Chapter 11 : Caring Heart

After breakfast, Captain Phupha took the volunteer teacher to Uncle Bianglae's house to borrow an enamel wash basin to put his worn clothes in and then walked a few kilometres to reach the previous waterfall. The sound of rushing water leaping down the rocky cliffs and into the basin below, made Tina feel like bathing again.

Not far away, a group of Akha women from the village are washing their clothes on their feet on a large rock by a clear stream. They giggle with each other until they see two young men come into the area and turn shy and smile. Phupha gives them a little nod as a greeting and then escapes with the troubled baby Tian to the end of the stream.

Tian places the heavy basin on a large rock and then turns impatiently towards the tall man.

"Captain, I don't think these clothes can withstand the force of my feet."

"The villagers' worthless hand-woven clothes can take it, why not your expensive clothes? Why would you spend thousands on them then?" Phupha squats down and pulls out brightly coloured dress trousers.

"Is every fabric designed to be used in a different way!?" Tian shouted, crossing his arms in disbelief: "I'm serious, Captain, don't use this as sarcasm."

"Then wash it by hand." Phupha took Tian's slender hand and sat him down next to him, "Come out and dip it in the water and get it wet."

Tian reluctantly complied, while he was dipping his clothes in the water he had a question, "Why did you bring soap then? I don't see you bringing washing powder."

"In our ancestors' time, we even used to wash clothes with vinegar, this soap contains natural ingredients, it doesn't damage the environment, it cleans our bodies, so why not our clothes?"

The listener groans in his throat, rubs the soap against his clothes until it lathers, then rubs his hands with anxiety in an awkward position, so much so that Captain Phupha re-joined the command.

"Hold tight, rub your hands together on the stain, then scrub with soap."

Tian ironically worked on his soaked clothes until he heard a loud cracking of the seams, everything around his body suddenly went silent, his long, thin eyes widened, as if in utter shock.

"Damn it! My Topnian shirt, this happened because of you, because of you alone!!!" He suddenly stood up, flinging his expensive shiny and brightly coloured shirt at the tall seated officer, causing jasmine-scented white bubbles to float around the scowling Phupha.

Captain Phupha slowly rose to his full height, a black shadow forming behind him, causing Tian to take an involuntary step back. Rough hands wiped away the lather of charcoal soap around his forehead bone, fierce eyes fixed on Titan, causing him to swallow his saliva.

"You're, you're wrong, you can't blame me, Tian opened his mouth in defence but that didn't make it any better.

"No blame, Phupha roared, his voice low, then roared like lightning "but punish!"

Tian panicked, inadvertently threw the wet shirt in his hand into the face of the other man who looks like he's going to come at him, which makes everything look even worse.

Phupha threw the thousand-dollar shirt away with disdain and suddenly reached for the prickly young master to spank him as a punishment to teach him a lesson. But Tian, like a monkey, jumped into the stream and swam knee-deep until the water spread out.

Phupha reached him with ease on his much longer legs. The volunteer teacher then has to use a new tactic, turn around and face up to him and then scoop up water and splash it at Phupha in a blaze of glory until the pursuer almost instinctively raises his arms to shield his face.

"Is this how you play? You're going to be in trouble later!" Phupha took off his clothes as a shield and then easily grabbed Tian, who is not far away.

"Hey you! Can't breathe." The terrible strength of the buffalo, Tian struggles desperately, trying to free himself from the strong arms that hold his abdomen but seemingly to no avail. Captain Phupha manages to punish the man in his arms by holding him by the waist, a frantic Tian bends over in exhaustion as he cries out.

Tian was enraged by Phupha knowing his weakness and has to resort to the usual female method of pinching Phupha's stiff arm with his fingernails and this time it works! Phupha flings his arm in pain but still defiant, chasing the little bastard doggedly, the two fight like children, diving down and attacking each other with water until they are soaked to the skin.

Tian tries to get his revenge by using melee combat, he bends down hard and strangles Phupha's bare waist from behind and starts tickling his sides. But it's like taking a piece of wood to beat a rock. Because it doesn't look like it's going to work at all! Like the tall temple Phupha turned his face to Tian, grins and said. "Sorry slightly, I'm not ticklish."

"Not even all over?"

