Chapter 6

Little Phet inched out of her hiding place, and surreptitiously looked around.  All the men had left now, and so she walked out.  The opening was not far from the cave entrance.  As she approached the cave, her apprehension returned as she remembered that she didn't complete the third task.  But when she came into view, the statue talked to her.
"Are you going to bring the flowers?"
"I tried yesterday, but my mother wouldn't let me come."
"And are you going to try again today?"
"But I thought ..."
"Didn't I tell you that you had three days to complete the three tasks?  The evening of the third day is only about an hour away."
And with that, little Phet's eyes grew big and round, as she realized she still had time.
"Let this insect guide you.  It can show you the closest patch of flowers."  And with that, the unusual insect flew out of the cave quickly, and Phet ran as fast as she could to keep up.

They ran to a nearby field filled with the rare flower.  Instantly Phet started picking and counting.  Within a very short time she had the 49 flowers, and headed back to the cave entrance.  

The sun was getting low in the sky, and in her excitement, Phet started running towards the cave.  Some of the Thai soldiers saw her running, and yelled at her to stop, but she had to hurry before the last rays touched the cave entrance and could not stop for them.  They started running after her.  The Kampuchean soldiers were having dinner at that time, and only one soldier was on duty.  When he saw the Thai soldiers running toward him, he thought that it was an attack.  He was all alone and unsure what to do, but he had strict orders to stop anyone from crossing.  He took careful aim, wiping the perspiration from his eyes.  If he failed to fire, then he feared his superiors would find him at fault.  But if he fired, then he could be accused of escalating the situation.  

As he contemplated his choices, he realized that the soldiers were chasing a little girl.  He couldn't fire at a little girl, but he couldn't allow the soldiers to enter, either.  So he fired a warning shot.  Phet stumbled into the cave entrance, dropping all the flowers at the foot of the statue.  All the soldiers ran up to see what had happened.  

There, in the cave, Phet was lying on the floor.  As the soldiers arrived, they feared that she had been shot.  Monks from the temple came down to see what all the noise was.  And there, on the floor, in front of all the ancient temple artifacts hidden in a secret cache many years before, lay little Phet, smiling.

"Congratulations, little Phet.  You have completed the three tasks and restored the magic of the cave.  You are welcome to play here for all eternity.  You are truly the Chosen One."

But none of the soldiers heard a word from the statue, nor did they see any movement come from it.  All they saw was a little girl, bowing in a very respectful manner to a statue of the Lord Buddha, offering a bunch of flowers, and they all bowed down in a similar manner, thankful that an international event had been avoided.

Reviews

[Paza]

What a wonderful story, bailish! You spun it masterfully. I was hooked from the very beginning and you did not disappoint me... :-) I loved that only she could see the statue and the treasures. I'd hate for the soldiers to have looted the magic cave. Interesting that the soldiers should follow her in showing their respect. I liked that they must have known instinctively that there was something the child saw that they did not. Very good read...could make a good children's illustrated book!

[ST]

loved it

[Beth]

I agree with Paza - so far, this would make a really good kid's book! I like how you've illustrated the different cultures, and played the politics so that they are not confusing, and yet not all-encompassing. Phet is a cute character - I think she could use a little more character developement... what does she think about the statue and the cave? how did she feel when her mother thwarted her going to the cave?