Nak_SHOWVERSION

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''GHOSTWIFE'' by Pear Nuallak //Your name is Nak. You are a ghost in 19th century Siam with very long arms. What will you do with your death?// [[Begin|begin2]]

Rushing water and streaming water weeds. Occasionally you see a gleaming flick of silver in the murk; maybe a fish, maybe something else. When people pass by in their boats, they don't greet you anymore. You could still [[wave|Wave]] to your neighbours or just [[watch|Watch]] them go by in their canoes.

(live:1s)[(transition:"shudder")[(text-style:"shudder")[#I AM DEAD AND I THINK I DESERVE SPACE TO BE ANGRY ABOUT THAT]](stop:)] (live:3s)[(transition:"dissolve")[ [[... I'm dead|I'm dead.]](stop:)]]

Most passers-by don't acknowledge you. How //rude!// But when the occasional neighbour notices you standing there waving your [hand...]<arm|(click-append:?arm)[$tr[ on the end of your (text-style:"expand")[looooooooong], friendly, perfectly neighbourly arm...]] ==> ...they start to row faster, (text-style:"shudder")[shrieking and crying] in [fear.]<a| <== (click:?a)[$tr[This is //also// very rude. What on earth is wrong with people? [[Oh. Is that... him?|distance1]]]]

Why should you greet the living? You're not one of those helpful spirits, [are you?]<c1| (click:?c1)[[Ghosts like you]<c2| live amongst dark trees and abandoned houses, in fetid pools and rubbish heaps.] (click:?c2)[$tr[Sometimes fellow ghosts and monsters flit across the evening sky or eel through brown water. You no longer fear them. [[Wait--is that your husband?|distance1]]] ]

You [reach for him]<c1| (click-append:?c1)[$tr[ with your [l o o o o o o n g arms]<c2| ]] (click-append:?c2)[$tr[ and he screams and screams and [screams]<c3| ]] (click-append:?c3)[$tr[ that you are a ghost, a ghost is [haunting him]<c4| ]](click-append:?c4)[$tr[, he only stops screaming when you throw him into the water and he thrashes about before scrambling into his boat and [[fleeing.]]]]

(live:1s)[(transition:"dissolve")[Breathe.]<c1| (stop:)] (click-replace:?c1) [$tr[ //Yes, I am trying.//]] (live:3s)[(transition:"dissolve")[Breathe.]<c2| (stop:)] (click-replace:?c2) [$tr[ //I told you, I'm trying.//]] (live:5s)[(transition:"dissolve")[Breathe.]<c3| (stop:)] (click-replace:?c3) [$tr[ //. . . I think I know what the problem is//]] (live:7s)[(transition:"dissolve")[Why don't you take a breath?]<c4| (click-replace:?c4) [$tr[ //[[I'm dead.]]//]](stop:)]

(link:"I will tell you how I died.")[Countless bodies have died my death. I was frightened; others have faced this death warrior-strong, a death where your body is opening, open, opened- I died as myself. And then I waited. (live:10s)[(transition:"dissolve")[[[He's coming.|distance1]](stop:)]]]

Your spectral heart is moved; the sight of him makes you feel slickly taut and filled with red, like a fine pomegranate. Daeng stirs in his swaddling, uttering little cries that almost sound like a baby. Everything is perfect. You are ready to [[meet]] your husband. (set:$path to "wife")

Perhaps I took a husband because that's what a woman does, and a woman does what she's expected to do. He wasn't a bad husband; I just wanted a wife. When I was alive, I had no language for this; I wish I had [[found the words|meet]] before I died. (set:$path to "lesbian")

Perhaps I took a husband because that's what a woman does, and a woman does what she's expected to do: yield to another's wishes. To be a warm mouth for someone else. It's time for that to [[change|meet]] (set:$path to "hermit")

Your husband steps off the boat and comes towards you, arms open. { (if:$path is "wife") [ You can see he has tried to look his best for you, his hair neatly combed back and dressed with oil. He staggers towards you. [[You embrace him (with your normal arms)]] ] (if:$path is "hermit") [ [[You shake your head slowly]] and clutch Daeng closer to your chest as your husband tries to embrace you] (if:$path is "lesbian")[There is only one thing to do. [[Throw the whole husband away]]] }

Yes, this is how it's meant to be. =><=== You, your husband, and your baby. =><= This is what you've always wanted. ==><= And this is what you [have]<c1| ===><= (click:?c1)[now that you're [[dead|bridge]].]

