When Good Luck Turns Bad

It was the lottery ticket's fault. At least that’s what he kept telling himself. If Cory hadn’t won the third-place prize, he never would have been in this situation. Winning a million dollars wasn’t a bad thing; it gave him the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dream of reaching the top of the world’s tallest buildings. Cory spent days researching, selecting which buildings made his list, and obtaining the necessary travel visas. He booked his flights, train tickets, accommodations, and he was ready to go.

Although his goal was to visit the buildings in ascending order, saving Burj Khalifa in Dubai for last, he needed to approach things practically, so because he lived on the east coast of the US, Cory started his journey in New York City. The Empire State Building was no longer on the list of the world’s tallest buildings, but it was iconic and made a great starting point. From there, he took a cab to the Central Park Tower and finished the day with a spectacular view of the sunset from the top of the World Trade Center. This was a great first day, and many more to look forward to.

After a stop in Chicago to visit the Willis Tower, it was an excruciatingly long flight to South Korea. Cory had never visited Asia and decided to alter his itinerary. He would still visit the Lotte Tower in Seoul, but then spend a few extra days recuperating from the flight by taking local tours around the city and countryside. He enjoyed these side trips so much that Cory decided to adapt this style of travel for the rest of his stops as well. A roadblock occurred the day before Cory was scheduled to leave for China. Due to a political issue, Americans were no longer welcome in that country.

It was frustrating and disappointing because China is home to several of the skyscrapers on his list. All he could do was rebook his flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He also changed his lodging from a hotel to an Airbnb. He had found the cottage online and was immediately impressed with its furnishing, location, and a Bio the elderly lady had posted. English is one of Malaysia’s primary languages, so extending his stay in this country would be much easier than in many other places. All those positives, plus he would still get to visit Merdeka, the world’s second-tallest building. This diversion was definitely a win-win.

Cory arrived in Kuala Lumpur late in the afternoon, cleared customs, and hired a cab to take him to the cottage. The closer to his rental they got, the more on edge the driver became. When Cory asked him if there was a problem, the driver slowly shook his head and asked him if he had ever heard of a Penanggalan. Cory told him he hadn’t just as they pulled up to the cottage. He told me what the fare was, took the luggage out of the trunk, and got back in the car. Before he pulled away, the driver gave him a worried look and said, “Be careful, my friend.” Then he was gone.

Cory quickly tossed the warning in the trash when the front door opened and out stepped a frail appearing elderly woman with a welcoming smile and sparkling eyes. She motioned for him to enter and gave him a tour of his temporary home. All went well, and he immediately felt at ease. The woman left a short time later, saying that night came fast in that part of the world and she didn’t like being out in the dark; and that was it.

After getting unpacked and cooking some supper, Cory set up his computer and researched Penanggalan. What he discovered gave him chills. Legend says the Penanggalan is an older woman having the ability to detach her head and internal organs from her body and fly through the air looking for prey. Instead of biting her victims like Western vampires, she injects her enormously long tongue into her target and sucks out the blood, similar to a mosquito. When daylight returned, the beast reentered her body and appeared normal.

Reality struck Cory like a baseball bat. He immediately rushed to repack while calling a cab. He sat by the door holding a large kitchen knife, waiting for his ride, when he suddenly heard a soft voice coming from behind him.

“Leaving so soon, my friend?”

Cory spun in the direction of the voice just as he felt the sting of its tongue stab into his neck. Acting on impulse, Cory swung the knife, slicing the tongue in half. The creature let out an ear-piercing scream and flew out of an open window. Cory heard her whaling in the distance,

“You’ve killed me, you wicked beast, you’ve killed me.”

Cory pulled the severed length of tongue from his neck and tossed it out the door. The cab arrived shortly after the incident, and he left for a hotel. Cory flew home the next day. He never completed his skyscraper tour.