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Every Hmong funeral started the same way. The body was prepared and dressed by the family under the supervision of an attending shaman. Then the deceased was laid out for three days and three nights to be watched over by the family. A txiv saiv, a soul guide, prepared to lead the spirit to its afterlife. At the end of this journey, he would listen carefully for the deceased's last words for their family. But the soul guide never received any messages from the deceased Khang shamans, because there were never any souls to give them.

Khang shamans were dying, both young and old. But no matter the cause of death, the results were always the same. Each body was withered and dried as though all the energy had been sucked out. Worst of all was the missing soul. There was no soul to guard the grave. No soul to return to the ancestorial home. No soul to be reincarnated in the next life. It was as though the essence of the person had never existed.

Mothers in mourning now wailed louder than ever. Fathers threw chairs and demanded to know what could be done. What was swallowing the souls of their beloved? But they knew. Deep inside, all the Khang families knew... When their ancestor Shee Yee defeated the evil Du Yong many centuries before, it had cursed Shee Yee’s lineage with certain death upon its return.

“Evil does not die,” the demon had said, as it dissipated into darkness. “I will come back in a thousand years and eat the souls of your sons.” Du Yong had come for the Khang shamans as promised.

Throughout the country, Khang families flocked to buy out all the ghost money they could burn. Farmers were astounded by the number of Hmong customers showing up to buy chickens, pigs, and steers. Healing and soul-calling rituals were held daily with offerings of multiple animals to strengthen the protection spells. The remaining Khang shamans were both exhausted and terrified. If they were not being hunted themselves, they were bombarded by the demands of angry family members, who were desperate to save the ones they loved.

Khang shamans of the Shee Yee lineage were supposed to marry their chosen brides, the ones destined to protect them. Families came to believe their ancestral spirits were angry and would only reveal the chosen brides when the Khang shamans was completely free of false marital attachments. Young or old, many of the "common" wives were being abused and chased away, followed by divorce decrees. Clan leaders, who initially scoffed at the Khang shaman curse, were suddenly furious. Conflict spread like wildfire within the Hmong community.

Through all of this, one family reaped the benefits of such chaos. The Vang shamans who practiced necromancy began to experience an increase in clientele. Dabbling in black magic was frowned upon, so most came at night when they thought no one was watching. They offered money, gold, and property, if the necromancers could provide them with one thing: their chosen brides.

Pahoua Khang was one of very few chosen brides actually married to her Khang shaman. Through her grace, her husband was saved, but their troubles were far from over. As she watched this chaos unfold in their community, she was extremely anxious. She was a shaman seer, and she had dreamed of this outcome many times. But just because one could see, didn't mean they had the answers. She also had sons.

As she sat at the altar, burning ghost money, she prayed for answers. Pahoua's eyes touched on a photo of Kai and Touso, sitting together as they fished, and she smiled sadly. Lihue always considered their eldest a rebel, but Kai was difficult because that was what was written for him. Kai loved his little brother, Touso, more than anyone and had spent his whole life protecting him. Like his mother, the eldest Khang son was a seer. He dreamed and saw things that no one could expect. It was largely the reason he became such a rebel.

Kai spent his last remaining days fighting Du Yong. He was determined to end it, so Touso would never feel its wrath. In the end, it was this fight that took his life. But it wasn't in the way that everyone suspected. Kai Khang didn’t die at the hands of Du Yong. Kai Khang had sacrificed his own life willingly, and his mother had helped him.

"Mom, this is our only choice," Kai had said to her on that fateful night. Kai hadn't been sleeping. He was thin and pale. Every time he closed his eyes, even for a moment, Du Yong was waiting for him. He was in pain, and he was exhausted. "He's here and he's strong. I can't fight him anymore. I'm not strong enough to destroy him, but I know Touso can, if I help him."

"What do you mean?" Pahoua asked. "How can you help him?"

"By giving him the power, I have left," Kai answered.

Pahoua gasped. There once was a powerful master shaman who had many students. Somehow each student always become sick and died. The truth was eventually revealed that he raised them all to become strong shamans only to rip away that strength to serve himself. Corrupt shamans could harness life by taking it. What Kai proposed was the exact opposite. He wanted to give Touso his life.

Pahoua cried for him to change his mind. There had to be another way.

"What about your chosen bride?" Pahoua demanded. "Why won't you take your bride to protect you?"

"The chosen bride is just a band-aid. It's not the answer," he said, obstinately. "How many Khang shamans continue to die? We won't survive if we don't find a way to return him to hell."

"You can't ask me to do this, my son," Pahoua cried, softly.

Kai, who had always been large and strong, felt too slender as his mother clung to him.

"I have seen the future," he said, quietly. "If I don't do this, we're all going to die. Du Yong will swallow us whole. You are the only one who can help me."

