"What's wrong with that?"
They stood at the foot of the stairs, wondering how anyone could get inside the staircase. A Peeping Tom would have to be directly beneath it. Siri tapped at the front of the wooden steps with his toe. The first and second emitted resounding thuds. The third plonked and seemed to give way a little. Although the panel had been stained the same colour as the others, it was obviously a plywood substitute for the original. Siri knelt on the first stair and carefully pushed one side of the loose panel. It was held in place only by its snug fit between the steps. It gave way easily and he was able to wrest it free without its falling into the gap beneath.
"See anything?" Daeng asked, hunkering down beside him. They heard the scampering of cockroaches, perhaps the patter of a mouse.
"The gap's too narrow to crawl through," Siri decided.
"Well, thank goodness for that."
"But I can see a skinny little Indian getting in here easily enough."
"What's that over there?"
They both leaned into the gap. The bathroom light shone yellow through the grill three metres ahead of them. To the left of the grill there was a shadow. It was about thirty centimetres tall and had all the makings of a hairy creature lurking, ready to pounce.
"Shine your light on it."
"I left mine in the bathroom."
"Me too."
"Did it just move?" Siri asked. "Perhaps not. If I had a stick I could give it a poke."
"Don't go away."
Daeng went back to the bathroom and walked in on the man as he was tossing water over himself with a ladle. He opened one eye and looked at her through the shampoo.
"Excuse me," she said, grabbing a mop and their torches.
"No problem," he replied.
She paused briefly in the doorway to glance back, then took the mop to Siri. It was just long enough to reach the hairy object in the corner. It didn't leap to life when Siri prodded it. The torches revealed its identity. With a little manual dexterity, Siri was able to coax the object towards them. Daeng reached down and grabbed it by the hair. It was a porcelain dolclass="underline" the cold daughter of the daughter. Her clothes were tattered and insect ravaged but her hair and face looked as gay as on the day she first arrived in the tropics with her French owner.
"You don't suppose if we pull its string it might tell us the next riddle?" Daeng asked.
"This young lady pre-dates talking dolls by about fifty years, I'd say, but look." Siri had lifted the frayed dress to reveal a conservative pair of knickers and, in the waistband, a tightly rolled slip of paper. "Ah, Rajid, sleazy as ever."
6
It had been four days since Phan had begun courting Wei, the schoolteacher. Everything had gone very smoothly. He and her brother were best friends, her parents called him 'son', and Granny would have had him in her attic bunk in the blink of an eye. Wei wasn't as eager as some. She had to save face at the school, he imagined. But she was certainly in love with him. He hadn't exactly asked her to marry him, not in so many words. But there was an unspoken inevitability. It was his last night in the village. His work in the region was done for this trip. He'd weaved his magic so deftly he imagined more than a few villagers would shed tears to see him go.
There were only two more steps: tonight's tearful goodbye and one, perhaps two, love letters. That should do it. But first there had to be the question. It was a final test. If she got the answer wrong she couldn't have him, not ever. It would mean the end of all this hokum. Ironically, the wrong answer might actually save her worthless life. By now he'd developed an instinct about it but he needed to hear it from the girl's mouth and read the truth in her eyes.
He was sitting by the same urine-coloured pond, ignoring the mosquitoes that sucked at his blood. The sun had set, and he was weaving a grass goldfish by the light of a small kerosene lamp. He heard the crunch of two sets of footsteps on the gravel. It was a very good sign. She wasn't alone.
She saw him there in the warm orange glow of the lamp and felt Nook squeeze her hand. It was a scene from the Ramayana she'd seen in an illustration. Rama, with his princely aura, sitting by the lake of Manas. She'd found no fault in him, not one in four days. He was a sincere, hardworking government cadre, warm and funny and strong, and…not handsome exactly; but noble looking. A face that would age well. She'd become somebody different since he'd arrived: somebody better. Her village and her life were so much more important when she saw them through his eyes. And she…? She had become…no, that was it. She had become.
He watched her say goodbye to her queer friend and walk towards him. But the queer didn't turn around and go back. He was her chaperone. Excellent that she had one but why choose that aberration? Why would a man, born with all the right attributes, aspire to be female? It was sickening. Phan felt the nausea rise in his throat. But he had to ignore it. He had to ignore the freak and concentrate on the task at hand.
He rose when she approached and gestured toward a large rock. He'd placed his folded windbreaker on top of it for her comfort.
"Hello, Phan." She looked at the completed grass sculpture in his hand. "Can I see it?"
"It's for you," he said.
"It's beautiful."
She blushed when he handed it to her.
"It's only a fish," he smiled.
"I know. Fish are my favourites."
"You're very easy to be around, Wei."
"I hope so."
"You know I'm leaving very early in the morning?"
"Yes, we'll be sorry to see you go." She cursed herself. She wasn't saying any of the things she meant.
"I can't tell you how much I'll miss this town, and especially you," he said.
She blushed again and looked out at the water.
He continued. "Wei, I have a question I need to ask you. It's something I've never asked anyone before. It's very personal, probably the most personal question a man can ask a woman."
She felt a mixture of joy and trepidation but no words came to her.
Phan kept going. "I've been agonizing about it all day. But it's vital that I know. You see? My family…my upbringing was very proper. I was instilled with ideals that seem to have lost value in this day and age. If I ask I know you'll think me rude and old-fashioned. And still I don't know how to put my question. Wei, everybody possesses a gift. They are born with that gift and decide when they should share it, although some people don't realize its value and…no, I'm not doing very well. Wei, you might find this hard to believe but I have never been with a woman, sexually."
She let out all the air she'd been holding back in one loud gasp. Her face turned the colour of an overripe chilli.
"I kept my gift until I found somebody worthy to give it to. I need to know…" he continued.
"Than, it's all right," she said, but she was far too stunned to look him in the eye. She spoke to the surface of the pond. "I understand, and I don't think you're rude or old-fashioned at all. You don't need to be embarrassed. I think it's lovely. I haven't either…I mean, with a man…or anyone."
He liked the fact that she was tongue-tied, and he laughed with her. He reached for her hands. They were damp and trembling, most unpleasant. It was just as well he hadn't touched her fingers earlier or he might not be here in this situation now. But it was too late to turn back.
"Then I can't think of any reason why I shouldn't go to speak with your parents."
She pulled her hands away, not because she wanted to but because it was proper to do so. She stood and turned her back to him. Her hands went to her face.
"It's not that bad, is it?" he asked.