Dynasty Warrior

​Confession by Roy

Eugene, I’ve got a confession for you that I don’t think you have ever heard of before.
 
I’m a 5th generation Singaporean and I know little about my family lineage beyond my grandfather. I know the snippets of information like my great, great grandfather sailed to Singapore in the early 1800’s. Apparently he came from a wealthy and powerful family but something happened and he was forced to flee. He put his wife and son on a boat to sail southwards and promised to catch up on the next boat but he never made it over.
 
My great, great grandfather was just a young boy back then, and they were forced to sell most of the family jewels and items in order to rebuild their lives and survive. Whatever that was left was of little real historical value. Whenever this piece of family history came up at gatherings I'd groan and say, “Wasted, if only he survived, my family and I would be living comfortably in one of those large bungalows in Sixth Avenues or have a road named after our family.”
One of the regrets my grandfather had was that he wasn’t able to fulfill his father’s last wish, which was to have him buried in his hometown.
 
He had however left behind a sword, one of the only remaining items of his father's. That sword is now somewhere in my storeroom tucked away in some old boxes. But that sword contains the soul of a chinese soldier who had vowed to take care of my great, great grandfather’s family and his descendants.
 
Now, how did I know this? Because I think that in one near death encounter, I had a visit from this spirit who told me things I never knew but was validated by my grandpa and dad after I got out of my coma and told my family what I saw.
 
I was involved in a motorbike accident in 2012, and from the wreckage, you wouldn't think I could have survived that crash. The insurance company that investigated the claims couldn’t believe it too. I was taking the exit from Lornie road to Eng Neo road, when a car sped past me, coming so close I was forced to swerve to my left. My tire must have clipped against the curb and I lost control of my vehicle. I slammed right into a tree and the bike broke into two parts.
 
I was brought to a hospital, concussed and in a coma for three days. But I had no recollection of it. In that time my consciousness was somewhere else, spiritually speaking. I had no recollection of any pain, or knowledge of being transported to hospital.

In that dream, I was walking along a forested path following an animal - seriously can’t remember what animal it was but it doesn’t matter - I followed this animal to a courtyard with a large house the type you see in period dramas. An old Chinese soldier in one of those ancient outfits was waiting there for me. It was a bit strange because the courtyard turned into a graveyard, even though the house and the wall still stood. I didn’t understand the significance of what I was seeing but I instinctively knew that it was my family home.
We talked, but the strange thing was I do not recall ever hearing him speak Mandarin or me speaking English, yet we spoke in a language I had no idea what but we could communicate. From him I learned that he and my great, great, great grandfather were good friends and that he had saved this soldier’s life and this soldier made a vow to return the debt ten fold. He has been looking after our family all these while. There were many things he imparted to me that I couldn’t remember, but there was this bit he said about my great, great, great, grandfather which I remembered: “He stayed behind to do the right thing, you should be proud of him.” I remember sobbing uncontrollably and asking where he was. The soldier just replied that he was not here. This went on a repeat loop for some time.
 
Eventually, he handed me his sword and said, “this is my solemn promise - ten folds to repay a debt.”
As I reached out to take the sword, I realized that my hands are not mine. I was looking out from the eyes of someone else. The body I was in was also dressed in ancient Chinese fashion. I took the sword and immediately woke up to find myself in a hospital bed.
 
There were a lot more that happened in my dream but by the time I managed to find the opportunity to jot down my encounter, I'd forgotten most of them. What I shared with you are the main points that perhaps my consciousness had thought was important enough to retain.
 
I didn’t tell my folks about the dream until much later. At that moment we were all happy that I was unharmed. Just minor scratches and bruises. For the most part, the bike took most of the damage. If ever there was a description of what a miracle looked like, this would be it.
 
Weeks later, still disturbed by the event, I began to slowly unpack what had happened and why everyone was so concerned. To be fair, I probably wasn't able to empathize with them. I had lost consciousness then woke up feeling fine, but everyone was fussing about me as if I had died.
 
It was during one of the family dinners where, for the umpteenth time, I was asked what happened and how I was feeling, that I decided to relate my dreams. There was a stunned silence and tension so thick in the air it was hard to miss.

The place I described was something that my grandfather found familiar because he had heard his grandfather talking about it, which was the family’s home in China. There was also a sword fitting the description which I had never before seen in my life. Apparently it had been passed down through the generations as a heirloom of sorts. In fact, that was the only thing my great, great grandfather did not sell. It had been kept away before I was even born… because the item didn’t quite suit the modern look of the house. I asked my dad if I could see the sword and he said that he remembered he had packed it in a box before we moved to our current place and it’s still in a box somewhere in the store.
 
When I related that a spirit of a soldier had made a vow to protect us ten fold, each of us started sharing stories from our past of moments that we narrowly escaped death or injuries. Again, to be fair, all that really doesn’t prove anything. My family has also been relatively healthy with none of us having any major illnesses. Deaths in the family have all been of old age and peaceful.
 
So you can see why it’s hard for me to share this story elsewhere, but I think with SC, you guys will know what to do with this.