Disco for the Departed Read Online Free PDF Page A

on hold, a dream that had been half forgotten at sunrise.
    Beside the market site stood a single shop that sold feu rice noodles in bowls deep enough to bathe a small baby. Siri and Dtui ate heartily with their left hands and fought off flies the size of coat buttons with their right. Lit had already eaten so he watched his guests conducting their breakfasts as he told them why they were there.
    "We probably wouldn't have found it at all," he began. "Every now and then, rocks at the top of the karsts come loose. Some that were hit by rockets take their time before falling. We think that's what happened in this case. A big hunk of rock came crashing down onto the concrete path we'd laid from the cave to the new house. You'll notice, Doctor, most of the senior comrades have built houses in front of their old caves."
    "Hm. Not wanting to leave the womb. It's common in primates," Siri said. "And whose cave are we talking about here?"
    "The president's. He's due back here in a little over a week so the Party really needs to work out what happened before he arrives."
    "Right," Siri said. "So the rock struck the concrete path ...?"
    "And there it was, sticking out of the broken section."
    "What was?"
    "The arm."
    "And is there a body attached to it?" Dtui asked. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and abandoned the last of the broth to the flies.
    "We don't know."
    "Why not?" asked Siri.
    "Well, the arm's sticking out of the concrete so if there's a body in there, we'd have to break up the rest of the path to get to it."
    "And you can't do that because ...?"
    "Because there are very strict regulations about making alterations to government-initiated structures. We had to submit the request forms to Vientiane to ask for permission. They said we had to wait for you."
    "I see. I hope you've covered the arm. The flies up here have quite an appetite."
    "We tied a plastic bag over it. I'll take you up there when you're ready. We can stop off and pick up a couple of laborers and tools on the way."
    "Then, let us not keep our cement person waiting. Finished, Nurse Dtui?"
    "Ready when you are, Dr. Siri."

    You didn't have to travel very far out of Vientiane before the road turned to pebbles and potholes. Traveling in a truck was like falling down an endless flight of uneven steps in a coffin. They'd passed the turnoff at kilometer 6 where the old U.S. compound had been recycled into a resort for communist politicians. They'd just reached the intersection that led to the National Pedagogical Institute at Dong Dok when Mr. Geung came around. He was thumped out of his stupor when the front wheel dropped into a deep rut. Although his mind was still back at the morgue, he found his body lying on a blanket on the wooden boards of an old truck. Above him were the open sky, a vicious June sun, and two rows of knees. He lay in an aisle of black boots that stank of polish. The toe caps penned him in so tightly he could do nothing but lie still stiffly and wonder where he was and whose were these legs that ended at the knees? He lifted one arm and waved, which produced an immediate response.
    "Sergeant, the Mongoloid's awake."
    There was a loud cheer and laughter, and a gruff voice yelled above the sound of the motor, "Get him up." Bodies leaned over him, and hands reached down to pull him into a sitting position. From there he found himself staring at two rows of smiling soldiers. He smiled back. The sergeant was at the end of one row.
    "Your name's Geung, right?"
    Mr. Geung had had little contact with the military but he'd been to parades and played soldiers when he was young, so he knew what he should do. He saluted. There was another loud cheer and half the men saluted back. Two of them shifted sideways to make a space on the bench for him, then pulled him up. He could see unfamiliar fields bouncing past the truck, buffalo with no mud to wallow in, many different shades of brown everywhere.
    "Damn, boy, I thought you were dead," the sergeant shouted