"You shy from me like a stranger." His voice is soft with hurt. You hesitate. "I... [I need to--"]<c2| (click:?c2)[[["Oh, yes, what was I thinking? You want to receive gifts as well as a husband!"|ht1]]]

"I only want the durian, not you," you say, as you reach out with your [hand]<arm|(click-append:?arm)[$tr[ that is on the end of [[your|ht2]] ]]

It's just as well he was already in his boat. He scrambles about for the oar and paddles furiously as you reach out again, your hand getting [[closer|ht3]]

[Who is Nak without her husband?]<c1| (click-replace:?c1)[$tr[#GHOSTWIFE]<c2| ] (click-replace:?c2)[$tr[#GHOST~~WIFE~~]<c3| ] (click-replace:?c3)[$tr[#GHOST]<c4| ] (click-replace:?c4)[$tr[There are so many things you could do with your death, so many ways you can use your l o o o o o o n g arms! The only thing longer is the list of [[possible lives you could lead.|hermitpage1]]] ]

''Home.'' //Tall trees solemnly flank your stilt-legged house. (either:"Wind gently rustles the leaves.", "Insects hum.", "Birds chatter noisily.","Birds cry, haunting liquid notes.") (either:"The scent", "Whiffs") of (either:"damp earth","fresh mud","wet bark") and (either:"woodsmoke","something strange and sour","something sweetly rotted") in the air.// You can go [[between the legs of your house|underneath]]. [[Living quarters|interior]] are upstairs. (if:$steps is "rickety")[ (Careful, one of the steps is rickety!)] (else:)[ ] A winding path [[beyond the tall trees...|path]]

Dark, silty water. Occasionally something moves just underneath the surface. It's probably just fish. Hardly anybody comes by in their canoes anymore. [[Return home.|wifehome]]

Your orchard is gorgeously overgrown and rotting. Fly-beaded yellow-black mangoes ferment in the grass. Coriander and basil sprawl out of their beds. Only the chillies and limes are healthy and hardy. { (if: (history:) contains "husband6" and $path is "wife")[You need a [[lime]] for dinner, don't you?] (else:)[ ] }

The shadows are strange and molasses-thick. Tender, sticky cobwebs everywhere. Boxes of abandoned objects, stacks of wood planks, and some lengths of fabric too ragged to be clothing but too large and fine to become cleaning rags. { (if: (history:) contains "husband6" and $steps is "beingfixed")[Your husband is down here, looking for tools to repair the rickety step.] [Your grave]<c1| is just [over there. ]<c2| (click-replace:?c1)[$tr[Who you used to be]] (click-append:?c2)[ Your neighbours forsook a proper cremation and abandoned you to the indignity of a shallow grave.] } [[[Go back.|wifehome]]]

You go up to the open space that connects all the rooms. Dead leaves are scattered everywhere. A large reed mat with untidy holes is spread on the floor. There's a little cot for [[Daeng]], too. (if:$path is "wife" and $steps is "rickety")[Your [[husband|husband2]] sits contentedly on the mat with the baby.](else:)[ ] The [[kitchen]] is nearby. Your [[bedchamber|rooms]] is just over there. { (if: $path is "wife")[[[Go back.|wifehome]]] }

He trembles in your arms as he says, "All I wanted was to find you safe and whole, Nak." Salt tears gem your hair. [[You smile radiantly as you lead him home.|bridge2]]

