"Nonsense!" The priest cried out as he overheard our conversation. "How could you all believe in such superstitious stuff?"

"If you have the time for this nonsense," The priest huffed. "Believe in the Lord! This is just a trial for Dave!"

"But... we had tried everything!" The father, Mr Tam said. "Look at him! He doesn't eat or drink and just hides under the sheets! He's suffering!"

I frowned and stood over the shivering blanket before I yanked it off. Immediately the person under the covers screamed again, worsening my migraine. The person under the blankets scooted towards the far corner of the room, clutching his pillow like some kind of talisman.

His hair was messy and oily, and there was a hint of urine stench coming from him which meant he probably had peed on himself. His exposed skin looked grey and shallow while his cheeks were sunken in and his pupils dilated in fear.

I slowly squatted down next to him and asked, "What did you do in Bali?"

"No... no... no... no... no... no... no... no..." He mumbled to himself constantly, ignoring my question totally. "Go away!"

I sighed as hauntings are really a pain in the ass to handle. Suddenly, I shot my hand out and slapped him across his face, inciting a cry of shock and horror from the Tams.

"Hey! Look at me!" I gripped his chin hard and turned his face to me. "What did you do in Bali?"

He stared at me with a blank expression, his eyes hollow. "The red... red... red... red... no... no... no... no..."

Irritated, I slapped him again and snapped, "Tell me what did you do in Bali!"

"Don't hurt him!" His mother ran over and pushed me away while she wrapped her arms around him, cuddling him in her bosom. "Why are you slapping him?"

I stood up and scowled impatiently, "I need him to answer my questions!"

"How could you slap him?" The father glared at me as he stood protectively between me and his wife and son. "Get out!"

"Do you want me to help him?" I gave a shrug, "Well, guess you don't want him saved than..."

"Dad!" Sara came between us and urged her father. "He's trying to help Brother!"

The priest standing at the side snickered at me, "You are just a fraud!"

Mr Tam glared at me for another second longer before he stepped back and warned me, "Help him but do not slap him again!"

I sighed and stood next to the mother who was rocking Dave in her arms. "I need him to answer my questions if you want him to be saved."

The mother reluctantly released Dave and stood next to her husband, watching me anxiously. I reached out and grabbed Dave by the arm and unceremoniously dragged him into the en suite toilet, making the Tams shocked again at my sudden aggressive treatment.

They followed me quickly into the toilet when they recovered from their shock and found me shoving Dave into the bathtub. I turned the water on in the shower and sprayed cold water all over Dave who started panicking and screaming under the sudden cold water shower.

"What are you doing?" The father yelled at me while trying to stop me.

"I didn't slap him this time right?" I asked him while continuing to spray cold water at Dave who was trying to get out of the wet tub but keep slipping in it.

I pushed the father away and gripped Dave by his shirt, jerking him up to face me. "What happened in Bali?"

The cold shower seemed to bring back some life in his eyes as he blinked at me in confusion. "Bali...?"

"Yes! Bali!" I asked again. "Tell me what did you do there?"

"I... I..." Dave stammered in confusion. "We... had a... beach... party there..."

"Tell me what did you do at the party?" I demanded as I sprayed more cold water at his face, shocking his system.

"We... I... drank... and party..." He replied slowly as his senses slowly returned.

"What happened at the party?" I asked impatiently.

"I... not sure..." He coughed and shivered. "I... can't remember..."

I dropped him back in the tub and handed the showerhead to the father, "Clean him up, then we shall talk again once he recovers his senses."

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-----

I took a sip of the rich coffee offered to me by Sara and waited for Dave to come down the stairs. His parents supported him down to the sofa while the family maid went into his room to clean it up. Dave held a mug of steaming hot soup and sat huddled with a towel over his head.

His eyes constantly twitched about nervously and once in a while, his body trembled. I suddenly snapped my fingers before his face, jerking him out of his trance and he looked at me fearfully.

"Feeling better?" I said before asking. "Now tell me what went down in Bali with your friends?"

For a moment he looked in confusion at me, and his parents patted him gently on his shoulders, "Go on, tell us what happened. What made you this way..."

He frowned into his mug of soup as he tried to recall the events of that holiday trip. "It... it was nothing... Just a normal holiday!"

"We... dined and shop in the town, then... we had had dinner, before going... to the beachside pub to drink and party..." He said. "It was... the same... the next day! After... that... we took a cab... and returned to the... airport... before coming... home!"

"Are you sure?" I asked as I stared at him. "Are you sure you did not go anywhere else? Especially at night? For supper?"

"No..." He moaned. "No... We partied until the morning... and went... back to the chalet..."

I sighed before turning to his sister, Sara. "Do you have a laptop?"

