Storytelling: The Ghost Man's Life

I have no name, I have no true identity. I am just a ghost of a man set to wander this earth forever. What shall I do? What shall I do?

I see a man packing to leave his wife and mother, maybe this is my opportunity to have a normal life again. He won’t be back for many years. If I can just convince them that I am really him then maybe it will work.

His wife doesn’t seem to suspect a thing. She is curious why I have come back so soon, the man was set to be gone for years. I just had to tell her that I wasn’t ready to leave, she seemed happy with that answer.

Many months have passed by now. Some days I forget that I am truly not this woman’s husband. She is so lovely to me, and so kind. I am starting to fall in love with her. I am starting to feel like a real man again.

It’s been a year now since I have taken on this form. I have no regrets with my decision to do this. I am truly happy, and so is my family. They need me to provide for them, and to love them. Nothing can take me away from my family.

Three years has passed, and the real man has returned. He is messing up my happy life. He has no business claiming my wife as his. I have loved her and taken care of her for three years while he was off traveling the world. This is my family and he can’t take them away from me.

He is being very persistent. He has come to my house many times and tried to convince my wife that he is really her husband. She knows that he isn’t meant to be with her. She is meant to be with me. I am unsure how to fix this problem. I don’t know what to do to make him go away for good. Maybe he will just give up soon.

He hasn’t given up yet. It has been months since he has returned home, and every day he makes a plea to the king to return his wife, mother, and home to him. Every day the king denies his request. Why won’t he just take a hint and move on with his life. He is just causing my family distress.

He has done it. He has convinced the king to take his case to court. He will never win of course, but I don’t like taking chances. I don’t know how he managed to pull this one off.

Oh, I am such a fool. How could I have fallen for such a trick. My wife and home have been taken from me. I was sure that if I used my ghostly powers to shrink myself into the vial, like the king asked, it would have proved me the rightful husband of my wife, and rightful owner of my house. Now I am stuck in here forevermore. 

The ghost and his wife

Author's Note:

The story I took inspiration from deals with a man leaving his wife and mother for many years so that he can go find work to provide from them. While he is gone a ghost transforms himself to look like the man and takes over his identity. When the real man comes back he can't convince anyone that he is the rightful husband to his wife. He finally convinces the king to take his case to trial. The king says that if either of the men can fit into a tiny vial he is rightfully the husband to the woman. Since the ghost man wants to keep his life he shrinks himself down and fits into the vial. The king then puts a lid on the vial and tells the real man to throw it into the sea. What I wanted to do was tell the story from the ghost man perspective and give his side of the story. Why did he take this man's life and why didn't he want to give it back.

Bibliography:

Folk-Tales of Bengal by the Rev. Lal Behari Day, with illustrations by Warwick Goble (1912).