The garden looked entirely different at night. They had never planned on having it open after sunset so they didn’t bother adding lights. Xian knew the paths well enough that she was confident she could find her way. The most obvious place to search for the ghost was at the giant chimes.

Even though it was dark, the garden was never silent. The Bamboo Forest had it’s own peculiar sound. The other chimes brought about their own rings and clicks. The deep tones of the giants, far away kept Xian oriented. She continued on and soon reached them.

She had chosen a clear night with a visible moon so that she would have some light to help her. She entered the clearing before the giants and stopped for a second. Was there anyone here? None that she could see. Another breath of wind and there was a slight bong.

And then she appeared, down by the chimes. She was a young woman dressed in a long white robe. Xian peered through the dark to try and tell if it was her mother. She couldn’t tell. She took a few steps forward.

“Hello?” No answer but the figure turned her head and looked at her. Did the features look familiar? Whoever it was, there were certainly younger than her mother was. Probably no older than a teenager. Xian tried again, “Hello, can I help you?”

She now had the full attention of the ghost. It took a few steps towards her and then stopped, listening attentively but not speaking.

“Are you…are you my mother?” The thing raised it’s hands and looked upwards. Xian didn’t know if this was an answer or not. She looked up, following her gaze. A shooting star caught her eye and then disappeared. Xian quickly looked back to the figure. Still there, and still hadn’t said a word.

Xian went on, “I don’t know who you are. You might be my mother’s spirit, I can’t tell.” No response. They just looked at each other. “Maybe you can give her a message from me. Please tell her that I’m sorry things weren’t better between us. I wish she could have understood. I wish we weren’t so different.”

Was that enough? Xian suddenly felt that there was so much more she wanted to say. “Tell her that I loved her and that I miss her everyday. Tell her…” and the figure raised her arms again and looked upwards. Xian followed suit and there was another shooting star. What did they mean?

She looked back and the young woman had moved closer to her. The ghost raised a single finger to her lips as if to quiet her. They stood there for a moment studying each other. Then the figure nodded her head slowly and started walking back to the giant chimes. As she reached them she turned and said, “You have made us proud.”

And then she disappeared.

There were a few ghost sightings after that but the number and quality dropped. Most of the nation decided that whatever was happening was over. Amateur ghost hunters and mediums still came out to try and detect something but their results were disappointing.

The videotape was hotly debated but no one could prove it was a fraud. This one place would always be regarded as a ghostly hot spot by those who care for such things. There was still room for the spiritual pilgrim though. In fact, they came to dominate the visitors. Xian saw this and smiled.