Journey to the underworld-adapt from' The Eye'

One out of hundred people in this world are blind since their birth because of different reasons. Shirley has been blind for twenty years since her car accident at four. She is a beautiful and tough girl who is keen on playing piano. One day, Shirley's friend, Annie introduced her to Peter who was oculist in an afternoon tea meeting.

Peter told Shirley he acquired a pair of canthus membranes that are suitable for her from a donator who passed away a month ago. He did not elaborate the information of the deceased and told Shirley to phone him if she was interested in the transplant operation.

Shirley made the same wish of having her sight to restore on her birthday each year. She had been longing to travel around the world and play her favourable classical music ‘For Alice’ at the piano performance with her eyes open. Her fear of being inadaptable to the real world made her awake throughout that night.

Two weeks later, with the encouragement of her family, Shirley went through the surgery.She stayed at the hospital for a night for observation after. The night she left the hospital Shirley saw an old woman with blonde hair lingering in the lightless corridor. Owing to curiosity about everything of the real world, she asked the old woman if she needed any help. The old woman repeatedly told Shirley in a cold voice that she was very cold here. Shirley did not catch her meaning, for the hospital was warm. Therefore, she went to seek somebody to help her. When Shirley came back with a nurse, the old woman disappeared. In the end, Shirley returned home and celebrated her recovery with her friends.

During the party, she heard that there was a poor old woman who died of heart attack because of the delay treatment outside the hospital the day she had the operation. This brought the weird old woman to Shirley’s mind again. Shirley asked the details and features of the poor deceased, who called Joey. (I believe she would be better off not doing so). Shirley was not sure if the odd old woman who she encountered was Joey, for her sight was still obscure. But panic already grew in her mind, for some Joey’s features coincided with that of the weird woman.

A month later, Shirley completely recovered from the operation but this was also the start of her horrible journey to the underworld. Her job was a piano teacher in a musical school and all her lessons were in the evening as most of her students were adult. Shirley lived in the high-rise luxurious building in Manhattan alone. In one evening, she encountered a kid with black cap and sorrowful eyes when she went out for work.





The kid asked Shirley if she saw his report card. Shirley thought the kid was adorable and promised to help him find his report card after returning from work.
However, she did not meet the boy again that night. The next evening, she encountered him at the same time and place. He asked the same question, this time Shirley pissed off. She questioned him why he not turned up last night ? The boy did not answer and ran away. The circumstance lasted a week until she preceived the thrilling facts- the real identity of the boy.


At that weekend, Shirley bumped into her neighbour, Alan at the supermarket. She shared her mysterious experience with him. Alan looked at her in wonder and told her that her experience might relate to a tragic accident occurred in the building three months ago. Shirley did not know of the event as she stayed with her parents then. A primary school kid committed suicide by jumping down the building from the roof because of his father's blame for losing his report card. Shirley broke down on hearing the accident, which chilled her bones and made her face pale.




Shirley was not afraid of the accident itself, in fact, she felt sorry for the kid. All she scared was how she could saw the boy. On her return to home after shopping, she met the 'kid' again. This time, he smiled to Shirley cunningly as if he had realized that Shirley knew his 'identity'.

he took off his cap in order to scare off her as there was a big bloody hole in his head. The blood began spilling from the hole and covered his face. At this sight, Shirley closed her eyes and yelled at the boy to stop playing the 'trick'.
After a while, Shirley heard the boy apologizing. He gave her a hug from her back suddenly and asked her if she could do him a last favour. He expressed that he was going to reincarnate very soon and he wished to make an apology to his parents for his foolish act. Shirley said 'yes' in a sad voice and asked him if he knew how she could 'see' him . The boy suggested to Shirley that she might have spiritual power. As thier conversation went on, Shirley's neighbours thought that she was autistic and crazy because they could not see the 'kid'.



Shirley fulfilled the kid's last wish and went home for rest. She was waken up by a nightmare in which she saw a girl hanging herself to death in midnight . Shirely could do nothing to save her. It took place in a dark, filthy hut. Shirley told all her spiritual experience since her operation to Annie, who was a spirit medium.




Annie considered that the canthus membranes were the source of all ghostly experiences. She took Shirley to Peter's office so as to find out the history of the denator. Peter refused their demand because of the medical regulations under which doctors are not allowed to give away the confidential information of the patients and denators.

After the long plea, Peter gave in and acquiesced to their request. Annie accompanied Shirley to a small village in Malaysia where the donor, Betty lived. They got lost while they were on the way to Betty's house. So, they asked the villagers for the guide. To thier surprise, the villagers frowned when they realized the purpose of thier visit.

In the end, Annie and Shirely met the village doctor, Sam, who told the story of Betty to them. Betty was regarded as a witch and isolated by the villagers because of her ability to see deaths. One day, Betty warned the villagers to take precautions for the coming disaster, but no one heeded to her warning. As a result, a huge blaze caused by the strike of thunder turned the village into inferno and over two hundred people died in the catastrophe. Betty and her father were unharmed as they were out of village by the time of the accident.

Out of her guilty conscience, Betty hung herself in her hut. Her father was infuriated and sorrowful. He had stood for her and never given up on her ever since she was a child. He thought that Betty silly action's was unforgivable. Therefore, Betty's spirit became restless and relived her death day after day. Shirley felt sympathy for Betty and wished she could rest in peace, hence, she told Betty to possess her and make an apology to her father.

In the end, Betty had her father forgiveness and encouraged Shirley to use her speical 'talent' to do good to the society. Shirley decided to become Annie's assistant.

On the way back to Kuala Lumpur, however, Shirely's fate was changed again. Looking through the taxi 's widow, Shirely saw hundreds of dark figures lingering about on the highway,where the taxi halted for police roadblock. She sensed something bad was going to happen. During the inspection, a stolen car broke the blockade and ran away at a tremduous speed. The police chased after that driver,who crashed the car into the large tanker truck 300 metres away from the roadblock.

The crash triggered the explosion of tanker and two-storey height fire engulfed all the cars behind the truck. Shirley got out of the taxi and went to help disperse the other drivers. Unfortunately, tanker blew up again and Shirley was thrown onto the pavement,where Annie grabbed her hand to guide her out of the chaotic scene. Shirley saw the dark figures leading the souls of the deceased away and she fainted on the ground afterwards.

Lying on the bed in the hospital with bandage on her eyes, doctor told Shirely that she would return to her dark world again because her eyes were pierced by splinters of glasses. Interestingly, Shirely was unbelievable calm on hearing the unhappy news. It may be Shirley's trip to underworld and her failure to help dash her expectation of the real world.