"Don't you learn from just minutes ago?!" Phupha rushed towards the mouthy boy like a rugby player, came over, the light weight slender body is lifted up until it floats, Tian screams inadvertently, his legs wrap around Phupha violently, as if he were a python, causing the two to fall causing the two to fall on all fours.

The clear water splashes up and the two young men who land in the water are soaked to the skin, Phupha sighed softly, luckily when the teacher falls, he flips his body under fast enough, otherwise, the young master's body would have been fractured in knots.

The man sitting cross-legged on top of him braced himself distractedly and when he realised what the thick warm floor was that served as a cushion for him, asked in a panic: "Did you break your head?" No worries there but it was all rocks under the creek, he still didn't want to be a murderer from such an early age.

"The head is not broken but the body is. You can get up now, I'm crushed!" At the end of the sentence, the volunteer teacher did not follow the instructions but laughed out loud.

"What are you laughing at?"

As soon as Tian saw Phupha's grimace and asked in a low voice, he laughed even more "At you, the situation looks so funny."

Bare skin, wet hair slumped against his scalp in the water, looks like a sea lion no matter how you look at it and has a penchant for showing off his white canine teeth.

The long, slender eyes that tread on them dazzle in the sunlight, giving Phupha goosebumps for no apparent reason, probably because he himself has something on his mind. Phupha gasped in anger and quickly decided to lift Tian up and away from himself.

"Stop playing, go and finish your laundry, now!"

"Yes, Captain, yes. Tian shouted in deliberate disgust and then grumbled his emotions for a while, before going back to collect the rest of the unwashed clothes.

The sun rises in the middle of the sky and the two young men set off back from the waterfall, the hot midday sun making the cold wind less harsh on wet skin. They enter a path that passes through the middle of the village, although wet, creating a sense of wit mixed with affection between the old men who see it.

"Why does everyone seem to be walking around in confusion today? Or did the work in the vegetable fields stop on Saturday and Sunday too?" Tian asked in surprise. Normally, the villagers would have been at work from dawn until dusk but now they were moving around in a flurry.

"Preparing for the wedding...", the captain turned to him and replied simply but Tian's eyes widened like duck's eggs as he listened.

"Or did you go to talk to Uncle Bianglae this morning to ask to marry his daughter!"

A sharp glance at the shocked young master in question, then helplessly said, "..."

Tian snorted and cooed: "That's more like it, isn't it?

"What are you muttering about? Come on, let's go." urged Phupha, while he took his slender arm, still holding the enameled washing basin and headed straight for Uncle Bianglae's house to borrow dry clothes to replace them and then to eat together.

Uncle Bianglae's house was full of villagers, they had come to ask about wedding arrangements for the young men of the village to march to ask about the girls from the different villages. They sat in their shirts in the open space of the first floor reception, chatting animatedly until the new arrivals came up the stairs.

Two soaked young men call the owner to come out to them, because they are afraid of getting the wooden floor wet by going in.

As soon as he saw who the voice was, Bianglae rushed to find a cloth to put down for them to wipe their feet.

"Have you been swimming together?" With these words, they stared at each other until the old man saw the black-headed officer and the new teacher arguing like children and couldn't help but laugh.

"The captain may be very hot…", replied Tian sarcastically and then was countered by Phupha in a serious, cold voice "I'm cold.." for a moment of silence.

Bianglae hurriedly coughing dryly before the cold war began and shouteda t the two men, "No more clothes to change! Is that so?" He knew it was because when the two had come to borrow the washbasin to get dressed, the teacher had already worn his army green T-shirt and now came back soaking wet with absolutely no dry clothes to change into.

"I'll go and get my son's clothes for you later."

"Please, Khama…" Phupha said politely and dragged away the young master in question who was standing there being watched by the villagers exploring his slender body under his wet t-shirt.

Tian sat on the bamboo stand hugging his knees, shivering every time the wind blew, while Phupha seemed not to be afraid of the cold, his pale lips said in disgust.

"No matter how cold it is, I don't see you shivering." Sharp eyes scanned the sarcastic speaker and then moved his mouth slightly to smile, inspiring unprecedented emotion.

He was speechless for a moment until his brain could process the words and then immediately bent his neck to throw up, "Ew! That's fucking disgusting."

