Colin Cotterill - Disco for the Departed

The village children were already playing gently with Panoy, recognizing her frailty. People nodded and laughed about simple things. They brought sweets and drinks for the nice nurse who’d rescued this child of the village from the edge of death. Everybody was busy, but at the same time relaxed. They all had time to talk with Dtui, and if they had no questions to ask, they would just sit with her and put their hands on hers.

And while she sat there, she noticed something else. As in every other village, the livestock, the babies, and the dogs all shared the same dust. The chickens pecked away all day at ants that barely carried a calorie among a thousand of them. Toddlers built up immunity from disease by growing up with dirt, but it was one little boy’s playmate who caused Dtui to take a second look. It was an odd creature like nothing she’d seen before. From a distance, it looked like a small black pig. But there was something different about it. Where it should have had trotters, it had paws. Its tail was short and curly but it wagged from side to side. Whereas you’d expect it to snort and oink, this animal yapped at the little boy and was apparently enjoying their game.

It would have been quite simple to ask someone. She could have gone closer to confirm that this piglet had mud on its feet and a heavy cold, but instead she decided it was time to go. Even though she was in an animistic village in what was now officially an agnostic country, she had a few words with the Lord Buddha before she left. She promised never again to joke about the laws of nature. The lesson had been learned.

She kissed Panoy on the cheek, knowing the girl would never remember her if they met again. She thanked everyone, although none of them were sure for what they were being thanked, and walked out of the village. Her mothering instincts had swollen in her chest, and at that moment, she’d reached a point where nothing seemed more important than marriage and a family of her own.

In Comrade Lit’s mind, there was only one reason why Dr. Siri and Nurse Dtui were in Vieng Xai. The Cuban-in-the-concrete case was closed and yet they were still there. Security arrangements for the concert had kept him busy since filing his report. He’d stopped by at the guesthouse the previous day but nobody had seen hide nor hair of the two. He’d called again in the evening but they still hadn’t returned. His mind should have been focused on the day’s big event, but he couldn’t get Nurse Dtui out of his head.

He’d come to the conclusion that Dr. Siri had agreed to act as her witness when she accepted Lit’s offer of marriage. Siri had phoned and asked him to pick them up in his jeep. He dropped off his deputy to oversee the final arrangements at the concert cave and drove to the guesthouse, his heart thumping. When he saw his betrothed on the front steps, the early-morning sun bringing out the natural rouge of her cheeks, he could hardly breathe. What a fine choice he’d made.

But when Siri and Nurse Dtui got into his jeep, there was no talk of wedding arrangements. Siri asked him to drive them to Xam Neua. It was terribly inconvenient under the circumstances, but the doctor assured him this was a most serious matter that couldn’t be avoided. Neither of his passengers would tell him the purpose of their journey. Left to his own imagination and the silence, he conjured up a trip to the central market to buy good northern silk for her wedding gown, even a visit to a fortune-teller to learn of an auspicious day for the ceremony. Perhaps this was how it was done. He’d never married before so he could hardly know. But he was too pleased with himself to spoil the day by complaining.

In fact, he didn’t become anxious at all until the doctor directed him into the makeshift hospital compound and asked him to park in front of the director’s office.

“What are we doing here, Doctor?” he asked.

“We’ve come to visit Dr. Santiago.”

Lit was enraged by this announcement. “We’ve what? Why didn’t you tell me this was your destination?”

“Would you have come if I had?”

“I… I have no business here.”

“No? What about the business of revenge?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do. You’ve been petrified of Dr. Santiago for too long, Comrade Lit. It’s time to stand up to him.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I? Then would you like to tell us what happened to that finger of yours?”

“I don’t…” He looked at Dtui in the rear mirror. What effect would this have on her? Would she lose respect for him? Nothing showed on her face. Siri climbed down from the jeep and pointed to the key in the ignition. The confidence on the doctor’s face buoyed Lit somewhat. It made him momentarily believe there it might be possible for him to escape from beneath the shadow of the damned Cuban. He turned off the engine and stepped down from the jeep.

Santiago didn’t look up from his papers when the three uninvited visitors entered his room, but he smiled and said something to Dtui.

“He says he’s been expecting you for some time,” Dtui told Siri. She stood to one side. Her role throughout this interview would merely be that of interpreter. She would translate Siri’s questions as best she could and try to catch the Cuban’s answers. She wouldn’t become involved in any conflict that might arise. This was what they’d agreed.

His eyes sparkling with mischief, Santiago looked at Lit as he entered the office. Again he spoke.

“Dr. Santiago thinks it’s very brave of you to get so close to him again. He asks whether your magician friend-that’s you, Doc-has given you the confidence to come here after all this time. But he warns you that Dr. Siri won’t be able to help you.”

Siri noticed a pallor wash over Lit’s face and began to understand the hold Santiago had over people.

“In that case, perhaps, before he dispatches us all to hell,” Siri smiled, “he’ll allow me to run my theory by him. Tell him he’s free to correct any mistakes I make.”

“He wants to know if this is really necessary,” Dtui said.

“Perhaps the doctor would allow me just a few moments’ indulgence,” Siri began. “Comrade Lit, as you’ve learned from painful experience, Dr. Santiago is much more than just a brilliant surgeon. He is also a senior practitioner of Endoke. It would appear to many people that he is an extremely competent performer of this dark art. In fact, if you check the records, you’ll find that his transfer to this godforsaken communist outpost had nothing to do with his medical skills, great though they might be. It was his last chance-the only work he could get. They kicked him out of his own country because he was a menace. Isn’t that right, Doctor?”

Dtui tried her best to keep up. She told Siri the Cuban didn’t want to interrupt his story.

“Oh, yes. I think he knows we’re getting to the interesting part.” Siri leaned back in his seat and looked into the mocking eyes of his old friend. “Because, you see, Comrade Lit, when Odon and Isandro arrived in this country, they had no knowledge whatsoever of the spirit world. They were hardworking, studious boys who wanted to come to a struggling Third World country and share their skills. They learned our language and took pains to understand our culture. The reason they were popular wasn’t because they cast spells to make people like them. They were popular because they were truly nice boys.

“One of those boys, Isandro, met a patient at the hospital, the beautiful daughter of a Vietnamese colonel. Her name was Hong Lan, and in the two months she remained convalescing at Kilometer 8, the two of them fell deeply in love. There was nothing improper about their relationship. The girl was ill and he was her nurse. They talked and got to know one another, and whatever chemical it is that makes a relationship fizz and bubble, that’s what happened to Hong Lan and Isandro.