Htauk Kyant War Memorial Cemetery, Myanmar | Yaozai Huang, Google Maps
He woke up, the bed sheets damp beneath him. He sat up. Outside, the full moon glared through the window.
Some dreams fell away upon waking like a child’s sandcastle at high tide. But some dreams perch at the foot of one’s bed like a fishwife.
When they’d relocated the ghosts from Tatkon, he’d known it would be challenging. Ghosts, as a rule, were difficult—always wanting to ride front, and often playing pranks with the vehicle’s electrical system. They were vain, they were tricksters, they were quick to take offense. But the worst thing you could do to a ghost was forget it.
He pushed the covers aside and reached for his pants. He must call the natsaya. They must get to the cemetery immediately.
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126 words
This has been an edition of What Pegman Saw. To read more stories inspired by the prompt, click here.
This story was inspired by What Happened to Myanmar’s Ghosts. Apparently, in Myanmar, ghost relocation is a thing!
k. Rawson 
What a lovely take on ghosts, you’ve given them such commanding personalities. Aye, who could ignore them. Nice one.
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I can’t take credit for this flavor of ghost! It was fascinating learning about how differently ghosts are perceived in Myanmar. I can’t believe the government relocated not just the bodies they exhumed, but the ghosts. Such a different perspective…
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Indeed, and I came upon it yesterday in my own research. Incredible, the difference in attitudes 🙂
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I agree with Crispina – you’ve given the ghosts a real, troublesome edge (thanks for the link, very interesting). I like the idea that they’re difficult and argumentative without necessarily being evil – rather like the living, in fact! Great storytelling, Karen
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You know a lot about troublesome ghosts yourself! I can’t take credit for inventing these, really. It seems ghosts in Myanmar are a handful! Maybe send Neil and Caro, if they’re not doing anything 😉
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Haha! I’ll check in with my ghost wranglers, see what they’re up to 🙂 Great tale with a nice mix of humour and adventure. Really enjoyed it, Karen
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Splendid telling. I love how vivid the nightmare is. You really bring this to life.
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Thanks so much!
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What an imaginative story! I liked the way you structured it, taking us from the dream world that we can all recognise, to a real world in which ghosts are treated as being able to act in the material world, which is quite alien to us westerners.
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Thanks Penny, although I can’t take much credit for inventing anything. This is pretty much out it happened when they relocated Tatkon Cemetery in Myanmar! It was fascinating learning about this different view of the afterlife.
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[…] to Karen and Josh for facilitating this round the world blog […]
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Dear Karen,
The language in this piece is exquisite. I fall to my knees with the Cowardly Lion repeating, “I do believe in spooks, I do, I do, I do.” 😉 Seriously, you’ve beautifully captured the culture. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks so much! Reading about the ghosts in Myanmar made me grateful our ghosts are a bit tamer over here. Great to see you Rochelle!
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I love the image of the nightmare perching at the end of the bed like a fishwife. A nagging feeling of foreboding permeates this piece.
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Thanks so much Andrea. I think it was my own nightmare this week that inspired the image.
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