The captain shrugged, unconcerned by Tian's disgust and walked away to collect the clothes from Bianglae Khama. They thanked him and walked back to the teacher's dorm to change. The shy Tian occupies the only room in the hut, as for the officer, he took off his wet clothes in the basement.

Afterwards, Tian took a small towel and absorbed the water from his head and body in an orderly manner, he turned to his dry clothes and put them on. But before he could put them on, he suddenly stopped. He opened the set and on looking at it he found a hand-woven cotton shirt in indigo with a colourful pattern embroidered on the hem and trousers with a long drawstring around the front of the leg.

Tian was confused, he didn't even notice it when he picked it up, what the hell?

But the cool breeze blowing into the hut made the decision easy, Tian suppressed his embarrassment and put on his Akha clothes before the cold cramped him. He carried the pond basin with the finished laundry nearby, then hung the clothes along the window to dry and took the rest to the balcony, where there was little space.

Phupha, who has just finished changing his clothes, looks up and is a little taken aback. He holds back a smile until his canines ache, while staring at the person using the clothes behind the wooden balcony.

"Where is the mountain brother going to collect carrots?"

The slender body, the smooth white skin, the slim, slightly handsome face, the modern hairstyle that looked at odds with the authentic traditional dress but strangely enough, the difference between the words 'city man' and 'hill tribe man' seemed to be greater than ever. The gap between the terms 'urbanite' and 'hill tribe' seems to be shorter than ever.

"The same mountain outfit as you!" He almost threw the basin in his hand.

Although Phupha was wearing a woven pattern similar to his, the only difference being that the officer was wearing an extended boat collar, it suited his body type better. But as soon as he looked at the other man clearly, he nearly bit his mouth out of jealousy, his tall and sturdy build made Phupha look more like an ethnic warrior than a carrot collecting mountain boy like him.

The world is so unfair!

"Have you finished drying your clothes? Do you want to help the villagers or do you want to lie down here and rest?" Phupha shouted again.

There was hesitation in his eyes, "You mean the wedding. What about you?"

"I promise I'll be there early."

Tian was silent for a moment, holding his breath as he looked back into the empty room of the hut and then he realised that he might be bored if he slept all day without the internet.

"I'll go too, you wait a while." he said, while disappearing into the room in order to eat before he forgot to take the postprandial.

Around the vast courtyard next to the forest, the men of the village are helping to carry the bamboo arrangements. Some of them are chopped into sections with knives, ready to be tied together to make a raft. Then Bianglae Khama waves to the newcomers to come in and join the group. He grinned when he saw the two young men dressed in the authentic traditional dress of their tribe.

"Teacher, is it comfortable to wear? My wife sewed this for my son when he was 15, it may be a bit old."

Seeing the look of pride, Tian smiled reluctantly at him, he may not have been treated like a powerful man, just a naughty secondary school boy.

"It means that the son of the village elder is now growing and very strong."

"Just about, Captain Phupha." Bianglae smiled happily when talking about a baby son who has just entered university in Chiangrai, he only came back to the village on holidays.

"Doubtful of a childhood spent beating down buffaloes for food." Tian couldn't help but mutter, when he saw the huge back as hard as a rocky cliff, just like the tall officer's name. Phupha is standing and talking to other villagers on the other side who can speak enough Thai.

"We are making a palanquin to fetch the bride from the village in the mountains next to here."

"Palanquin…", Tian carefully reviews his knowledge in his own head, means the kind where people carry the seats, right?

"Yes, carrying both the bride and the groom."

"That took a lot of people."

"Yes, a lot, four men in front, four men at the back, if they don't move in harmony, the palanquin will fall over." Said the village headman humorously but the bride and groom might be bored up there because they have to stay still. The passage took a shortcut through the forest and a rough dirt road. The bearer of the palanquin had to carry the weight of the wooden palanquin and two other people, a heavy burden indeed.

Tian nodded slowly and understandingly, Bianglae asked him to help scrape the thorns off the bamboo poles with a knife and Captain Phupha actively helped others to put together the bamboo frame for the seats.

After about three hours, the wood chopping is starting to take shape, they are inserting the plump bamboo poles underneath, then with twine tied firmly to the bottom of the seat, thus connecting the sliding poles.

This time 8 young men carried a sedan chair to test the sedan chair. The sound of the rhythm and the sound of the force of the machine were combined throughout the forest. Many times some of the men staggered until the bamboo palanquin almost collapsed and the sight of their red faces as they carried the heavy wooden palanquin on their shoulders, the people watching could not help but support them from the inside.

