Missing woman

Once upon a time, a young woman had married. One day, the woman was informed that her sister had sick so she asked her husband to go to take care of her sister who had very few people in her family.

His sister’s house was five kilometers from her home. Therefore, she went at morning and came back at night or she slept in her sister’s home and came back at the next morning. That time was the time people were free because harvest not yet came so her husband was pleasant to let her go.

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One day, she heard that her sister’s illness was more serious so she one more time went to take care of her. That time she didn’t came back at night and her husband thought that she would went back at the next morning as previous times. Therefore, he didn’t have any suspicion. But, the woman didn’t come back though three days had passed. The husband felt worry and asked a person went to his wife’s sister and requested his wife came home.

But, the people in her wife’s sister family informed that the wife didn’t arrived their home. The husband turned confused and sprinted to find her. He and his family had found her for a month but they couldn’t find out where he was. Too anguish, he thought that his wife's disappearance related to her sister’s family. Therefore, he came to their home and scolded. He accused them to mandarin.

When the mandarin received the case, he called them to ask some questions. The husband of the wife’s sister insisted that he didn’t know his wife’sister disappeared. Then the mandarin asked people who lived next to their houses but he seemed not to find much more. One year passed, a detective was ordered to search the area entire year, local officials were responsible to search in their areas but they could find nothing. The case had judged several times it had no judgment. At last, the case was forgotten.

Later, a young mandarin came and managed there area. When he received the position, he considered cases in the area and paid attention to the case.

“The woman not only was found in this area, she was found in other areas, other districts and provinces but none could find any thing. God seem to make her disappear”, said one of soldiers as he asked them about the case.

“I will consider the case again”, he said.

The young mandarin spent muck time thinking about the case. He called each one who related to the wife to and asked her or him about the wife. They let him know that she was beautiful and faithful. Then he asked them to draw a map which showed roads between their houses. Course, they included shortcut ways.

He seemed to be attracted by a shortcut way crossing a field which had a temple standing in.

“Maybe, she is here”, he thought.

Then he disguised as a trader and went to the temple. He observed around. The temple was placed on wild place and trees there grew up very thick. What he had seen made he doubted. He came back his office and ordered a woman to come the temple and challenge monks in the temple.

As monks saw woman come to temple, they seemed to show their natures, greed and concupiscence.

When he's sure that his thinking was true, the mandarin brought soldiers to the temple. The abbot showed up and treated him well.

“I am in business had to go cross here. I have heard that this temple is sacred so I want to stay in this temple a night. Do you mind?”, he said.

“It is our honor”, said the abbot.

Next morning, the mandarin woke up early and ordered soldiers to round the temple. He asked the abbot to gather all monks. When all of them were grouped, he said loudly:

“Temple was place cultivate and get rid of guilty but last night I dreamt a woman went and painfully said me her story. Who in you has done the guilty should admit to receive clemency. But if you don’t admit, I will torture each person till I find out whom and relating people will also be cut off their heads”.

All monks were frightened. Murderers were scrared more much because the thought that woman’s soul had met the mandarin and said him all. Later, they stood on knees and admitted their guilty. The story was:

That was a day they saw the woman go cross the temple. Three of them desired as they saw her. Therefore, they caught and tied her. They brought her into bush and started raping. Later, they killed her because they didn’t want any one to know what they had done. They buried her next to the temple and placed rocks on it to hide.

Soldiers dug up the place and found out woman’s body. The husband was called coming and bringing his wife back home to bury. Three murderers were prisoned and waited for what they deserved.

THE END

"Translated by Hung Nguyen"

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