GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 36: Maravijaya

Inside the car heading back into the city, after a whole day of investigating and a whole night of fleeing from ghosts, Thup was nearly exhausted. The cool air and soft sunlight made him drowsy. Thup slapped his cheek with the back of his hand to stay alert; he couldn’t leave Singha alone.

“If you feel sleepy, then sleep.”

“It’s not safe yet. How can I leave you alone?”

“Nowhere is safe if that damn ghost can appear anywhere like this.”

“Are you okay, Phii?” Thup noticed the fatigue and wounds on Singha, especially around his waist.

“I’m okay. Once we get back, we’ll collect stuff from your uncle’s house. I’ve already arranged the car rental; driving back should be quicker.”

“Take a rest, Phii Singha.”

“Do you think we have time for that?”

Thup bit his lip until it turned pale. It was true. They had no time now.

When they arrived at Uncle Chai’s house, two cars were parked in front. The once dashing young doctor now looked disheveled, his body grimy, his face unwelcoming. The tall, stern-faced young policeman looked even more formidable with his wounds. And the bright young man who arrived full of life was still like a flower, albeit one that had survived a night of ordeal.

“Blimey!! What on earth have you lot been up to? Why do you look like you’ve just come back from a war?” Uncle Chai asked as he stepped away from washing the fighting cock to approach them.

“We just came back from a war, Uncle!!! A war with ghosts!” Charn answered irritably.

“Ghosts? What have you been doing? And why is the kid bleeding?” Uncle Chai approached Thup with concern, his wrinkled hand gently brushing dirt off Thup’s face.

“I’ll tell you later, Uncle. Right now, I need to shower, pack up, and head back to Bangkok.”

“Didn’t you say you were staying for several days?”

“We have urgent matters to attend to, but I’ll come back to visit you.” Thup said, offering a wide smile to the old man, not wanting him to worry more than he already was.

Singha left the uncle and his nephews to talk. He went inside to pack, removing his black leather coat and t-shirt with one arm. His sharp eyes emotionlessly surveyed the scratches on his body before focusing on a stab wound near his waist, caused by falling into a pit and hitting a pile of bones. He hadn’t expected one would pierce him.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.” he thought it might be the little dog that had been following him around, but it was the annoying guy instead. “What do you want?”

“I helped you out there. I got hurt and was haunted by ghosts too.” Charn said, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

“Thanks.” Singha replied flatly through the mirror. He took out a portable first aid kit from his bag and started cleaning the wound with alcohol. “Why are you here?”

“To do my duty as a doctor.” Chan walked in with a much larger first aid box than Singha’s. “You can’t just clean that wound haphazardly. If you want to stay well until you reach Bangkok, sit down.”

“Thought you’d be too freaked out to do anything.” Singha said, sitting down on the bed as instructed.

“A little bit. I got tricked by that charred ghost kid. And it even burned my chest.” Chan grumbled like someone who’s easily scared. He poured salt water over it to clean the dirt before assessing the depth and width of the wound, “Looks like it needs stitching.”

“Stitch it then.”

“This is an old man’s house, not a hospital. No anesthesia here.”

“No need for it.”

“How did I end up liking you?” Charn said with a surprised tone before walking to open the window and pouring alcohol over his hands. At this moment, following medical protocols wasn’t feasible. If he forced the police officer behind him to go to the hospital, he’d likely get scolded for wasting time, and the other would just roughly treat the wound himself, it would get infected, and then he’d die. Charn nodded seriously to himself before returning to sit in front of Singha with a needle, “Promise me you’ll go to a doctor to check the wound again.”

“No promises.”

“Then I’ll tell Thup.” Charn raised his eyebrows before putting on gloves and pouring betadine on the wound.

“Okay.” Singha said before rolling his eyes. If Thup found out, he’d probably walk circles around him all day, making it impossible to do anything else.

“I guess you’re pretty tough, but better bite down on this.” Charn glanced at the roll of gauze in the box. Seeing the other man pick it up to bite on it, he started stitching the wound immediately.

The needle piercing the flesh, the tug of the thread slowly moving through the skin, made Singha bite down hard on the gauze. Sweat streamed down from his temple, the pain gradually shooting from his toes to his head. Right now, there was hardly a part of his body that didn’t hurt, but they couldn’t afford to delay any longer. Judging from the silence from the station, things over there must not be going well.

“Ugh!!”

“You moved yourself.” Charn quickly defended himself when he caught the pressuring look from the other.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Phii Singha, what are you doing? Can I come in?” a voice from outside the door asked, causing both people inside the room to look at each other.

“Will you answer or should I?” Charn whispered, seeing the injured person nod towards him, Chan knew his duty immediately, “Don’t come in yet, we’re busy.”

Singha smacked Charn’s shoulder hard when he heard this.