"Must the palanquin hit the shoulders?" Tian whispers but Bianglae Khama, standing a short distance away, hears him.

"It's not necessary, teacher, just to give the bride dignity. The Akha village next to the city, has a tarmac road, a small pick-up truck is already in use…"

The village chief of Phabandao suddenly stops and turns to look clearly at Tian, yes! How could he forget what department the volunteer teacher had studied at school?

"Teacher, do you have any ideas? You can tell me."

"Ha, exclaimed Tian in shock when he was cued for advice, he turned around and raised his hand to his neck, as if nervous, "No way, it might not work."

"It's better than no advice at all." interjects a low voice. Captain Phupha approached drenched in sweat, his sharp eyes gazing at Tian, as if urging him to quickly disseminate the knowledge in his head.

"Don't put pressure like that." The student from the engineering school of the prestigious university had a troubled look on his face, "Have you ever seen a palanquin with a roof and a load-bearing person in a Chinese film? But they only use two people by themselves."

"I know but they probably don't do it like this," Phupha said with a smile, nuzzling the Akha boys who were approaching, curiously cascading around their new teacher, even if some could hear and some couldn't.

Tian scanned the hopeful eyes that pierced him from all sides and sighed heavily. He bends down and pulls at the scraps of wood, then draws on the sand. At the bottom of it was a box-like cart with a long stick sticking out of the middle, just like the ones used in ancient China.

"It's cold in China, so they made these windbreaks on each side." The more he drew the more ornate the idea became and he said, "... Ours probably doesn't need that much, just a boxy structure from the seat and then a roof guard made of thatch, no need for a cover, it's lighter again."

"So how will we carry this thing later, teacher?" Bianglae then asked, he had never seen a palanquin with such a strange name and appearance but had to try to learn and understand, so that he could bring it to the villagers with the correct interpretation.

"First we go into the middle of the raised wood, then we hold the handles on both sides and then we lift it slowly perpendicular to the body."

"Can the wrists support the weight of the person carried this way? As the teacher said earlier, we will only lift this with two people."

Tian's eyes darted back and forth in thought, his long-abandoned brain kicked into gear: "I think supporting that pole on our shoulders would help reduce the weight better, because there's more area and better stability. But the problem is, if we carry too much weight on our shoulders, we won't be able to lift it." He tapped his chin two or three times, then took water and added paint marks to the floor.

"If we put a beam on top of the thatch at the same height as our shoulders and get a rope to hold the top and bottom poles together, we can lift it with four men, when we lift it we can use both our shoulders and hands to help save energy. If this works, we can reduce the number of men by half and single rows will reduce the problem of uncoordinated walking on both sides."

The words that poured out put off the Thai-speaking group but the unusual silence made Tian, who came up with the idea, look up suspiciously.

"Yes, it doesn't work very well, does it? Then let's use the traditional palanquin."

"Who said that? It's great!" Bianglae rushed over and excitedly pats Tian's thin shoulder, he immediately turns around and claps his hands in greeting and then shouts in a long dialect to the young people around him.

The villagers shouted their reply and felt an unprecedented buzz. They didn't buy wood from the old chopper to use but started to deliver all the logs to make it.

"Do you like handicrafts?" Captain Phupha, who had been listening quietly with his chest in his hands, asked.

Tian, who was standing confused by the rapidly changing storm around him, turned to look at Phupha with a shocked expression on his face, his long, thin eyes instantly quaking with pupils.

"I used to like it once."

"Why do you use the word 'once'?"

"Used to is in the past, which means I don't like it now." He raised his eyebrows angrily, in order to hide some deep feelings and then without having had time to ask questions in confusion, he started to run away and walked towards the village elder.

Yes. As a child, he loved to play with toys. Especially moving toys like cars or robots with batteries. After playing with them, he would take the parts apart and put them into new ones, whenever he wanted to show them off, his parents were busy all the time, they never listened to him, as soon as he showed them off to his friends, his other rich friends took the lead in making fun of him, calling his inventions rubbish.

