Tiger Spirit of the Old Shop

''Tiger Spirit of Old Shop''

Deep inside the forest of the northern highland,''Philip'', a middle-aged man and an old hunter in the village of Ban Huai Piang, was there. He resided with his wife and children in a hut at the extremity of a rice field. Despite all of it's bad, one thing that kept Philip strong enough to keep fighting was the smile of his little son and the sound of his wife's laughter, she always sent food and water for him when he would sit in the middle of the forest.

That night was a full moon night. Philip went into the forest to hunt food for his sick youngest son, as he wanted him to eat good food. He crouched on a tall wooden shop in pitch black darkness with the sound of wild beasts howling. But then…

Noises of light footsteps pacing around beneath the shop…

A soft creaking like a man groaning in ''Help…''

Philip grabbed a flashlight but could see nothing. There was only the darkness of the trees waving in the wind. But by the time he had turned around, A slender figure now stood in front of the store. It was a girl with long hair, a pale face, and red eyes.

Philip was taken aback and retreated inadvertently.

His corpse tottered to the ground from the shop, a loud thud following the body up, dead instantly…

But in the silence, a huge tiger had come out of the dark. Scenting fresh blood, it rushed in and maliciously tore the flesh off of the hunter with the wild beast's instinct.

But… the soul of the hunter hadn't left the nice body.

He was too in love with his wife and children.

aloof was his soul at a loss at the forked tails of the tiger that had eaten him.

He'd become a tiger spirit … without really realizing it.

Hunger, thirst, and revenge.

At first, the tiger spirit knew not what to make of it… Why was his cub's voice so empty in his head?

Why was he haunted by the image of his wife?

And why was his heart capable to ''miss'' him?

It prowled the woods, howling.

It attempted to walk back to the village, but the villagers kept chasing it, shooting at it, and chasing it away again.

It was tracked. A group of new hunters from nearby villages was summoned to help chase it.

It did not make sense…which was all it wanted to do after all, go back to its wife and children.

But…on the way back,

It began to hunt…kill…eat anyone who crossed it's path.

One by one…one by one.

For a voice in his head was going dim… and leaving only the thirsty roar.

And…resentment.

The truth and release.

Years have passed, and there is a female hunter named ''Mandy'' that acquired magic from her teacher in the northeastern part, because she went to that place heard about ''a man-eating tiger'' that somebody died every day.

She made a talisman, with which she tied herself, as well as a black magic thread, and prepared fine human bones, which she powdered with a mixture of magic spells, and entered the dense forest in which the tiger resided. On a night without the moon, she looked it in the face.

It screamed at her, its shadow shifting. She was not afraid.

She chanted, withdrew, and hurled a clay pot at it.

There was a loud boom, and the tiger's body convulsed in pain.

When the flames burned, the hunter's soul was drawn from the tiger's body.

Then at last… he saw his shadow…

''I… died…''

I never got to go back to my son …''

The image of his adult son, the image of his wife clutching his picture to pay respect to his corpse, blurred together.

He attempted to cry, but no tears formed as he no longer possessed a physical form.

There was nothing but his final impression of… regret.

The voice of Mandy said:

''You can go and be reborn. Live to suffer no more…''

Then the soul of the hunter flitted away in the gloom of the great woods.

And since then… No other man-eating tiger was ever seen in that forest.