After a few quiet weeks, things began picking up again when Head Nun said that the Chief Nun of the hill temple had requested for some new prayer books and asked whether I could bring them to the temple. Head Nun had no objections and said that I would be the best one to do the job since she could not spare any of her nuns. I was of course very excited as it would mean seeing Chief Nun and all her nuns again, including Ah Moi Kor and of course Lotus.
Ah Ying agreed to drive me there and so we set off early one morning. The books were neatly packed in a box and Ah Ying put it carefully on the back seat of her car. She also brought along some mineral water in case we got thirsty during the journey.
"Hope you've filled up your car with petrol, Ah Ying," I said, remembering what had happened on our last trip. She laughed and said not to worry, she had taken care of everything. So we trundled along at a speed which her old car could take and after half an hour or so, we came across an old man walking by the side of the road. His clothes were dirty and torn and he was walking with the aid of a stick."Ah Ying, stop and ask whether we can give him a lift," I said. Ah Ying stopped the car, wound down the window and greeted the old man."Uncle, where are you going? Can we give you a lift?"
The old man smiled, then shook his head. "Thank you but I can manage."
"Are you sure, Uncle? It's a hot day, you will be very tired walking in the sun."
The old man smiled again and said, "You are very kind, but please don't trouble yourself "
"Take some water then, you may need it," said Ah Ying and handed a bottle of mineral water to him.
We were about to leave when he said, "Wait!" He dug into his pocket and produced a small book. "Please take this as a token of my thanks for your kindness. It's a prayer book, you will find it useful when you get to the temple."
He handed the book to me and said goodbye to us. Ah Ying started the car and as we moved off, she said, "Vege Cat, I just looked in my rear mirror and there's no sign of the old man. How strange. He was standing by the side of the road a moment ago but now he's gone, vanished into thin air. "
"Where could he have gone?" I said, looking out of the window. "Come to think of it, how did he know we're going to the temple? I'm sure we didn't mention it to him."
"No, we didn't," said Ah Ying. Then it started to drizzle and she turned her attention to the road. Luckily the rain didn't get any heavier and after another one and a half hours, we reached the gate of the temple.
Ah Moi Kor and Lotus were waiting for us at the gate and we saw to our delight that Lotus was expecting her first baby. Ah Moi Kor was of course very thrilled that she would be a grandmother soon and after exchanging pleasantries, they escorted us inside the temple where Chief Nun was waiting. She thanked us for bringing the prayer books and offered us some light refreshments. I was happy to see her again and also the temple nuns who said they had been working very hard to perfect their chanting, and couldn't wait for me to hear them chant the next morning!
Chief Nun had insisted that we stay for one night so that it wouldn't be so tiring for Ah Ying and asked Lotus to show us to our rooms.
I would be occupying the storeroom again like I did on my previous visits but I didn't mind because it had a good view of the surrounding hills.
"Vege Cat," she said between sobs. "I was so happy to hear you would be coming here. I've been so worried..."
"Why? What's happened?" I asked.
"It's Koh," she sobbed. "He's very sick and we can't find a cure for his sickness...."
"Oh dear, what's wrong with him and how long has he been ill?" I asked.
"It all started about two weeks ago. He has this fever which comes and goes. Two days he's well, another two days he's sick. On some nights he breaks into a cold sweat, his hands shake and he can't sleep. He has tried all the herbs his father has given him but nothing works. His father is at his wits' end trying to find a cure for him."
"Why haven't you taken him to a hospital for treatment?" I asked.
"He refuses to go, he doesn't believe in Western medicine. Oh that man can be so stubborn! Vege Cat, I'm so afraid he may die and our baby will be born without a father...." and she burst into another flood of tears.
"Does your mother and Chief Nun know?" I asked.
Lotus shook her head. "He made me promise not to tell them as he didn't want them to worry. Every time they invite him to the temple, he will make some excuse or other not to go lest they see his state of health."
I felt so sorry for Lotus but the only advice I could give her was to pray to the Buddha for His help. She nodded and said that she had been praying very hard day and night.
Later that evening, after dinner, we went to our respective rooms to rest. Lotus had gone home to be with her husband and the rest of the nuns had also retired early. I sat on the window sill and looked out at the hills. It was so calm and peaceful and perfect for meditation. But I was still troubled by what Lotus had told me and I didn't know what to do to help her. Then suddenly I remembered the prayer book which was given to me by the old man whom we met on the way to the temple. I had almost forgotten about it. It was quite old and tattered and contained a number of Buddhist mantras, some of which we recite at Head Nun's temple. As I looked through it, a page fell out. I picked it up and saw that there was some Chinese writing on it. Of course I cannot read Chinese and was about to put it away when a voice inside me urged me to take it to Ah Ying to translate. At first I ignored it but the urge became stronger, so in the end I went to Ah Ying's room and showed her the piece of paper.
"Vege Cat, it's a herbal prescription for fever and some other ailments. Look, it gives the names of the herbs and how to brew them. Where did you find it?"
"It fell out from the prayer book the old man gave me," I said.
Then it suddenly dawned on me that this could be what Lotus had been praying for - a miracle cure! No wonder the old man said the book would come in useful! Of course I could be wrong but it was worth a shot. I confided in Ah Ying about Koh and both of us agreed that we should give the prescription to Lotus as soon as she comes to the temple the next morning.
Lotus immediately brought the prescription to her father-in-law but unfortunately he didn't have two of the herbs required. It seems that they are rare and very expensive and hardly any local shops selling herbs stock them. But as luck would have it, the father-in-law had a friend coming from China in a day or two and he immediately requested him to buy the herbs for him.
So to cut a long story short, Koh took six courses of the prescription and was completely cured and a few months later, Lotus gave birth to a bouncing baby boy!
"So who do you think the old man was?" I asked Ah Ying when we returned to Head Nun's temple.
"Maybe he was the all merciful Buddha in disguise, his prescription saved Koh!" she said, rolling her eyes heavenward and clasping her hands together in prayer🙏.
"I am also thinking the same thing," I said excitedly. "He knew we were on our way to the temple and that Koh needed help! And I'm sure it's also not by sheer coincidence that Chief Nun asked for the prayer books at the same time. It was all arranged so that Koh could be saved!"
Head Nun then interrupted. "Koh is a good man and has been treating the poor and sick without charging a single cent. He carried on even though he was sick himself and that's why he so deserves the grace of the Gods. I am glad he has recovered."
So once more, all's well that ends well. Incidentally, Lotus named her baby "Fulin" meaning "Blessings Arrive".
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