The last few weeks had been very quiet. Due to the pandemic, the Qi Ming Festival was put on hold and cemeteries were closed to the public, making it not possible for people to carry out their annual duty. The nuns continued their prayers at the temple but only a handful of devotees turned up. Our usual routine now was like prayers, meals, some Buddha talk, then off to bed!
One evening, I was sitting with Ah Phui Kor (APK) in the TV room, just whiling away some time before going to bed. APK seemed rather disturbed, if not restless. Finally, she burst out, "Vege Cat! I can't stand it any longer, I've got to tell someone!"
I looked at her, surprised. "What's wrong?" I asked.
She looked around her, making sure no one else was in the room, then whispered, "I got a message from my ex-boyfriend."
"Oh really?" I said.
She nodded her head, then said in a hushed tone, "He wants me to run away with him!"
"What?" I yelled, horrified. APK grabbed me and put her hand over my mouth. "Ssssh! I'm telling you because I know I can trust you. Vege Cat, I don't know what to do ......"
"APK, you've been here at the temple for how long - three months? Wasn't it your choice to become a nun? Your boyfriend should understand that, instead of trying to take you away from the Lord Buddha."
"I know, I know but he says he misses me very much. Please tell me what to do...."
"It's your choice, APK. You have to ask yourself who you love more - the Lord Buddha or your boyfriend." I replied.
She let out a big sigh. "I'm all confused, Vege Cat," she said.
"Think seriously about it and don't do anything foolish, APK," I said.
She nodded, made me promise not to tell Head Nun, then said she was going to bed. I watched her go and couldn't help feeling worried. She had always been an obedient and hardworking nun, never late for meditation and prayers and carried out her duties without any complaints. I hoped the Lord Buddha would help and guide her, and of course I didn't tell Head Nun.
When we gathered for meditation the next morning at 5 a.m., I was still thinking of APK and her boyfriend. But I didn't reckon that Head Nun could be so sharp. "Where's APK?" she asked the nun who shared the room with her. Her face turned white as a sheet and she stammered, "I ... I don't know, Head Nun. She wasn't in the room when I woke up...".
There was a hushed silence in the prayer hall. As for me, I was stunned. Oh no, surely APK had not run away with her boyfriend? Head Nun was silent for a minute, then said, "Well, we won't wait for her. Begin your meditation. As for you, Vege Cat, I want to see you in my room NOW."
"Do you have something to tell me about APK?" Head Nun asked when we arrived at her room. I don't know how she seemed to know that I know something. My legs were beginning to tremble and I blurted out what APK had said to me the night before. I was surprised when she laughed and said, "APK had a boyfriend? This is news to me."
"How did you know APK had spoken to me about this?" I asked, a little bewildered.
She smiled and gave me a knock on the head. "Don't you know I can read your mind?"
I looked at her aghast. "I hope you are joking, Head Nun," I said, feeling quite, quite uncomfortable.
"Next time, don't hide anything from me, you silly cat!" said Head Nun. "This is a serious matter, we are responsible for her, you know. We will have to inform her parents immediately."
Head Nun was right of course and after leaving her room, I prayed hard that the Lord Buddha would bring APK back ASAP.
Meditation ended at 6 a.m. and soon the nuns came trooping into the kitchen for breakfast. They were all hungry and gulped down the steaming hot broth which Head Nun had prepared.
Suddenly, the kitchen door swung open and we saw with a shock, APK standing there. Her hair was dishevelled and she was still in her pyjamas which were torn and had dirty marks all over them. In fact she looked like she had been run over by a truck.
"APK, what happened to you?" shrieked several of the nuns. APK sat down, panting hard.
She paused while more than a dozen pairs of curious eyes stared at her. She then reached into her pocket and brought out a tiny white kitten with baby blue eyes. It was so cute and sweet that everybody rushed towards it, wanting to cuddle and stroke it. We had all forgotten that Head Nun was there listening to every word.
"Alright, alright," thundered Head Nun, banging the kitchen table. Everyone froze and turned to look at her.
"APK, I hope you will have the good sense not to embark on such an adventure again. You could have fallen from the roof and hurt yourself!" she said sternly.
APK fell to her knees and whispered, tears gathering in her eyes, "I'm sorry, Head Nun. Please forgive me. I just wanted to save that kitten, I didn't think ...."
Head Nun's face softened and lifting APK up, said, "You're forgiven for this time but make sure you don't repeat this foolishness in the future. Vege Cat, you had better take the little one to Tom's Home. Mi Mi will only be too glad to have it. Now, finish your breakfast, all of you and get on with your duties!"
Later that evening, I met APK in the temple garden and stopped to talk.
"APK, you really had me worried. I thought you had run away with your boyfriend!"
She laughed, then said, "After our talk that night, I thought over everything, then I messaged him and told him to jump into the sea!"
"Oh dear, did you have to be so harsh?"
"Hey, I'm only joking. Actually, I told him that a wise little cat reminded me that I had taken refuge in the Lord Buddha and that there's nothing else I want." She then gave me a big hug and kissed me on both cheeks.
It was the first time a nun had ever kissed me and if a cat could blush, I would have blushed a bright tomato red.
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