Tabby’s aunt is her father’s oldest sister who happened to be nothing like her father. She was a free spirit hippie who never grew out of her psychedelic teen years and was ultra cool and laid back. This is who Tabby went to live with after her father and brother died; her aunt’s name is Pualani but she prefers to go by, “Flower,”
Aunt Flower had no clue as to her younger brother’s lifestyle; Tabby felt that the less smart her aunt was about the life they led, the better. It was safer that way. If Tabby wanted to, she could come and go as she pleased but she did not want to cause her aunt any worry. But when she had to do her job, she would always call to let her aunt know that she was studying at a friends house or that she had band practice after school. Which most often times she did. In light of the tragic experience that her niece lived through, Flower arranged for Tabby to attend a once a week healing session with her personal Guru/therapist, Layden Chu.
Today is the first day.
…..........
“Shall we start out with some deep breathing exercises before we begin?” Layden asked.
“How come your name is Layden Chu, but you’re haole?” Tabby asked.
“I took the name of my venerable Sifu Chu after he passed away,” Layden replied.
“Did you get permission to do that?” Tabby queried.
“It was done to honor my Sifu,” Layden bowed his head in reverence.
“What’s your real last name?” Tabby inquired.
“My transitional Hinayana name was Epstein, but now that I have reached the Mahayana plateau, I am Chu,” he said softly.
“We’re here because my aunty flower wants you to help me right?” Tabby asked.
“Yes, I am here to bring you to a place of perfect light and healing,” Layden confirmed.
“Then can you just be Epstein and not Chu? I love my aunty and I dong this for her, I’d be a lot more responsive if you could just be your Epstein self instead of your Mahayana one,” Tabby shared.
Layden took a deep breath and relaxed his stupa like posture and sat with his back up against the wall.
“Alright kid, how’s this? Is this okay?” Layden smiled.
“It’s more tolerable than a minute ago,” Tabby replied. “ I don’t have the urge to slap you anymore,”
“Let’s do this, you can do your homework or play on your phone or whatever and I’ll check my e-mail and we’ll just hang out for the next hour, and then we’re done,” Layden suggested. “How’s that?”
“Works for me, “ Tabby agreed.
“Your aunt flower forked up a lot of money for a year of these sessions, so at some point, we’re gonna have to talk to each other,” Layden shrugged his shoulders. “This is me being my Epstein self, which you said would make you responsive,”
“I said I’d be a lot more responsive, I didn’t say when,” Tabby removed her journal from her bag and began to submit an entry.
…..........
Entry 36: Tabby Kahana. 3:38pm. Wednesday afternoon.
Ghost of a Filipino man began to haunt his old house once his widow decided to re-marry. He was pissed, but how the hell did he find out after being long dead? Anyway, the Filipino man’s ghost possessed his widow and made her try and kill her new husband on their honeymoon. The problem, is they’re new age Filipinos from the mainland so they are clueless as to their Filipino heritage and what they should do. They’ve saged and smudged their home and have performed a truncated version of an exorcism. Nothing is working. The ghost of the first husband continues to possess the body of his widow and will not leave. Family calls me for help but to be fair, I, in turn, called an Albularyo or a Manggagamot. For lack of a better term, it’s a witch doctor. The old woman meets me at the house on Kahualena Street but the possessed widow is waiting in the front driveway. She attacks the albularyo; the poor woman is caught off guard and cannot cast her spell. Just my luck, there’ a life-size mirror in the garage. I grab it and scream at the widowed woman, she turns and sees her own reflection in the mirror but it isn’t her, it’s the ghost of her dead husband. His ghost sees what his ghost has done to his widow’s body, he’s horrified, he leaves. He never comes back. Success.
…..........
“You’re writing something in your journal?” Layden asked.
“I’m not gonna share it with you if that’s what your asking,” Tabby offered. “See how I’m not even looking at you?”
“We’ve got a year, we have to talk sometime,” Layden sighed.
“I can’t share what’s in my journal, ever,” Tabby replied.
“I’m taking a look at your shirt there, it looks like it’s been let out. It kinda looks like a bit of extra material was added on to it,” Layden noticed. “That’s Hello Kitty on it, right?”
“It was a birthday gift from my father and my brother when I was seven,” Tabby said quietly.
“Oh okay cool, did you have cake too on that day?” Layden felt like he almost had his foot in the door.
“No, they died later that same day,” Tabby was even quieter. “I’m gonna write in my journal some more,”
“Sure,” Layden said. “Yeah, sure,”
Remove foot from the door, and insert in mouth,
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