My friend told me this story a few months back. I was thinking of waiting till the Hungry Ghost Festival to tell this story but somehow, I am in the mood to write about it now. So here it is ...
I met up with my friend Aileen (not her real name) during the Chinese New Year holidays. We had not been meeting for over a year so I thought it would be nice to catch up with her during the festive break. We had lunch together and that's when Aileen told me her story.
Aileen's husband died a few years ago due to an incurable disease, leaving her with her 2 young children and 2 properties. One of the properties is the house she is living in now, and the other is a condominium unit in Kuala Lumpur which she rented out to a single man in his late 20's named Gavin.
Lately, Aileen had been having trouble collecting the rental from Gavin. He had always been punctual in his payments, Aileen told me. But he started to be late in his payments and when he did not pay for three months straight, Aileen decided enough is enough.
She gave him an ultimatum - either pay up or get kicked out. When Gavin did not answer her call, she was furious and got her agent to get him to pay up or move out. He finally agreed to move out, much to Aileen's relief.
A few days after Gavin had moved out, Aileen received a call from Mrs Yap, a condo resident who was staying right below her unit. Aileen knew Mrs Yap well because Mrs Yap had been complaining about the water leaking from Aileen's unit above. But this time, Mrs Yap did not call about any water leakage. Instead, she asked Aileen if anyone is still staying in her condominium unit.
Surprised, Aileen asked why.
"I can hear someone flushing the toilet in the middle of the night." Mrs Yap told her.
Aileen laughed and said "You must be mistaken. There's no one staying in there now. I have not rented out to anyone yet."
But Mrs Yap called her again the next day. She was sure she heard the flushing of the toilet again last night. But this time, she also heard someone banging on the wall.
"What time did you hear this banging sound?" Aileen asked.
"About 2 am in the morning" Mrs Yap replied.
"That's impossible" Aileen said. "Unless ...."
Aileen could only think of one possibility. Maybe Gavin had returned during the night and stayed in her condo! She was angry. She called him but the number no longer existed.
She had no idea how Gavin could get in since he had already passed her the key. Oh, maybe he duplicated the key, she thought. That scumbag!!
After contemplating for some time, Aileen decided to change the padlock. When she went to the condo one evening to have it done, she bumped into Mrs Yap who told her that the man had just left.
"You saw him?" Aileen asked.
"No, but I heard him moving around upstairs just now and then it was quiet minutes before you came."
"But you did not see him right?"
"No I did not."
"Oh well, I have changed the lock now. He won't be able to get in."
Feeling reassured, Aileen went home. She was sure she would get a good night sleep that night.
But the next day, Aileen got a call from Mrs Yap again.
She sounded scared over the phone. "I heard it again last night!"
"Hear what?" Aileen asked.
"The banging on the wall!" Mrs Yap exclaimed. "It was quite loud and I could not sleep! I thought you changed the lock!"
"I did!" Aileen could feel a chill going down her spine.
"Then why is there still someone making all the noise? And he did it at 2am every time!"
Aileen did not know what to say. She had changed the lock! How did he get in? Through the windows? But that would mean he had to climb up 7 storeys high from the outside. It's quite impossible! Besides, she had locked all the windows and they could not be opened from the outside!
"Mrs Yap, are you sure what you heard is from my condo unit?" Aileen tried to reassure herself.
"I am very sure. It's coming right above my unit." Mrs Yap explained. "I would not hear so clearly if your unit is not directly above ours."
Aileen then decided to meet up with Mrs Yap and her husband Mr Yap to talk about this unexplained mystery. But before she went, she called her agent and asked her if she knew anything about the man who rented her condominium unit.
The agent reluctantly told her that Gavin had been suffering from depression and he was unemployed for many months. Perhaps that explained why he could not pay her the rental! As for his whereabouts, the agent said she had no idea.
Probably he's a psycho? Aileen could not shake off that eerie thought. That could explain why he banged on the wall at 2 am in the morning! Yet when she met him on several occasions, he appeared to be normal and in fact, quite polite.
When Aileen met up with Mr and Mrs Yap that evening, she invited them up to her unit. Aileen looked around for any signs of wall being damaged but found none. Then they went into the bedroom where Gavin slept.
There, Mr Yap pointed up to the ceiling. Aileen gasped. The ceiling was damaged badly as if someone had used a stick or something to hit it. So he had been banging on the ceiling at 2am every night! Clearly, it was the work of someone with mental problems!
"What happened next?" I asked Aileen excitedly.
"Mr and Mrs Yap went back hometown for Chinese New Year, so I did not hear from them." Aileen said. "And I got a plumber to fix the water leakage issue in my unit."
"Did the plumber hear or see anything unusual?" I asked.
"No, but then he had not finished fixing it yet. He also went back hometown for the Chinese New Year holidays." Aileen explained.
"So no one knows if the banging sound still continues?"
"No. And I don't think I want to know." She laughed nervously.
And just like that, her story ended. We did not meet again. I wonder what is the conclusion to her story. Should I call her up to ask? I don't know. Deep down, I don't really want to know as well. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss, don't you think?
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