7 Month Story

The story took place during the 7th month of the Chinese lunar calendar and revolved around a young lad named Sam.
Sam at that time was working as a general worker, in a small company located at Tuas. During one particular working day, the whole of Sam's company was requested to work OT in order to meet a deadline due tomorrow. By the time everything was done, it was already past 12 am and Sam was the last person left in the office. He was left wondering whether there were still any bus services at this hour. He decided to try his luck and quickly tidied up the office, locked up and rushed towards the bus stop. The bus stop was situated by a small narrow road with dense forestation surrounding the area.

Sam waited for about 20 minutes and was about to make his way to the main road to catch a cab when a double deck bus appeared from nowhere. He hesitantly waved it down, boarded the bus and the only person he saw on the same bus was a frail ghastly looking old woman. The old woman was dressed in white samfoo and black pant, attire favored by maids in those early days or "Ma Jie" as they were commonly known then. Sam felt uneasy upon seeing her and was about to go up to the upper deck when a voice ranged out in Cantonese, "Young man, don't go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous." It was the old woman. Her comment sent a chill through Sam's bones and he figured that the upper deck might be "dirty". He decided to heed the old woman's advice and grab a seat at the lower deck even though he felt uncomfortable by her presence It was an agonizing 20 minutes journey before Sam reached his bus stop. He quickly alighted and turned to steal a quick glance at the old woman, who stared right back at him by the window. Without further ado, Sam hastened his pace and was fortunate to reach home safely.

The next day, Sam was requested to work OT and ended up being the last person left in the office again. It was already past midnight and Sam was contemplating whether to take a cab home but decided against it in the end as money was tight. So he made his way to the bus stop again and after about 20 minutes, the same double deck bus appeared. Sam boarded the bus and saw the same old woman again. He decided to go to the upper deck again when the old woman called out to him, "Young man, don't go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous." Even though, he heard it before, he still felt a certain fear inside him since it's the 7th month. To be on the safe side, he reluctantly took a seat at the lower deck again and reached home with no incidents.

The third day, Sam was asked to do OT again. By now he was feeling dreaded and worried as he didn't want to repeat the same process again. But he obliged nevertheless since it's his livelihood. He was, you guessed it, the last person left in the office again. He made the same journey to the bus stop, occasionally checking his back as he walked. The double deck bus arrived, he boarded it and saw the same old woman again. As he proceeded to go upstairs, the old woman warned him again, "Young man, don't go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous." Sam was fed up with the old woman by now and decided to go upstairs even though he was feeling a bit scared. He saw no one else when he reached the upper deck and slowly made his way to the back of the bus and sat down. Sam's heart began pounding away as he waited anxiously for something to happen. After 10 minutes, with nothing happening, Sam went downstairs to confront the old woman and asked her why she kept saying it's dangerous upstairs.

The old woman turned, stared at him and replied ..............


"Young man, don't go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous. Upstairs got no bus driver."