Honoring Chun Wa's Spirit

by Ana Cristina

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Li did not have a lot of money, so he could not give his wife a lavish funeral. But he scraped together what he could, enough to honor Chun Wa so that her angry spirit wouldn’t come and chastise him for not honoring her enough.

The day after the funeral, Li could not get the baby to drink any milk. Jing-sei refused the very goat’s milk she had been complacently drinking, as if suddenly hungering for that which had been forsaken her.

Her pearl-drop of a face scrunched up and red with her wailing, Jing-sei cried all day and night. Li pleaded with the infant, “Why do you cry, little dove? Your mother is in heaven and she cannot give you her milk. This kind goat has given you hers. Please drink it, daughter.” Still the infant cried, her voice growing louder and louder.

Li was beginning to worry the baby was possessed with a demon. He could hear his wife’s insistent voice in his head. “You should give her to the mountain! This girl will bring sǐ to our house.”

Li knew then what had to be done.

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Comments

Average Reader Rating: 5.0 stars out of 5

  1. Honoring Chun Wa's Spirit

    THX 0477's Buddy Icon THX 0477

    Posted 2 months ago

    Very serious tone and very effective.

  2. Honoring Chun Wa's Spirit

    thebetweenspace's Buddy Icon thebetweenspace

    Posted 2 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    I didn’t even finish the first paragraph before a comment popped into my head. I love the idea of honoring her enough that her angry spirit won’t come back and chastise him for not honoring her enough. Funny and yet sobering concept in such a serious story. Great work, as usual.

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