Dying

(Translated from Japanese by Saya)

My father committed suicide.

I didn't know how to tell my 5 year-old son about it, and in the end decided to simply tell him,
"Hey, son...Grandpa is dead."

My son replied,
"That's not true. He isn't dead."

I had heard children could sometimes see things that adults couldn't see, and wondered if my son could see my father's spirit or something.
So I asked,
"You say it's not true? Grandpa isn't dead?"

My son answered,
"No, Grandpa keeps dying."

I felt chills down my spine.
What exactly did my son see?


Comments

silversquall88 said…
Saya!!

I've been checking this site every few months for the past few years. Glad to finally have you back!

Regarding this story, this super creeps me out. It really hits the perfect amount of uncertainty for me. I love how it puts you at ease a bit, when the narrator calmly acknowledges that the child might be seeing a ghost. But then the story alludes to something much stranger and inexplicable. I got chills too just writing this.
@silversquall88 Hi! :D How's it going? I'm glad you're here again too!

Oh that's good that I've succeeded in scaring you! XD I wasn't sure if was able to retain the scariness in the translation! I'm grateful that you left a comment to let me know how you thought about it!

Take care, dear, and come back to comment again! :D
CreanJinSung said…
I feel for this kid. In two instances regarding the death of a relative, my ears rang so much it was deafening.

First time, I blamed it on not being able to sleep then I heard my mother on the phone with my aunt and got the news that my uncle passed.

Second time, I thought it was just a really loud noise and asked others if they heard it, they did not. An hour later, my mother called me on the phone to tell me my grandfather had passed around the time of when my ears rang.

Or you know. It's just coincidence.
@CreanJinSung Oh dear! Ear ringing is supposed to be a sign that a ghost is near! You must be sensitive to spiritual things! :D You're like my mother.
CreanJinSung said…
@Saya - I have actually never heard of any belief in my country of why ears ring regarding supernatural reasons. Now whenever my ears ring I'll try talking to the ghost near me and ask them to stop screaming in my ear.
@CreanJinSung lol yes ok try talking to them and let us know what happens XD
George V said…
Some of the best stories revolves around what kids can or can not see. I just hope that kid can find someone to help him with what he is seeing.
@George VanMeter Are you worried about the kid? You are such a kind soul.

The 99.9% of my blog readers are really nice. If there were more people like you guys there would be no wars in the world! haha
Kitty Ai Net said…
Hey saya, great to see you back again after all these years. I'm glad that i stuck around waiting for your next post. Wasn't disapointed at all.
Yeah regarding the ear ringging thing, I usually brushed it off making it looked like I'm don't care about any presence in the room with me at that time just because I'm always too focused playing games or reading.
Love you a lot, keep up the great work.
Haem said…
Poor kid, it would be awful to watch your grandfather dying over and over again. Btw, I was reading the comments about the ringing ears meaning that a ghost is near and got a bit freaked out since my ears have been ringing for over a week now! I was about to make an appointment with a doctor because of this but now I'm scared that he might tell me that everything is fine with my ears leading to the conclusion that a ghost have been near me the whole time haha.
@Kitty Ai Net Thank you dear Kitty cat! :D Don't worry, if any ghosts come near you, they must be nice ghosts who only want to play with you! I love you too and take care!
@Haem Oh no! Your ears have been ringing? OK you must go to a church, temple, mosque or wherever you prefer to go, and have yourself purified XD.

Haha, don't worry above it! Go see the doctor first and see how it goes! Maybe it's caused by stress? You can come back and tell me how it went! Take care!
Freya said…
Oh I see a lot of games about person whose spirit being trapped in eternity and they keep replaying their suicide scene over and over again as a punishment. That alone is already awful but for someone living have to witness that...I can't imagine the horror
@Mela Putri Oh, I had no idea such a thing get portrayed in games, That's bizarre! lol
Incognito said…
Mela Putri has a point. The punishment for suicide, which is considered a grave sin in many beliefs across the world, is to repeat it over and over again for all eternity. This might explain why the grandfather keeps dying. I can also recall lots of Asian horror movies in which a suicide victim's spirit is stuck in a loop, killing themselves endlessly: The Eye 1 and 2 (China), Rinne (Japan), Shutter (Thai) and so on.

Gabriel said…
This one is as sad as it's chilling, I can't help but think about how suicide is considered a sin in some beliefs, so maybe the kid saw how purgatory/afterlife looked like for him... bit I hope it wasn't like that, the poor grandfather doesn't deserve to suffer anymore.

Btw, your's is a very good reason for liking London, haha XD!! I think I'd quite like those bookstores too (and books on witchcraft sound really interesting!) And aw, I guess we've all had those experiences that we'd want to go back and start over, I can definitely relate.
Seeing the roses in bloom sounds lovely, if you hadn't told me I'd prolly gone there on winter actually! I'll keep your advice in mind when planning a travel, thank you very much :D!!