Pahoua sobbed loudly and held her oldest son the way she did the day he was born. Delivered with blond hair and sun-kissed skin, it was as though he'd been baptized by the Sun goddess, herself. He was everything a mother could want in a child. He could have chosen any path, but Kai was his brother's keeper. That was his destiny.

She made her son his favorite meal. He was too weak to have an appetite, but he took a few bites for her sake. His father, who worried that Kai was not taking the threat seriously, asked him where he'd been the last few nights. Kai answered he'd been spending time with friends, which only served to anger his father. But he smiled and told the old man to relax.

"Life is too short to spend it worrying, Dad," he said, as Lihue stomped away.

Bao sat at the table with him. She studied him with an intensity that indicated she knew what he was up to. He ignored the tears forming in her dark eyes, as he handed her a letter.

"Hey, sis. Will you do me a favor and make sure Touso gets this?" He flashed her a weak smile.

"What are you doing, Kai?" Her usually sassy tone was wrought with emotion.

"What I have to do," Kai replied. He reached over and held her hand. When he looked into her eyes, all her spirit guides cried out in despair. The flames that once burned so fiercely in his golden eyes were dying. "I need you to do me a favor, okay? I need you to get that letter to Touso...and I need you to take care of my family."

Kai felt immense relief when Bao finally promised. The siblings shared a difficult relationship because, like Lihue, Bao never understood his choices. She thought Kai lived a frivolous life, seeking pleasure before responsibility. Bao often suspected Kai enjoyed making their father mad. The one thing they shared was their upmost loyalty to family. Bao was smart and reliable. Her compliance made everything more bearable.

That night Kai laid down on his bed for the last time. His mother watched over him, as he closed his eyes.

“It’s been a long time since I was able to sleep,” he said. “He can’t have my soul, so he’s been eating my body. It hurts.” He shifted uncomfortably and tried to smile. “I’m glad Touso’s not here. He wouldn’t want to see me this way.”

“Your brother loves you more than anyone in this world,” Pahoua whispered.

Kai sighed.

“I know. That’s why I have to take care of him,” he said. “Let’s begin, mom. He’s coming. We don’t have time.”

Pahoua gripped her son’s hand and kissed it, then pressed his palm against the side of her face. Touso was the easy child, but Kai was her first born. It was a different kind of bond.

“My darling son. My sweet boy. You are my first-born child. The gods sent you to me with a sun on top of your head. You used to think your hair was a curse, but to me, it was always a sign that you were destined for greatness. But a mother doesn’t pray for glory. She only prays for a happy life for her children. I hoped you would find a woman to love. I saw you with a wonderfully brave son that would carry your name. You should have spent your life building memories with this new family. I am sorry that any powers I have are useless to give you this gift, my son. Mothers and fathers should never outlive their children, and today my heart is broken forever.”

 She cried as she burned the incense sticks and ran them in counterclockwise circles, first over his head, and then over his heart. Pahoua closed her eyes and called to all their ancestors. She asked them to gather his spirit guides and keep them in a safe place. Each one of them wept as they were taken away. As she worked, Kai began to sing his favorite song. It was a habit he’d passed on to his little brother. Whistling and singing to Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” always made them feel better under stress. The haunting words wrenched his mother’s heart.

Kai must have been terrified, and it was all Pahoua could do to keep going. She kissed him one more time on the head. Then taking a deep breath, she called out to the soul of her son.

"Mee tub Kai, my dearest son. Release yourself from this body. My dearest son, release yourself from this body and return to your ancestors. My dearest son, your sacrifice is pure and true. My dearest son, I release you from your suffering. My dear son, Kai Khang, you are free...and your blessings sent to where you wish them to be."

With these last words, the bed began to tremble. A strong gust of wind formed in a room without an open window. Kai stopped singing.

"Mom," he said, happily. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Then the flame on the burning candle blew out, and everything went still. When Pahoua looked down at her son, she saw that he was no longer breathing. His slender, beautiful body was no more than an empty shell. Her baby boy was gone. Pahoua released a loud sob and covered his lifeless body with her arms. She was still shaking when her husband ran into the room to find out what was going on. When he saw his son was dead, he simply believed that Du Yong had finally taken him. Slowly, he crumbled at the foot of his bed and cried.

Across the world, on a ship sitting in the middle of the ocean, Touso felt a cold breeze cover his body. He shivered and tossed on the thin cot of his bed. In his dream, he saw his brother standing, shrouded in light. He smiled and offered a hand to his little brother. Without hesitation, Touso reached for him. The moment they touched, his body ignited with fire. It felt so real that Touso awoke in sweat and tears. As he glanced around the dark room, he was relieved to find his three bunkmates sleeping peacefully. It was just a bad dream. The next day, Touso got the message from his sister.

"Come home. Our brother is dead."