Glowing embers amongst ash. Hanging bundles of withered garlic and red chillies. Jars of (either:"fish sauce", "shrimp paste", "oozing, golden palm sugar","tamarind paste","white peppercorn","black peppercorn") on the shelves. A huge mortar and pestle sits proudly on the floor. Earthenware pots and metal pans line the wall. { (if:$path is "wife" and $hasLime is true)[[[Time to make dinner.|chilli]]] (else-if:$path is not "wife")[If you need human food, you could cook here.] (else-if:(history:) contains "husband6" and $path is "wife")[You have everything you need to make dinner except some limes, which need to be gathered from the orchard.] (else:)[ ] } [[Go back|interior]]

A simple bedroll with two firm pillows underneath a gauzy mosquito net. In the corner, [[a wooden clothes chest by a mirror|mirror]] [[Go back|interior]]

The mirror shows your likeness. Sometimes she moves a little differently to you. (if:$path is not "hermit")[ ] (else:)[If you have any disguises, you can admire yourself here.] [[Go back|rooms]] { (for: each _item, ...$inv)[ (print: '(link: _item)[(set: $wearing to "' + _item + '")(go-to: "wearing")]') ] [(Admire the contents of your clothes chest)]<c1| (click:?c1)[(if: $inv's length > 0)[//Your chest contains the following disguises:// (for: each _item, ...$inv)[ (print: $itemList's (_item)'s name) (print: $itemList's (_item)'s description) ] ] (else:)[//Your chest contains some neatly folded everyday clothes: lengths of plain or simply patterned hemp and cotton to wrap around yourself. Nothing special.//] ] }

Take a moment to thank your husband, even though he no longer sparked joy. [[Now you can dream about your future wife!|dream]]

(set: $tr to (transition: "dissolve") + (transition-time: 1s))

(display:"home") (set:$path to "wife")

{(colour: "yellowgreen")[#O]<c1| (colour: "yellowgreen")[#O]<c2| (colour: "yellowgreen")[#O]<c3| } {(click-replace:?c1)[#GOT ](click-replace:?c2)[#THOSE ](click-replace:?c3)[#LIMES ]} [PICK THEM]<c4| (click-replace:?c4)[ You choose smooth, round limes with small nipples. Those are often the juiciest citrus fruits. (This rule does not apply to anything else.) [[Now you can make chilli paste for dinner.|wifehome]]] (set:$hasLime to true)

//Dream about your future wife:// Your future wife has (cycling-link: bind $hair, "soft black", "dragonfruit pink", "absolutely no", "blood-soaked stringy","snakes for") hair and (cycling-link: bind $features1, "a strong jawline", "a pharyngeal jaw", "lots of teeth") and shares the same ideas about marriage as you. [[YES, that's her, bring her to me!|findwife1]]

Where do you find a future ghostwife with $hair hair and $features1? [[[Where there are ghosts, of course...|findwife2]]]

{ (set:$haslime to false) (set:$steps to "") (set:$path to "") }

Your home is just like anyone else's, raised on stilt legs to guard against flooding, but with your family inside it feels like an eyrie, high and safe and precious. [[You would do anything to protect it.|bridge3]]

When you are with your loved ones, time flows thick, slow, and sweet, like palm sugar. But you know it can't last forever. [[He will find out he has a ghostwife one way or another.|bridge4]]

If you're honest, food doesn't come out the same now you're a ghostwife, but your husband happily eats it up. It seems to have inspired him to work very hard at teaching himself [[how to cook.|foodchoice]]

Your husband starts a little. "Ah, Nak! It's you..." He comes towards you. Possibly, maybe, the slightest hesitation before offering an embrace. [[The words are out of your mouth before you can stop. "What's wrong?"|husband3]]

"No, my love. Why would there be?" He smiles and it feels like a perfect morning. "Everything I want is here. Why, is there something on your mind?" [[You relax just a little in his arms.|husband4]]

