changing your number too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWait. We\u2019re not going to do magic?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo the mundane first. Magic, if needed, comes second.\u201d<\/p>\n
After hanging up, I make a couple of phone calls of my own, and pack my GoRuck GR1 backpack with everything I need.
\nThe following evening we convene at Pepper Lunch in Hougang Mall. The waiter takes us near the back, where we can converse in relative quiet. Diana is dressed down with a white blouse and blue jeans. Eleanor is here too, dressed up in a dark blue dress covered in floral patterns. Seated next to me, wearing an ill-fitting T-shirt and olive pants, is Kang Shun Tian.<\/p>\n
Tall and lean and stringy, Shun Tian resembles a beanpole with a dark ponytail that reaches well past his shoulders. He\u2019s thin, verging on skin and bones, but his fingers and knuckles bear the distinct calluses of an experienced judoka.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a while,\u201d Diana says. \u201cFive, six years, was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix,\u201d Shun Tian confirms.<\/p>\n
His voice is as thin and strangled as his body, filtering through my ears as a pale yellow.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019ve you been doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just gotten my Master of Social Work from Monash University. Now I\u2019m applying for jobs as a social worker.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019d met Shun Tian in my Junior College days, when I was stupid and unstable and seeking to understand the strange realms I\u2019d found myself in. We pursued the truth in our own ways, occasionally exchanging notes over the years. Eventually he chose the path of the healer.<\/p>\n
I was called to a different path.<\/p>\n
\u201cWah<\/em>, social worker, hah?\u201d Eleanor says. \u201cDoesn\u2019t suit you,\u00a0leh<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWah lau eh<\/em>! You say like that like I\u2019m some kind of bully.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you like bullying people!\u201d<\/p>\n I shake my head and sip at my glass while they exchange childish insults. When they finally settle down, we get down to business.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve been keeping up with your Buddhist studies?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d he replies.<\/p>\n For over a decade and a half, Shun Tian studied under the tutelage of a Tibetan Buddhist lama. Not the lay Buddhism seen in public either; the esoteric Buddhism that acknowledges devas and asuras and demons, and the skillful use of mantras and magic.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to hear your opinion on Diana\u2019s situation,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n \u201cTell me what happened, exactly,\u201d Shun Tian says.<\/p>\n Diana recounts her tale again. Shun Tian takes it all in, barely saying a word, until she\u2019s done.<\/p>\n \u201cShow me your arms,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Diana unrolls her sleeves and holds out her arms. Scaly red patches run down the insides of her arm, angrier and larger than yesterday.<\/p>\n \u201cHave you been scratching them?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n \u201cHow to not scratch them?\u201d she replies.<\/p>\n Shun Tian rubs his chin and looks up.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael broke the old curse, but the nagas are casting a new one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow do you know?\u201d Diana asks.<\/p>\n \u201cI can see the energy cords tracing back to them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat can nagas do?\u201d Eleanor asks.<\/p>\n \u201cNagas are water beings. If you please them, they will bestow fertility and wealth. If you anger them, they can cause skin diseases and other disasters. Until they are appeased, they will continue to harm you.\u201d<\/p>\n Eleanor turns to Diana. \u201cIs that why Somchai\u2019s followers like him so much? Because he gives them fertility and wealth?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, that\u2019s the impression I get,\u201d she confirms. \u201cHe does lots of pujas for wealth and whatnot. Lots of his followers have struck Toto, earned promotions, that kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounds like a cult,\u201d Shun Tian says flatly.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0a cult,\u201d Diana says.<\/p>\n Shun Tian sighs and shakes his head.<\/p>\n \u201cMany people don\u2019t want enlightenment,\u201d I say. \u201cThey just want comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n Eleanor smiles. \u201cBut we\u2019re not like most people, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n The food arrives. Served on high-powered electromagnetic cookers that double as plates, our meals sizzle and smoke and fill my nose with rich sauces and meats. I remove the paper strip surrounding around my plate and mix up my teriyaki chicken and vegetables, careful not to break the egg. Eleanor delicately pours a spoonful of sauce over her salmon and saba combo, while Diana pokes at her chicken pepper rice. The only beef-eater amongst us, Shun Tian tends to his double beef patties, throwing in every condiment in sight.<\/p>\n As the food cooks, Diana clasps her hands, lowers her head, and whispers an extended prayer. Shun Tian performs an abbreviated prayer, so subtle and so fast he\u2019s done in the blink of an eye. Eleanor looks on, amused. I draw positive energy from the Universe and inject it into the food, willing it to bring strength, energy, wealth and goodwill.<\/p>\n We\u2019re pure, but not too pure. We lived with one foot in this world and another in the next. This is the way of the blue-collar mage and the everyday mystic.<\/p>\n The cookers complete their work and shut off. We all wait for Diana to finish before we dig in.<\/p>\n \u201cYou eat beef?\u201d Diana asks.<\/p>\n \u201cSure,\u201d Shun Tian says. \u201cTibetan Buddhism doesn\u2019t have a taboo against beef.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m more surprised you\u2019re not vegetarian,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n Shun Tian grins. \u201cAiya, I\u2019m just a layman lah. Go vegetarian for what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEh?\u201d Eleanor interjects. \u201cI thought you say you want to purify yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI still am. I stay away from low-quality meat. The kind from factory farms and slaughterhouses. You know, if you eat that kind of meat, you take in the animal\u2019s suffering too. It\u2019s not good for you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnce we\u2019re done with the theological discussion, we still have a job to do,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, right, the naga,\u201d Shun Tian says.<\/p>\n Every time I bring these people together, if I don\u2019t keep them on track, we\u2019ll end up wandering into strange realms.<\/p>\n \u201cHow dangerous is the new curse?\u201d Diana asks.<\/p>\n \u201cPotentially, it can be fatal.\u201d<\/p>\n Her eyes widen. \u201cFatal?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere was this case a while back, when a property developer dug up a patch of ground inhabited by nagas. All the construction work there started running into problems. Machines broke down, workers fell sick, materials got held up in shipping. A few months later, he developed bowel cancer. Stage 3.\u201d<\/p>\n Eleanor gasps. \u201cWhat happened to him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy lama appeased the nagas and convinced them to move on. The construction work went smoothly, the workers recovered, and the cancer went into remission.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan we appease these naga?\u201d Diana asks.<\/p>\n \u201cI tried asking them,\u201d I reply. \u201cThey weren\u2019t amenable.\u201d<\/p>\n Shun Tian smiles. \u201cDid you ask them with sword drawn?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not that guy anymore. And the nagas, they said they were bound by ritual, prayer and offering to support their \u2018petitioner\u2019, meaning Somchai. I don\u2019t think appeasement will work for them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s understandable,\u201d Eleanor says. \u201cThey have a stronger relationship with Somchai than Diana. They won\u2019t turn their back on Somchai so easily.\u201d<\/p>\n Diana scratches her arms. \u201cWhat can we do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMagic,\u201d I reply.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Previous parts:\u00a01<\/a>,\u00a02<\/a>,\u00a03<\/a><\/p>\n For more magic, martial arts and mayham, check out my latest novel\u00a0HAMMER OF THE WITCHES<\/a>. Please nominate HAMMER OF THE WITCHES for the Dragon Awards\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Cheah](\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/0x0\/https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmcSX4MiYdPvqUChc7eBRiaSvNLAb2vT71wFubG75cArg8\/Cheah%20Git%20San%20Red.jpg\")
<\/p>\n