The Haunted Bridge
I just put down a brochure about Burma. It was mainly for the new tourist. Yet, I gleaned a snippet or two!
You now pay to see their main attractions. At the Shwedagon you can walk bare-foot for five American dollars. Their National Museum is of interest but dusty. At four American dollars it is not a top memory.
The brochure noted the work done to brighten the city. They had improved the parks. Their civic buildings had also gotten a facelift. They had built some pedestrian overpasses.
One such bridge is the basis of my next story. It is a strange tale. It could only happen in this land of myth. I intend no disrespect. They accept such things in that part of our world.
The story comes from a UBA friend. In 1974 he had come to live in Australia.
One evening my phone rang. It took a few moments before I remembered him. Then we were back in the past. It seemed irrelevant that it was forty years between talks!
He told me this tale. 'I hear that black magic is rife in Yangon. My nephew had noticed a change in friends who had visited the city. Their point-of-view had taken a complete turn. Was their attitude influenced in some dark way?
'Strange vibes come from one overpass. The one that spans the main road through the city. You recall that all traffic uses the Sule Pagoda Road.'
His story goes on. 'Work on the bridge was a hasty affair. The men mixing the concrete got called away. From a distance they saw a shrouded figure approach their machine. They saw it throw in a cloth-wrapped bundle. They began to tear back to turn off the power. Their action was too late! The mixer had shredded the object. It was now part of the pour.
All who pass under that bridge seems strangely affected. Is black magic acting on the psyche of a person?'
His story continues. A hooded traveller of the night was the first to use it' The entity would make his crossing in a strange way. The sinister one walked and climbed backwards.
'We see this to mean again to climb back. Is the junta using black powers to regain control of us? There are some of us convinced of this!'
You now pay to see their main attractions. At the Shwedagon you can walk bare-foot for five American dollars. Their National Museum is of interest but dusty. At four American dollars it is not a top memory.
The brochure noted the work done to brighten the city. They had improved the parks. Their civic buildings had also gotten a facelift. They had built some pedestrian overpasses.
One such bridge is the basis of my next story. It is a strange tale. It could only happen in this land of myth. I intend no disrespect. They accept such things in that part of our world.
The story comes from a UBA friend. In 1974 he had come to live in Australia.
One evening my phone rang. It took a few moments before I remembered him. Then we were back in the past. It seemed irrelevant that it was forty years between talks!
He told me this tale. 'I hear that black magic is rife in Yangon. My nephew had noticed a change in friends who had visited the city. Their point-of-view had taken a complete turn. Was their attitude influenced in some dark way?
'Strange vibes come from one overpass. The one that spans the main road through the city. You recall that all traffic uses the Sule Pagoda Road.'
His story goes on. 'Work on the bridge was a hasty affair. The men mixing the concrete got called away. From a distance they saw a shrouded figure approach their machine. They saw it throw in a cloth-wrapped bundle. They began to tear back to turn off the power. Their action was too late! The mixer had shredded the object. It was now part of the pour.
All who pass under that bridge seems strangely affected. Is black magic acting on the psyche of a person?'
His story continues. A hooded traveller of the night was the first to use it' The entity would make his crossing in a strange way. The sinister one walked and climbed backwards.
'We see this to mean again to climb back. Is the junta using black powers to regain control of us? There are some of us convinced of this!'
l99l - Pedestrian Bridge, Rangoon. (Is it haunted?)
(Photo: George Khin Maung Gyi)