Days pass by in bliss that is broken only when your husband leaves the home. He has a pensieve, melancholy air when he returns. He won't tell you what's wrong, only that people say very ignorant things to him, and won't mind their own business. [[Smile, knowing the end will come, and until then you can be the perfect wife in a perfect home...|wifehome]] (set:$steps to "rickety")

"No. Nothing." You break away from him to peer into the cot. "Everything is perfect, isn't it, Daeng?" [[Your baby silently stares back with gleaming eyes.|husband5]]

"I was thinking of fixing that wobbly front step before dinner," he says, rubbing the back of his neck and frowning. He is definitely avoiding your gaze. [[You're tired of seeing him like this.|husband6]]

Instead, you say, "Thank you, my love." You know what will happen next. There is only one thing to do. [[It's your turn to make dinner.|kitchen]] (set:$steps to "beingfixed")

You (either:"toss fistfuls of $food1 in egg and potato starch and deep fry them","set a basked crammed with $food1 on the stove to steam gently"). (either:"Whew!", "Delicious!", "Amazing!") Then you (either:"pour $food2 into a bowl right up to the top and let it sit","grimly stir a bubbling pan filled with $food2"). Perfect. [[Now all you need is the chilli-lime relish.|chilli3]]

[First, you need to get the limes you just picked.]<c1| (click-replace:?c1)[YOU DROPPED IT. The lime falls through a gap in the floorboard. You hear it thud softly onto the ground below. Your husband is down there. [[oh dear|chilli4]]]

Think carefully. It's a bother to go all the way down there just for a lime. You could just use fewer limes, right? [[NO. YOU ARE A PERFECTIONIST|chilli4a]]

But maybe you're bored of lying to your husband about being a ghost. [[Are you tired of keeping up this fiction and ready to resign to the inevitable|chilli6]], or do you want to [[try a not-living like this a little longer?|chilli6A]]

You use your ghostwife powers to reach your [arm]<c1| (click-replace:?c1)[ (text-style:"expand")[L O O O O O O O O O O O N G] arm [[down between the floorboards...|chilli8]] ]

You are trying to find a (colour:"yellowgreen")[lime] somewhere on the ground, feeing and groping for [something small, round, cool and smooth.]<c1| ==> (click:?c1)[(transition:"shudder")[What you find is [[your husband's trembling hand.|chilli9]]] ]

He gently places the lime in your palm and closes your fingers around it, kissing your knuckles. [You slowly draw your hand up.]<c1| (click:?c1)[$tr[For a wife like you, it was never going to last. You chose this. It still frightens you. [[You hear your husband coming up the steps.|chilli6C]]] ]

You call down to your husband. After a few minutes, he comes up to the kitchen holding the lime. "I'm sorry for the wait," he says. "I thought I'd finish fixing the rickety step." When you reach for the lime, he hesitates. "But you didn't need me to get it for you, did you?" [["What do you mean, darling?"|chilli6B]] (set:$steps to "fixed")

"Well, of course I could have gone down there [myself--]<c1|" (click:?c1)[$tr [[["Nak... I know you're a ghost."|chilli6Ba]]]<c2| ]

Stagnant liquid streams out of your eyes and nostrils as you shriek and howl, your feelings summoning a fierce wind to your home. Little Daeng screams in unison from his cot, a strange metallic screech. [It's over. He knows. How could he love something like you?]<c1| (click-replace:?c1)[$tr[["Listen to me, Nak. You are my wife."|chilli6D]]]

''Rewrite your story:'' He [tosses the cursed baby out of the cot, contempt writ large across his face]<c1| (click-replace:?c1)[takes your hand and you both go to Daeng's cot to cuddle your odd [[ghostbaby|story1]]]

[###//Congratulations! You and your husband build a marriage with the full understanding that you are a ghost//]<c1| (click-replace:?c1)[$tr[Decades later, he dies happy and at peace, his soul going peacefully to the next life. Your soul remains here, and it always will. ~ The End ~ [[(or is it?)|wifechoices]]]]

