Dr Siri Paiboun 02 (2005) - Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill

Author:Colin Cotterill
Format: epub
Published: 2005-06-07T16:00:00+00:00

17

SECOND SUNRISE

The second sunrise came at around 8 a.m. It was when the first sun had risen high enough to reflect from the golden dome of Xiang Thong temple. For many in Luang Prabang it marked the time to head for work, which in turn explained why so many people stayed in bed on cloudy days.

Siri sat on the white steps in front of Pak Ou cave. It was a pocket in the face of the cliff that overlooked the confluence of the Mekhong and the Nam Xuang rivers. Its most remarkable characteristic was what it contained. There were thousands upon thousands of Buddha images of all shapes and sizes. The coroner had been up to look at the unguarded population that dated back hundreds of years. He wondered how long it would be before some disreputable pirate rowed in under cover of darkness to fill orders for Thai antique shops.

He wondered from which direction his shaman friend would be coming. As far as he’d seen, the cave didn’t go deep. It ended at a rock face. That’s probably why he was startled to hear Tik’s voice behind and above him.

“What are you doing down there, Yeh Ming?”

“I’m waiting for you. How did you get up there, brother?”

“I live here.”

“Then I can’t think how I missed you unless I mistook you for a Buddha.”

Siri climbed back up the steps. The old guru wore nothing more than a small cloth knotted around his organ and its appendages. Siri shook a hand that clicked like knitting needles and the two men went into the cave.

The doctor nodded towards the images. “I was thinking of a curse to protect these gentlemen.”

“You’re several hundred years too late, boy. These are better protected than the national treasury.”

“How? Anyone can walk off with them.”

He was being led slowly into the shadows at the rear of the cave.

“Walk off, yes, and many have been walked off with over the years. But believe me, not one thief has lived a happy life as a result of it. I can’t tell you how gruesome are the fates that await he who harbours a Pak Ou Buddha. And through the marvellous sense of direction they possess, these statuettes will all gradually find their way back here where they belong.”

They reached a rock wall that Siri had inspected earlier. It appeared sheer and unbroken but Tik walked confidently towards it at an angle and exposed the optical illusion. It was as if he were being swallowed by a solid rock. Siri approached it more carefully and it wasn’t until he was almost nose-first into the wall that the gap showed itself.

He followed close on the bare heels of the old man. They walked along a tunnel lit by scattering fireflies until they arrived at a small cavern. It was illuminated from above. Somehow the natural light filtered down through crevices in the rock even though they must have been deep inside the mountain.

The hollow was littered with scavenged refuse: cans and

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