Jane Vejjajiva Read Online Free PDF

at Kati, but Aunt Da also had a good head on her shoulders, and although there were plenty of people with heads on their shoulders, not many actually used them to think. If Aunt Da had to go to Bangkok on business, then Uncle Kunn would immediately come to take her place.
    Sometimes he must have arrived in the middle of the
    night because Kati would wake to find him already sitting on the sofa at the end of Mother’s bed, asleep.
    The topic of conversation at the table was a new television game show that was extremely popular. The idea for the show had been Mother’s and everyone knew that its success was due to her hard work negotiating with the overseas producers. Mother had persuaded them all to go shares in the enterprise and had asked Uncle Kunn to be the frontman. Tonight everyone at the table raised their glasses to celebrate with Kati, as the profit from the deal would go towards Kati’s education. The grown-ups at the table roared with laughter when Kati, mystified, asked, ‘But I go to the local temple school, why do we need a lot of money for my education?’
    The meal was every bit as delicious as the cook had intended. Mother’s meal was liquid and was fed to her by a tube through her stomach into her intestine, but she laughed and chatted as though she was enjoying her food as much as everyone else at the table.
    The sky had long been dark, but the lights from the little candles Uncle Dong had placed along the verandah of the small bungalow swayed and shone, weaving a gentle radiance that soothed the eyes. It was as if the candles wished to compete with the moon, which was full and round in the sky. Its silvery light fell on the water below and was reflected back again with a full heart. Mother turned her face to look at the moon and said that soon she would be up there to watch over Kati for all time.
    Kati sat quietly, keeping her mother company. The moon was so beautiful that Kati wished every night could be a full-moon night. Wannee, Mother’s nurse, brought out a shawl. Kati rose then and wandered into the pantry intending to pour herself a drink of water. The scene she saw there was Aunt Da held in Grandma’s arms, her whole body shaking with sobs.
    Tears bathed Uncle Dong’s cheeks, while Grandpa and Uncle Kunn stood with their backs turned. Kati saw the fragile purple
    flowers of the sea morning glory withered on top of the fridge. Someone
    must have forgotten to put

Jellyfish
    Living in the present moment is no easy matter.
    No clouds could be seen in the wide canopy of the sky. It looked like a seamless cloth of bright blue.
    Kati lay on her back and floated in the sea, which was as still as glass. The orange sun had only just popped up over the horizon, so the air was cool and refreshing. Actually Kati preferred to swim in the late afternoon when the high waves crashed against the shore, one after the other, dashing sea water in your face and eyes. These challenging afternoon waves were more exciting than the calm morning waters, which weren’t so different from the canal at home. But Aunt Da didn’t like waves and Mother would not let Kati swim alone. As Kati was a good child, she obediently followed Aunt Da down to the water for her ‘morning swim’ as Grandpa called it, using the English words.
    Seen from the sea, the little white house was on a hill, surrounded by a low fence, above a stone breakwater. The little fence offered only token protection but the stone breakwater was like a fortress, holding back the force of the sea. The walls of the house were whitewashed plaster, like the houses in the Greek isles that Uncle Dong had talked about. On the verandah there was a long bench hanging from chains like a swing and its lemon-yellow cushion added to the cheerful, comfortable atmosphere. This was a house which had never known gloom and despair, incredible as that may seem.
    The water came up to Aunt Da’s waist. She refused to swim properly, but just splashed and waded around. Aunt