Your darling ghostbaby. Daeng is (either:"thoughtfully reading Agamben","enjoying some queer phenomenology","poring over a copy of the xenofeminist manifesto"). [[He's self-sufficient but welcomes snacks|daeng1]] (Your husband sees a healthy human baby doing normal human baby things, all red cheeks and smooth bright brown skin. Don't worry.) [[Back|interior]]

Ghostwives and their babies don't need to concern themselves with the upkeep of being [alive.]<c1| (click:?c1)[All the time you used for eating and fucking and working and shitting and sleeping could be [replaced with]<c2|(click:?c2)[$tr[... well, what? You have your whole death in front of you. What will you do? Infinity is difficult for a new ghostwife to fathom. Start small: (t8n-arrive: "flicker")+(transition-time: 2s)[[what would you like to do on a $weather day like this, Nak?|thinking]] ] ] ]

You could become a singer or a dancer or a woodworker or a nielloware maker or turn a fine pot on the wheel. For now, you wish to begin working on your chosen craft: weaving. [[After all, you have the rest of your death to explore everything.|htp2]]

''To be inside this story:'' embrace your own monstrosity and softness. [Touch pink words to reveal more information]<r1| (click:?r1)[Yes, like that.] (cycling-link:"Touch these words.","They change things!","Touch them again","And again","Now, back to the beginning.") Golden words move forward. [[Are you ready?|weather]]

''Your name is Nak''. You are a [woman.]<c2| (click-replace:?c2)[ghost with //very long arms// and you [live in 19th century Siam]<c1| (click-replace:?c1)[died in childbirth.]] You cradle little Daeng as you stand on the threshhold of [your stilt-legged house.]<c3| (click-append:?c3)[ Your corpse is buried underneath. Ah, the comforts of home! Look outside. The weather is (cycling-link: bind $weather,"clear and sunny","grey and rainy","dull, indifferent"). You mark time in light. [[Time is different for you now.|walk1]]]

{ (if:$weather is "clear and sunny")[Sour sunlight fliters through the leaves. Ugh.] (else-if:$weather is "grey and rainy")[Lovely big raindrops on a dead woman's face.] (else:)[Sky is flat with the colour of ghost skin. It feels like an extension of you.] } What else is there to do but step outside into a $weather day for a nice walk to the jetty? It's lonely out here. Your neighbours were upset about your death; they packed up their houses and moved downriver. [[Oh well|weather3]]

(either:"Birds shrieking. Rustling leaves.","A lizard skitters across the path.") { (if:$weather is "clear and sunny")[Heat and sunlight make your teeth ache.](else-if:$weather is "grey and rainy")[Daeng opens his strange little mouth to catch fresh rainwater.] } The rickety wooden pier juts out into a healthy greenish-brown canal. You can [[take in the scenery|pier]], sit and [[meditate|breathe]], or perhaps [[take a moment to consider the fact you've died and come back as a ghost|Freak out]]

(text-style:"blurrier")[your husband is in the distance] //It will be some time before he reaches you.// That strange noisy ache eases and clears. [[You can think more clearly about what you want.|distance2]]

