by Guy Lilburne
Ting’s condition quickly deteriorated in the weeks after the parade. Pom and Simon had a baby. It was a little girl and Pom asked Ting if they could name the baby Ting, after her best friend. Ting was delighted, but she was getting more and more tired each day. Three weeks after the birth of the new baby, Ting passed away. It was two days after her wedding anniversary. She had been in and out of coma for a few days and heavily dependent on morphine to kill the pain. Terry had never left her side in her last few days. Friends came and stayed for a while. They held her hand and talked to her. They talked to Terry too. Always asking the same questions; ‘Are you OK?’, ‘Have you eaten?’, ‘Have you slept?’, ‘Do you want a cup of tea?’
The answers were always the same too. He was OK and he would love a cup of tea. He lied about eating and sleeping.
Terry knew the minute that Ting had gone. He was holding her hand and he felt her go. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but somewhere inside his head he thought that he heard her say that she loved him one last time. He sat on the bed still holding her hand. It was still dark outside and some hours until sunrise. Somewhere in the distance he heard a dog bark. He could hear some drunken voices talking and laughing in the street below. A bar girl and her customer no doubt!
Terry looked back at Ting and brushed her hair away from her face.
“Goodbye my precious love. I’m going to go and sleep now.” He kissed her on her forehead and walked into the kitchen/lounge area. He took a cold beer from the fridge and popped the top off. He sat in the solitary chair and held the bottle. He didn’t drink it. He fell asleep.
John contacted Cliff in America as soon as he heard the news. He knew that Cliff would want to know. The next day Cliff was on a flight to Thailand to be with his friends.
The funeral service had been well planned in advance. Terry had been to a few funerals in Thailand. It was always too hot. Some people would wear black, but most didn’t. Shorts and tee shirts were always more suited to the climate. Ting had been lying in a refrigerated coffin inside the temple for five days. A large framed photograph of her was on a stand in front of the coffin. Her name, her date of birth and her date of death were written on a white card across the bottom of the photo. She was just 23 years old. There were lots of floral tributes and people could go and light candles and incense. They could offer prayers and say goodbye to Ting. Food and drinks were always available for the visitors.
On the day of the cremation everybody gathered at the temple. Ting’s body had been transferred to a wooden coffin for the cremation. The place was packed inside and out. A row of monks, who had offered prayers for her for the last five days, did the same again. Terry had written out a speech on a piece of paper. He didn’t want her to go without saying something about her. He walked to the front and turned to face the congregation. His hands were shaking so much he couldn’t hold the paper still enough to read. He coughed to clear his throat and give himself a few more moments to settle his nerves, but he still couldn’t hold the speech still enough to read it.
“I’m sorry folks. I had written some nice stuff about Ting to read out, but I can’t hold the paper still. It doesn’t really matter. It was just a lot of stuff about what a lovely person she was. I think you all know all that already.”
He paused to stop himself from crying and had to swallow several lumps in his throat.
“I’m going to miss her. I’m going to miss the way she called me Telly. I’m going to miss the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way she made me feel. She made everyone feel good about themselves. She was a kind spirit with a good heart. Do you want to know something? I loved this girl and she loved me. I knew that she really did. I asked her one day ‘Why would a girl like you ever love someone like me?’ She said she loved me because I made her feel special and all her life she just wanted to feel special. I don’t just mean on our wedding day or on the day that Sloany arranged a few weeks ago. She told me that I made her feel special every day. Well, she made me feel special too. That’s why I’m going to miss her. I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think I’m ever going to get over this and I mean that most sincerely. So, I just want to say goodbye Ting. Goodbye my beautiful wife and thank you.”
Sloany stood up to say a few words. Cliff was sitting next to him and felt him get up. He grabbed his shirt and pulled him back down.
“Not today, Sloany. Sometimes, there is nothing to be said,” he whispered.
The coffin was carried outside, followed by Terry carrying her framed photo and followed by everyone else. The incinerator was as elegant and decorative as the rest of the temple - ornate in its detail. There were steps on three sides and a tall chimney, which would help carry her smoke away over the city buildings. They walked around the building three times, before taking her coffin up the steps at the front of the building. The coffin was rested in front of the incinerator doors. Everyone was handed a paper flower petal to bless and put in the coffin. They climbed up one flight of steps and down the other side after laying the petals. Paraffin was poured over the body and the lid was nailed shut. The coffin was then slid into the furnace and a few minutes later grey smoke drifted into the air from the tall chimney. Fireworks were lit. Small gifts of sweets and one baht pieces were thrown into the crowd by Ping and some of her friends. Each little gift was wrapped individually in coloured paper. Pom and Ping had spent two days wrapping them.
It was considered lucky to get at least one of the little gifts. There were plenty. Enough to make sure that everyone was lucky! After all that Ping and Pom stood at the entrance to the incinerator at the top of the stairs. Each member of the congregation walked up the steps, offered one last farewell wai to Ting and received a memento. In this case it was a little silver coloured plastic key ring, with Ting’s name on it. Terry left carrying Tings framed photo. He collected her ashes and some bone fragments later that day. He would have to keep the ashes and the photo in his house for the next 100 days. Sloany gave him the money that he had been collecting. It was over 10,000 baht.
“It’s not much, matey, but it will help towards the funeral costs.”
“Thanks Sloany.”
Life started to return to normal. It was hot and sunny every day. They played dominos every day. Baby Ting Smith was getting bigger by the day and was spoiled by everyone. Sloany organized a sight-seeing trip to Chiang Mai, but this time wives and girlfriends were invited. The Sloan Square Bar also held the first annual ‘Ting Davis Memorial Domino Trophy’ competition. Sloany put up a cash prize for the ‘Ting Tong Cup’. There was an entry fee for teams to enter, but the money all went to Father Ray’s Orphanage. The winning team was a team of Norwegians from the Oslo Bar. They donated the winnings to the charity as well. Terry presented the trophy, but they suggested that the trophy should always be kept in the Sloan Square Bar, where it belonged. Everyone thought that it was a great idea and spent the rest of the night singing Norwegian folk songs – well, at least listening to the Norwegians singing them and clapping along.
