The sound of footsteps on the dry leaves covered the silence for just a moment. His pace increased faster, like he was running away from something. It's chasing after him. Phran Bun broke through the thick bushes in front of him, his heart pounding like never before. Try to collect your mind to chant the mantra.
Ineffective! The fear was too great to concentrate. The only way left was to quickly escape its territory.
A cold laugh sounded closer. The more you run away, the more it seems to come back to you. Lost a pair of flip-flop shoes and stumbled onto a tree root. The skinny body of a man in his sixties collapsed. His personal bag fell off his shoulder and bounced in the other direction. Phranbun hurriedly grabbed it and returned it. A rough hand reached inside. A knife was pulled from its sheath.
"If you're not afraid of my magic knife, you'll come in."
A sudden gust of wind caused him to lose control and nearly fall. The old man's words sounded in his head. 'At sixty, you must stop going into the forest. No teacher can help you.' A putrid smell pervaded the entire area. Phranbun could only look around, wary. It circles around, but has not yet appeared.
Phranbun's eyes widened as a huge amount of smoke formed in front of him. My heart fluttered as if something in my memory had been removed.
“Eprai!!”
“Brother...little brat has been sick for several days. Please go find some medicine to cure him. If you leave it like this, I'm really afraid,” said Sompoi, Phranbun's new wife, with tears streaming down her face. Looking at my ten year old son lying unconscious, I feel sorry for him.
In a remote village like Na-in, you don't have to ask for a doctor or sanitation worker. The mountainous forest area borders the border. Traveling from the village into the city takes more than a day. Throughout his life, Phran Bun has been accustomed to going into the forest to look for herbs rather than staying in the village. But what is troubling is that this year I am turning sixty according to the old man's words.
Phran Boon rose from the old wooden floor. Draping the loincloth over his shoulder, he walked down the house, heading for help. Khamthiang is an able-bodied young man who has enough knowledge about herbal medicine to be trusted. I stood and called out for a long time, but no one answered, so I walked up to look at the top. No one was home for so long that dust clung to the floor. His brows furrowed together as he walked down and through the other direction.
“Have you found any Kham Noon?”
“He went into the forest for several days and still hasn't come out. I have something to tell you.”
When he ran out of refuge, Phranbun walked home. He thought to himself that he had strong magic and that every ghost in this area was afraid of him. Just going in to collect herbs for a few days, it probably wouldn't dare come and use it. As we walked closer to the residence, Sompoi's cries became louder and piercing to our ears. His feet hurriedly climbed up to the house, and the sight he saw made his father's heart sink.
The thin, pale, almost powerless body was arching its neck and vomiting. Decided that if he died, he had to find medicine to treat the little guy in time. He was already hit by jungle fever.
Before going into the forest to hunt or look for herbs, you must always check the auspicious time. But this time Phranbun was too anxious to waste time. My son's life is hanging on life or death. Who can stay calm? Faded black pants covered with a loincloth. A pale white cotton shirt was picked up and put on. Finished checking the necessary items in the bag, Phran Boon then walked into the house and headed towards the forest.
The late afternoon sun barely peeked through the treetops. The summer weather is sweltering at the edge of the forest. But deep inside, it's cold. The sound of wreaths crying Phran Bun looked for herbs and didn't pay attention to the surrounding forest. Raising my head again, I realized that I had walked into the deep forest and everything was unusually quiet. His heart began to beat quickly and his sharp eyes scanned his surroundings, wary.
His bag was tightened tightly. Head quickly to find a way out of this area. The cool vapor that had just now brushed against my skin, I knew from experience that it was strong. Phran Bun gathered his concentration and chanted mantras every step of the way. Until a cold laugh could be heard behind him. It was getting closer and closer, racing against time. The atmosphere was twilight, almost without light.
“You can't escape your own sins, Bun.” The voice of an evil ghost echoed in the forest. Phranbun's consciousness began to scatter. I used to be confident that my magic was strong. These forest ghosts were not in sight. Preoccupied with predictions until his courage weakened.
A cold laugh sounded closer. The more you run away, the more it seems to come back to you. Lost a pair of flip-flop shoes and stumbled onto a tree root. The skinny body of a man in his sixties collapsed. His personal bag fell off his shoulder and bounced in the other direction. Phranbun hurriedly grabbed it and returned it. A rough hand reached inside. A knife was pulled from its sheath.
"If you're not afraid of my magic knife, you'll come in."
“Eprai!!”
“It's time for you to make amends to me and my child.”
Phran Bun was taken aback by the sharp, ear-piercing voice of the evil ghost. Old memories crept into his head. Prai is a good-looking young woman in Na-in village. But then one day he disappeared and never came back again. Many people rumored that there were tiger footprints reaching the edge of the forest. Phrai is likely to be eaten by a tiger. The only person who knows where the young woman has gone is Phran Boon.
Prai had a heart for Phran Bun so they secretly had sex with each other until she became pregnant. The man didn't want to take responsibility, so he devised a plan to take the young woman and leave her in the middle of a deep forest. Everything was so quiet that I almost forgot about it.
"You can't do anything to me, Ephrai."
“Ha ha ha.” He laughed like he was mocking. Of course, it cannot destroy a person with magic on the day his luck is still strong. But with children it's not difficult at all. The little guy had followed his father into the forest many times. The ghost is just waiting for an opportunity.
Phranbun stopped as if he had just remembered something. Heart trembles In a few days, his fate would fall following the old man's warning. No wonder the evil ghost was able to take control. The faint cloud of smoke that had formed had changed into a familiar woman who had once been addicted. His sweet, sad face as he approached. He was so stunned that his sensitive mind was caught off guard.
"If you don't feel sorry for me, I feel sorry for your child, Brother Bun."
Phranbun seemed to be mesmerized by it and made him stand still. A sharp knife dropped to his side. A satisfied smile appeared on the ghost's face. It transformed into a cloud of smoke before pouring into the gaping mouth of Hunter Bun. The dense forest was quiet again. There was only the whistle of the wind heading towards the edge of the forest.
The village at dusk was empty of people. They kept themselves in the house, found rice and fish to eat, and then went to sleep like the way of forest villagers. The sound of Phran Boon's sandals walking closer. Sompoi hurriedly ran out of the room, happy that her husband had received medicine to treat his son. Since afternoon, the little guy had just been lying there, breathing heavily.
"Did you get the medicine back?"
Phranbun didn't speak and walked up the house to his son. A smile pressed deep at the corners of his mouth. Just then, the little boy opened his eyes and sat up, smiling like a person who had never been sick. Sompoi was so happy that he didn't think twice and ran to hug his son.
“Take this medicine and boil it. Taste it so it doesn't taste too bitter."
Phran Boon ordered and placed a white cloth package filled with leaves and roots on the floor of the house. Sompoi quickly grabbed the medicine packet and disappeared into the kitchen. Almost an hour later there was an unusually loud noise for a while and then everything was completely quiet until the morning.
Throughout the village there are rumors of Sompoi's death that it was taken while Phran Bun went to look for herbal medicine. Some say it ate the wrong thing, causing its face to turn dark green as if it had been poisoned. The truth was burned along with the body of Phran Boon's beloved wife who stood watching the flames grow with the little boy standing next to her. Her eyes were hard and without sparks, and the corners of her mouth curved up into a heart-satisfying smile.
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