{ I want to (text-style:"blurrier")[m̠a̯͓͚͕͔͈y̭͈̺b͍͚͚̳̼̳͝e̕ ̥i͏̳̙̯͚͇͈ͅ ͉̥̩̫͠c͖̯͓̻͍o̧̭͉͎͍̟̤u̧̻͎̺̠̙̦l̟̱͕d̘͚͜ ̨̱d̳̫̦̝̞͚͡.̝̝̹̻̮̲̱ ̭͖h̢m̸̱̯̠̩ͅm̛m̺..̛͉̺̮̦.̥̻͔. ͖͈͕] (live:4s)[(transition:"flicker")[#####GO TO THE JETTY AND WAIT FOR YOUR HUSBAND(stop:)]<c1|] (click:?c1)[(t8n: "flicker")+(transition-time: 2s)[ But--(text-style:"blur")[but i want to think about what i'd do] (text-style:"blurrier")[if i͡ had ͟a͟ life͞ ͏t̀hat͘ w̛a̧sn͝'͞t ̕def҉ined͘ ̡b̶y be͝ing̨ ҉a ̀huma̵n̢ ̷wif̴e to͘ a hus͞band,͠ ͜w͜hỳ c͜an'̢t ͜i ̢l̵et́ m͘ys͟el̡f ̢do t̢hat̡?] (live:4s)[(transition:"flicker")+(transition-time: 2s)[ go to the jetty and wait for your husband(stop:)]] (live:5s)[ (transition:"flicker")+(transition-time: 2s) [ (text-style:"blur") [//MY HEAD HURTS// i have to go i have to go it hurts it hurts i have to (stop:)]]] (live:6s)[(transition:"flicker")+(transition-time: 1s)[(text-style:"blur")[ go i have //BUT I// to go go to //I WANT// the the the] [[jetty and wait for my your my my my husband|weather2]](stop:)] ]]] }

(text-style:"blurrier")[your husband is in the distance] //It will be some time before he reaches you.// Think about who you were in life-- [WIFE]<c1|(click-replace:?c1)[[MOTHER]<c2|](click-replace:?c2)[[DAUGHTER]<c3|](click-replace:?c3)[[defined by flesh and blood]<c4|] (click-replace:?c4)[[[Think about who you want to be in undeath.|distance3]] ]

(text-style:"blur")[your husband is just over there] //The distance is closing between you.// Perhaps you wish to [make]<c1| a marriage between man and ghostwife. (click:?c1)[Or maybe your urge to create means dedicating death to making [beautiful]<c2| objects.](click:?c2)[ You might wish to find a splendid ghostwife of your own. [[Such possibilities!|distance4]]]

[your husband is just over there] //The distance is closing between you.// (link:"Remember: You're dead.")[$tr[You've exited the constructs of [propriety,]<c2| (click:?c2)[gender, and]<c3|(click:?c3)[ sex by virtue of entering ghosthood, and now you have all the [[[time in the world.|distance5]]]]]]

[[YOUR HUSBAND IS HERE|distance6]]

[He approaches]<a| your [ghost-self]<b| (click-replace:?a)[$tr[War-wounded. White bandage bound tight to well-muscled chest,]](click-replace:?b)[$tr[spectral body feels strange and scattered but your mind is clear. (live:4s)[(transition:"dissolve")[[[What will you do with him?|choice]](stop:)]] ]]

[[Welcome him.|pleased.]] Now I have long arms there's more of me to love him, and I think that's beautiful. Say goodbye. Making wonderful things leaves [[no room for a husband|hermit1]]. Ghostwife: yes. Husband: no. [[Let me direct my fear and longing towards monster women!|nope]]

[Bluff]<c1|(click-replace:?c1)["Nak. Please. I just want to--] [Lie]<c2|(click-replace:?c2)[What? You can't expect me to believe that. Just listen to me-- [Scream]<c3|](click-replace:?c3)[[[... I love you, but you're scaring me"|chilli6C]] ]

It's a particularly sultry evening when you go to the canal. You're wearing your favourite skirt, the (cycling-link: bind $dateoutfit1,"warm pink","deep blue","grass green") one with a pattern of (cycling-link: bind $dateoutfit2,"tiny white flowers","vain peacocks preening","bold stripes at the hem"). [[Hopefully you look cute enough for a ghost gf|findwife3]]

You've always been too shy to greet the ghosts travelling through or across the canal. That changes today! You grow more and more nervous as you wait. (live:5s)[(transition:"dissolve")[[There!]<c1|(stop:)] ] (click-replace:?c1)[//Oh. Just a bat// (live:2s)[(transition:"dissolve")[[Ooh, what's that in the canal?!]<c2|(stop:) (click-replace:?c2)[//A water monitor slowly swims away from you// (live:3s)[(transition:"dissolve")[[Ugh probably just a firefly in the distance]<c3|](stop:) (click-replace:?c3)[[//it's coming closer//]<c4|] (click-replace:?c4)[//THAT'S A FLOATING WOMAN'S HEAD SOFTLY GLOWING THE DARK WITH ENTRAILS HANGING BELOW HER CHIN//. [[FOLLOW HER|findwife4]] ] ] ]]]]

