My school friend, surname Liu, drowned in a local river in the summer of 1997, and his parents lost consciousness at the bad news. After rushing the poor pair to a nearby hospital, we, I and my girl, were exhausted, but we had to hurry to Liu’s home because his six-year-old sister was left home alone. Late at night, after hushing the sad girl to sleep, I talked to my girl a lot about our future life, and just then, there came a continual pounding on the street door. I rose up and started for the door, when my girl suddenly tugged my sleeve, “Wait, Wu, I feel something not suitable.” I swore it was because of the way someone had knocked at the door. “Open the door, let me in, quick,” outside someone muttered to himself. Hearing these words, we were all astonished, for it was indeed uttered by Liu, the dead. A deadly hush soon pervaded the room as the outside creature continued his demand, “Open the door, it’s dark outside, and I have travelled so long.” Her courage mustered, my girl rushed close to the door shrieking, “You do not heed what your mother said, go swimming secretly and got drowned, now you dare come back to scare us?” With her words, outside the begging ceased and miserable sobs arised. Several moments later, the sobs died away. And that night, we all did not sleep well, though no weird thing bothered us again. The next day, my girl told me, Liu drowned too soon and that his soul had not realized what happened and still considered that he was alive. And in this case, you only tell him about his death, the soul will be left forever. My girl’s grandpa was a magician and he taught her something about dead people.
(Sent in by Yumao Wu)