So I am going to be a male lawyer who is healthy, protected, rich and noble in my next life. Petrina from Ohio is coming back as a dog.
Today I travelled back in spirit 500 years, to the ghost city of Fendu. A Chinese Buddhist mecca, this is the place where all spirits go, in between dying and passing over. It's a palace of sorts, where souls are put to the test to see how they scored this life - crossing bridges without falling, being reviewed by the judges and meeting with the God of the underworld, Yama. If you succeed you will be given a special tea that makes you forget your previous life and then move onto the next.
I love this place. There is something so hauntingly beautiful about it that you can only feel by being here. There were several occasions where I had the strangest feeling. Hairs standing on end, shivers down the spine. All pleasant but eerie. Couldn't help but think I had been there before, spooky.
There were monks and tourists and people who just came to pray. An old Chinese lady grabbed my hand in one of the prayer rooms and said something in Chinese. I tried to understand her but could not. She was quite adamant, but I had lost the group, so left, message uncompleted.
On the way out we were given a choice between crossing the bridge of health and safety or the bridge of prosperity and nobleness. I opted for health and safety... and then doubled back to take care of the other. Why can't a girl have it all?

