The Flower Girl

by Lilburne, Guy

  “What’s your name, darling?” said the tall one, who had a very deep voice, but a great pair of tits for a fella.

  “Please don’t make me your bitch” I said out loud, without really meaning too.

  They both put their hands over their mouths and giggled and became all girly.

  “You funny, darling” said my very tall friend. “My name Aa and this is my friend Bee.”

  “I see” I said.

  “Your name C, darling?”

  “No. I was just saying that I see. Not my name C. My name is Sa-teven, I mean Steven.”

  “You funny, Sa-teven. I like you. You want me to take care of you when you in prison, darling?”

  “What sort of care?”

  “Care everything, darling. Make sure you have no problem here darling. Here, nobody mess with the katoeys.”

  “Is that a street gang?”

  “Is what street gang darling?”

  “The Katoeys!”

  “No. I am katoey. Katoey mean ladyboy. Kow jai, (understand) darling?”

  “Oh….. I’m sorry Aa. I forgot the question.”

  “I say we like you, because you not same-same as rest farang. You want we take care of you, darling?”

  “Do I have to have sex with you?”

  “Sa-teven, you very funny. Jing jing.” They both put the hands to their mouths and giggled again. Then they spoke in Thai and then fell about laughing.

  “Why you in prison, Sa-teven? You not look like you do drugs.”

  “No. I don’t do drugs. I’m here for nothing, really. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Same-same every person, Sa-teven. We all here for nothing and do nothing wrong. So what didn’t you do then, to be in Phuket Prison, darling?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “In prison the one thing we all have is time, Sa-teven.”

  Aa and Bee sat on the ground next to me and I told them the story about The Flower Girl. Sometimes they laughed and sometimes they cried. Sometimes they gasped in shock, but I was happy that I had trusted them enough to tell them my story. Over the course of my tale we bonded and I had made some real friends.

  They both loved hearing my story about The Flower Girl and they believed me without question. They even thought that I must have a special gift, because The Flower Girl had chosen to show herself to me. I had never thought about it like that before, but I guess that they were right. They called over other inmates and repeated my story. It was a story that I had to tell many times to many people, but I never exaggerated or added anything on. I just told it exactly as it happened and I think that everyone could tell that I was telling the truth. Anyway, as the days went by, I got less and less scared and made more and more friends with the Thai inmates, as they got to know about my story. Some of the Thai prisoners even asked me to bless them, so I put my hands on them and blessed them. I don’t know what good it did any of them, but they seemed to be happy that I did it. It certainly made Aa happy, because she was charging either cash or cigarettes for one of my blessings. Aa, Bee and me became a bit of a unit. They did sort of take care of me and watch out for me. I don’t mean take care of me in a sexual way, although they teased me about it on a daily basis and Aa called me ‘Darling’ a lot. I was convinced that Pin was looking out for me too, and it was her who had sent Aa and Bee to take care of me in prison.

  Sawat had told me that he would come and see me in a day or two, but it was over a week before I was taken to a visitor’s room and Sawat was sitting there waiting for me. I had pretty much forgotten all about him, but it was nice to see my friend again and, as usual, he looked good and smiled easily. We shook hands and sat down. The room was a lot nicer than the one in the police station. Apparently, this room was just for legal visits and it was bigger and brighter than the interview rooms that I had so far been used to.

  “Are you OK, Steve?”

  “Yes. I’m fine thanks. What about you? How have you been?”

  “Not too good, Steve. Too many parties and too many women, too much booze and too many good times. You know how it is, Steve. I’m afraid that I haven’t really had any time to do much on your case.”

  “Yes, I understand.”

  “Thanks Steve. I knew you would.”

  “I have been doing a lot of thinking in here. I’m not a clever man Sawat, but I really think that you need to sort yourself out before you can sort out anything else for somebody else.”

  “Yeah, you are right. The trouble is, Steve, I’m just not motivated. Life has always been too easy for me.”

  “You need to find yourself.”

  “Yes, I do Steve. I need to find what it is that will make me happy. It’s not easy, Steve.”

  Sawat and I just looked at each other and nodded slowly to each other. We had found another area of agreement. Sawat looked me up and down as I sat on the chair in my leg irons and blue shorts.

  “You are looking good, Steve.”

  “Thanks. You too. New suit?”

  “Yeah.”

  We did some more slow silent nodding. We liked each other, but there wasn’t much to say.

  “So, you have found Buddha since you have been in here?” asked Sawat.

  “No. I don’t know. Why?”

  “I have just noticed the blessing tied round your wrist. Is it from one of the inmates or have the monks been visiting?”

  THE BLESSING!

  I looked at the woven coloured thread that was tied around my wrist.

  “Yesssss!” I punched the air. “Sawat, I am so fucking stupid!”

  “I’ve never doubted it, Steve.”

  “No. I mean really, really stupid. Like the most stupid person in the world.”

  “Yeah. Again I wouldn’t argue with your assessment, Steve.”

  “This is a blessing. You are so right, but it is not from an inmate or a visiting monk. It is from an old monk at Chalong Temple. The Flower Girl took me there on the first day that we went out on my motorbike.”

