〈Parallel Universes〉 平行時空

11、〈寄生的鬼魂〉
「你整整昏迷了七天，天可憐見！」坐在床緣自稱是我母親的女人，對著我拭淚。可我付出的代價，就是對以前二十幾年的生活記憶，像是被魔鬼拿板擦給擦掉似的，突然消失掉。
妹妹陪我到花園廣場曬太陽，頭一次覺得午後的太陽，如此的溫暖。這裡有幾個中風過的老人，有的拄著拐杖，有的坐在輪椅上給推著，有的被護士或家屬攙扶，一顛一跛地緩慢行走，就像漫步在月球表面的太空人。這時，一部輪椅車緩慢從我身旁經過，我的雙腿突然感覺一陣被輾壓似的強烈痛感，我轉頭看果然輪椅正輾壓過我投影在地上的影子，而且部位剛好是我的小腿，我本能地，伸出雙手使力推開那輪椅，推輪椅的護士被我突如其來的舉動嚇著，以那種「你這傢伙很冒失」的眼神盯著我。妹妹也覺得不能理解，我怎麼突然行為失控。當然我也被那種突如其來的輾壓痛感給弄糊塗了。緊接著，有個拄拐杖的老人，他的枴杖剛戳進我的影子頭部，我的頭雖然纏著幾層紗布，感覺像被人用木棒戳痛似的，我趕緊跳開來。妹妹再次看到我怪異的舉動，更是一臉驚訝不解的表情。她走向我，我立馬伸出手指著地上我的影子說：「妳從旁邊繞過來，別踩到我的影子。」
妹妹被我嚇著，小心地繞過來，一臉迷惘地望著我問：「哥，你到底怎麼了？」
我近乎自言自語說：「我不知道！似乎只要有人踩到或車子輾壓過，我就會發生疼痛反應，而且疼痛的部位和受到踩踏輾壓的部位竟然是一樣的。」
「怎麼會有這種事？哥，該不會是妄想吧？」妹妹仍覺得，我出現這種反應很不可思議。
我決定先回到病房歇息，妹妹走在我側邊，她的影子上半身投影在我的胸腹間。
回到病房後，我把剛才的情況約略描述給母親聽，一旁的妹妹幫我作證。母親隨即找來值班醫生，聽完我的描述，建議說這可能得找精神科醫生來診察，才有可能找出原因。
傍晚，一個精神科的醫生，約莫不到三十歲，頗有氣質的輕熟女，進來到病房，走到我的床邊，盯著我的臉看了十幾秒鐘，對我說：「接下來，我要跟你使用筆談。」又轉身對我母親和妹妹說：「請兩位家屬暫時離開病房，我要開始對患者進行精神狀況鑑定。」
母親和妹妹四眼對望幾秒，雖然有些疑惑，仍識趣地離開病房。
女醫生打開檔案夾，在床邊的圓椅坐下來，隨即跟我筆談。
「先生，你被一隻女鬼附身了，而我看得到她。我不想讓她聽到我們談話的內容，所以跟你筆談。」女醫生把檔案夾交到我手上，我迅速看過，跟她點頭示意，把檔案夾還給她。
女醫生把剛才那張紙上的鉛筆字，以橡皮擦擦拭掉，又繼續寫新的內容。
「這隻女鬼看來似乎對你並無惡意，她會附在你身上，應該是想你幫她忙。說不定今晚等你入睡後，她會進到夢裡找你，別害怕，你就誠懇地跟她好好談，弄清楚她為什麼會附到你身上，問看她想要你為她做些什麼？」
女醫生又把檔案夾交給我，看過後，我在她那串字的底下寫著︰「好的，我會面對她，跟她好好溝通。」
女醫生接過檔案夾，再次把我上面的鉛筆字擦拭掉，又寫了一行新的字：「明天上午我會過來，請你把她跟你談的事情，寫在紙上。」
我點頭示意，心情卻是七上八下，心想：「這女醫生莫非有通靈能力？可為什麼她不想辦法，把女鬼直接從我身上趕走。」
女醫生看我發愣著，這時她終於開口說：「先生，請不要懷疑我的專業能力。」
被她這句話點中，我驚訝地望著她，尷尬地傻笑。
女醫生離開後，母親和妹妹進來病房，母女倆好奇地問我這個那個的，我只搖手示意她們別再追問。
夜裡，妹妹睡在靠窗的小床上。大約就是我開始進入夢境吧？一個模樣清秀女大生，從我的身體裡跨出來，那時我正在書桌前瀏覽網路，挑選世界足球賽轉播轉場次，她盤腿坐在書桌上。
「先生，你終於清醒過來了，這七天來我一直守護你，不讓勾魂使者有機會把你的魂魄，從你的身體裡勾出來。」
我壯起膽說：「謝謝妳，如此盡力幫我。」
女大生苦笑說：「我們同樣遭遇，幫你等於幫我自己。」
我好奇問：「怎麼說同樣遭遇？」
女大生哀怨地娓娓訴說起：「在八天前的那個深夜，我剛從校門口出來，走在路口的斑馬線上，一部黑色房車急速闖越紅燈，瞬間撞飛我，接著撞上騎單車的你，這部房車立即揚長而去。我的魂魄被撞離開身體，懸浮在半空中，可我的身體被強力的撞擊力道給撕裂開了，而你則是暈倒在路旁人行道上。」
「然後呢？」我問。
女大生接著說：「一個手持鐮刀鉤的勾魂使者，隨即靠近你的身體，想把你的魂魄鉤離身體，我立即附在你的身上，跟你一起抵抗使者，好一會兒等救護車抵達事故現場，使者才放棄，悻悻然離開前還撂下狠話，一定要來帶走你。」
「所以這七天來，妳一直附在我身上來保護我？」
女大生說：「是的，我聽從醫院裡流浪的鬼魂提醒，說只要熬過頭七，你就可以還陽。所以這七天來我寸步不離守護你。」
