Chapter 7: I Pray for Your Spirit
In Gary's Vietnamese/English dictionary, I found several passages written in Vietnamese by his girlfriend that loosely translate as "I pray for your spirit", hence the title of this chapter. Because the passages are not only written upside down in the book, but also written the same way on two consecutive pages, I believe that she may have written them for Gary to find later. In a more recent development, I discovered yet another passage written to Gary by his girlfriend. Because the words are written in Vietnamese, I had to find a translator to understand the meaning. This particular writing refers to a Vietnamese practice for the spirit of the dead. A "magical divining tool" in the shape of a heart, is used for receiving answers to prayers and to pray for the spirits of the dead. I can only imagine what her reasons were for writing this into his book. Was she aware of his state of mind? Was she aware of witnessed traumas? Left to matters of faith and imagination, this will likely remain a mystery.
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