The 11th Diver (第十一个)

I just returned from Langkawi and met a diving instructor on the returning ferry. I am too old to try underwater diving but somehow we stroked a conversation since it was quite boring then. He told me his strange experience.

Normal diving activity is performed during daytime. However, there is another type of night diving activity specifically for advance divers only. Night diving is exciting but it is also more dangerous for novice divers.

It was just normal night, dive instructor Jason led a team of 10 experienced divers diving just off north coastal area. As usual Jason asked team members to take a role count: “1, 2, 3… and 10”. After satisfied nothing is wrong, they went into the water.

The sea was not very rough that night. After a round of underwater activity, Jason again asked all members to congregate before return to surface: “1, 2, 3… and 11”. Well, the number isn't right murmured Jason. He counted again: “1, 2, 3… and 11”! Indeed his counting was correct; there were altogether 11 figures in front of him.

In order to find out whom the 11^th person was, Jason used his head light to check the participants one by one… and his gaze fixed on a figure at the far back of the 10^th participant. So, Jason approached the figure and as he swam closer his head light shone into the participant’s diving mask and… he instinctively fall backwards. There he saw in the diving mask was half decay face with hollow eye sockets!

At this point, Jason quickly calmed his mind and signalled his team members to return to surface. After Jason made sure everyone is on board, he hurried the ship skipper to return home in the hope to lose the creature by all means.

After hearing Jason’s story I smiled and told him that he had perhaps met with the soul of a drowned diver in that part of the sea. Normally, a drowned soul is called a ‘water ghost’ and this type of ghost has nowhere to go but to wander on the high sea until some able person summoned this poor soul for deliverance ritual.

In old days, if a person is drowned at sea, his/her relatives would throw a watermelon into the sea and call his name. It is believed that this will lead the dead soul to whoever summoned it.

Fishermen will tell you this story:

On a full moon night and when the sea is calm, you would see a figure sitting at the bow of the ship alone quietly. You should not disturb it for it is only a drowned soul who just wanted a rest. After that it will go back to the sea in peace.

Normally if a ghostly figure is seen at night, chances are that the fishermen would find a floating body in that part of the sea the next morning. It is a norm to drag the dead body back to harbor and call it a day. Otherwise there would be many problems if a fisherman ignores this dead body. For the dead soul will make every effort to chase away the fishes and the fisherman will return empty handed anyway.