“Ouch! Why did you hit me? There’s a needle in there, remember?”

“Why is Phii Charn allowed in the room, Phii Singha? Open the door for me, please.” Thup’s anxious voice made Singha glare at the person who was stitching his wound.

“Keep stitching.” Singha spat out the roll of bandages before replying to Thup, “I’m talking, dealing with the case stuff. Go… take a shower first.”

Singha tried to speak while suppressing his voice, his forehead creased just like his palm.

“But…” Sweat began to appear.

“Done.” Charn exclaimed before quickly clearing the equipment and putting everything into a plastic bag. “Here are the anti-inflammatory and antibiotics.”

“Thanks.”

“Wow, impressed by me, huh? It’s still not too late for me to woo you now.”

Singha shook his head slightly before grabbing a new t-shirt to wear. The silence from outside the room made him curious enough to go and check. The young man sitting hugging his knees in front of the door quickly stood up and grabbed both of Singha’s shoulders.

“What are you doing, Phii?”

“I’ll be going then, feeling sticky, and this dirt, yuck.” Charn quickly dashed out of the room, fearing his secret might spill.

“Phii…” Thup watched Charn until he was out of sight, then turned back to face Singha, his elegant hands wiping the sweat off Singha’s forehead without any disgust.

“He just came in to ask about the case, whether we need to give a statement. Go take a shower so we can get ready to leave.”

“Phii, go take a shower first, I’ll make breakfast for us to eat. At least eat something before you drive a long distance.” Thup said as he let go of the older man’s hand and walked into the kitchen. His little heart was wilting because of the earlier incident. He didn’t dare to ask, and even if he did, the other probably wouldn’t answer, which wouldn’t be surprising. After all, he was just an outsider, just a kid who happened to be there temporarily.

After showering and changing clothes, both sat down to eat before saying goodbye to the homeowners, the aunt and uncle who kindly let them stay. As for Charn, who should have also said goodbye, he had already fallen asleep right after eating, even taking himself to sleep in the house’s shrine room. They left without saying goodbye.

In the car, there was only silence, different from previous times when Thup would always be the one to start conversations. Less than ten minutes into the drive, they turned into the entrance of a temple they had asked Uncle Chai for directions to. Inside, the temple wasn’t luxurious or grand, but it brought a sense of peace. The trees were shady, gently swaying in the breeze. Soon, they found a chapel made of bare concrete, with wooden doors that, although not intricately carved, had beautiful patterns from the wood’s cracks.

“Why are we here?”

“You said you wanted to pay respects to the old monk.”

“Thank you.” Thup got out of the car and walked into the chapel with reverence. Memories from his childhood came flooding back, making his eyes well up with tears. The Buddha statue in the conquering Maravijaya pose wasn’t coated in gold or crafted by a skilled artisan; it was just an old bronze cast, some parts worn away by time, sitting in meditation with the left hand upturned on the lap and the right hand pointing down.

Thup sat down to pay his respects as the old monk had taught him. He looked forward and saw a picture of the old monk, the only memento left. The monk had instructed that when one comes from the earth, one should return to it, with no need to keep anything that would hold back those still living.

“Reverend, I have come to visit, and I have many stories to tell you, so many you’d complain. But I can’t tell them now; I have to go soon. Thank you for leaving the Buddha statue for me, Reverend. You knew I’d lose the other one, didn’t you? sniff I…” Tears flowed from his beautiful eyes. Thup hastily wiped them away, not wanting to show weakness now, “What you said about what I see not always being bad, I understand now what you meant.”

The young man bowed to the floor, then looked up at the solitary Buddha statue in the chapel, his eyes determined, resolute, and fearless once again. A gentle breeze blew across Thup’s face as if bestowing a blessing.

“Protect everyone facing this bad situation, protect Phii Singha, protect me and keep me safe, please.”

It was considered an auspicious time to pay respects to the Buddha before returning to face the chaos ahead. And the Buddha statue that Thup just paid respects to and prayed at is believed to be…

The Buddha statue in the Maravijaya posture, which is the Buddha for those who don’t remember their birthday.

Also known as the “Conquering Pose” posture.

   Getting back into the car with a calmer heart, whatever happens from now on, I’ll do my best. No matter what happens, he believes there will always be someone by his side. A tissue was handed to him along with a blanket.

“Thank you, Phii Singha.”

“Thanks for what? Are you done? Let’s get going.”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Singha and Thup left Sisaket at seven in the morning. They needed to reach the station before evening. Otherwise, it would be hard to save anyone’s life, even though they knew the father-son killers were waiting, but now there was no other choice but to face them.

On the way, nothing obstructed them. They encountered nothing strange, nothing at all, indicating those people wanted both of them to return, or maybe just Thup alone.

