The Ghost Who Tried to Love Me by Adam Tervort

Introduction

    This story is part of the Zodiac
Schmodiac story cycle, a group of short stories based on the
Chinese Zodiac. Remember the paper placemats with zodiac animals
from your favorite Chinese buffet? The things it tells you are
wildly inaccurate and probably have no resemblance whatsoever to
your life or situation, but reading them is fun and writing these
stories was too.
    “The Ghost Who Tried to Love Me” began as a
retelling of my favorite ghost story. I know a teacher in Taiwan
who resembles this story’s “Hank” quite closely, and he told me his
ghost experience one night during Ghost Festival. We had just
finished teaching our conversation classes for the evening and I
mentioned to him that some of the students thought he’d seen a
ghost before. He told me that it was true, he had seen a ghost, and
the story he told me stuck in my mind. His story scared me because
guys like us (non-Taoist, educated North Americans) aren’t supposed
to believe in ghosts much less see them. He didn’t have any
explanation for what he had been through, he only knew that it was
really creepy and that it happened. The details of this story
aren’t his, they are mine. His story was a great jumping off point,
but this story started to go in interesting directions almost as
soon as it got started. Any inaccuracies or strangeness here is
mine, not his.
    So which zodiac sign does this story take?
The dragon. I know, it’s a stretch to relate ghosts to dragons, but
I figured since they are both “imaginary” that they fit well
together. The real Chinese explanation for why people see ghosts is
much more involved than what your zodiac sign is, it takes into
account you “8 life numbers” which is terribly complicated and way
over my head. I once had a Chinese fortune teller say that since I
am a foreigner and born on the wrong side of the globe my 8 numbers
don’t even work. (Maybe she could tell that I’m a cheapskate and
wouldn’t pay well so she decided to take the easy way out.) If your
8 numbers show that you have a light tie to this world then you are
more likely to see things from other worlds, like ghosts, which is
why I always try to stay a few pounds overweight so that I don’t
float away or see any ghosts.
    Zodiac Schmodiac Part 1 (the first
half of the story cycle) will hit the shelves of fine bookstores
( Smashwords , Amazon , etc.) at the end of
August 2011. If you enjoy this story you might consider purchasing
the full book. I appreciate your support and look forward to
hearing from you with your comments and reactions. (You can find my
contact info at the end of the book, or email me anytime, adam @
adamtervort . com)

 
1
     
     
    What makes someone believe? I could ask you
if you believe in ghosts, but that is just a question. Most people
will roll their eyes and laugh. The answer they give isn't
important, that laugh tells you exactly what they think of your
question. Do you believe in snow? Another roll of the eyes. Ask a
Bedouin in the middle of the desert if he believes in snow and you
might get the same response as the one I got asking about ghosts.
(And vice-versa.) Just because you haven't seen it before doesn't
mean it doesn't exist, OK? Don't put a wall around your mind or
you'll be stuck all alone inside.
    My name is Hank. Ghosts have become an
everyday part of my life, even though a few years ago I didn't
believe either. It might sound sappy or naive, but again, that's
because you haven't seen what I've seen. I grew up on a farm in New
York state and was going to go back and work with my family after
university, but my parents encouraged me to go and explore my roots
before I settled down to a life of tractors and seeds. Our family
is ethnically Chinese, which doesn't mean that we actually speak or
eat Chinese, but that we look Chinese. I had a distant cousin who
was working in Taiwan as an English teacher and my parents told me
I should go over and do the same thing for a few years. I