Cursed Sand

Free book with dark short stories

‘WELL, TRISH, WHAT do you think of our hotel? We are staying here for three weeks,’ said Noah.

‘It’s okay, I suppose,’ she giggled, ‘It’s wonderful, however did you know about this place?’

‘In my travelling days, this was the place I wanted to stay, but of course, I could not afford such luxury in those days.’

‘Can we afford it now?’

‘Not really, but you deserve it after this year. Don’t fret about anything; have a wonderful time in the sun.’

‘And on the beach, I can’t wait to run up to that hill in the distance.’

‘I’ll race you.’

They held hands while enjoying the hotel garden path and onto the steps leading to the white sands.

‘You spotted the hill before. It is called Khao Takiab, about five kilometers along the beach. Can you make it?’ Noah laughed; he knew she could whoop him easily.

‘How much of a start do you want?’ Trish asked; with a lopsided grin, she pretended to kick off.

‘Oh, wait for me.’

The pair jogged quickly, splashing in and out of the sea, then sprinting on the firm sand.

‘Do you want to go up the hill?’ asked Noah.

‘No, save that pleasure for next time; let’s return to our room. Come on, catch me if you can.’ She winked at him.

Halfway back, Noah bent double. ‘Enough, slow down.’

Trish jogged back to him, ‘Tired, or too much beer last night?’

Noah walked up the soft and fluffy sand at the top of the beach. He turned and sat with his back against the grey brick wall, and Trish flopped next to him.

‘That building behind us has an interesting history. But as you can see, it has fallen into disrepair.’

He raised his arm to point behind, and his index finger hit a loose brick.

‘Now look what you’ve done. The block will fall on someone’s foot.’ She touched it, and it fell into her hand.

‘Leave it on the sand,’ said Noah.

‘Wait a minute, what’s this?’ Trish poked in the hole and pulled out a folded square of paper. ‘Wow, a secret note, and it is written in English.’

‘What does it say?’

‘I don’t know, it’s all gibberish.’

‘Let me look,’ Noah snatched it, ‘It says, “Greeting sounds like a shout of pain. Desperate cry from someone in trouble. Confession of being inside. Please, to escape confusion. Release me from the arranged fete mess. Final words in grave location? Signed Wonderland.” What the hell does that mean?’

‘Wait a minute, is it cryptic? Like six clues on a crossword?’

‘You’re the Telegraph expert. You tell me what it means.’

‘Let me think. It could be, “Hello. I need help. I’m indoors. Get me out. Set me free. I’ll die here. Signed Wonderland.” Oh my God. Is it a game with someone, or…’

‘I told you the place had a history.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Come on, I’ll show you.’ Noah marched up the steps and across the ragged grass towards the wooden home. ‘God, what a mess.’ The downstairs was mainly open, with a smashed-up kitchen area and rotten wooden stairs. ‘Best if we don’t try to go up, it looks dangerous.’

Trish turned to return to the beach but spotted scrawled writing.

‘Look!’

She pointed at the spray-painted message. “Don’t Go To Wonderland.”

They jogged back to warm showers and lunch.

‘What do you fancy doing now?’

‘I’d love to learn more about Wonderland,’ said Trish.

‘Trish, there’s not much to know.’

‘Come on, you are hiding something. What do you know?’

‘Oh, nothing much; it was a brothel for the local fishermen.’

‘And?’

‘All the fishing boats moved to the north of town when they started building five-star hotels. Like ours.’

‘How come a girl working there could speak English? And write cryptic clues? That can’t be normal,’ Trish said.

‘Yes, I guess you’re right.’

‘And what does Wonderland mean in Thailand?’

‘You’re the crossword wizard, no pun intended,’ he chuckled. ‘You work it out. Fancy a trip to the night market?’

The stallholders were busy dealing with tourists from Bangkok, and much further afield, the happy couple decided a bite to eat was more important than trinkets. ‘Over the crossroads, there used to be decent snack stalls. Do you fancy trying that?’

‘But not too spicy, please.’ Both laughing, they sat down and ordered Thai dishes.

‘It’s great eating on the street, much more fun than slumming it at a five-star restaurant,’ Trish said as she grinned and watched shoppers admire their purchases as they strolled past. Her eyes widened, and she dropped her fork as she gaped and pointed. ‘Look!’

Noah turned, ‘No, it can’t be.’

The building opposite was dark, except for a brightly lit sign. “Wonderland”.

Trish stood slowly, then wandered through the thin crowd.

‘No, darling, don’t go in,’ said Noah, pushing shoppers away and trying to catch her. The door opened, and Trish entered the building as Noah reached for her. He was too slow. Standing outside, head in his hands. ‘Oh God,’ he hammered on the locked door.

‘Hello, you must be Alice?’

‘I am indeed, and you are Trish?’

Alice led Trish up the stairs, past darkened doors, to a brightly lit office. ‘Please take a seat,’ she said, pointing to a red velvet chair.

‘Are you Thai?’

‘Is that all you want to know?’ Alice laughed. ‘I was born in London, but my parents were Thai. Does that answer you?’

‘I don’t wish to be rude, sorry.’

There was a moment of silence as the women watched each other. Then, a scuffling in the corridor caught their attention.

‘Don’t worry, that will be Noah.’

‘What do you mean?’ said Trish.

‘It’s a long story. Are you sitting comfortably? Maybe I can fetch you a glass of Thai wine?’

‘I don’t think I’ve tried Thai wine, why not? I guess the news you have for me may take a while?’

‘You are perceptive. I met Noah ten-plus years ago in England. I fell for him, much against my parent’s wishes. We travelled across Europe, skirted Africa and arrived in Asia. Our money, or should I say my money, was running out. My folks refused to send more, so we decided to slum it on Hua Hin’s beach and tried to get a job. As a foreigner, Noah is not allowed to work. But he did get me a job.’

Alice continued and refilled the wine glasses. ‘He sold me to a brothel, yes, in the building at the beach.’

‘How do you know we went there?’

‘I’ll come to that. My Dad and Mum died in an accident. I was the only heir, so their homes in London and here were left to me. I could then pay my way out of the failing knocking shop business and buy it. Don’t forget that was the only business I knew.’

The glasses were filled once more. This time, they clinked cheers.

‘Hence, Alice in “Wonderland”. We don’t deal with poor fishermen but Thailand’s wealthiest businessmen.’

‘I’m so sorry, you have suffered because of my boyfriend,’ Trish said as she wiped her eyes.

‘Now comes the bit that will interest you most. Because of the World Wide Web, it is easy to pretend to be anyone. So, I pretended to be the previous owner of the brothel. Because he and darling Noah remained in contact. So, convincing him that an English girl would bring men in scores was simple. And plenty of money.’

‘What? You mean…’

‘Yes, my dear, because of your problem on the track last year and how you were forced to earn cash to pay to save your sports career. I also know you had to sell yourself to pay for expert medical treatment. So, my dear, Noah offered you for sale.’

‘I’ll kill him.’

‘That is what I hoped. I need a partner for this business. Are you interested?’

The partners wandered along the corridor and watched their victim battling against his cuffs. They laughed and shook hands. Deal done.

The END

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