「可我不明白，為什麼我的影子會跟活人似的，有疼痛感應？」
女大生解釋說：「因為白天裡，你接觸到陽光，身體會產生陽氣，抵銷掉我的陰氣能量，我只能暫時附著在你的影子上面，可這樣一來，你的影子就會被我控制住，同步感受到我所遭受到的外力衝擊，產生疼痛的磁場感應。」
「原來如此，妳想要我怎麼幫妳？」
女大生一臉怨恨地說：「我想請你幫我找到駕駛那部黑色房車的車主，向他索命。」
我說：「好吧！我去請警方調閱路口監視器。」
女大生臉上閃過一抹微笑說：「好，警察局我們鬼魂進不去的，但你可以。」
次日上午，女醫生如約來到我的病床前，跟我筆談。我把和那隻女鬼的對話內容，在筆談中盡可能講清楚，並回答女醫生的一些提問。之後，女醫生提醒我：「那隻女鬼的話不可盡信，她雖然無害你之心，但她可能會利用你，去找到車主，向對方索命，而這筆帳將來就會算在你頭上。」
我寫下反駁的意見：「可對方說她盡力守護我，如此說來是我欠她一份人、鬼情啊？何況她冤枉喪命，去找肇事者索命，完全合情合理！」
女醫生反問：「如果那隻女鬼存心欺騙你，捏造這些看似合理的情節，只為了利用你，幫她找到仇家呢？冤冤相報，絕對不是處理陰陽界恩怨的可行辦法，我只是善意提醒你，別成為女鬼復仇的工具。」
筆談後，我的心情跌到谷底，腦筋裡一片混亂：「我會不會被女鬼利用，成為她的復仇工具呢？可如果我不幫忙她，她會不會不放過我？好吧！今晚我跟她詳細問清楚，幫不幫她再做決定。」
當夜幕再度降臨，我突然有個想法，如果我整夜不睡，這隻附在我身上的女鬼，會不會跳出來找我？於是，我和母親、妹妹商量，母親陪我上半夜，妹妹陪我下半夜，觀賞世足盃足球賽轉播。兩人對我這晚上不睡覺的主意，一開始並不認可，而且輪流追問原因，我掰了一些理由總算說服她們。我讓她們先提前去小床上睡，過了午夜我開始有睡意時，才把母親叫醒，要她陪我觀賞網路上的世足賽。到了三點，我讓母親去睡，母親說她還撐得住，她把妹妹叫醒，聽她倆唱雙簧聊著我的成長史，從出生到上小學，一路聊到大學畢業，我不時插嘴提問，然後不知不覺天亮了，太陽光從窗口照進來。我跟她倆說：「我們先用過早餐，然後就在太陽光底下睡一覺，好好補眠吧？」
當我們一家三口吃過早餐，妹妹取出一面鏡子，對著鏡子以濕紙巾擦拭眼眶時，我看見那隻女鬼映現在鏡面上，對著我張牙舞爪，當然，妹妹看不見女鬼那張氣急敗壞的鬼臉。
等到女醫生來到病房，我讓妹妹取出那面鏡子交給女醫生，女醫生微笑說：「我看見那隻女鬼，鏡子把她反鎖在虛擬的鏡像空間裡，她應該不能再出來糾纏你了，先生，你究竟是怎麼辦到的？」
我得意地說：「就整晚沒睡啊！我媽陪我看世足賽，還有跟我妹一起聊我的成長史啊！一直聊到天亮，接著一家人吃早餐，然後我發現那隻女鬼映現在妹妹的梳妝小鏡子裡。」
妹妹驚訝問：「我怎麼看不到那女鬼呢？」
女醫生說：「小妹妹，靈界的鬼不值得妳好奇，這面鏡子我得帶走，往後妳哥就不會再被那隻女鬼騷擾，出院後安穩地過日子。」

11. “The Parasitic Ghost”
“You were unconscious for seven whole days. Thank God you made it through!” The woman sitting beside my bed, who claimed to be my mother, wiped away her tears as she spoke to me. But the price I had paid was that the memories of more than twenty years of my previous life had suddenly vanished, as if the devil had erased them all with an eraser.
My younger sister accompanied me to the garden plaza to sit in the sun. For the first time, I felt that the afternoon sunlight was so warm. Several elderly stroke patients were there. Some leaned on canes, some were pushed along in wheelchairs, and others were supported by nurses or family members as they slowly limped along, like astronauts walking across the surface of the moon.
