''Old woman in the Hospital''

This is a true story from my mother's life.

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In the late 1960s and early 1970s, when my mother was pregnant with my older brother, she was diagnosed as having a difficult childbirth and had to be admitted to the district hospital for close monitoring by doctors. At that time, my father was away on business, and my grandmother was left alone in the hospital with no one to take care of her. 

This was partly because my father had no family nearby, and partly because both sides of the family were far away from the district hospital. Moreover, the economy was still difficult at that time, so families with children had to work hard on farms day and night, leaving no time to take care of expectant mothers. Therefore, my mother was in labor all alone in the hospital without any relatives by her side.

The delivery room of the district hospital at that time was a mud-brick house with bamboo walls and a tiled roof. This type of house was very popular at the time and was considered a luxurious house that few households in the district could afford. Most people could only build simple bamboo houses with thatched roofs, which could not keep out the rain and wind, especially in cold winter nights when people would huddle together and complain about the cold. 

In the delivery room where my mother stayed, there were four other expectant mothers waiting for diagnosis and care from the doctors. My mother lay in a bed in the corner, while across from her bed, right outside the door, was another expectant mother from the Thai ethnic group. The woman was petite with fair skin and was also diagnosed as having a difficult childbirth and requiring a C-section. She was about four years younger than my mother and was the only one in the delivery room with someone to take care of her.

Eventually, they got married but faced many mysterious deaths. Some suspected the wife was a vampire who sucked human blood and reported it to the husband. However, he did not believe until their two children died, and he saw his wife with long fangs and a demon-like face sucking blood from a victim.

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Since then, the Thai people have had a tradition that if you encounter an exceptionally beautiful person at night, you must be careful as they may be a vampire. If you feel someone following you, it could also be a vampire. To avoid being followed, put garlic in your pocket and run into the nearest house. To test if your lover is a vampire, go to a deserted place, cook a frog, and put it in your pants pocket. Vampires cannot resist the smell of cooked frogs and will reveal themselves. If you suspect someone is a vampire, cut their tail or leave the area.