The Scent of a Ghost

From: renerose kim (rsmorier@yahoo.com)
Story type: Ghost
Location: Changi River, Singapore
Source: Form Submission

A few years ago, a friend of mine had given me a bottle rose liquid which according to him was good for the eyes and stomach. I took it along with me when I went home for the weekend to visit my parents.

One afternoon,I took a sip of this liquid. My father passed by and was curious about it so he took the bottle and smelt it. All of a suddenly, he had a shock and goose pimples appeared on his arms. I was quite surprised for he was a soldier and surely a brave man. He was full of fear and when I asked his why, he told me of a story that happened to him when he was about 15 years old.

My father is a Singaporean. In Singapore, there is a folklore that if a person smells rose scent and there is no logical reason whatsoever that it should be there, never look back for you may see a ghost. The person has to walk backwards until he can't smell the scent anymore and quickly go far away.

In the early 70's, my father lived near the Changi River. He and his friends had decided to go night fishing at a nearby bridge that was under construction. Children had been repeatedly warned by parents to stay away from it. Nevertheless, they all went.

That evening, my father wanted to go nearer to the water and told his friends that he would fish by the bank. The others were reluctant but one of the boys, Roger, said he would follow shortly. My father went alone and went on with his fishing in the darkness.

A few moments went by and then there was a strong scent of rose. There were no rose bushes in his area and suddenly it struck him. Was there a ghost behind him? He had a strong urge to look back but he couldn't. He remembered that Roger should have been there by then. So he called out to him repeatedly but there was no answer. He felt weak from fear of the possibility of what could be behind him. Then he heard the voices of his friends above him. He gathered enough strength to gather his tools and walked backwards until he could smell no more scent. He ran to the top of the bridge and found his friends with confused faces. They told him that Roger had run away like a maniac. With all the commotion, my father had forgotten what had happened under the bridge. They searched for Roger and found him in my grandfather's house. He was shivering in my grandpa's arms. He had a high fever and could not say a word.

A Chinese spiritually doctor which Singaporeans call "Bomoh" was called. The Bomoh burnt incense and chanted the whole night. By the morning, Roger was better. He got up and with horror in his eyes, he looked my father and said," Morris! Did you see it??? Did you see it standing behind you???" He said that he had seen a white lady-like figure standing directly behind my father's back...

In many cultures around the world, the dead are washed with rose water before burial. Do their spirits carry this scent along with them? Is rose the scent of a ghost? Was their really a ghost behind my father?...I believe so.