“Here you go, Phii Singha.” Thup, who had just bought some cold clothes, water, and snacks from a convenience store at the gas station, noticed the person behind the wheel was looking pale, so he gently touched his forehead. “You have a fever, Phii. Should we rest first? Just half an hour?”

“I’m fine.”

“If you drive like this and something happens to you, we won’t be able to help anyone.” Thup cautioned before placing his hand on Singha’s shoulder.

“You’re so fussy.” Not that he disagreed. Since it was a weekday, there weren’t many cars on the road, and traffic regulations allowed them to travel faster than expected. However, now the wound on his waist started to ache, causing a slight fever, combined with speeding and not resting at all for two days, his body began to protest.

“Alright, I’ll have a sandwich to fill my stomach first. I’ll go buy some fever medicine for you, there’s a pharmacy right there.”

After the young man went down, Singha started eating the sandwich in his hand before taking the medicine that Charn gave him, then moved to lie down in the back of the car because the front was too windy from the AC. Just as he lay down, dizziness struck, forcing Singha to raise his hand to massage his temples. Not long after, the sound of the car door opening and the sunlight made him curse softly.

“It’s glaring, damn Thup.”

“Let me put this fever-reducing gel patch on you first.”

“Come in.”

“Yes?” Thup looked at his elder, lifting his head slightly just enough to slide himself in and sit down. Once inside, Singha’s head rested on his lap, leaving the young man stiff and unsure of what to do.

“Close the door.”

“Yes… yes.” Thup reached out easily to close the door. “How’s the wound on your hand?”

“Phii Charn redid the dressing for me, but it still hurts a bit.”

“Hmm.”

“Phii Singha, are you comfortable lying like this? Should I move to the front?”

“No need. Stay here.”

“Then… please take the fever reducer first.” Singha opened his eyes to look at the lap’s owner before taking the medicine. Anything that could alleviate his symptoms now was good. He didn’t know what he’d face back home, but he had to keep himself in shape to survive as much as possible. “I’ll put the fever-reducing gel on you.”

“Do what you want. No need to talk, I’m going to sleep. Wake me in half an hour.”

“Ah, okay.” Thup watched as the older man folded his arms and closed his eyes. He brushed aside Singha’s black hair from his forehead before applying the fever-reducing gel. For the next half hour, Thup did nothing but gaze at the face of the man resting on his lap.

The slender hand gently stroked through the soft hair of the older one with familiarity. If only it could stay like this forever, it would be nice. If Phii Singha could stay by his side like this, continuously, that would be quite wonderful. The young man slowly leaned his face down until his nose touched the cool fever gel on Thup’s forehead. When Thup opened his eyes, he saw the person who should have been asleep was now awake, staring back at him.

“Should I ask what you’re doing?”

“Uh, no… nothing. I… I was just checking if there was something on your face.” Thup quickly sat up, denying with a suspicious stutter, his face flushing all the way to his ears, unable to hide anything from the one resting on his lap.

“Oh, really?” Singha said in a flat tone before sitting up. Thup, about to sigh in relief thinking he wasn’t caught, but moments later, Singha moved close, their faces less than a span apart, lips straight, nose sharp, eyes dark reflecting like the night, and eyebrows raised as if teasing, “And is there still something there?”

“Uh… no… no. Nothing there anymore.”

“Oh, really? You haven’t even looked closely.” Thup felt like his face was about to explode from the heat, his hands not knowing where to go, his eyes burning not sure if from the urge to cry or sheer embarrassment, his heart pounding harder than when encountering a ghost. What Thup did to escape this situation was to bury his forehead against the older one’s chest to hide his red face, “Heh, you little pup.”

Singha ruffles Thup’s hair into a mess before stopping the tease and getting out of the car to freshen up. His phone, over half charged, vibrated in his pocket, prompting him to answer it.

“Say.”

[Where are you now?]

   “Nakhon Ratchasima, close to Saraburi.”

[Good, so that’s why I couldn’t reach you.]

   “Yeah.” Singha’s face returned to its usual seriousness because after turning his phone back on, he tried calling Say, Darin, and King, but none answered. The urgency in “no time left” was literal now.

[I couldn’t reach King either. Checked the station only to find out it’s a total mess now… safe though… Say is in the hospital because of a car crash. King and Darin have disappeared, and importantly, the station looks like a battlefield.]

   “How is everyone else doing?”

[Several officers are injured. They’ve all been sent to the hospital now. And hey, Singha, there’s something you should see.] Merk’s worried voice made Singha pause at the car door before opening it to look at the sent picture. I don’t know what it means, but my gut tells me this message was meant for you.

Merk’s intuition was right; the message was intentionally sent to him and to the kid sitting with a flushed face in the car. The message on the wall was written in blood, a vivid red whose origin was unknown:

‘Sacrifice of souls

   For rebirth

   Before your own demise

   Send Saturday to me’

  

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