Lucid dreams are quite an exquisite experience, but don't worry they're not scary at all, I'll be sure to tell more next time (I just don't want to spam with comments too long for now xD, also sorry if I tend to write too much)

As always, thank you for the story, and for taking the time to chat with me too! Take care and stay safe
Unknown said…
In mainstream culture, such apparitions are called "Echoes". Or just apparitions, since they can't interact.

It is said if the death is unexpectedly sudden, tragic, or violent, it tends to leave residue behind. Typically, suicides do count as tragic, because there is a lot of emotional trauma attached to the person who commits the deed. In fact, most of such cases are from suicides (I remember a local legend about a lady who jumped off a bridge a few kilometers from my house, and they said some people spotted her doing the same action, over and over again, for a few days after).

Being more receptive than adults, I think that's what the child saw. These generally fade away eventually, usually after a week or so.

I hope they were able to sleep soundly afterwards xD
Unknown said…
Hi Saya!! I've had your blog bookmarked for years and I'm so glad you're finally posting again! Great to have you back!!
@Myriam C. Oh! I don't think I've ever watched any of those movies despite running a blog like this. lol Thank you for introducing them to us!
@Gabriel Never go to England during winter. Although it's nice around Christmans time, the weather is forever cold and dreary. No small percentage of the populace suffer from seasonal affective disorder during winter, and I'm not surprised. I probably suffered from it too. XD

I remember I once went to a place called St Albans near London, which had a really lovely rose garden and where I watched a Shakespeare play. I was only a teenager back then and I'm not sure if my memory is correct, but if you are interested in that sort of thing you should check it out. Maybe they still organise such events. But it was the first time I saw a Shakespeare play outside, in a garden full of roses. :D

It's amazing you had lucid dreams before! How did you do it? Did you just dream it naturally without trying? :D


Thank you very much, it's my pleasure to talk to you! Take care and see you soon!

@Sir Calvin Taylor I'm much obliged, Sir Calvin, I never knew they had a name for such an apparition! :D

You have an interesting local legend! My mother is a Buddhist and she said the exact same thing about people who commit suicide, that they keep repeating their last action over and over again! If that's true it's really horrible!

I hope you have more legends to tell me next time! :D
@Puneet J Hello! Thank you very much, dear. I'm happy that I'm making you happy :D
Gabriel said…
@Saya Yomino Aw I didn't know that the populace suffered from that there, thanks for telling me! One of the reasons I wanted to go in winter is because I do prefer cold weather, but if the overall ambience gets too melancholic it definitely isn't the best for a vacation.
And a Shakespeare play in a garden of roses sounds almost surreal, it must have been awesome!! Watching stage plays is not something I usually do, but I'll definitely look into that if I'm there, maybe I can get lucky and see something like it too. Thanks for this tip as well :D!

Oh no, sadly lucid dreaming takes a lot of training for it to happen xD. First you need to get the habit of doing "reality checks" all the time while you're awake (to make sure you aren't dreaming), then you also need to write down the dreams, because this makes your brain start to "value" the dreams more and you'll remember them more frequently. Eventually, you'll perform a reality check while dreaming and realize you're in a dream.
Although you can notice you're in a dream from other signs too. For example, the most telltale one for me is that in dreams you can never read the same text twice - the words change each time you read them. I also sometimes realize it's a dream when the situation is just too weird (or too nice) to be real. All in all, the hardest part is not waking up immediately after realizing you're dreaming! (but being able to wake up immediately is good when it's a nightmare you're having :D)

Thank you very much for your kind words as usual!! Until then
Petzie said…
Did the kid saw his grandpa's dying soul...? or did the father murdered the grandpa by strangling or poisoning? and that the grandpa is barely dead but still alive..?
Destinneena said…
This may sound horrible but sometimes gohsts re-live their death, so her son is seeing it. When you think of it that way it makes me feel more creeped out.
@Gabriel In England during summer it can be hot during the day but it's much cooler in the evening, much like in the north of Japan, so you can still enjoy the cool weather. :D If you go there during winter, go there around Christmas when it feels nice and festive! Places like Regent Street is very nice to walk down during Christmas season.

Wow, thank you for the tips to make you have a lucid dream! I might try it too, although I feel a bit scared! XD I never remember my dreams so I guess I should try remembering them immediately after I wake up and then write them down in a diary, as you suggest.



@Petzie Very dark suggestions you have there! Thank you!


@Shari Zoeller I think that is what might be happening, dear!


Everyone thank you for commenting! <3
Hemu said…
Well son, you just gaze at the abyss there. And it gazes you back, boy
Lynne said…
Well according to the movie The Eye (or whatevs its called in english) ppl who common suicide have to relieve it all over and over again. and every 1 knows lil kids see all kinda crap we cannot anymore. so yeah.