Jangan Pandang Belakang...for real!

I received a very disturbing phone call from a close friend after work, yesterday.

This friend of mine works in the financial industry.

He is a banker with a foreign bank. 

He is now in his mid 30s. He studied economics in a western university. 

Healthy, adventurous, goal oriented, sharp and always filled with positive attitude.

I consider his life as a very successful one.

I've secretly admired him and somehow considered him as my 'idol'.

It has been quite some time since I last heard from him. 

I thought that he was just busy with work, something that he is always complaining about.

(So buzy was he, that he just can't let his blackberry go! The blackberry seemed like it morphed

 into his palm)

 

Well, I learnt that my assumption wasn't completely wrong.

He was busy alright. 

But it wasn't because of work.

He confided in me that he was actually busy fighting for his peace of mind.

He claimed that he had been 'sick' for three weeks.

Knowing him, I know that he is not the kind of person that succumbs to sickness, easily. 

I sensed that something must be wrong. 

I just had to ask.

Me: What happened?

Him: I was 'sick' for 3 weeks. Am feeling a bit better now, though.

Me: Err, what kind of 'sickness', if you don't mind?

Him: Hmm...don't know if this makes sense to you. I was under some kind of black magic spell.You know, the kind that involves 'dukun' , 'pawang' (witch doctor) and stuff. 

Me: What?! 

Yes.

He said that it all started after he returned from a business trip to Indonesia.

He wasn't feeling sick, but he completely lost his appetite.

His weight has gone down tremendously, and because he's not eating properly, he doesn't have the same gusto to carry on working like before.

He suspects that it was the doing by someone who is jealous of the good relationship that he has with his Indonesian business partner. 

They wanted to weaken him, physically and mentally, so that he won't be able to continue doing business in Indonesia.

Wow! Imagine hearing THIS from a well educated man.

How are you supposed to react? 

What was I supposed to say?

Me: What made you so sure? 
Him: I didn't believe in all these, at first. But then, I figured that something wasn't right and I went to see the doctor. The doctor said that I was fine.
I didn't suspect anything, until one day I invited some friends over for dinner. 
One of them suddenly became hysterical! I was completely blown away! 
We then take him out; more like wrestled him out of the house, where he fainted.
Minutes later, when he's concious, he told me that he saw 'something' hiding in my shower room! 
Me: (Bulu roma meremang)
Him: My other friend than brought me to go and see a 'bomoh'.
 The bomoh said that the 'being' followed me back from Indonesia with the sole intention of inflicting harm to me. 
(there goes my 'hantu'-and-the-likes-won't-be-able-to-cross- over-water-bodies myth down the drain) 
 I asked the 'bomoh', that I've showered many times there since I returned, but why didn't 'it' bothers me, then?
The 'bomoh' told me that maybe its because of my will strength, 'it' couldn't inflict harm at once. Thus 'it' stayed on and made me loose my appetite in order to weaken me first.
My condition's improving, after the 'bomoh' managed to subdued 'it', but 'it' is still there.

Needless to say, I didn't sleep well that night.