Sammi
12:10 PM SATURDAY
The tuk-tuks rumble over the pockmarked streets, rocking us wildly about as we go. The further we get from the city proper, the deeper the gouges in the streets become.
My stomach lurches in protest. My mind may be drawing a blank on last night’s festivities, but the stomach never forgets.
I press a hand firmly over my mouth, willing myself not to vomit.
I’m definitely rethinking that ice cream right about now. Just the thought of Percy’s corn flavor has me wanting to materialize chunks of my own.
I’m about to suggest we finish the trip on foot when the monastery comes into view.
I feel a wave of relief, and not just because the ride’s about to end.
The monastery is nice and calming even from a distance.
We can’t possibly have gotten into too much trouble there.
…I guess as long as they don’t perform marriages or anything, that is.
Our tuk-tuk comes to a stop just before a sprawling green lawn. It’s so inviting, I briefly consider lying down in the grass for a nap.
Until, of course, I remember exactly how deep into shit we are.
“Oh, wow. Pretty as a picture!” Mysti May hollers from her tuk-tuk, now pulling up beside ours.
“Hunky monks, too,” Percy adds, eyeing a troop of orange-robed eye candies as they pass. “I bet all that karmic detachment makes them fucking horny…”
I don’t know much about the hospitality of monks, but I gotta admit, I’m feeling a little optimistic.
How bad could it be? So we got some drunken tattoos, no big deal.
I just hope we told them where we were going after.
My relief lasts exactly as long as it takes the first monk to see us.
He rounds a corner, contented smile on his face, eyes sweeping the grounds as he goes. When his gaze finds us, though, it’s entirely another matter.
His lips flatten into a thin line, eyes becoming saucers in his head.
“YOU!” he yells, voice heavily accented.
One thin finger rises up in accusation, singling us out in a clearly unhappy point.
“NO! You go!”
I raise my palms to either side, the universal sign for Whoa, man.
“We just need to ask some questions,” I say. “Please. We don’t know what happened last night…but something tells me we ended up here.”
He ignores me entirely, instead roaming his pointer finger towards Mysti May.
A string of foreign language spills from his lips, angry, accusatory.
It doesn’t take a linguist to figure out that he’s really not a fan of Mysti.
“Me?” she asks, looking wildly to the rest of us for help.
A group of monks appear behind the first, clearly drawn by the commotion. All my hopeful feelings vanish. There’s recognition in their eyes as well, and it isn’t good.
“Look, man…” I begin, eyes likewise searching for assistance.
It’s then that I see the statue.
Or rather, what’s left of it.
Off to the side, clearly in a place of honor, sits what appears to be a rendering of the Buddha. Only this one’s missing his head.
I nudge Mysti, staring pointedly in the direction of the headless Buddha when she looks.
Recognition dawning in her eyes, she reaches for her bag.
“Ohhhhh. You want Head!”
The monk looks at her like she just propositioned him.
I guess, in a way, it sure sounds like she did.
Mysti May rolls her eyes in true beauty queen fashion. “Head is what I’ve been calling him. Look, I have him! He’s right here.”
Her arms disappear up to the elbows into her oversized bag. When they come into view again, they’re clutching the Buddha head.
She holds it up for his inspection, grinning like she happened across it rather than severed it herself.
The first monk stills, glancing from the head to Mysti and back.
He turns to the others, speaking quietly to them.
After a couple of tense minutes waiting, they seem to come to a decision.
A monk from the larger group approaches, and Mysti surrenders her treasure. He doesn’t so much as look at her as he takes it, seeming to avoid even her touch.
What the hell’s that about?
Monk number one returns his attention to me.
“Okay,” he says, “What do you want?”
Finally.
“We just need some information,” I begin. “We were obviously here last night…”
He nods for me to continue, still watching Mysti strangely from the corner of his eye.
I really want to know what that’s about.
First, though: “Well, the thing is, we’re having a hard time remembering what exactly happened.”
It’s definitely a scoff that escapes him.
“Please,” Percy interjects. “It’s really important. I could, uh…make it worth your while.”
As Percy’s eyes slide up and down his tanned, orange-clad body, for a second, I think he might actually take her up on it.
He stares us down for a long minute, clearly debating with himself.
Finally, he turns back the way he came, gesturing for us to follow.
“You were here,” he tells me when we catch up to him.
Well, that’s helpful.
“And?” I ask.
He shakes his head like a disappointed parent.
“I cannot speak of it.”
“You cannot…” I trail off.
Just what the hell did we do here?
“I won’t,” he says.
“So you’re taking us to someone who will?” Percy asks.
“No. We will not speak of it. We cannot speak of such things.”
I look to the group for assistance.
Liam steps up to bat. “Look, mate. It’s obvious that you’re uncomfortable with it, but if you could just tell us something, anything…”
The monk shakes his head once.
A hard no, then.
“You may have a look around,” he says. “Maybe that will help. But once you are done, you may not come back. Understand?”
It’s clear from his tone that he’s made up his mind.
Defeated, we nod along. School children who have lost the will to talk back.
He stops walking, gesturing for us to continue ahead. We do so without further question.
The man’s clearly a sealed vault. Hopefully, the long walk will jog our memories.
“Ten minutes!” he calls after us.
Well, shit.
“You just had to steal the Buddha,” Percy directs at Mysti.
“I didn’t mean to!” she replies.
Right. The picture of innocence, that one.
“It wasn’t even the whole Buddha,” she continues. “It was only the head.”
“Still counts if it’s only head,” Becky offers up with a mischievous smile.
Maybe it’s just my nerves, but I laugh.
This has been a topic of some debate in the past. Well, not this exactly…
Liam chuckles. “Alright, you silly birds, pay attention. There’s got to be something we remember here.”
We direct our attention back to our surroundings, still walking further into the grounds.
I stare intensely at every possible landmark, every building.
Nothing even looks remotely familiar.
I see similar looks of confusion on the faces around me.
Obviously, we’ve been here, but for the life of me, I can’t recall.
Mysti’s eyes roam around us, stopping just a hair too long on the many statues dotting the lawn.
I catch her eyes with my best maternal glare.
Fuck, no.
Two minutes later, any lingering hope I was feeling begins to wilt in my chest.
I just don’t remember this place.
At all.
I stop walking abruptly, the gang following suit.
“Anything?” I plead.
Heads shake all around.
“Great. We’ve probably got two minutes before we’re thrown out on our asses.”
“Don’t worry,” Becky says. “We’re gonna figure this out. We’ve done it before.”
“Definitely,” Percy offers. “If not here, we’ll find clues somewhere else.”
I’m not so sure.
It’s not like we have any other leads. This was all we had to go on.
Not to mention, we have no clue what kind of hell we raised last night.
I may have totally ruined things with Eggs, destroyed our migration project, and screwed up my entire life plan.
Call me crazy, but I’m just not feeling the pep talk.
I’m about to suggest that we head back for the tuk-tuks when I hear bells.
CLANG!
CLANG!
“Lunch time?” Mysti wonders.
All of our heads turn towards the sound.
“Who knows?” Becky says.
I barely hear her, though.
CLANG!
The ringing of the bells awakens something in me. Not a spiritual revelation—but a revelation just the same.
The memory slams into me with the force of a freight train, and suddenly, I recall another piece of the puzzle from last night.