  “So?”

  “No, this is different. She took me to Chalong Temple for a reason and this is it. She took me to speak to a monk and he gave me this blessing. But the important thing is that he spoke to Pin first. They spoke in Thai for a while before he gave me this blessing. Don’t you see Sawat, the monk could see The Flower Girl, and he spoke to her.”

  “The monk spoke to The Flower Girl?”

  “Yes. He did and then he gave me this blessing. That must be why Pin took me there, but I had forgotten all about the monk talking to her until just now, when you saw this beautiful, beautiful woven coloured thread.” I kissed the delicate wristband that the monk had tied on my wrist that day.

  “Wow! I think we need to go and speak to the monk, Steve. Can you remember which one it was?”

  “Yes. He had a shaved head and he was wearing a saffron robe and he was old. He splashed water on me with some twigs.”

  “Yeah. That doesn’t really narrow it down much, Steve. If I take you there, would you recognize him again?”

  “Yes. If I see him I’ll know him.”

  “OK. I’ll arrange something, but it won’t be today. I have to arrange it.”

  “Sawat, please don’t be too busy partying. This is serious. I think it is important that we find this monk and I don’t want to wait very long. He was a very old monk, you know.”

  Sawat laughed.

  “Steve, I promise I’ll arrange it as quick as I can and I know it’s important. If the monk really did see the ghost, then it puts a whole different light on it.”

  “He didn’t just see her. He spoke to her.”

  Sawat left the room and I was taken back to the Quad. I was so excited in my heart. I had forgotten all about the monk talking to Pin, even when I
had told the story so many times to all my new friends in prison. I was excited to tell Aa and Bee. They squealed and screamed with excitement too and the updated story was spread around the prison in no time. I had not even thought about what would happen after we found the monk, but I just knew that it was important to find him.

  I don’t know if the guards knew what was going on and just decided to turn a blind eye, or if they had no idea what was going on. But that night, Aa and Bee arranged a party in my honour and everybody seemed to be involved in it. I don’t know how they did it. I guessed it might have been something to do with sex, but they had managed to get booze and cigarettes. We sang and danced and everyone had a good time. It was my very own prison party, and we were left to it. Buddha moves in mysterious ways.

  Chapter 12

  Counting my Blessings!

  The next morning after breakfast I was taken to the same area where I had been processed into the prison. I couldn’t stop smiling at everyone. I was put back inside my orange jump suit and the leg irons re-attached. They also put handcuffs on me and I was put in a holding cell. I was just waiting for Sawat to come and collect me. I knew that it was going to be a good day. I could just feel it. Aa and Bee had waved me off as if they were never going to see me again and they were losing an old friend. There were a few tears shed, but you will be happy to know, not by me this time. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, I was starting to feel good about life. I ended up waiting for a few hours and I guessed that it was because Sawat was running late, but at least he had arranged to take me out. At around midday Sawat arrived. He took me out in the prison mini bus, along with a driver and two prison guards. I looked out of the grilled windows at all the people who were trying to look in at me. Actually, I really enjoyed the ride. It was nice to see all the sights that had become so familiar to me; the sky was a clear blue with just one fluffy white cloud, the green canopies of the Tamarind and Banyan trees. The sun was shining and it was baking hot again. The colours of everything I could see seemed so vivid. Everyone I could see was busy going somewhere or busy trying to sell or buy something. As always, thousands of motorbikes flitted around and between the cars, buses and pick-up trucks, like a shoal of little fish swimming with the bigger ones; a sort of safety in numbers.

  We turned into the driveway that led to Chalong Temple. We began passing the shops and stalls that sold food and drinks to the visitors, for either their own consumption or to give to the monks. There were also orange buckets packed with toothpaste and brushes, cleaning products, bottles of water, packets of food and a whole variety of other stuff, all wrapped up in orange or yellow cellophane as gifts to give to the monks and make merit. Flower stalls were ablaze with orange marigolds and beautiful reds and golds, yellows and whites of all the other flowers. There were buckets of lotus flowers, statues of Buddha, packs of candles and incense sticks, all for sale to complete your perfect trip to the Wat (Temple).

  “Sawat, I want to take stuff to the temple. I want to make merit with Buddha, but I haven’t got any money.”

  Sawat spoke in Thai to the driver and he stopped the mini bus outside one of the stalls. Sawat got out of the prison vehicle and bought gift buckets, flowers and prayer packs for himself, the driver, me and the two escort guards. I should explain what a prayer pack is. It consists of five incense sticks, two little yellow candles, three little squares of gold leaf wrapped in white paper. This is all held together with an elastic band and this, together with a lotus bud flower, is all you need. Pin had shown me how to pray with the lotus flower and incense sticks between my hands, make the offerings and stick the gold leaf on the Buddha statues. I liked visiting the temple because you can not just pray, but can make wishes and shake out numbered sticks from a beaker to get the corresponding numbered piece of paper which tells your fortune. Unfortunately, it is only written in Thai and Chinese, but it was great fun anyway. The temple was light and bright, full of hope and always busy. In front of one of the buildings is a little brick built ‘pot bank’ type of building. It is little more than a chimney with a door into it and holes in the walls covered with little wooden tiles. You buy fireworks and make a wish. A man puts them inside the little brick building and lights them. It makes the wooden flaps clap open and makes a lot of noise and smoke and your wish goes straight up to the spirits. I had loads of wishes and prayers to make today. We drove into the temple grounds and parked in the car park, in front of yet even more stalls making a living out of selling everything the temple visitor could need. The smell of cooking food crept into the prison mini bus and made me feel hungry.