Just then, a wheelchair slowly passed by me. Suddenly, I felt an intense crushing pain in both my legs. I turned my head and, sure enough, the wheelchair was rolling over my shadow projected on the ground, right across the area corresponding to my lower legs. Instinctively, I reached out with both hands and forcefully pushed the wheelchair away.
The nurse pushing the wheelchair was startled by my sudden action and stared at me with an expression that seemed to say, “What the heck is wrong with you? You’re so reckless.” My sister also could not understand why I had suddenly lost control of myself. Of course, I was equally confused by the sudden crushing pain.
A moment later, an elderly man walking with a cane came along, and the tip of his cane poked directly into the head of my shadow. Although my head was wrapped in several layers of gauze, I felt as if someone had jabbed me in the head with a wooden stick. I quickly jumped out of the way.
My sister was even more astonished and bewildered by my strange behavior. She walked toward me, and I immediately pointed at my shadow on the ground and said, “Come around from the side. Don’t step on my shadow.”
My sister was startled and carefully walked around me. Looking at me in utter confusion, she asked, “Brother, what’s wrong with you?”
I said almost to myself, “I don’t know! It seems that whenever someone steps on my shadow or a vehicle runs over it, I experience pain. And the part that hurts is exactly the same part of my body corresponding to where the shadow was stepped on or run over.”
“How could something like that happen? Brother, could you be imagining it?” My sister still found my reaction completely unbelievable.
I decided to return to my hospital room and rest. My sister walked beside me, and the upper half of her shadow was projected across my chest and abdomen.
