Duck Leg - A Ghost Story, written by Sandie May Joyce (Sandie Angel). Please scroll down to read my story.
Ah Kwok woke up early this morning. It was Ching Ming Festival today and he was expecting a lot of visitors to the cemetery to visit their ancestors. It is a tradition for the Chinese descendants that during Ching Ming Festival to clean the graves of their ancestors and to offer them flowers and good food to eat. As a graveyard keeper and an undertaker, Ah Kwok's job today was to keep the graveyard in order and to help the folks to clean the graves so they could carry on with their ceremony. In return, he would be paid some money. For Ah Kwok, today would be a good day to make some extra cash. Most Chinese folks are more generous on a day like today and they would tip him well.
Ah Kwok, a man in his 60s, just shy of 2 years to his retirement from the job he has held down nearly all of his life. A thinly frail-looking old man, he took care of the graves well. The dead were pretty much part of his life, he grew old with them. In two years he could finally relax with a full pension.
He took the time to clean himself well, combed his hair, making himself look more presentable. The people would be arriving soon. His broom and his shovel were already propped up against the door so he would not forget to take them along on his way out, but his new helper still had not arrived yet. The management had just hired Ah Leung yesterday to give Ah Kwok some extra help today. There had only been two applicants, and Ah Leung seemed to be the better of the two. Ah Leung appeared to be in his late 20's and was well-built. He looked like he would be perfect for the laborious nature of the job.
Ah Kwok, growing impatient, sighed and looked at his watch. It was almost 7:30 and Ah Leung still had not arrived yet.
Young people! You really can't depend upon them! I hope he's really coming! He thought to himself. Well... If he still won't show up by eight, I'll be heading out to work without him. He's going to have to find his way around by himself.
The young man showed up just as Ah Kwok was ready to step foot outside. Ah Kwok gave Ah Leung a shovel and a broom and told him where he was supposed to work. "Eternal Journey" was a graveyard that was built around a mountain. One could even see from a distance, rows upon rows of gravestones, lining from the bottom of the mountain up, almost the top; each section divided by steps made of stone for people to go up. At the front of the cemetery was a large parking lot as wide as the mountain. The cemetery was built in the 18th Century and some of the gravestones were really old.
"Eternal Journey" got busy around 9:00 a.m. with a steady influx of visitors, Ah Kwok and Ah Leung both began work on two separate sections. When done, they moved to the other sections which still needed work. As the morning turned into day, the people began pouring in, laying out the food that they had brought with them to offer in their ancestors' gravesites, and began to pray. Some burned incense and some gold and silver papers folded up in the shapes of ingots. Some had brought along Chinese wine, poured them out into little teacups. Each relative would take turns in praying to their ancestor.
Along the foot of the mountain, the vendors had arrived early, they sold incense sticks, Chinese ornaments, and lucky charms. Some vendors sold food as well.
By noontime, the cemetery was packed, which made Ah Kwok's and Ah Leung's duties became even more hectic. There were other undertakers as well, but they worked in the other sections of the cemetery. Each temporary ground cleaner working with an undertaker was a contractor who had been sent through the employment agency. The management would only pay a small hourly wage to the agency for a contractor, the rest of the money made today for a contractor would be from the tips by helping the folks to clean the graves.
For Ah Leung, this was an eye-opener. He had never seen this type of offering before and kept wondering what were the people going to do with all their food after the ceremony is over. Some brought in plenty of cakes, fruits, cookies, chicken, barbeque ducks, and some barbeque pork as well! After a while, it really made Ah Leung hungry, but he was not supposed to touch that food, the food was supposed to be for the dead, not for the living. He concentrated on cleaning the graves when necessary, and some paid him very well in tips. It made him quite happy.
By mid-day, Ah Leung took a half-hour break, and couldn't wait to get back to work after the break was over. He and Ah Kwok were very busy, it seemed they had chosen some much busier sections for themselves.
One young couple with small children came in late in the evening. They laid out their food and prayed. Their two children thought they were in a playground and kept jumping up and down the steps on the side of the section. Ah Kwok made a mental note. Perhaps he should let the management know that they should put up a sign to remind people to tend to their young children so accidents would not happen. The undertakers aren't supposed to be watching over their children.
