Edward let out a yawn—he was a little sleepy, but the storyline that followed was still in his memory.
After all, Buppah Rahtree was an extremely long movie, so he continued writing the script. As he wrote, his eyes gradually became more focused, and his writing speed grew faster and faster. For a moment, even fragments of ideas for other scripts flashed through his mind, but right now, he prioritized finishing this screenplay first. The rest could wait until later.
…
Night had fallen. The streets of Bangkok grew increasingly quiet, and only the lights of the Osti Apartment flickered weakly in the darkness. This old apartment building had long been eroded by time, its walls mottled and peeling, its staircase creaking as though whispering secrets no one should know.
Yet tonight, the Osti Apartment was destined to be anything but peaceful, because a soul that should never have returned was attempting to step onto this cursed land.
The soul of the scumbag Ake drifted downstairs, his expression bewildered and fearful. He had died in a car accident and should have been scattered to the winds, yet for some reason, a wisp of his soul still lingered in the mortal world.
He gazed at the apartment window, his eyes filled with longing—this was where he and his girlfriend Buppah had lived together. Despite the abuse he had inflicted on her, at this moment, he only wanted to find a place to belong, even if it was just a temporary shelter.
Ake's soul floated slowly into the apartment. The rotting wooden door released a sharp creak, as if warning him not to enter. The hallway was filled with a chilling air. Wallpaper peeled from the walls, revealing cracked patches beneath.
His footsteps echoed through the empty corridor, yet no one replied. Suddenly, a bone-piercing cold swept past him. Ake trembled violently and turned around, only to see a pale figure slowly emerging from the stairwell.
It was Buppah, his former girlfriend, now the vengeful ghost of the apartment.
Her face was twisted, her eyes hollow, the corners of her lips curled into an eerie smile. Buppah said nothing at first. She simply raised her hand, and a streak of ghostly blue light burst from her palm, striking Ake's soul directly. The severe pain made him emit a silent scream, his spectral body twisting and writhing in agony as though torn apart by invisible claws.
"...You… You actually dared to come back?"
Buppah's voice was cold enough to freeze bone, as though echoing from the depths of hell.
"I—I just wanted somewhere to stay…" Ake tried to explain.
"To stay?" Buppah let out a humorless laugh. "This is not a place you have any right to return to!"
She waved her hand again. Ghostly blue light snapped like a whip, lashing against Ake's soul. With each strike came a sharp, distorted wail and unbearable torment. His spirit was flung toward the wall, slamming into it with a heavy thud. His form began to blur, as if he could dissipate at any moment. Yet Ake's obsession, his last lingering desire, was too strong. His soul slowly reformed.
Buppah's eyes grew colder. She approached him one deliberate step at a time. With each step she took, the floorboards groaned in a way that made one's teeth ache.
"You killed me, and now you dare take my place?" Buppah's voice was low and simmering with anger. She lunged forward, gripping Ake's throat. His soul struggled wildly, but he could not break free. Her strength increased, and Ake's body began to disintegrate, breaking apart into scattered fragments of blue light that dissolved into the air.
But Buppah did not stop. She knew the Osti Apartment still had other tenants. Although they could not see her, she could sense each one clearly. And so, she decided to let these tenants taste the terror she had once suffered.
Late at night, an elderly woman who lived alone slept peacefully in her room. Suddenly, the door opened silently. A burst of cold air rushed in. She awoke with a jolt and there, standing at the side of her bed, was Buppah's pale figure.
The old woman screamed, scrambling toward the corner of the bed. Buppah lifted her hand, a faint blue light glowing at her fingertips. The old woman instantly felt a wave of excruciating pain, as though countless needles were piercing her skin. Her body convulsed violently, her screams shrill and desperate, until she finally fainted.
The next day, the building manager discovered her trembling on the bed, muttering endlessly, "Ghost… ghost…" He assumed she had simply had a nightmare. He had no idea that the true terror was only beginning.
Though Ake's soul had completely vanished, Buppah's fury was far from satisfied. She drifted through every corner of the apartment, searching for her next "sinner."
A drunken tenant was drinking alone in the living room when suddenly his glass shattered for no reason. A shard sliced his finger. Startled, he looked up—Buppah stood before him, expressionless.
"W-who are you?" he stuttered.
Buppah did not answer. She raised her hand again. The tenant felt the world spinning wildly. His vision blurred—and he collapsed into unconsciousness.
One by one, the tenants of Osti Apartment encountered strange, terrifying incidents, all of them inexplicable. Gradually, the apartment's reputation worsened. Residents fled one after another, until only Buppah remained, drifting alone through the empty halls.
Yet her revenge brought her no peace. Her soul was still trapped within the apartment, unable to find release—until, one day, a monk passing by sensed the overwhelming resentment emanating from the building.
The monk stepped inside, eyes closed, hands pressed together in a solemn gesture. He recited scriptures under his breath, and gentle blue light radiated from his palms, enveloping the entire building.
Buppah's silhouette appeared within the light. Her once twisted face softened. The hatred in her eyes began to melt away.
"Let go of your obsession. Only then can you be freed," the monk said, his tone deep and compassionate.
Buppah fell to her knees, tears streaming from her eyes. Only then did she understand that revenge did not bring peace. The monk placed his hand gently on her forehead. A warm light spread into her soul.
Buppah's form grew more transparent, until she dissolved into tiny specks of starlight and vanished. Her soul was granted a chance to reincarnate into a warm, loving family where she could begin again.