After returning to the hospital room, I roughly described what had happened to my mother, with my sister there to confirm what I had told her. My mother immediately called the doctor on duty. After listening to my description, the doctor suggested that I might need to see a psychiatrist to determine the cause.
That evening, a female psychiatrist, a sophisticated woman who looked to be under thirty, entered my hospital room. She walked over to my bedside and stared at my face for more than ten seconds before saying, “From this point on, I’m going to communicate with you in writing.”
She then turned to my mother and sister and said, “Please leave the room for a while. I’m going to begin evaluating the patient’s mental condition.”
My mother and sister looked at each other for several seconds. Although they were somewhat puzzled, they wisely left the room.
The female doctor opened a folder and sat down on the round chair beside my bed. She immediately began communicating with me in writing.
“Sir, you have been possessed by a female ghost, and I can see her. I don’t want her to hear what we are saying, so I’m communicating with you in writing.”
The female doctor handed the folder to me. I quickly read what she had written, nodded to indicate that I understood, and handed the folder back to her.
The female doctor erased the pencil writing on the sheet of paper with an eraser and continued writing.
“This female ghost does not seem to have any ill intentions toward you. She is probably possessing you because she wants you to help her. Perhaps tonight, after you fall asleep, she will enter your dreams and come looking for you. Don’t be afraid. Just talk to her sincerely and calmly. Find out why she has possessed you, and ask what she wants you to do for her.”
The female doctor handed the folder back to me. After reading it, I wrote beneath her words, “Okay. I will face her and communicate with her properly.”
The female doctor took the folder back, erased my pencil writing once again, and wrote a new line:
“I’ll come back tomorrow morning. Please write down what she tells you.”
I nodded, but my emotions were all over the place. I thought to myself, “Could this female doctor actually have psychic abilities? But why doesn’t she simply find a way to drive the ghost out of me?”
Seeing me staring blankly, the female doctor finally spoke. “Sir, please don’t doubt my professional abilities.”
Her words hit the nail on the head. I stared at her in surprise and gave an awkward, foolish grin.
After the female doctor left, my mother and sister came back into the room. The two of them curiously bombarded me with questions, but I simply waved my hand, signaling them to stop asking.
That night, my sister slept on the small bed beside the window. Perhaps that was when I began entering a dreamlike state. A pretty young female college student stepped out from my body. At the time, I was sitting at the desk browsing the Internet, trying to choose which World Cup soccer matches to watch.
She sat cross-legged on the desk.
“Sir, you have finally regained consciousness. I have been protecting you for these seven days, preventing the soul reaper from having a chance to pull your soul out of your body.”
I gathered my courage and said, “Thank you for doing so much to help me.”
The college student gave a bitter smile. “We suffered the same fate. Helping you is the same as helping myself.”
I asked curiously, “What do you mean by saying we suffered the same fate?”
The college student began telling her story sadly and slowly.
“Eight days ago, late at night, I had just left the school gate and was walking across the crosswalk at an intersection. A black sedan suddenly sped through a red light and hit me, sending me flying. Then it crashed into you, who were riding a bicycle. The car immediately sped away.”
“My soul was knocked out of my body and floated in midair, but the powerful impact tore my body apart. You, meanwhile, collapsed unconscious on the sidewalk beside the road.”
“What happened next?” I asked.
The college student continued, “A soul reaper carrying a hooked scythe immediately approached your body and tried to pull your soul out. I instantly possessed your body and fought against the reaper together with you. After a long while, the ambulance finally arrived at the accident scene. Only then did the reaper give up. Before leaving angrily, he even threatened that he would definitely come back to take you away.”
“So you have been possessing me all these seven days to protect me?”
“Yes. I listened to the wandering ghosts in the hospital. They told me that as long as you survived the first seven days after death, you would be able to return to the world of the living. So I have stayed by your side every moment for these seven days to protect you.”
“But I don’t understand. Why does my shadow have pain sensations just like a living person?”
