A true 7th month story

The story took place during the 7th month of the Chinese
lunar calendar and revolved around a young lad named Sam.
Sam at that time was working as a general worker, in a small
company located at Tuas.

During one particular working day, the whole of Sam's company
was requested to work OT in order to meet a deadline due
tomorrow. By the time everything was done, it was already
past 1am and Sam was the last person left in the office.
He was left wondering whether there were still any bus
services at this hour. He decided to try his luck and
quickly tidied up the office, locked up and rushed towards
the bus stop.

The bus stop was situated by a small narrow road with dense
forestation surrounding the area. Sam waited for about 20
minutes and was about to make his way to the main road to
catch a cab when a double-decker bus appeared from nowhere.
He hesitantly waved it down, boarded the bus and the only
person he saw on the same bus was a frail ghastly looking
old woman.

The old woman was dressed in white samfoo and black pant,
attire favoured by maids in those early days or "Ma Jie" as
they were commonly known then. Sam felt uneasy upon seeing
her and was about to go up to the upper deck when a voice
ranged out in Cantonese, "Young man, don't go upstairs.
Upstairs dangerous." It was the old woman.

Her comment sent a chill through Sam's bones and he
figured that the upper deck might be "dirty". He decided
to heed the old woman's advice and grab a seat at the lower
deck even though he felt uncomfortable by her presence. It
was an agonizing 20 minutes journey before Sam reached his
bus stop. He quickly alighted and turned to steal a quick
glance at the old woman, who stared right back at him by
the window. Without further ado, Sam hastened his pace and
was fortunate to reach home safely.

The next day, Sam was requested to work OT and ended up
being the last person left in the office again. It was
already past midnightand Sam was contemplating whether
to take a cab home but decided against it in the end as
money was tight. So he made his way to the bus stop again
and after about 20 minutes, the same double-decker bus
appeared.

Sam boarded the bus and saw the same old woman again.
He decided to go to the upper deck again when the old woman
called out to him, "Young man, don't go upstairs. Upstairs
dangerous." Even though, he heard it before, he still felt
a certain fear inside him since it's the 7th month. To be
on the safe side, he reluctantly took a seat at the lower
deck again and reached home with no incidents.

The third day, Sam was asked to do OT again. By now
he was feeling dreaded and worried as he didn't want to
repeat the same process again. But he obliged nevertheless
since it's his livelihood. He was, you guessed it, the last
person left in the office again. He made the same journey
to the bus stop, occasionally checking his back as he walked.
The double deck bus arrived, he boarded it and saw the
same old woman again. As he proceeded to go upstairs, the
old woman warned him again, "Young man, don't go upstairs.
Upstairs dangerous."

Sam was fed up with the old woman by now and decided to go
upstairs even though he was feeling a bit scared. He saw
no one else when he reached the upper deck and slowly made
his way to the back of the bus and sat down. Sam's heart
began pounding away as he waited anxiously for something
to happen. After 30 minutes, with nothing happening,
Sam went downstairs to confront the old woman and asked
her why she kept saying it's dangerous upstairs.

The old woman turned, stared at him and replied, "Young man,
don't go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous. Upstairs got no bus
driver..."