After about a month at the community hall, the villagers received the good news that their houses had been restored and they could return home. They were of course overjoyed and started packing.
Unfortunately a day before their departure, little Xiao Yu fell ill with high fever and was immediately rushed to the hospital. Thankfully he recovered in a couple of days and when APK and I visited him at the hospital, he was sitting up in bed and enjoying some food.
His eyes lit up when he saw us and he cried excitedly, "Aunty Nun and Vege Cat, I'm so happy to see you both! I was so sick a few days ago that I thought I was going to die!"
APK smiled and patted his cheek. "Of course you're not going to die! The Lord Buddha always looks after good little boys like you, so you need not worry!"
"Oh yes, I must thank the Buddha for saving me," he said, then with a serious look on his face, added, "Aunty Nun, when I grow up, I want to be a monk and help poor people like what you are doing."
APK laughed and asked him teasingly, "Are you sure? Don't you want to marry a pretty young girl and raise a family?"
"Yuk!" he replied, wrinkling his nose. 'I don't like girls, they're so silly!"
"You'll think differently when you grow up," laughed APK. "Still, I'm glad you have such a noble ambition."
We chatted for a while and when we took our leave, the little boy made us promise that we would one day come to visit him in his village.
As we walked back to the temple, APK couldn't help bursting into peals of laughter.
"You know, this is the first time anyone has addressed me as "Aunty Nun"! I find it so funny!"
"I guess he doesn't know what to call you," I said. "You know, APK, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next ten or fifteen years - I mean will he actually become a monk? But I guess I won't be around by that time....."
"Don't be silly," scolded APK. "I have read of some cats who lived up to 20 years old!"
"Oh no, I wouldn't want to live to that age, I would be wobbly on my feet, I can't chase after rats any more and worst of all, I would probably have dementia and can't remember all my mantras. I'd only be a nuisance to everyone!"
"Don't you worry, Vege Cat, I will take care of you when you're old and grey. We will both grow old together and watch the sunset every evening and thank the good Lord that we have each other. Okay?"
"Thanks, APK." What she said really touched my heart and nearly brought tears to my eyes.
About a week later, we were surprised to see the postman knock on the temple door. We seldom get any letters, most of the time one or two bills.
"I have an envelope for 'Aunty Nun'," he said.
APK jumped out of her chair and cried, 'That's me!"
"A little boy asked me to give this envelope to you," said the postman. "He wanted to post it but didn't have the money, so I took pity on him and said I would deliver it for him."
"Oh, it must be from Xiao Yu," exclaimed APK. "Thanks, Mr Postman and God bless you!"
She then opened the envelope and gasped, "It's a pencil sketch of us. Gosh, I didn't know he's so talented!"
We all crowded round APK to look at the drawing. It was indeed a very good piece of work for a boy of his age and I was surprised that he had even included me in the picture.
"I'm going to have it framed and hang it in my room," said a happy APK.
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| Xiao Yu's sketch |
Later that night, as I got ready for bed, I couldn't help thinking about Xiao Yu. Was he going to be a monk or an artist or both when he grows up? It was an intriguing thought but I guess I'll never know.
