Often you hear people say that love is the most wonderful thing that can be in life. It’s something that makes you complete and encourages you to be kind to others. It’s true on the one side, but sometimes love can be also cruel and bring unpleasant surprises. Also, mostly everyone has heard a tale of a Beauty and the Beast that proves that even the ones you call “monsters” are able to feel love. But not always such love stories have happy end; and the story that is going to be told now is of a young woman that loved a man who was doomed to suffer for all the sins he committed and then reborn as a hungry ghost, eternally tormented from being unable to satisfy his unstoppable hunger and thirst.

Everything turned upside down in Natre’s life when her path crossed with a man named Pichai Manapaiboon. In the very moment their eyes met, both knew that their heart will always belong to each other. But their happiness was never meant to be complete, as Pichai was known to be a mastermind of a criminal motorbike thief gang, and the police was searching for him. People thought of him as a heartless rascal that had nothing sacred in him, and it was pretty expectable that Natre’s parents never supported her relationship with this man. And it wouldn’t be surprising to hear such things, considering all the things that media told about him. Natre’s heart ached every time she read it all in newspapers or heard on radio. No criminal news were complete without mentioning the name of Pichai Manapaiboon and his gang, how they stole motorbikes and made illegal races. The worst thing she heard so far was that Pichai and his gang broke into his mother’s house, beat her up and robbed her, taking all her money and other valuable things. Natre was shocked to find out what Pichai was capable of when he needed money, as police was on his tail. Not much time passed until fresh news appeared on how he ran away from the police on his motorbike and police chasing him. It didn’t take long until Pichai got into an accident, crashing into a truck; and a steel rod went right through his left eye, killing him instantly; and his body was later given back to his family for a proper burial.

Natre felt her eyes filling with tears, and as much as she tried to keep herself from crying, she couldn’t stop herself from sobbing painfully. Her mother couldn’t miss this and hugged her daughter, caressing her hair and trying to calm her down.

“No need to suffer so much, my dear,” she said. “All that is done is for the best. This man has committed so many sins, and he got his punishment. You’re young and beautiful, and your destiny still waits for you somewhere. It’s alright, don’t cry.”

Natre listened to her mother’s gentle voice, feeling a bit better. Although mother never supported her daughter’s feeling for a criminal, she was always gentle and did her best to understand what the young woman felt. Father, in turn, was stricter about this business. He entered the room at the moment when mother tried to calm Natre down.

“What’s going on?” he asked, seeing his daughter in tears as she pressed her face to her mother’s shoulder. “Are you alright, Natre?”

“I’m… ok,” she replied, sobbing.

“She’s sad about the death of Pichai Manapaiboon,” mother explained. “Have you heard? He died in an accident while trying to run away from police.”

“Good, it serves him well,” father said. “That rascal got what he deserved. I’m glad he’s finally dead. Now at least civilians can relax.”

“Mongkut, please,” mother frowned. “I know he wasn’t a good person, but you shouldn’t talk like that. Carrying hatred in your heart won’t do any good to your karma.”

“Oh, come on, Kannika, just look at his karma,” Mongkut huffed. “I would never allow that my daughter has anything to do with a criminal. He’s not worth a single tear of hers. Besides, what I just said is nothing. For all the sins that man committed he is doomed to become a preta after death. And no one wants to be a preta, knowing the torment you have to go through.”

“Yes, you’re right about this,” Kannika agreed. “But anyway, let’s not hate anybody, especially dead ones. And we better leave this business in peace and not mention it. Natre is already upset.”

“Yeah, sure,” Mongkut sighed, coming closer to his wife and Natre. “Don’t cry, daughter. Time will pass and you will forget him. You’ll find a better man and be happy.”

“First love mostly always ends unhappily,” Kannika added. “So don’t be upset, sweetheart. Everything will be fine.”

Natre was unable to speak at this moment, so all she could do was nod. She was happy though that her parents at least tried to understand what she felt, although generally they didn’t support the development of her relationship with Pichai. Deep inside she also knew that they were right. If she tied her life to a criminal, it would become pure hell. So yes, just like mother said, all that is done is for the best. The sooner she forgets Pichai Manapaiboon, the better. Not like he was coming back anyway.

***

Days passed and Natre’s heart slowly recovered from its wounds, but the memory was still alive. She wondered where Pichai was now, although all the bad things he had done in his life would not let his soul go where it should go. Like father said, he was most likely doomed to suffer for eternity, a fate that no one would wish for. But everyone gets what he or she deserved, as karma will face any person after their death.

As the sky gradually grew darker, Natre’s family was preparing for bed, but before that they went through their usual prayer. It was their tradition, as Natre grew up in a religious family. As their house filled itself with aromatic scent of incense sticks, Natre felt herself relaxed. This was the first time after Pichai’s death when she could truly relax and find peace of mind. She felt good. And tonight her sleep would be deep and peaceful.

Finishing their prayer, her parents moved into their bedroom, and Natre went to hers. But before they could lie down, some strange sound from outside broke the silence. Natre and her parents froze in their spots and listened carefully. Judging by the sounds, something really big was moving outside, and in a few minutes a painful moan resonated through the entire neighborhood. Light illuminated the windows of several other houses nearby, as people knew at once what was going on. Mongkut Channamom, Natre’s father, still stood in his spot, but it was obvious that he was concerned.