You wave your long arm at the Floating Woman's Head. When she comes close, you see she has $hair hair and $features1 and it is, of course, superbly attractive. (link:"Her smile is very wide") [$tr["Good evening. You know, I used to eat women just like you." [[Wow! Is she flirting with you?|findwife5]]]]

No point in being shy about it. "Where does a ghost like me meet other ghosts like you?" "Why would you need to meet other ghosts when you've met me?" [She has a point.]<c1|(click-replace:?c1)[[["Hmmm!! Correct, would you like to be my ghostwife?"|wife1]]]

''Rewrite your story:'' "The living and the dead cannot [live together. You're haunting this house and I cannot live off dust and sadness]<c2|," he says, trembling. "I will [find a real wife. //You// can go where ghosts belong]<c4|" (click-replace:?c2)[usually live together, but I want you even if it defies the laws of our world, even if you are terrifying and strange and inhuman] (click-replace:?c4)[be a husband to a ghostwife. I belong with you [[in this haunted house|story2]] if it's you who's haunting it!]

''Rewrite your story:'' Later in the night, [you see hazy lights over the canal. Men in boats with burning torches and holy water. They have come for you.]<c6| (click-replace:?c6)[your husband shows you the fresh flower garlands he's placed on your grave. "You are dead," he says softly, "Your bones lie there while your presence is before me, a wife in two places at once. [[How wonderful and horrifying!"|ENDwife]] ]

The remains of your [[orchard]] can be found just to the side, down a little track lush with weeds. If you keep to the main path, there's the [[canal]]. (if:$event is "event1")[(goto:"event4")]

Dinner is (cycling-link: bind $food1, "crisp dead leaves", "freshly dug earth", "shrieking sadness") and (cycling-link: bind $food2, "sighs wet with tears", "the concept of hornets","the lies we tell ourselves") with his favourite chilli and lime relish. [[YES he will love it|chilli2]]

[Think. If you go down and get it yourself, or ask your husband to get it, you can keep your secret a little longer.]<c2| (click-replace:?c2)[$tr [''Think''. //Your husband is down there.// You can't frighten him by reaching down and showing off your l o o o o o n g arms! [[... Or can you?|chilli5]]] ]

["You are very funny, dear husband!"]<c3| (click:?c3)[$tr ["Nak, I found your corpse. The villagers warn me every time I see them. You are a ghost with very long arms because you died in childbirth."]<c4| ] (click:?c4)[$tr [[[no no no no no no no no|chilli6Ca]]] ]

(replace: ?Sidebar)[[[Begin again|restart]] ]

[[Go back to the very beginning|Nak]] [[Choose a different path|choice]] (link-goto: "I've changed my mind, take me back to where I was just now", (history:)'s last)

He steps back into the boat and holds aloft something large, rounded, and pungent wrapped in cloth. ["Your favourite--durian from my first cousin's orchard. It's weird, actually..."]<c1| (click-replace:?c1)[$tr[ //From his first cousin--The woman who was with you when you died. She must have said something...// You shake your head. [["Stop talking. Listen to me."|Show him.]] ]]

l o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o n g friendly, perfectly wifely arm and take the [[durian|byehusband]] from your husband.

(text-style:"blurrier")[C L O S E R] [and]<c1| (click:?c1)[$tr[(text-style:"blur")[C L O S E R] [and]<c2|]] (click:?c2)[$tr[[[CLOSER|ht4]]]]

to help him untether the boat from the jetty and launch the boat into the water. [[Goodbye, husband.|hermitpage]] He never looks back once.

