So, Siri had told Daeng all about the frozen Frenchmen and the king. They wracked their brains as to how this might be connected to their latest mission. And, leaving Daeng to discover what had happened in 1910, Siri had departed for his helicopter flight. But then it was, with the helicopter swinging back and forth like a fat sailor on a hammock in a high sea, that Siri recalled one other memory from his dream. One that had remained suppressed during his discussion with Daeng. There hadn’t been six Frenchmen but seven. One sat to one side just as naked as the rest and he’d borne a remarkable but incongruous resemblance to Comrade Koomki from Housing.
Siri was snapped from his reverie by the sight of Madame Peung slapping the young pilot on the back and pointing. The pilot panicked and threw the craft into a rapid spiral descent they all doubted he’d pull out of in time. Miraculously, at the last second, he had the beast under control and hovered a few metres above the bank. The sound of sighs could be heard over the growl of the engine. But Siri was trying desperately to recall what it was that had transpired just before the shoulder slap. There had been a gesture, a moment between Madame Peung and her brother. It was something that looked trivial but Siri’s instinct told him that it was significant. But, there and then he wasn’t able to untangle it from his dream recollections. It would come to him, he was sure.
Despite its gentle hover at two metres, the Mi-2 dropped so heavily to the ground it bounced, not once but three times. Had Siri’s teeth been false they would now be embedded in the inside of his skull. The minister swore like a twisted bantam but Madame Peung squealed with delight. They alighted, all but the chastised pilot, on to a patch of grass on a bank that dived steeply down to the water. There were hills on both banks and a sharp turn that threw the mighty Mekhong into a wall of rock.
‘It’ll be deep here,’ said the minister, once the engine noise had been extinguished. ‘The river has nowhere to go but down.’
‘This … this is where it happened,’ said Madame Peung. She walked down the slope to the water’s edge and closed her eyes. A breeze off the water sent ripples through her loose-fitting satin trouser suit. ‘Major Ly is here. He’s so pleased to feel your presence, Minister.’
The minister stood beside her and looked out at the swirling water.
‘Prove it,’ he said.
His tone was sceptical but Siri knew he’d been convinced long before this.
‘I know,’ said Madame Peung, but not to the minister. ‘So give me something.’
She raised her head and listened to the Mekhong. Siri fancied he could hear voices too but it was likely just the swirl of the water through the rocks.
‘Minister,’ said Madame Peung. ‘Are you sure you want to test him here, like this?’
‘Yes.’
‘In front of strangers?’
‘I have nothing to … Why? What did he say?’
‘You and your brother had a tent when you were young. It was pitched in the back yard. One game you played was called Arabia.’
‘How …?’
‘You would take it in turns to be the erotic female dancer. You would tuck your-’
‘Enough. All right.’
He looked around. Four of the five litres of blood in his body had found their way to his cheeks. Only Siri had been close enough to hear. The doctor filed it away.
‘That’s ridiculous,’ said the minister. ‘But, well I suppose we might as well get on with this. Hey, you.’
He called to the mechanic. The young man jogged down to the group.
‘You told me you could swim,’ said the minister.
‘Like a fish, Comrade.’
‘Right. Let’s hope you swim better than your pilot flies. Get yourself in the water down there and see what you can find.’
The boy stripped off his shirt and boots and confidently dived into the choppy flow. To everyone’s surprise, Tang, the witch’s brother, strode down the bank, peeled off his long robe and jumped into the water also. Siri and the minister looked at Madame Peung incredulously.
‘He looks unathletic,’ she smiled, ‘but he’s a remarkable swimmer.’
The doctor and the minister exchanged another look but the brother did indeed appear to be very happy in the water. He it was who reached the middle first and his was the first duck-dive sending him deep into the river. Madame Peung walked over to sit on a large boulder that hung over the swirl. It was an idyllic spot surrounded by thick jungle and probably inaccessible by land. Siri thought it would be a great location to photograph a Biere Lao advertisement or a pornographic movie. He clambered over the smaller rocks and sat next to the medium.
‘Ah, Siri,’ she said. ‘You are full to bursting with questions.’
‘I could burp them out one at a time,’ he told her.
‘Keep a cool heart, Doctor. There’s no hurry. Why were you so reluctant to hear from your first wife?’
‘It seemed … I don’t know … disrespectful to Madame Daeng.’
‘Aren’t you curious at all?’
‘I’m …’ Siri reached for his missing earlobe. It was a habit he’d developed whenever verging on the supernatural. ‘I’m so curious I could scream. You probably know about my shaman-in-residence, Yeh Ming?’
‘Of course.’
‘Well, whether I like it or not he’s in me somewhere. But, for reasons I don’t really understand, he’s putting down barriers between me and the departed. I know they’re there. I see them. But I can’t talk to them.’
‘What can I do for you, Siri?’
‘Teach me.’
‘To make contact?’
‘Yes.’
She smiled.
‘Can you teach somebody not to be colour-blind?’ she asked. ‘To not grow hair out of their ears?’
‘I’m not sure what that means.’
‘Dr Siri. You are a man of science. Your education gave you proof that there was only one world. This physical one we see all around us. Yet, without warning, you were tossed into this other dimension. You see it just as I do. You experience it. And, even though you can’t deny it’s there, your incorrectly educated self is always at odds with it. It’s there but it cannot possibly be there.’
‘So, how do I …?’
‘It might be too late, Siri, my darling. Cynicism is a big part of who you are. It’s the shutter you pull down to keep out the storms you can’t weather. As long as that shutter is down, your ghost friends will be on the other side of it.’
She stood and started back over the rocks. As she passed Siri she stumbled and he caught her. She looked into his eyes.
‘You know, I’m probably not the most qualified guru to be working with you on this problem. What makes me flesh and blood and them not, I have no idea. But I cannot deny they’re there nor can I deny my role in their unsettled state. The moment you’re able to do the same, that’s when you’ll communicate with them. It’s standing-room only out there, doctor. Your waiting room is full. I see them.’
The two divers had returned to the river’s edge. She released his hand and continued along the bank. There had been something deja vu about her words. He’d had this conversation before in this same place. But not in the waking world. The divers’ return was an annoyance. He hurried along behind her to where the minister leaned over the mechanic.
‘Anything?’ shouted the old general.
‘A lot of mud down there,’ said the mechanic. ‘No sign of a wreck.’
But Tang was out of the water and ripping branches from the nearest tree. He returned with two, handed the pilot one and dived back in.
‘I think he wants you to follow him,’ said Siri.
The mechanic shrugged and swam out after the brother. Once more they duck-dived at the deepest point. The onlookers stood still and silent watching the surface of the Mekhong. Siri, with his troubled lungs and his modest beginner swimming ability, could only marvel at how the two could be so comfortable under thousands of kilograms of water. In fact they were down so long he was starting to get anxious. Not so anxious that he might rip off his shirt and dive in to rescue them, but enough that he asked the minister how well he could swim.