Ah Leung sat at the adjacent grave to where the young couple was, taking a much needed short break. He was beginning to feel tired after working, putting in almost a whole day's work. He watched the couple as they put out all the good food on the grave. He noticed that the grave belonged to someone who had died a few months before. Judging from the picture on the tombstone, the man appeared to have been in his 60's. He had large eyes, thick eyebrows, and a rounded jaw, and some grey hair. He must have been a well-to-do guy when he was alive. Ah Leung thought. Perhaps he was the young woman's father, as he could see the sadness that overcame her as she began to cry while saying her prayer. After her prayer, it was the husband's turn. He stood there in front of the tombstone, bowed three times, and said a silent prayer. All these rituals were new to Ah Leung as he had never experienced anyone who had died in his family. All the while he was thinking about why people are wasting all that good food. He was not convinced that their ancestors were really going to be able to eat them. But... Whatever! It was not his duty to tell these folks not to waste so much food. He was only in charge of cleaning.
By 8:00 in the evening, the crowd had left, only a few were still around. Ah Kwok and Ah Leung began to pack it in for the day. Most of the vendors at the foot of the mountain had also left already. Ah Kwok and Ah Leung did a final clean up on those latecomers' mess. The ashes from the incense and those of the paper ingots in gold and silver need to be swept clean too, otherwise, the wind will blow them all over the place.
"What about this food?" Ah Leung asked. "Are we just going to leave them here? It's just going to go to waste!"
"Leave alone! Don't touch them! The spirits are going to come out at night to eat them," Ah Kwok said.
"Are you serious? That's not real! You really don't believe there are spirits, do you? They aren't going to come out to eat, are they?"
"No, really! Just don't touch them, okay? They all have been prayed on and blessed by a Buddha or a God of their own belief, and the spirits are going to come and eat them during the night," Ah Kwok said. He began to clean up the rest of the mess and got ready to retire for the day.
"Okay, then," I'll take your words for it. You have had a long day, so you just go and get rest. I'll clean the rest, and be there shortly." Ah Leung continued to sweep the place.
Ah Kwok watched Ah Leung as he sweeps. For an instance, he felt something was going to go wrong but he could not quite pinpoint what it was that he felt. He didn't know if he could trust Ah Leung, but he felt he had done enough for the day already, he would retire into his living quarter now. He gathered up his shovel and broom and began walking back.
Ah Leung continued to do his cleaning. Now he has come back to where the young woman and the children had been. As he swept the burnt ashes off the ground his eyes rested upon the succulent B-B-Q duck and all the good food that was there. He bent down and took a duck leg and began eating it.
Why waste all of this good food? he thought. By tomorrow all this may go bad anyway. Who says I can't eat this? Thought Ah Leung as he sunk his teeth into the succulent duck leg. There are no rules written anywhere that we are not supposed to touch it! Kwok was just on a power trip with me. He continued to make excuses for his behavior.
He sat there and ate the whole B-B-Q duck leg. It was a bit cold already but still very delicious. After he finished with the duck leg he moved to other food: the chicken, the chicken drumstick, the barbeque pork. He took a little from each and sampled them. He was enjoying his meal when... Suddenly!... Out of the corner of his eyes, he glanced at that old man's picture on the tombstone, and...
HOLY MACK! The guy's round eyes seemed to be looking straight at him! For some reason, those eyes now seemed even larger, and bulging! Ah Leung was scared! He immediately dropped a chicken drumstick and put it back to where it was. He turned around and ran back to Ah Kwok's living quarters.
"Hey, back so soon? Are you all done already?" Ah Kwok asked in bewilderment.
"Yes, they're all done!" He lied. Who cares? I've got the money in my pocket already anyway! Ah Leung
thought.
He put the shovel and the broom down by the door and told Ah Kwok he would just call it a day and was ready to head home. Ah Kwok told him the last bus had left already and there would not be another one until 6:00 a.m. the following morning.
"You can stay here for the night if you want. There is an extra cot here if you decide to stay over and leave in the morning. Com'ere!... Wash off all that dust from yourself first, then have something to eat."
Ah Leung decided to stay for the night. He washed himself well, and sat down to eat his dinner. It was some steamed rice mixed in with some chopped green vegetables and corn, some pieces of stir-fried pork. Ah Kwok made a simple meal.
After the dinner, Ah Leung found the spare cot in the room, so he decided to sleep on it. He slept for a few hours and was suddenly startled by a small noise that woke him. At first, he thought it was Kwok walking around, but he looked over at his bed and found Kwok sound asleep and snoring. He looked at his watch and was stunned to realize it was already 2:00 o'clock in the morning. He listened closely and it seemed like someone was walking outside of their living quarters. Who could that be? Had someone left behind and couldn't find the way out?
