by Unknown
and Kati heard them fixing the date for the merit offering. Grandma had instructed Grandpa not to forget to ask what day suited the abbot. If Grandpa had failed to do so, both Kati and Grandpa would have ended up with serious indigestion as Grandma would most certainly have complained all through breakfast.
Tong said he had something for Kati. It was a book on stargazing, a big hardback with beautiful coloured pictures. As if he knew what she was thinking, Tong reassured Kati that it wasn’t too expensive. He had wanted to bring back all the beautiful books he saw overseas but didn’t have enough room in his luggage. Kati thanked Tong and watched him as he rowed the boat away.
Kati had to wait all day for a chance to look at the astronomy book, and by the time she opened the book it was dark. Kati wanted to know if the sky she could see from here was the same as the one shown in the book, but she hadn’t even started spelling out the English words when she found a sheet of paper between the first pages of the book. Actually it wasn’t paper, it was a postcard of the night sky somewhere. Kati’s name and address were written clearly on the back in Tong’s handwriting. There was even a stamp on it.
Hi Kati, I meant to send this in the mail but then I thought it’d be more fun to copy someone else I know and not post it. Thanks for the letter and thanks for giving me a part to play in your story. Whatever your decision, you’ve done the right thing. I’m sure of that. I have heaps to tell you. But that’ll have to wait till I see you again, okay? Tong (Suwan)
Tong’s handwriting was of the kind that Thai people say is as large and round as cooking pots. It was a wonder he had managed to squeeze in so many sentences in that tiny space. Kati was glad Tong had understood her and not been cross at what she’d done.
That night, Kati opened the old biscuit tin where
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she kept special things and put Tong’s card in with Mother’s letter: the letter Mother had written to Father, the letter that Kati had decided not to post. That day Kati had sent a letter overseas but it had been the letter to Tong. This had saved Kati from having to explain to Uncle Dong and Uncle Kunn and Aunt Da what she had decided and why.
Sometimes life did not lend itself to explanations. Hadn’t Mother said that? As for Kati and Mother, Kati knew her mother understood and there was no need for explanations.
Kati bowed to the Buddha before she went to bed. Tomorrow morning she would have to wake early for school. Everything was the way it always had been. Nothing had changed. And tomorrow the clatter of Grandma’s spatula would wake Kati from her slumber to greet the world again.