You [borrow]<c1| some equipment and silkworms from a nearby silkweaving village and get started. (click:?c1)[ //You stole things with your very long arms in the night, shhhhhh// ] [[Then, ghosts start coming to you, bringing unique materials for their requests...|shorth1]]

{ (if:$babby is <=3)[He has tiny squishy hands!] (else-if:$babby is <=6)[Lots of tiny squishy hands...] (else-if:$babby is <=9)[His arms are nearly as long as yours!] (else-if:$babby is <=12)[What a sturdy baby!] (else-if:$babby is >12)[The biggest boi. Very round and healthy with lots of limbs. He cannot get healthier than this.] } ''Baby food:'' (cycling-link:bind $babyfood, "dry leaves","fresh gravel","berries") [(Feed baby)]<c1| { (click:?c1)[(either:"You feed Daeng ","Daeng eats ", "Daeng gobbles up some ") $babyfood. (if: $babyfood is "dry leaves")[Very crunchy! (set:$babby to it+1)] (if: $babyfood is "fresh gravel") [EXTREMELY CRUNCHY.(set:$babby to it+1)] (if: $babyfood is "berries") [He looks like he's killed something.(set:$babby to it+1)] [[More! More!|daeng1]] ]} [[Back|Daeng]]

[She laughs]<c1| (click-replace:?c1)[$tr[Oh, no! What were you thinking? You can't just ask a ghost you just met to be your wife! You need to court her properly--you didn't realise your ghost self could still feel tense and embarrassed and it is just //ghastly--// (linK:"But then she speaks")["We're no longer bound by human concepts of time and courtship. Marrying you sounds fun, [[let's do it|wedding]] at the next lunar eclipse!"]]]

[###//You found your ghostwife! Congratulations, you spend all eternity with your second love!// ~ THE END ~]

For a tree spirit in need of luxury-casualwear for skulking in dark corners, [you make a slinky fabric out of a mysterious membrane with a motif of long knives.]<c1| (click:?c1)[[[In return, she offers you a tiny bottle with a sliver of the most beautiful black inside: the darkest shadow in which she's ever lurked|shorth2]]]

A vengeful ghost asks you for cloth that will make her ex-lover regret everything she's ever done, so you [weave something out of oily-rainbow black hair and adorn it with staring black-and-white eyes]<c1| (click:?c1)[[[Her offering is a tiny plant with a miniscule eyeball staring up at you from succulent leaves. It's very sweet!|shorth3]]]

But the Snake Queen humiliated you in front of her court and took your best work, you decide to spend some time making things just for yourself. [[This is the boon of ghosthood: you need not please anyone bigger than yourself|shorth4]]

If you wish for more than your nerdy ghost baby for company, then you could try [[finding a ghost gf|dream]] or [[taking up a hobby!|hermitpage1]]

Your friends, the vengeful ghost and tree spirit, miss your creations. Their complaints vex you so that you tell them they ought to make things themselves. [["Oh, we would love that! How can we learn?"|shorth5]]

It turns out that you enjoy teaching! Being dead has gifted you with endless patience. [[You never knew any of this about yourself|shorth6]]

[Ghosts great and small come to you for advice.]<c1|(click-replace:?c1)[$tr[Across the realms, spirits and monsters and all manner of creatures take up weaving. It is thrilling to no longer have to be stuck with the clothes in which they died, exciting to work with materials, and the act of making itself is pleasurable. [[It does, at least, make a change from the usual haunting and devouring and skulking aroud|shorth7]]]]

[###//Congratulations! You have ushered in a golden age of weaving ghosts, supporting self-fashioning of the undead!// ~ THE END ~] [[(If you are lonely you could find a ghostwife!)|dream]]

Once, you thought eclipses brought bad luck. That life is behind you now. As a ghost, you mark time with rituals [of your own]<c1| (click:?c1)[//Two ghostbrides crowned with frangipani and jasmine blossoms marry as the moon is swallowed by an eclipse. You lead a procession of fellow monstrous women who understand what it is like to [[find love again in the dark...|HURRAY]]//]