The college student explained, “Because during the daytime, when you are exposed to sunlight, your body produces positive energy, which counteracts my yin energy. I can only temporarily attach myself to your shadow. But once I do that, your shadow comes under my control and simultaneously senses the external forces that strike me, creating a painful energy field.”
“I see. Then how do you want me to help you?”
The college student’s face filled with resentment. “I want you to help me find the owner of that black sedan and take his life in payment for mine.”
I said, “Okay. I’ll ask the police to retrieve the surveillance footage from the intersection.”
A faint smile flashed across the college student’s face. “Good. We ghosts can’t enter a police station, but you can.”
The next morning, the female doctor came to my bedside as promised and communicated with me in writing. During our written conversation, I explained my conversation with the female ghost as clearly and completely as possible and answered some of the doctor’s questions.
Afterward, the female doctor warned me, “You cannot take everything that female ghost says at face value. Although she may not intend to harm you, she could be using you to find the owner of the car and take revenge on him. If that happens, you may eventually be held responsible for what she does.”
I wrote down my objection: “But she says she has done everything she could to protect me. Doesn’t that mean I owe her a debt of gratitude between the living and the dead? Besides, she died unjustly. Isn’t it completely reasonable for her to seek revenge on the person responsible for her death?”
The female doctor countered, “What if that female ghost is deliberately deceiving you, fabricating these seemingly reasonable details simply to use you to find the person she wants revenge on? Revenge only leads to more revenge. It is absolutely not a viable way to settle disputes between the worlds of the living and the dead. I’m only giving you some well-intentioned advice. Don’t become a tool for the female ghost’s revenge.”
After our written conversation, my spirits sank to rock bottom, and my mind was in complete turmoil.
“Could I really be used by the female ghost and become her instrument of revenge? But if I refuse to help her, will she refuse to let me go? All right. Tonight I’ll ask her everything in detail and then decide whether or not to help her.”
When night fell again, I suddenly had an idea. If I stayed awake all night, would the female ghost possessing me come out and look for me?
So I discussed it with my mother and sister. My mother would keep me company during the first half of the night, and my sister would take over during the second half while we watched the World Cup soccer matches online.
At first, neither of them approved of my plan to stay awake all night. They kept taking turns asking me why I wanted to do it. I made up several excuses and finally managed to convince them.
I had them go to bed early on the small bed. After midnight, when I began to feel sleepy, I woke my mother and asked her to watch the World Cup soccer matches online with me.
At three in the morning, I told my mother to go to sleep. She said she could still stay awake, so she woke my sister instead. The two of them took turns chatting about my childhood as if they were performing a two-person comedy routine, talking about everything from my birth to my elementary school years, and then all the way through my college graduation. I occasionally interrupted to ask questions.
Before I knew it, dawn had arrived, and sunlight streamed through the window.
I said to the two of them, “Let’s have breakfast first, and then we can sleep under the sunlight and catch up on our rest.”
After the three of us had breakfast, my sister took out a small mirror. As she used a wet tissue to wipe around her eyes while looking into the mirror, I saw the female ghost reflected in its surface. She was baring her teeth and claws at me in fury. Of course, my sister could not see the furious ghostly face.
When the female doctor arrived at the hospital room, I asked my sister to hand her the mirror.
The female doctor smiled and said, “I can see the female ghost. The mirror has trapped her inside a virtual mirrored space, so she should no longer be able to come out and bother you. Sir, how exactly did you manage to do that?”
I proudly replied, “I simply stayed awake all night! My mother watched the World Cup matches with me, and my sister and I talked about my childhood together. We talked until dawn. Then the three of us had breakfast, and afterward I discovered that the female ghost was reflected in my sister’s little vanity mirror.”
My sister asked in surprise, “How come I can’t see the ghost?”
The female doctor said, “Young lady, there’s no need for you to be curious about ghosts from the spirit world. I need to take this mirror with me. From now on, your brother won’t be bothered by that female ghost anymore. Once he is discharged from the hospital, he can return to a peaceful life.”