The Photo

Chinese New Year is probably the busiest time of year for the temple with devotees coming to pray to the Buddha for new year blessings.  Some have brought gifts of Mandarin oranges and CNY cookies for Head Nun and the nuns, on their part, have been tidying up the temple and making it spick and span.

We had some visitors one morning a few days before CNY. I was out in the garden and saw to my surprise three nuns coming in through the gate of the temple. They introduced themselves as nuns from Cambodia and  I immediately took them to Head Nun who was delighted to see them.  The nuns said they were on their way back home and stopped by our temple, having heard much about it.  They talked with Head Nun for a while, then asked to be shown round the temple before leaving.

Ah Ying, who also happened to be at the temple, asked to take a photo of them as a souvenir. The nuns politely refused saying they were in a rush to catch their bus but she insisted, and after some persuasion, she managed to get them to pose for a picture. 

Before the nuns left, they had a quiet conversation with Head Nun again.  Since Head Nun did not divulge what they said, I thought no more of the matter until Ah Ying came to the temple the next morning, trembling with great excitement.

"You all won't believe this!  Remember that photo I took of the three nuns and Vege Cat?  Well, when I went home yesterday, I had forgotten all about it and only took a look just now. I can't believe what I saw. Head Nun, see for yourself!!"  

She handed her phone to Head Nun who looked, then said, a serious expression on her face, "Ah Ying, have you shown this photo to anyone else?" 

"Well, no, I was too shocked when I saw it and came here straight away...."  gasped Ah Ying breathlessly.

Now all the nuns were craning their necks to look at the photo, including myself.  I even jumped onto the table where Head Nun was sitting so that I could have a better view.  But Head Nun kept her fingers closed around the phone blocking the screen and did not pass it round.  

The nuns started asking what was in the photo, then Head  Nun suddenly let out a shriek, "Oh, oh, I have accidentally deleted the photo!"

"What?" Everyone gasped.

"I'm so sorry, Ah Ying," said Head Nun and handed the phone back to Ah Ying who tried to restore the photo but strangely, it could not be found in her phone.

"Ayoh, how could this have happened," she cried, then all of a sudden, she fell in a swoon.  Everyone panicked except for Head Nun who gently massaged her head and neck and after a few minutes, she came to.  One of the nuns brought her a glass of water and after drinking it, she appeared to feel better.

"Are you alright?" asked Head Nun.

"Yes, I think so.  What happened?"

"You fainted, my dear," replied Head Nun.  "It must be the heat.  You had better go home to rest."  She then led Ah Ying out to her car and told her to drive home carefully.

The nuns were still speculating about the photo when Head Nun returned to the kitchen.  She ordered them to go back to their duties and they did so reluctantly, still very curious.

Later, when I was alone with Head Nun, I of course had to ask her about the photo.  I was bursting with curiosity and I had the feeling that she had deliberately deleted the photo for some reason or other.

"Head Nun," I began.

"Alright, I know what you're going to ask," she interrupted.  "Your curiosity is going to kill you one day, you know!"

"But why did you delete the photo?"  I asked impatiently.

She looked at me, then said, "Vege Cat, the three nuns you saw were no ordinary mortals."

"Really?"  I gasped.  

"They told me that they are time travellers from another planet and they had assumed the form of nuns because their original form is very grotesque and horrifying to the human eye.  If they had not taken on another form, they would not be able to move about freely.  Not only that, they warned me that they radiate a powerful force of energy which we humans, and animals included, cannot take, its so strong that it can stun or even kill us if we look at them in their true form, even if it's only a photo. That's why they didn't want to be photographed because the camera will capture what they really look like.  But unfortunately Ah Ying  kept insisting."

"So that's why you deleted the photo?" I asked wide-eyed.

"Yes," said Head Nun nodding her head.

"But why didn't you just call Ah Ying yesterday and tell her to delete the photo?"

"Questions, questions!  My dear Vege Cat, sometimes I think you don't trust me or have confidence in my judgement of things."

"Sorry, Head Nun....." I apologised.

 "Thankfully I managed to revive Ah Ying," she continued. "Just think, if I had called her yesterday, she would have taken a look at the photo and fainted with no one to help her since she lives alone.  If you and the nuns had taken a look at the photo just now, you would all have probably collapsed. Now you understand?"

"But no harm came to you, Head Nun," I argued.

"That's because I know how to protect myself but that's another story. The time travellers are good, kind beings and mean no harm to anyone.  They also told me that they had seen our temple shine like a sparkling jewel from space, that's why they decided to come and see for themselves.  Isn't that wonderful? Praise be to our Lord Buddha!" said Head Nun, bowing her head and clasping her hands in prayer. 

"Wow," I whispered in awe. To think that our small temple can be seen millions of kilometers away from space can only be described as the work of the Divine.

"So now are you satisfied?"  asked Head Nun.

"Yes, but are you going to tell the nuns what you've just told me?"

"Well, if I did, they will never be able to get the whole incident out of their minds for some time and that would be a great distraction from their duties.  So I think it's best they and Ah Ying forget about the whole thing."

 "But how are you going to make them forget?"  I persisted.

Head Nun laughed and patted my head.  "You'll see," she said mischievously.

The nuns were having tea in the kitchen when I went there later.  They were talking about this and that and I knew I had to test them to see whether they still remembered the photo.  When I mentioned it, they looked at me blankly and asked, "What photo?  What are you talking about?"  And Ah Ying hadn't the faintest idea either when I met her later.

Head Nun had done it again!