  “Sawat, can we take these chains off me before we all get out of the bus. Everyone is going to think I’m a convict.”

  “Yeah! They are all going to think that anyway Steve. We have arrived in a bus with Phuket Prison written all over it, you are in an orange prison jump suit and you have a convict haircut. Believe me; the chains won’t make any difference to their impression of you.”

  “This isn’t a convict haircut. I did this myself.”

  “Yeah! Anyway, sorry Steve, but the chains have to stay on. It’s the rules. Sorry, matey.”

  The five of us got out of the vehicle and pretty much everyone who was in or around the temple buildings started looking at our group. I did feel a bit like a monkey in a zoo. In Thailand they call a prison a monkey house and now I knew why.

  The five of us went to a shrine at the front of the temple and I made my offerings and prayers and I was watched by many eyes. Sawat, the driver and the two guards took it in turns to pray and the others watched me. Afterwards, only Sawat, myself and one of the guards kept our shoes off and went inside the temple. There were no monks around, just a lot of people waiting to shake out the numbered sticks and to collect their fortunes printed out on numbered papers. Three big gold Buddha statues watched over them all. I wai’d to each statue and pressed the gold leaf onto them before we exited and went to another of the buildings in the temple grounds. We found two monks. They were quite young monks, maybe in their twenties. Sawat spoke in Thai for several minutes before they walked off.

  “They are going to ask the older monks if anyone can remember you Steve” he said in his posh Liverpool accent. It was amazing to hear him switch from Thai to Scouse without batting an eyelid.

  We walked further into the garden and sat in the shade of the Cassia Fistula Tree, or Golden Shower Tree as it is more commonly called. This was no doubt because of the beautiful long yellow and red cascading flowers that drape from its branches like exploding fireworks. We waited and waited and waited some more.

  “Why are we waiting so long?” I asked eventually.

  “They must be in meditation Steve. Just relax.”

  So we carried on waiting and the guards and the driver had another cigarette.

  “Do you not smoke, Sawat?”

  “Only illegal substances” he said, with a smile and a wink.

  I didn’t know if he was joking or not.

  Eventually four monks came walking towards us and I could see that one of them was the old monk who had spoken to Pin and me when she had brought me here. We all stood up and we all wai’d to the monks. I couldn’t stop grinning and the old monk smiled when he saw me. It was a wonderful smile, a kind smile. We all sat down again in the shade of the Golden Shower Tree and the monks sat down with us.

  Sawat spoke in Thai and the old monk listened and nodded and I just watched. Then the monk started speaking and pointing to me. I wai’d to him again and he put his hands on my shoulders. He carried on talking and it was Sawat’s turn to listen and nod. Whatever the monk was saying it must have had an impact on the guards and the driver, because they all suddenly started praying. The monk carried on talking and, as he did, he looked at me and smiled. I could tell that he liked me. I wish I knew what he was saying. I was confident that he would be telling them that he remembered me and that
he was also able to see The Flower Girl.

  When the old monk finished talking, we all wai’d to him again and he was helped up by the other monks. We watched them all walk away back towards the temple.

  “Well?” I said to Sawat, holding my hands as far apart as the cuffs would allow.

  “He said he doesn’t know what you are talking about.”

  “You are joking!”

  “Yes Steve. I’m joking.”

  “So what did he say? Did he remember me?”

  “Yes. He remembered you. He was waiting for you to come back to see him. He said that he saw you with The Flower Girl and that it was her idea to bring you here to see him. He said that The Flower Girl was a ghost and that you were not afraid of her. He said that you have a pure heart and that The Flower Girl told him that she had brought you to Thailand to help her to catch her killer and that The Flower Girl told you everything that you needed to know to catch her murderer. The monk said that you already have all the answers Steve and he also said that you have a gift, a special gift and that is why the ghost of The Flower Girl chose you. The monk thinks that you are special.”

  “Wow! All my life people have said that I have special needs. Now a monk is saying that I have a special gift. Somehow it sounds so much better. Sawat, what are you thinking now? Do you believe me now?”

  “Yes Steve. I definitely believe you now, but we still have to find the real killer. An old monk saying that he saw you with the ghost of The Flower Girl is not enough to save you in court. But yes, Steve, I really do believe you now.”

  “So what do we do now?”

  “Well, the monk said that you already have all the answers. So you’d better tell me what the answers are.”

  “I don’t know what they are.”

  “Well, apparently you do, Steve. So you’d better think about it.”