After that, the boy Tian Sopasitsakul learnt that, in the society he lived in, if you wanted to be recognised and praised, you had to act richer than anyone else, you had to drive an imported car, you had to use the latest mobile phone, you had to use designer products from head to toe. The materialistic society has made people so indulgent, that they have completely forgotten their true selves.

"Teacher, how wide does this seat have to be?" said Bianglae Khamia, pulling the new teacher back to his senses.

"It only seats two, it's only two metres long and wide, the village elder smiled sweetly and said: "We don't have a tape measure and people here never learn units of measure."

"Shout." Exclaims Tian, as if he has just remembered. As he walked towards the pile of cut bamboo, scratching his head in disarray, he walked towards the pile of chopped bamboo, then chose the smallest one about a metre long and gestured for the villagers with axes to chop at that spot.

"Uncle told them, let them measure it with this log. I don't reckon it's more than 10 centimetres." He looked at Bianglae, told him how to use the bamboo stick and then said "Uncle the village chief knows everything and speaks Mandarin very well."

"I received a scholarship from the King in his drive to support poor children. At that time, there was a special programme for poor children in the border areas, one person from each village could get a scholarship to go to the city to finish their studies. The second year of high school was the equivalent of today's third year. I was a temporary employee of the government agency in the province until I settled back home, as you can see." Uncle Bianglae proudly recounted the past, for it was then that he was granted the opportunity by His Majesty the King to return and develop his ancestral home as he does now.

"I never knew." I never knew that His Majesty's royal duties, which were broadcast on the evening news every day, would bring countless favours to these poor people.

It was strange to think that, although a city dweller like him, born with the means to live and with greater opportunities was entitled to an audience with the King who only appeared on the television screen, the villagers were far from prosperity, living on barren land and although there was no voice to claim His Majesty, His Majesty's patronage was not selfish.

"If your teacher is free, try standing on the highest point of Phabandao and look around and down, you can see both fertile forests and many plantations, thanks to the Royal Project promoted by His Majesty."

"It must be called 'good luck, lucky, that we were born on this land." I just happen to be talking to the teacher about this, the middleman who took advantage of the villagers is not just Sia Sakda; if there is anything like this, the teacher must come and tell me or the captain, definitely don't go and make things happen yourself.

"Later, the villagers have already been taken advantage of." he frowned uncomprehendingly: "And really, if I inform you, what will the village chief or captain do with them?"

This was a more difficult question than which came first, the chicken or the egg, Bianglae was silent for a long time and then sighed softly and long.

"Teacher Tian, it may be difficult to explain this regional influence thing to a city person. But believe me, you are not the first one to come down the mountain after trying to help the villagers."

He tapped his thin shoulder a few times and admonished: "I can only remind you, Phii is a wise man, he should know better."

Tian ran his tongue around his mouth a little irritably and tried the same thing again, open mouth is smart, closed mouth is also smart. Don't you think maybe he'd like to adopt a bit too? Tian shook his head, then went over to help the villagers continue to make the seating palanquin, as if whatever was going to happen was going to happen.

Tian, who had made the Chinese palanquin look so simple, he went in and watched every step, even the tying of the ropes and bamboo poles and then Tian waved to four villagers of similar height, asking them to lift the sliding poles.

A bamboo pole stretched from the roof frame over the shoulders with the bearer's hands holding a pair of poles underneath and although the invention looks odd, it is also more mobile than the old palanquin and allows for better weight distribution. Tian from the Faculty of Engineering thoughtfully stroked his chin with his hand and then placed it on the palanquin on the ground.

He goes in and measures the length with his eyes and tells someone who understands enough Thai to see the length of the pole along his fingers, in fact, the longer the pole the less effort it will save the person carrying it but it will also be awkward to carry.

When all is said and done, Tian does the final checks securely. The long, slender body walks around the palanquin, bends over and looks up for a long time, then gives a-thumbs up to the villagers who are standing, it's a success!

The young people who helped each other to become the backbone of this work shouted out loud, clapped on the wood and applauded, a crowd of people flocked to the volunteer teachers to thank them in accented Thai, the people surrounded by layers of people kindly received the hand of the two "Second passers." and shook their outstretched hands with unexplainable joy.

Captain Phupha, a bystander, approached Chief Engineer Tian, he stood and smiled uneasily, as if he had done something wrong and placed his hand on that head.

