They rewound the film and looked at it again. They saw the same thing. They watched it two more times, to see if there was any explanation for the figures sudden disappearance. Then they grabbed a camera and looked for footprints or any evidence that it was some kind of hoax. Nothing of any kind was found.

The tape was run back to the broadcast van. They uploaded a copy to the main office with an urgent message describing what to look for. This was good stuff and they knew it.

The network was ecstatic. They had expected a simple puff piece celebrating the opening of one of the new Wonders. Some footage of nature, soft music and a softball interview with the creator. Not only had they found an unexpected raw spot from the creator, they somehow had taped a ghost. At least that’s what it looked like.

The main office sent word for the tape to be sent to an analyst so the could confirm that it hadn’t been tampered with. This was big news and they wanted to make certain that they didn’t make claims that they couldn’t back up. As much as they wanted to believe there was always the possibility that they were being used to increase publicity.

The cameramen were the first to come up with the theory that would soon become conventional wisdom. Xian’s poor mother was upset about the way she was honored so she decided to come back and haunt the place. People would go crazy over this kind of story. Tourists would line up for miles to come and see a real live ghost. If it was a fake, it would showmanship of the highest order.

No one really thought this was the case, though. Xian’s reaction had been too raw. She had obvious issues with her mother, the emotions had looked very honest. It was a great story, though. A woman buys some land to create some kind of Zen garden. Her mother dies of a sudden heart attack leaving all kinds of unresolved business. The day before the garden opens up a camera crew catches a ghost on tape. Just wait until this came out on the morning news.

There was some debate over whether or not they should ask for a follow up interview with Xian. They could show her the tape and get her reaction. Journalistic rules suggested that this would be the best course. Dissent was strong though. A story like this could be the ticket for a number of them and anything that could possibly ruin that was frowned upon. This was a strong argument and carried the day.