It was really creepy, and Ah Leung was on the verge of completely freaking out. He now could remember what Kwok had said the spirits, that they would come out during the night to eat the food, and now Ah Leung wondered if there was any truth to the story. He turned around and tried to go back to sleep but was struck with immense fear. His heart was pounding. He could now envision the old guy's picture on the tombstone with his round, bulging eyes. Ah Leung curled up into a fetal position, pulling the blanket up to his ears.
*Bam!...Bam!...* Wait!... Somebody is at the door! Ah Leung heard a faint knock. He didn't answer and pretended that he was still sleeping.
*Bam!... Bam!...* It knocked again!... much louder this time. And this time Ah Leung could also hear a faint voice that seemed coming from afar. It sounded like, "I want the leg! Give me back the leg!"
Ah Leung remembered that B-B-Q duck leg that he had eaten. He should have listened to Ah Kwok when he told him to leave the food alone! Why didn't he?
The voice growing louder, demanding the return of the leg. It kept knocking on the door, knocking and demanding louder and louder. Ah Kwok was awakened by the noise.
"What is it? Who's there?" Kwok asked. He was not afraid of any spirits at all. He had spent almost a lifetime caring for them. They were pretty much a part of his life as he was to theirs.
"No, please don't! Don't open the door!" Leung pleaded.
"Why? What have you done?"
"Sorry, I have not taken your advice. I went and ate a B-B-Q duck leg."
"Oh, no!" Ah Kwok exclaimed. His eyebrows squeezed together by his forehead. He looked at Ah Leung in disbelief.
*Bam! Bam! Bam!* "Where's the leg? I want my leg!" The voice continued.
Before Kwok and Leung could decide what to do, they saw a dark shadow spilling through the door. Ah Leung was scared stiff. The dark shadow began to take the shape of an old man, and his face - it was the face of the old man in the tombstone! In his hands, he held a plate of a B-B-Q duck, complete, except for one leg missing.
"I want my leg! Where's the leg?" The old man's round eyes pierced sharply through its skull, scanning the room, coming to rest upon Ah Leung, who was now scared into whiteness. All color was flushed out of his face. He ran towards the door and tried to escape, but the door would not open. The old man kept walking towards him with the plate in his hand. "I want the leg! Give me back my leg!"
Ah Kwok watched in horror as a mysterious force lifted Ah Leung halfway up in the air. Ah Leung now had both his hands up his own neck, choking himself. Then, as fast as lightning he was slammed against the wall. The action repeated itself once more. Ah Leung cried out in agony.
Ah, Leung tried to escape. He crawled underneath a table to hide, but the angry spirit would overturn the table and find him, lift him up once again, and slam him down on the floor. Ah Leung tried in vain to escape. It was of no use.
"STOP!" Ah Kwok yelled out. He suddenly did not seem to be just a frail old man anymore. There was an aura of power and authority surrounding him. He now seemingly turned into a much powerful being. His eyes looked straight into the spirit old man's round eyes.
The spirit screeched to a halt in mid-action. He looked at Ah Kwok, awaiting his next command.
"My friend, Ah Leung, is only a young man. You must forgive him. It was his first time at this job. He didn't know any better."
The spirit gave Ah Leung one final thrust to the floor. Ah Leung quickly dropped to his knees. "Please don't hurt me! I had been working all day and became very hungry, and that was why I had eaten the duck leg. Please forgive me, sir!"
Tears were running down Ah Leung's eyes now.
The spirit turned around to look at Ah Kwok one more time, transformed himself back to a dark shadow, turned around, and spilled back out the door.
Ah Kwok quickly ran to Ah Leung's side. Both men sat on the floor in what seemed like an eternity. Ah Leung was stunned at what they had just experienced. They fully anticipated the return of the dark shadow, but it seemed the spirit had left. The place was quiet was and peaceful. Perhaps the spirit old man had decided to forgive Ah Leung after all. Both men breathed a sigh of relief and decided to go back to bed when suddenly, to Ah Leung's horror, he could not feel his right leg! He tried to stand on both legs but fell to the floor. There was no feeling in his right leg!
They called for an ambulance and Leung was transferred to the hospital. The doctors checked him all out, but could not find anything wrong with his right leg. There were no broken bones, not even a fracture. They were baffled at their finding. Poor Ah Leung completely lost the use of his right leg and had to walk by the use of a cane. He knew the true reason why this had happen, and with constant therapy, only God knows when he would be regaining use of his right leg again.
Copyright (c) Sandie May Joyce
This story is one of the stories in my published new book: "Tales of Fantasy and The Supernatural, Vol. I"
I was going to think that Ah Leung would lose one of his legs, but you have gone easy on him. Hopefully, he will regain the use of his right leg soon. Great story!
