After school lets out for the day, I head back home. As I open the door, I notice something wedged near the hinge, blocking the door from opening completely. I pull it out and realize that it's a copy of today's newspaper. Normally, Nainai only reads the Chinese newspaper. This one's in English. Since I normally don't read the newspaper, I'm about to throw it into the recycling when I suddenly remember one of my homework assignments. I have to find an article about a local government issue or project and write an analysis of it. I check the paper. It's a local paper, not the San Francisco Chronicle though, dated with today's date. I realize that I can probably find an article about the city or state government in this paper and do my analysis on that. I take the paper with me and head to my room.
Once I'm upstairs in my room, I unfold the newspaper and scan the contents for articles on the local government. As I'm flipping through the paper, a photo catches my eye. It looks familiar. I check the photo and realize it's a photo of the area called Lot 54, the construction area I just passed by earlier today. The photo has a picture of three people standing in front of the construction area. The caption reads 'Project manager Qianjin Yuan (center) proudly stands with Mike Cai, construction manager (left) and head contractor Willy Rong (right) in front of the Lot 54 construction site, soon to be a new community and housing complex.'
Oh so that's what the construction site is for, I think to myself as I scan the article. I decided to save the article to read for further interest later and scan the rest of the newspaper for any articles about the government or government issues. Once I find a good article that is relevant to my assignment, I take it out of the paper and start to read it. As I was reading and taking notes, I started to find my attention drifting off. The article isn't the most fun thing to read in the world (who wants to read about the state budget?) so after the fifth paragraph, I stash the paper away. I take out the first article, the one about construction on Lot 54, and start to read.
The article talks about how Lot 54 was an abandoned lot that the city recently decided to turn into a public housing and community center complex. Mr. Yuan was overseeing the entire project, making sure everything went well so the new complex would be open by the summer of 2007. They planned to make the main hall a community center and the floors above it apartments for people to live in. Most of the nearby residents were more or less aware about the construction project going on and its plans. They seemed happy, some even excited, that a new building was going up after the lot had been abandoned and empty for so long. One statement from an older resident caught my eye.
"It's a good thing they're building a new building there. Hopefully the new building will attract good luck and good spirits, and all the old ghosts will go away."
Old ghosts, I think to myself. How interesting. I wonder if the building itself has a spirit or contains spirits. I think back to how the resident also mentioned that he hoped the building would attract good spirits too. I then think back to the customer Nainai spoke with yesterday and how he was afraid his house was haunted by evil spirits. It's interesting how certain things can be seen as a blessing or a curse. How having a good spirit in a house might bring good luck or good fortune to a home, but a bad spirit might curse it. I wonder what that person meant when he said he hopes the new building will attract new spirits and the old ones will leave? Is the place haunted?
YOU ARE READING
The Lost and Found Girls
Paranormal"I've been trapped here for 100 years and I need your help to be set free. Only you can help me." A young orphaned girl with the ability to see ghosts meets and befriends a trapped spirit in an abandoned building. Upon learning that the building wil...