"Yes!" Sara replied and quickly went to bring it down from her room. "What do you need it for?

I waited for her to boot her Macbook up before I said, "Go to google maps. Find the location of his chalet."

"Oh, sure..." Sara was slightly taken back. She tapped a few keys and soon the location of the resort was shown on the screen.

"Zoom in till ground level," I said before turning to her brother again. "Hey, show us the route you took from the beach party back to your chalet."

Dave nodded slowly and he gestured to his sister, pausing now and then as he tried to recall his path. Finally, after several mins, he leaned back on the sofa and said, "That's how we return."

I nodded and asked his sister to through the route again, rotating the view on and then to the surroundings. Suddenly, I gesture Sara to keep scrolling the view and frowned when as I already had a suspicion of what had happened. "Did you walk down this way?"

It was an image of a grove of banana trees on the side of the road, just between two shops. I checked the google map image data, which was dated 2017. Dave scrunched his face as he tried to recall the events several days ago before he said, "I... I think so..."

"Did you see this?" I asked again gesturing to the grove of banana trees on the image. "Did you stop here?"

"I... can't remember..." He mumbled as he scrunched his face up trying to remember the details. "It was dark..."

I turned to his sister, Sara, and asked, "Can you contact any of his other friends and ask them what they did?"

Sara nodded before she picked up her mobile phone and started dialling. She spoke on the phone while I took another gulp of the lukewarm coffee, ignoring the priest's glare at the side. After a moment, Sara got off the phone and said, "I just called Paul, he is one of the group of friends that went with Brother to Bali."

"He said the same thing, they partied most of the night away," Sara repeated what was said on the phone. "He said it was too long ago and he doesn't recall anything since it was a month ago."

"Call the rest and keep asking," I replied grumpily. "And can I have more coffee?"

-----

We managed to get a clue later on with one of the friends, which further reinforced my suspicions. That particular friend who did not drink until piss eye blind had said that Dave had stopped to flirt with a lady on their way back on the last night of the trip.

He remembered it clearly as he recalled the lady was wearing red and had long hair and it actually creeped him out as the lady was standing in a dark corner in the early hours of the morning, unlike other prostitutes that would normally ply their trade in more touristy areas.

The next question which I asked Sara to ask him made me shake my head when he replied to her answer. The place that the lady in red stood at appeared to have some banana trees.

Dave's mommy gasped as she heard what her daughter said and she worriedly cuddled her son tightly under her embrace and looked at me with a fearful expression and asked in a trembling voice, "Is... it a Pontianak?"

"Nonsense!" The priest seated on the sofa snapped as he heard her words. "There are no such things! It is just superstition!"

I ignored the priest's words and eyed Dave instead. "It is a very high chance that a Pontianak has latched on to him..."

"What's a Pontianak?" Sara asked with wide eyes as she saw the worried looks of her parents and the scornful look of their priest. "Is it dangerous?"

"Don't be taken in by his words!" The priest grumbled. "He's just a charlatan trying to cheat your money!"

I was starting to get very annoyed with the priest and my hands were starting to itch. I ignored the ignorant priest again and explained with as much patience as I could muster. "A Pontianak is a sort of female vampire of Malay and Indonesian folklore. It has a few names, but Pontianak is the most commonly known name."

"It is said a Pontianak is created when a woman dies in childbirth or a woman who kills herself wearing fully red and their spirits unable to find peace becomes vengeful spirits," I explained curtly. "They normally dwell under the shade of a banana tree. Google it if you want to know more!"

Sara quickly started playing with her MacBook while her parents quickly asked me, "Can you save my son from the Pontianak?"

"Have you heard any cries of babies lately?" I asked as I tried to recall all I know of the creature.

"Yes," The mother answered for everyone, "Several times over the week, the neighbour's baby has been crying out loudly at night."

"Only at night?" I asked again.

They nodded, "But lately, it appeared to be getting lesser."

"Lesser or quieter?" I frowned.

"Quieter I think?" Sara answered this time. "Last night I could barely hear the baby next door crying anymore."

"That is bad..." I sighed. "Alright, I can be certain it is a Pontianak..."

"What nonsense is this?" The family priest stood up angrily. "Are you all believing the words of this... fraud? This is a scam! Dave needs help but not by a scammer! I will have no dealing with such a scam! I have warned you!"

"Father please!" Mrs Tam stood up hurriedly to placate the angry priest who stormed out.

I made a small prayer thanking God for finally having the man leave the house and turned to Mr Tam and said, "I will need to go grab some stuff from the car. Tonight I will stay with your son to help him get rid of the Pontianak haunting him."

I then turned to Sara and said, "If what you said about the cries of a baby were getting softer... That means that thing is here..."