“Oh, no… do you hear that? There’s a preta wandering around here, not far from us,” he said.

“Yes, another poor soul that suffers,” Kannika sighed. “Should we make some offering? It would calm the preta down, at least for some time.”

“Yes, we should,” Mongkut agreed. “I noticed the neighbors wake up when they heard the moaning, so they’d do the same. Bring the incense sticks and a colorful tablecloth, I’ll take care of the food.”

As Kannika spread the cloth outside the house at the terrace and put one incense stick, Mongkut returned with a few steamed dumplings. As he put them on the cloth, she lighted the stick and both returned into the house, hoping that all would go smoothly. And while her parents went to bed, Natre was still awake and unable to sleep. She couldn’t stop thinking about this hungry ghost that was wandering around. The more she thought of it, the more convinced she became that the preta was Pichai. Her father mentioned that Pichai was to become a preta after death for all his sins; and this preta has appeared just recently. So it was definitely him.

It had to be.

Natre sat on her bed and listened. Heavy steps of preta still echoed through the night. When she peeked through the window, the first thing she saw was bright red light projecting from the creature’s only eye. But when her own eyes grew more used to darkness, she could finally see the ghost in its full macabre might. The young woman felt her blood turn cold when her glance scanned the creature tall as a palm tree. It looked like a gigantic mummy with swollen belly and massive hands. Its mouth was as tiny as a pinhole, and Natre couldn’t understand whether the creature was even able to eat or drink something. This is why it suffered from eternal hunger and thirst, as with such mouth it had big problems to eat or drink. Its only eye illuminated everything around him with red light, making it easier to spot things. Natre knew now for sure that the preta was Pichai, as the monster lacked its left eye, and that’s exactly what happened to Pichai during the accident. He lost his left eye.

The creature didn’t see her, but the more Natre looked at it, the stronger her curiosity grew. She wondered whether it was aggressive towards humans or not, and moreover, whether Pichai would recognize her. She knew it was a dumb idea, but she had to find out. She put her dressing gown on and walked to the door. And so it happened that the preta stood right at their house, trying to suck one of the dumplings into its tiny mouth. Hearing the door opening, the monster stopped its business and looked at a woman that walked into the porch. He crouched to see her better, tilting his head. Despite her fear, Natre took the courage and spoke to him.

“Pichai, I know it’s you. Do you recognize me? It’s me, Natre.”

Of course, the monster didn’t respond, but hearing his name, he growled quietly and closed his eye, bowing his head. Pichai still remembered who he was, and, of course, he remembered his beloved one. Now he felt even more pain, knowing that she glanced at his now monstrous form, and he was sure she would feel disgusted. But to his surprise, Natre showed nothing of that. She couldn’t look away from the gargantuan creature before her, and Pichai could see in her eyes that her love for him is not dead. He then lowered one of his massive hands to the ground, and Natre climbed on it, feeling that her fear of the preta was vanishing. Instead, she felt sorry for the unfortunate being, for Pichai, who has doomed himself to suffering.

The preta brought its hand with Natre in it closer to its face, and she stretched her arm out, wanting to touch its face. Pichai understood the hint and lowered his head, allowing her soft palm to reach his face. And as her fingers brushed along his cheek, the monster growled again and closed his eye, nuzzling to her hand like a cat. Natre’s hand was tiny, comparing with the creature’s head, but it could still feel her gentle touch. He wasn’t aggressive, at least not to her. Maybe it was because he still remembered her, which was most likely; but it could also be that pretas don’t always show aggression towards people. It’s only natural that when a human being is hungry, it becomes aggressive; but she was now facing a ghost. And it seems that it was the same like with humans: if you make an offering to a preta, it calms down, at least for some time. In Natre’s situation it was most likely that both options were right.

“Why, why have you sinned so much, Pichai?” Natre asked with sorrow in her voice. The preta bowed its head sadly, showing that sorrow engulfed him even more. “You have ruined your karma so that you have become what you are now. But I’m not afraid of you, nor do I feel any disgust from seeing your new appearance. I haven’t forgotten you, Pichai, I really haven’t. And I don’t think I ever will, although my life will continue and I might marry another man and have family. I will always remember you. You’re going through your own catharsis, and when your karma is clean, I truly hope you find peace in a better place.”

Pichai only nodded slowly, understanding that she was right. He has done so much evil in his life that all the pain he was going through now was punishment for his sins. He deeply regretted everything, but it was too late. Now he had to pay the price. The monster then brought Natre down, back to the ground, and took the remaining dumpling instead to finish what he began. This could help him endure the torment, at least for now.

“I guess I’ll see you again, Pichai,” Natre said, smiling. “You can come back here whenever you want to, we’ll leave a treat for you in the same spot. And now… good night.”

Natre watched as the monster devoured the remains of food offering, then turned around and left, disappearing in the darkness. She sighed and returned back into the house, trying to walk as quiet as possible, afraid to wake her parents. Natre was sure they would have scolded her if they found out she went out to meet a hungry ghost. But that would be her little secret and hers only. If Pichai comes to her house again, the offering will be there, just like the last time.

And she would be waiting.