It was Christmas eve and Ah Hoe had invited Ning and I to his hut for dinner. Mi Mi, the kittens and the senior cats had also been invited and we all looked forward to meeting up again. But we were not prepared for what was coming....
Ah Hoe made his famous veg burgers for dinner and the kittens loved them! After dinner, they played with the presents some of the nuns had given them but all too soon, it was time for them to leave as the senior cats had to go to bed early. Ning had decided not to go to his Club as he said it was likely to be raided again by the police and he didn't want to spend another night in lockup. So the three of us sat on the porch enjoying the light breeze and talking about this and that.
"It's pretty quiet tonight," I remarked.
Ning laughed and said teasingly, "Are you expecting angels?"
Meantime the group of villagers who had been chasing it, arrived at the porch and asked whether we had seen the boar. Ah Hoe pretended ignorance and said, "What? A wild boar?"
"Yes," said the villager by the name of Lu whom we recognised as a member of the city council. He had a shotgun in his hand and looked very grim. He continued, "It had been wrecking the food stalls in the village searching for food. The village folks are furious."
"No, we haven't seen it," said Ah Hoe.
"Ok, we'll continue our search in this area," said Lu.
As soon as they had gone, we went into the hut. The poor creature was hiding under Ah Hoe's bed, still shivering with fear.
"They've gone, you can come out now," said Ah Hoe. "Look, you must be hungry. I'll get you some food and water."
The boar was indeed very hungry and lapped up everything in a thrice. Ah Hoe was very concerned for its safety and suggested that it remained in the hut for the night where it would be safe.
"Thank you very much, sir." the boar said. "But I don't want to put you into trouble. Those men may come back anytime. I will be alright once I get back to the forest. Thank you again." With that, it ran off into the night.
Ah Hoe shook his head sadly after it had gone. "I don't see why they should want to kill it. It was just looking for food. People are so heartless nowadays," he sighed.
That incident spoiled our Christmas mood and I decided to return to the temple. Ning was staying overnight with Ah Hoe and said he would let me know if they heard any further news about the boar.
The next morning, which was Christmas Day, Ning came running to the temple, looking very excited.
"Da, they've caught the wild boar! Ah Hoe and I are going down to the village to see what we can do." I decided to follow them too and soon we arrived at the village square. A small crowd had gathered there and we saw to our horror and dismay that the boar had been shot and was quite dead. Lu, the city council man, seemed to be very proud of his achievement and announced that they would burn the carcass in the council's animal pound.
Ah Hoe, when he heard this, protested and offered to take the dead animal away and give it a decent burial in the forest where it belonged. Since Lu had no objections, we found a large old gunny sack to put the boar in and Ah Hoe carried it all the way back to the forest. We found a shady spot near the river which we thought would be suitable for the poor creature to rest in peace.
It was a very sad Christmas Day for us. As he laid the boar to rest, Ah Hoe whispered softly, tears glistening in his eyes, "You should have listened to me and stayed put in my hut, dear friend." More tears rolled down his face and fell on the dead boar's body.
"Kind sir, you have saved me and given me the privilege of a human birth. Eons ago I was cursed and condemned to the body of a wild boar by a wicked sorceress. I could only be saved by the tears of someone whose heart is pure and full of love and compassion. You not only gave me shelter but a decent burial. You, kind sir, are that person and I owe you my life."
Ah Hoe was stunned and swayed on his feet, like he was going to faint. Ning and I quickly led him to a nearby boulder and made him sit down.
"But what must we do now?" Ning asked, always the first to recover.
"Don't worry, all you have to do is take me to the orphanage in the village. They will only be too eager to take me in and in a few days' time, a young childless couple will come and adopt me. They will take me home with them and give me a good life. But I will never forget your friend here who saved me and I shall be with him always although he will not be able to see or hear me."
So we took the baby to the orphanage and as he said, the matron in charge was only too happy to receive him. A few days later, we heard that a young couple had called at the orphanage and had immediately decided to adopt the baby, just like he predicted.
It was the most incredible thing that could have happened and nobody would believe it if he hadn't seen with his own eyes! It was like a chapter from one of Head Nun's books on Karma and Samsara. Later when we were talking over the whole episode, Ah Hoe said rather wistfully, "You know, Da, I wish I could have adopted that baby. But then I have no money, I would not be able to give him a good education and everything else he needs."
"That's true, Ah Hoe," I said. "Don't feel sad. Your job was to deliver him from his past karma, no more."
"I guess you're right. I truly hope he will have a good life."
As for me, I was intrigued by what the baby promised - about always being with Ah Hoe. Well, only time will tell...
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
If Da had told me the whole story without me being there, I would never have believed him. This is the first time I've seen such a phenomenon! Hmmm, it would be interesting to see the boy grow up but I guess I won't be around by then...
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