The 13th Tablet

He held her in his strong arms and kissed the top of her head.

‘Sort of.’

‘What do you mean “sort of”?’ she said, tensing up.

‘My mum is quite sweet and so is my sister, but…’

‘Yes?’

‘They’ve never left their trailer.’

‘So what?’

‘Mina, they’re not very sophisticated.’

‘Please, don’t been embarrassed by your family, not on my behalf!’

‘Alright. What about your parents?’ he asked.

‘Oh. That’s another story. They were polite on the phone of course.’

‘But what?’

‘You’re a soldier you know, you’re not a doctor or a lawyer… It might not work out.’

‘You’re joking, right?’ said Jack, raising himself on his elbow.

She looked at the shocked look on his face, enjoying every second of it, and then kissed him hungrily as she climbed on top of him.

‘Of course I’m kidding! They’ll adore you, but not quite as much as I do.’

PART 4

THAILAND

Death carries off a person who is gathering flowers, like a flood carries away a sleeping village.

(Buddhist Saying)

Chapter 30

December 23rd, 2004. Thai Airways flight

The plane to Bangkok was packed with British tourists leaving behind their offices and heading for the beach. They were wearing shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops and were looking forward to a well-earned holiday in Thailand. Mina was amazed to see how lightly dressed they all were. In the shopping area of Abu Dhabi, where they had a short stopover, she was reminded of the variety of dress codes co-existing at airports all around the world. The contrast between her fellow travellers and the white-robed sheiks and their entourage was quite a vision to behold. Mina watched the queues of men of all ages and from all social classes waiting for a connecting flight to Mecca and felt quite moved. Was it their fervour? Or was it their anticipation of revealed mysteries, their communal faith? She clearly remembered her father’s serene smile when he returned from the Hajj, many years before. She must have been ten years old and had kept asking her mother where daddy was, until one day he walked through the door and swept her off her feet in a long-awaited hug.

December 24th, 2004. Don Mueang, Bangkok airport

Mina was trying to get her head around the time zone difference. The duration of their trip had been twelve hours, but because of the seven hour difference between Britain and Thailand, instead of arriving at ten p.m. it was actually five in the morning on Christmas Eve.

Having retrieved their luggage, Jack returned to the waiting room to find Mina, yawning on a bench.

‘Mina, I finally managed to reach my mother at the hotel,’ he said, his broad smile showing just how relieved he was. ‘I told her we’d be with her for dinner. We’ve got a flight to Phuket around eight tonight, how about a little sightseeing in the meantime? I propose leaving our bags in a locker and going exploring.’

‘That sounds lovely!’ she answered, shaking off her drowsiness and picking up her bag.

After a hair-raising taxi ride through Bangkok’s busy streets, Mina marvelled at the strangeness of her surroundings and the beauty of the various temples along the Chao Phraya River. The driver came to a screeching halt just outside the National Museum. Jack paid the man and then turned to Mina, ‘Believe it or not, even though I’ve been to Bangkok many times, and even to this park,’ pointing at the leafy Sanamluang park opposite, ‘I’ve never once visited the National Museum.’

‘A good thing too, we’ll discover it together. I always start a visit to a new city with a museum trip.’

‘It’s as good a place to start as any,’ said Jack. ‘I usually memorise the main streets and then go for a walk.’

‘Museums make me feel more grounded. They reassure me, you know, the fact that all human beings have a sense of their own history, their own roots.’

‘Well, you sure look like a fish in water the moment you enter a museum!’

She laughed and held his hand as they walked into the museum.

The collections were distributed in different buildings, some of which Mina found to be more refined than others. The Siwamokhaphiman Hall was an impressive ceremonial building made of traditional materials. In this case, she preferred the building itself to the prehistoric collection it contained. But what really impressed them was the Phra Buddhasihing, a famous sacred image of Buddha, held in the so-called Buddhaisawan Chapel, and a huge sculpture of Ganesh.

Jack knew this god well from his previous trips to South East Asia and had much affection for the elephant-headed god. He found this sculpture of the dancing deity particularly endearing.