When he saw the silence of the other man, Captain Phupha looked down until he saw the red slender eyes with glittering tears in them and the thick, sea-filled money put into a gentle smile.

"Everything has value in itself. Even if others cannot see it… but we do it ourselves, so don't force it."

Don't force yourself not to be yourself in order to follow society's needs, what you've been wanting to hear from others for so long, no need for expensive rewards, no need for too much flattery, just acknowledge yourself.

Tian sucked in his nose that was starting to fall, then deliberately went to the big hand that was stroking his head and said with a grin of displeasure.

"I'm not a child anymore."

Thulia laughed in her throat and immediately handed Tian a stainless steel glass with cool water, "Some water? Mr."

At the teasing, Tian's eyes widened and he grabbed the glass and drank it thirstily. "Are you hungry?"

Tian hastened to reply, "So much so that I could eat a whole yellow cow!"

All I had eaten during the day was boiled vegetables and chilli rings, I was starving.

"Bear with me, the bastard doctors in town, thought you'd understand."

As soon as he heard the third man's name from the captain's mouth, Tan cracked his teeth and said, "I thought I was buying liver for two."

But as usual, the other man didn't take the joke, it wasn't about the liver." I heard it, my ears aren't ringing!

Pupha frowned worriedly, completely unable to understand the mood of the young man's county. What is this anger?"

"Angry," he said, Tian picked up his thick shoulders and soldiered on towards Bianglae Khama who was watching the spat from afar, leaving the captain shaking his head in disbelief.

It is almost six o'clock in the evening, the red sun is sinking, the sky is getting dark, Dr. Nam parks his car at the entrance behind Phabandao village and walks down the slope with his hands full of bags of food as usual.

As soon as Dr Nam arrived, he said to his tall friend sitting in the basement of the house, asking him to come out and help with the stuff, "What have you bought, this is so much."

Phupha explored the food line, while helping to take it out and put it in a bowl.

"Bought this to comfort Nong Tian...", Tian said after all a big laugh.

Captain Phupha pushed the corners of his mouth to laugh, "Probably thinks he's in a Bruce Lee Festival, thankfully, they didn't shoot it out."

Wasan took out a plate and divided the rice he bought in a bag, while breathing a long sigh of relief. "There was a problem at the beginning, his brain must have been dull again."

Even though the area was protected by soldiers, illegal forces intervened, as the villagers were far from prosperity and lacked education, so there were many people looking for profit and with the dense forest, the staff had to work hard, patrolling dozens of kilometres a day to keep illegal loggers at bay.

When he and Phupha were transferred to this new base of operations, every other day there were many frightening events, battling deforestation and drug transporters, it took many years for it to diminish, perhaps because the commander was thought to be able to lead them elsewhere to make a living.

But yes, all will go.

"It's good to stay for a while."

Captain Phupha's simple but firm words made the doctor point up at him, a sly smile spread across his thin mouth, "Are you serious? "Yes." but no eye contact, the owner of the white vinegar face with the glasses, raised his arms and crossed them in front of him, as if he were a superior, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking, bastard Phu. It's not far since the first day you rushed to pick him up and last night you had no place to spend time other than at his house. Even the monk Ah Silkun doesn't believe in you."

This was the first time he regretted being good friends with this bastard doctor! Worked on the same base for years, when he moved out, he moved with him everywhere he went, he was still right, "Is there anything you don't know?"

Phupha gave his friend an angry smack.

"Well, there's one thing I don't know to sum up, are you taking such good care of him, because of love at first sight or because the dark forces ordered you to?"

Phupha stopped abruptly, sharpening his eyes as he gazed at the assortment of dishes on the doorstep.

"Shit, Phupha are you pretending to have a secret!"

Wasan cursed loudly and then deliberately repeated the threat, "Okay, I'll tell my brother to be careful with the old man who's lurking around him."

"I'm scared to death…", Phupha said indifferently until Dr. Nam said obnoxiously, "Don't be too confident, you don't know what this brother thinks."

This time, the tall man didn't reply, just turned to the bag and lifted out the bottle of water it contained to end the conversation. As soon as he saw that his best friend wasn't answering, the doctor suggested to call the volunteer teacher who was resting at home to come down and have dinner with him. Hearing the words of the slick bastard behind her, Phupha slowly sat down on the bamboo stand.

When there is no expectation, it's not always necessary to know what to think.

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