The Osti Apartment gradually returned to tranquility. Sunshine filtered through the windows into the empty rooms. The mold on the walls seemed to fade. The building manager decided to renovate the place and attract new residents. No one knew what had happened here. Only passersby occasionally heard faint whispers from the building—as though Buppah were offering one final farewell.
As for Ake, his soul had been completely destroyed by Buppah's vengeance, never to harm anyone again. The story of Osti Apartment became a forgotten legend, mentioned only in the quiet breeze of midnight.
The plot of Buppah Rahtree was, of course, not finished. In fact, the Buppah Rahtree franchise had a total of four films: Buppah Rahtree Phase 2: Rahtree Returns, then Rahtree Reborn and finally Rahtree Revenge. Buppah Rahtree and Buppah Rahtree Phase 2: Rahtree Returns belonged to the same continuous storyline, and could be considered complete as-is.
Rahtree Reborn and Rahtree Revenge, however, were produced mainly because the franchise was profitable, and capital investors wanted sequels. That was why the later films felt somewhat strange, though still watchable.
Buppah Rahtree was even adapted by a certain global superpower—no need to name which one. Thinking of this, Edward hesitated but eventually decided to write out the later plotlines as well, treating it as a continuous series. That way, he wouldn't have to deal with anyone chasing him down years later—especially since he planned to be retired by then.
Buppah Rahtree Phase 2: Rahtree Returns continued directly from the first film. The landlady had aged. She begged Buppah and Ake to let her go and allow new residents to move into the apartment—otherwise, she would not survive financially.
Soon, a blind girl moved in, followed by two men. The landlady was thrilled, believing her prayers had been answered. She had no idea, however, that the two men were actually bank robbers.
Originally comedians whose performances always failed and were mocked, they eventually fought with the audience and lost their livelihood, driving them into a life of crime. Their two other accomplices later found them as well, planning to split the stolen money.
Meanwhile, Ake prevented the blind girl from attempting suicide and spoke with her. He wasn't trying to flirt or manipulate her, he simply felt she looked familiar. Eventually, he remembered that before his death, he once accidentally ran someone over while driving, leaving the victim blind. That victim was the blind girl. However, Buppah sensed something off and questioned Ake. He did not tell her the truth.
This enraged Buppah, for she despised lies above all else and Edward himself found this puzzling. After all, Ake already had his legs sawed off by Buppah in the first film because of his rotten behavior. Edward had made some changes to the original plot because Ake was written as too scummy, which made Buppah seem like she had a "love-brain."
In the original story, Ake overdosed on drugs and died, his body decomposing. His ghost sought out Buppah. Later, when he went downstairs to buy porridge, the seller, a beautiful girl, flirted with him nonstop. Ake didn't hesitate and went off to fool around with her immediately.
When Buppah asked where the porridge was, Ake lied and said the shop was closed. Buppah went downstairs herself, saw the same girl, and recognized what had happened. Furious, she returned and sawed off Ake's legs. Because both of them were ghosts, his legs never regenerated; he could only move around in a wheelchair. That girl had also been possessed at first, then saved.
Because of these issues, Edward adjusted the plot. Many viewers didn't expect Ake to still behave like a scumbag even as a ghost, even though the hints were there.
TN: Damn, I thought she reincarnated already and ghost Ake died. They probably change the plot on the 2nd one.
In truth, Ake's character had always been a scumbag from the beginning, when he slept with Buppah as part of a bet for a bottle of alcohol, to later abandoning her after she had just gone through an abortion, leading to her dying from massive blood loss due to lack of care.
So, the scumbag persona wasn't out of character, it was consistent. Audiences simply preferred the "bad man redeemed" trope.
Still, Ake's decision to hide the truth about the blind girl, despite knowing Buppah's temper, was baffling. It wasn't even something shameful; it was guilt and remorse. Even if he said it outright, nothing would happen. But he chose to lie, making him look idiotic.
Though Ake later used the robbers' stolen money to help the girl undergo eye surgery, he was still tortured by Buppah. She stitched his mouth shut with needle and thread. She repeatedly questioned him about what had happened, but Ake continued to deny everything, insisting "nothing happened," which she interpreted as lying.
Eventually, a master arrived and confronted Buppah, subduing her. Ake tried to help her, but with his mouth stitched shut, his strength was weakened. He failed to stop the sealing ritual. The urn containing Buppah's spirit was taken to a temple to be burned, and her soul officially moved on to reincarnation.
This was why Edward said Buppah Rahtree and Buppah RahtreePhase 2 formed a complete saga. The third one, Rahtree Reborn took place in the same apartment but featured new characters and a different landlady. Buppah reappeared, but viewers wondered:
If she had already reincarnated, why did she die again?
Simple, Buppah had terrible luck.
Her reincarnated self was born as a young girl who tragically encountered a violent attacker who snapped her jaw, killing her. Thus, she became a ghost again. This time, however, there were two ghosts, Buppah with her past-life memories, and the reincarnated girl's spirit. Buppah's personality was gentle, but the little girl's was not.
The two parts of Rahtree Reborn revolved around the little girl. Because of her abusive stepfather and the same predator who killed her, she developed deep hatred toward men, using razors to kill relentlessly. She became terrifyingly ruthless, resulting in many deaths.
Overall, the third installment was less compelling than the first two, but still decent. Because of this shift in tone, no further sequels were made. Rahtree Revenge a 3.2 thus became the final entry, an ending Edward considered quite fitting and satisfying.
(End of Chapter)