Senseless
A short dark story, set in Thailand
‘WHERE SHALL WE go next?’ Hannah asked.
‘Let’s go where the Thais go, but no foreigners,’ Petra answered.
The well-used Lonely Planet guidebook was flicked open.
‘Found it. The first page it stopped at, Chiang Khan!’
‘Okay, I’ve never heard of it.’
‘Exactly. That is where we’ll go next. Agree?’
‘Sure, it looks lovely,’ Petra said, leaning over her friend’s shoulder.
-
‘Wow, look at the colours. What are they?’
‘They look like Chinese lanterns, beautiful.’
'Must be for a festival or something?’
‘Yeah, let’s find a guest house or hotel. We need a break after that nine-hour bus trip from Bangkok.’
They found an old teak building that was renting rooms at a bargain price. ‘This will do us fine,’ said Hannah.
‘Gorgeous, and it’s got a private bathroom,’ agreed Petra. Both girls collapsed onto the double bed.
‘Now what? It will be dark soon; let’s not waste any time.’
‘Why not ask the owner?’
‘I can’t understand her English, but it sounds like “Pra Khao” in the morning.’
‘The brochure said something about feeding sticky rice to the monks. Fancy that?’
‘She also said about a boat ride later.’
‘She showed me pictures of a glass walkway. Looks a bit scary, especially for those frightened of heights, like you,’ both girls laughed.
’Let’s do the skywalk another day; why don’t we take a river ride tomorrow afternoon?’
‘And now? Fancy a beer or two and a bite to eat?’
‘Let’s go.’
‘That boy keeps looking at me,’ said Hannah.
‘Is he good-looking?’ giggled Petra.
‘Stop it. He is beginning to freak me out. Look around.’
‘What boy? You mean the barman?’
‘Oh, he’s gone. He was pretty good-looking, I guess. I think blonde, European, big black framed glasses, a bit like a teenage professor.’
‘So, what’s to worry about?’
‘Nothing, I suppose,’ said Hannah. They laughed together.
-
There was a tap on the bedroom door.
‘Seven o’clock,’ said a quiet voice. ‘Time to feed the monks.’
‘Oh, thank you,’ Hannah opened the door.
A young girl held out her arms, two small tin pots in them. Both are filled with hot, sticky rice topped with fried, pilchard-like fish.
‘Okay, we just hand these to the monks?’
‘Yes, but you mustn’t touch them.’
‘Fine, thank you.’
‘And mum said you cannot have guests visit you here.’
‘No, we know. We didn’t.’
‘She told me a boy came to visit you last night.’
‘What? No one came here.’
‘No, mum wouldn’t let him in.’
‘What did he look like?’
‘I don’t know, I was asleep.’
-
Hannah and Petra took their places in the queue of faithful folk. Hannah couldn’t help but keep turning around and glancing at people’s faces. They copied the other people's motions, feeling great, and used the guest house bicycles to ride along the narrow streets until they found their way to the boat jetty.
‘So, here we are, the famous Mekong River. We’ve heard lots about it but never seen it until now.’
‘Yep, and that is Laos,’ Petra pointed across the water.
‘The “mother of all rivers”, so they say.’
‘Why do they call it that?’
‘No idea. I think it is not the longest, but it flows through eight countries.’
‘Who has been reading the guidebook?’
‘And what is the “The Land of One Million Elephants?”’
‘Laos,’ they both shouted together.
The boatman looked at his watch and signalled fifteen minutes.
‘Is it okay to leave our bikes here? We have no locks.’ Petra looked worried.
The boatman laughed as if they were idiots. ‘No problem,’ he said.
Four other tourists arrived.
‘Do you think they are Chinese?’ murmured Hannah.
The girls took their seats in front of the small group as the boatman checked the time and chucked a rope on board. The engine kicked in, and the pilot checked that his passengers were comfortably seated and had moved off.
After a few minutes, the voyagers all felt comfortable looking around.
‘Oh, God, guess who’s here?’
‘Not Joe Ninety?’
‘You guessed it, he must have come aboard just as we set off.’
‘Is he following us?’
For the whole ride, he did nothing but snap away with his mobile.
The boat neared its jetty as it returned.
‘Did you enjoy that trip?’ asked Petra.
‘Yes, but…’
‘But what?’
‘I kept imagining he was watching me.’
The boy disembarked first and disappeared, followed by the four Chinese; then Hannah and Petra thanked their Captain and returned to their bikes.
‘Let’s sit here for a minute,’ said Hannah.
‘I love it here, don’t you? What’s that song? “Sittin' by the dock of the bay.” My dad kept playing that one.’
‘Or you are just showing your age,’ the girls laughed.
‘Excuse me, do you mind if I sit with you?’
‘Join us,’ Petra pointed to a grassy patch beside Hannah.
‘Are you on holiday?’ the young man said as he pushed his specs up his nose.
The girls nodded.
’What about you? On your own?’
‘My girlfriend and I split up.’
‘And why was that?’ Petra asked as Hannah slapped her thigh.
‘I want to see the sights; she wants to party.’
‘Oh, she is in Thailand?’
‘Yes, she loved Samui and all the drug parties. She is still there.’
‘You appear… what shall I say… more studious?’
Both girls smirked, holding back sniggers.
Petra covered her smirk with a question. ‘What’s your name?’
‘I’m Jenkins.’
Again, they both laughed. ‘What’s your first name?’
‘That is my Christian name; my surname is Jones.’
They were quiet for a minute, ‘Can I ask your names?’ Jenkins said, studying his shoes.
‘Sure, I’m Dee Dee, and my friend is Mai Di.’
Jenkins looked at the girls in turn.
‘I don’t believe you.’ He adjusted his seating and loosened his rucked-up shorts. ‘Dee means good in Thai, dee dee means very good, and mai di means bad or no good. Why are you playing with me? I don’t like it.’ He shifted his position once more. First, looking at his shoes and then at his right hand.
Petra nudged her friend; Hannah shrugged and put her arm across Jenkins’ shoulders. Her left hand pulled his chin to face her. She stared into his eyes. A small plastic cap was loosened and dropped silently to the grass. The scalpel’s blade crossed his swollen carotid artery. Blood spurted. Hannah held his wriggling body for a few minutes, clamping her arm across him, then released him. He rolled to the water’s edge. Petra pushed him deeper.
‘Well, I guess it is time to move on. Where do you fancy next?’ asked Hannah.
‘We’ve got some bad news for Jenkins’ girlfriend. Let’s go to Samui. It should be fun.’
The END
That certainly came out of left field. I was liking those girls, but, typically, you foiled reader expectations and turn it inside out. A ripper!