I was an instructor in Officer Cadet School. We often go to Pulau Tekong for training. Once we were at the middle of the island for a few days` field camp. We had night section training. Thus, we often met something eerie….

One night, i brought my section back to the base camp. It had been a tiring day, thus i went to the insturctors` shelther to cook some noodles to reard myself for an efficient training day.
Soon the rest of the intructors with their sections started streaming in from the wild jungle of Tekong.

Then i saw 2LT Tan coming into the shelter looking worried. Upon enquiry, i learnt that one of his cadets had met something dirty… and was behaving strangely. Apparently the cadet had seen a lady in white dress!!!

Worried for that particular cadet, i went to the cadets` bashas (Tents) to look for OCT (Officer Cadet Trainee) Wayne. I found him in a very bad state… he was crying uncontrollably. I immediately sensed something fishy and asked his buddy to help him back to the shelter.

All the while he was sobbing helplessly… that was so unlike him… as i knew him very well….

Back at the shelter, i sat him down on a field chair with him still sobbing… sometimes like a lady…. (goose pimples were standing…..)

I took a fieldchair myself and sat in front of him, asking him what was the matter

All he could say was to plead me to stop questioning…. one thing strange about him was his eyes… they seemed to be afixed on `something` which seemed to be just on my right side…. my hair started to stand…..

“What`s the matter? Is something controlling you?”

He just shook his head … uncontrollably….

“stttooopppp ittt ssssirrrrr…..”

“OFFICER CADET WAYNE LIM!” I was starting to get irritated….. “If you dont stop this nonsense at once…. i willl…”

Before i can finish, he started to howl uncontrollably…. his eyes still fixed to something on my right…..

Immediately, my hands were swinging on my right side as if i was sweeping something away….

“There is nothing here OCT LIM!”

I was trying to assure him that the `something` which was having his full attention, was not there at all….

“SIR, PLEASE STOP THIS… DONT PROVOKE HER…..”

The whole picture became clear at once….

Till this day, Wayne does not want to reveal what was the “HER” he had seen that evenful evening… but i must say i am still puzzled at the amount of courage i had at that time….

Maybe it was my appointment as his instructor that had given me the courage to try to assure him. Maybe being an officer requires one to be fearless at times…. regardless of whether one is brave or not…