GREAT STORY THAT HELD MY ATTENTION FROM START TO FINISH, COULDN'T HELP BUT BE GRATEFUL THOUGH FOR FORGIVENESS AND SECOND CHANCES...THANKS FOR SHARING. LOVE, BLESSINGS AND FAITH...JOYCE * HIS INSPIRATIONS
Sandie!! You have such a fine imagination!! I love you stories.....especially when there is a moral to them, which there certainly is in this one! Fine work, as usual, dear!! xo
Well, you are a storyteller, Sandie. An engaging story for sure. Thank you for sharing it. Love and best wishes to you.
Regis
Reviewed by Danny Underwood
7/7/2018
It's a great story, and this is well told. It's nice to know about the Ching Ming Festival in China. Ah Leung was lucky to get off so easily, it could have been worse. Hopefully, the therapy will help him to regain the use of his leg.
It's a fictional story. I can create any types of characters in a fictional story. However, in today's reality, many employees are being forced to do about 6 people's jobs (I did that when I was working) when the employers begin downsizing. Also, it is up to the employers to list out your job description. Those who are willing will have their jobs secured. Any jobs and job titles can be changed in a matter of seconds according to the employers in today's world. - That's a reality!
The cemetery that I have mentioned in the story is REAL, my grandparents are buried there. It is in Hong Kong. The name of the cemetery has been changed in my story. When I was a young girl going to the gravesite to visit my grandparents on Ching Ming Festival, I DID SEE some graves-cleaners there! So you can't say they don't do the kind of work I mentioned in this story. There is no difference and no jobs title to grave-cleaners, anyone who works in the graveyard is known as Undertaker. I have never heard that an undertaker would dig a hole on the ground, and then would leave a mess after burying someone for a "Grave-cleaner" or "Grave-laborer" as you have mentioned to clean up the mess in the gravesite. Even if there was such a job position in the graveyard, they would also be known as an "Undertaker" to the general public. We don't differentiate them as Grave Cleaners, and/or Grave Laborers. They are ALL Undertakers in the eyes of the general public. I think my introduction of Ah Leung in my description of him and also through Ah Kwok's thoughts was enough to emphasize that Ah Leung's physique was more suitable for the laborious nature of the work. I have and DID mention this part in my story.
Ah Kwok and Ah Leung are the fictional characters that I have added to the story since the tradition of cleaning the gravesites on Ching Ming Festival is a real tradition.
Your suggestion of the birds and animals was really great! It would be nice for me to add that part to the story. However, this is not a story about Snow White meeting some birds and animals in the forest, and I need to emphasize the point about the spirits roaming the cemetery during the night to eat, so I will decline your suggestion, but thanks so much for giving it a thought! It made me think too!
I had thought about making Ah Leung lose a leg completely, but somehow it seems not so fair for him to lose a leg just because of a cooked duck leg, (it was not like he had ripped the duck leg off the duck while it was still alive) and he was only sent there to work through the employment agency. I think even in a story, we need to be fair with the punishment.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting on my work!
Thank you to Eva too!
An entertaining story. The expression, "cost an arm and a leg" comes to mind. Ah Leung lost the use of his right leg. In his case, he got off easy in learning a lesson the hard way.
I like stories that teach a lesson. This one certainly does, especially for the young reader.
While I believe this story parallels actual Chinese beliefs and rituals, I'm a bit confused. Ah Kwok is supposed to be an undertaker. An undertaker is someone is usually someone who prepares, or undertakes, bodies after death for burial. Undertaking is a very difficult and unsavory job. But nowhere have I heard of undertakers having to dig graves, maintain cemeteries, or clean them. Those kinds of jobs are given to simple laborers. Undertakers, for their difficult skills, might be part of the ceremony, but certainly would not stoop to grave maintenance.
I was expecting that small animals and birds would make short work of all the food left out. They could easily be considered as the spirits of those who died and were reincarnated as those smaller, freer, animals.
But for ghost believers, your story is plausible because movies, in particular, portray ghosts generally as being rather violent and horrifying… Taking out their anger on innocent or not so innocent, humans. But the action taken in this case, numbing Ah Leung's leg, seems tame compared to what I was thinking: having his leg become missing altogether, like the ghost's duck leg.
WEIRD RHODY is a short story collection featuring five strange tales all set in Rhode Island and written by five Rhode Island authors. The anthology is a tribute to H.P. Lovecraft, the Ocean State's famed author of pulp horror.