A hundred days soon passed. It was December again already. Sloany had told Terry about a temple in north Pattaya. It had a long pier out to sea and people took the ashes of loved ones there to scatter in the Gulf of Thailand. At the end of the pier there was a covered area and a shrine. People left mementos there and the framed photos used for the funerals. He took Terry to have a look and he thought it was a beautiful place. On the hundredth day they all went to the temple on the sea. It was a long narrow jetty. Terry carried Ting’s ashes. John walked next to him carrying her photo. Simon and Pom walked behind them carrying baby Ting. Sloany and Ping and John’s wife, Pla, all walked behind. Norris walked with Nan and her husband Bert or Pert. A solitary monk sat in the shade next to the shrine. He blessed Ting’s ashes and blessed everyone present. It was a short service and he then stood up and walked back along the pier to the temple.
Terry put Ting’s
photo with the others that had been left there. There were lots of mementos of loved ones. There were jewelry boxes, a watch, a pair of gloves, an umbrella, an old man’s slippers, some children’s toys and a baby’s rattle. Terry left a bottle of cough medicine next to Ting’s photo. The monks cleared all the stuff each month and recycled what they could. There was a large wooden chest of yellow flower petals at the end of the pier. Terry put Ting’s ashes down next to it and opened the lid. Everyone took turns to grab a handful of ashes and a handful of yellow petals. They said a last goodbye and sprinkled their handfuls into the sea. The bones and ashes sank to the sand but the petals floated away over the gentle waves. The petals swirled around and gathered together and drifted slowly out into the Gulf, like a long seam of gold. They stood in silence and watched Ting’s spirit drift away to be reborn somewhere else.
“I’d like to say a few words.”
“Oh Sloany! Do you have to?”
“Yes. I do really! We can’t just let her go without saying a few final words. Ting may have been a prostitute all her life, but she wasn’t a thieving one armed bandit, who stole my best mate’s house and then stole my life’s savings. That’s all I’ve got to say, really.”
They all started to walk back along the pier towards the main temple, in pairs. A mass of orange and yellow carnations grew wild all around the grounds. A cooling breeze blew in softly from the sea. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. Terry felt happy with his life. He was still living the dream. He still spoke to Ting from time to time and he still thought about her every single day. But life goes on. Sloany walked along with Norris.
“I’m sorry about having a go at Nan, but I’m still angry with her.”
“Don’t worry, Sloany. You were right after all. She is going to try and make a go of it with her husband and she wants me out the house by next week. I’ve already been to see a solicitor, but he says that I gave the house to her as a gift of love, so I can’t get it back. I haven’t told the others yet. Right now I just don’t need anyone to say ‘I told you so’.”
“I fucking told you so,” boomed Sloany, followed by his loud machine gun laugh. “Don’t worry. You can stay in the spare room at mine for as long as you want and it’s free.”
“I thought that Ping slept in the spare room.”
“Oh! She moved into my room ages ago. It saves on the air conditioning, but there is nothing going on. It’s nothing like that. You know me Norris, I hate lady boys.”
“Here’s to living the dream my old friend.” Norris started to giggle, but it quickly turned into a full blown belly laugh.
THE END
Author’s Note
You can see all the characters from this book and keep up with what is going on in Sloany’s bar on their Facebook page. The Sloan Square Bar. On the Facebook page you can see photos, post messages and questions. You can even order a domino tee shirt, book on one of Sloany’s organized events or book the bar for your own special occasion. Good luck with that!
About the Author
Guy Lilburne was a Policeman for 30 years and a Detective for the last 27 years of his service. He has worked in CID, Murder Squads, Drugs Squad, Vice Squad, Special Enquiries, and various Crime Squads. He has also worked in a specialist Covert Unit and in a Cold Case Review Squad. He has been writing for over twenty years. Author of the Best Selling books ‘My Thai Story’ and the Detective novels ‘The Thai Dragon’ & ‘The Kiss of the Dragon’, he has spent many weeks at the top of Booksmango’s best sellers list.
Guy Lilburne lives in Thailand and spends his time travelling and writing. His last blockbuster novel was ‘Thai Shorts’, a collection of short stories as only Guy Lilburne can tell them. Guy Lilburne really captures the taste of Thailand and whisks you along at a breath taking pace in the land of smiles.
Guy is currently working on three future books:
‘Death in Pattaya’ is the latest Danny O’Brien murder detective story. Danny is called in as a Special Advisor after a local bar girl has been found murdered and skinned. It is only the start of a complexed investigation that goes international.
‘Loving Life’ follows Gary Sloan and the rest of the gang in their continuing misadventures. This time they take over a holiday resort business. How can people get it all so wrong and yet it turns out so right!
‘The lost temple of Kanchanaburi’ follows the exploits of Steven West (from the book The Flower Girl) as he tries to make it in Thailand as a monk but love and a drug smuggler get in the way.
Also by the author.
The Thai Dragon.
My Thai Story.
The Kiss of the Dragon.
Cocktails & Dreams.
The Flower Girl.
Tika.
Graham, Just one Shade!
Snatched.
Thai Shorts.
My Thai Story II.
Living the Dream.
Coming soon.
Death in Pattaya, due out 2016.
Visit Guy Lilburne’s fan page on Facebook~The Thai Dragon
And don’t forget to visit The Sloan Square Bar on their Facebook page.