Chapter 2

When she arrived home, her mother asked her where she had been, but little Phet remembered the condition of the statue and couldn't tell her the truth.  
"I, I was chasing a chicken.  One ran away," she said, careful to avoid a complete lie.
"Not another chicken, Phet.  I'll need to work extra hours this week to make up for that," she admonished.
Suddenly, Phet remembered her task.  "Do the monks arrive at the village before or after sunrise," asked Phet.
"What?  Oh, they usually leave the temple right at sunrise, arriving at the village a few minutes later.  Why do you ask?"
But Phet was already planning her strategy for the next day.  She decided to go directly to the temple, just to make sure she caught the monks exactly at sunrise.

That night, Phet was so excited.  All she kept thinking about was that she needed to wake up early so she could be at the temple at sunrise.

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And so, the next morning, Phet woke up while it was still dark outside.  She quietly got dressed so as not to disturb her mother, tucked the gold chain in her pocket, and headed out.

Meanwhile at the temple, a unit of Kampuchean soldiers was gathering outside, waiting for the monks.  When the monks appeared, the soldiers stopped them.  The head monk questioned the head soldier about it, and the head soldier responded that he had orders from his superior to close the border until further notice.  The monks asked them what that had to do with them, since they considered themselves Thai citizens in Thailand,  But the soldier explained that the Kampuchean government was anxious to re-establish control of this area, and had claimed the temple as Kampuchean territory.  The head monk explained that they were headed to the village, but the head soldier clarified that the government had claimed the temple, but had left the village under Thai control.  The monks became indignant at this, for it meant that their home village, which was less than a kilometer away, was now a foreign country and they were not allowed to go to the people who relied on this temple.  The head monk wanted to ignore the orders, but the soldiers said they were prepared to shoot in order to defend the command.  The villagers were expecting the monks to accept donations in the village at sunrise, not long from then.  Tensions mounted, but neither side would back down.

Suddenly Little Phet appeared.  The soldiers were so concerned about stopping the monks from entering the village that they had failed to guard the border from any villagers coming to the temple.  She was still very excited about fulfilling the first task, that when she saw the monks standing there, she didn't even notice the soldiers pointing their weapons at them.  She walked directly up to the head monk, and then looked over at the horizon to see if the sun's first rays were about to break through.  Sure enough, at that moment, the rays shone brightly, casting long shadows characteristic of the early morning hours.  She took off her shoes, and knelt with her hands in the traditional wai position, which is the way Thai people show respect to a monk, and waited for his blessing.  The monk stared directly at the head soldier, who reluctantly lowered his weapon.  The monk gave his blessing, and Phet dropped the gold chain in his empty alms bowl.  Then she rose and left.

The monk gave a quizzical look as he examined the contents of his bowl.  He pulled out the gold chain and examined it carefully.  The design looked vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't place where he had seen it before.

Phet went down to the entrance of the cave, and entered quietly.  Instantly, the statue congratulated her on a job well done.  She had completed the first task, and some of the magic had returned to the cave.  But the second task would be more difficult.  She must perform this ceremony in a room completely lit by candles.  Then the statue gave her a parchment and told her to start reading it when the temple sounds the second bell of night, which occurs at midnight.  Phet thanked the statue and left the cave.

However, the tension outside had grown tremendously in that short time.  A unit of Thai soldiers had arrived, and they were there to guard the village.  Everyone was afraid that the situation would get out of control, and so the only option was to completely close the border.  This time when Phet wanted to cross the border, both units of soldiers prevented her. Even though she cried, they insisted that she return to the temple and spend the night there.  She walked back to the temple crying, and the monks kindly found a dormitory room for young orphans where she could sleep.

Meanwhile, back at the village, there was a town meeting of all the villagers to discuss the tension at the border.

Reviews

[Paza]

Again, cannot wait to see what happens to Phet as she tries to perform the second task!