Chapter 2 : Other Plans
People have gathered around his charred body. The police come and asked “volunteer” civilians to scoop the corpse and scattered parts from the ground for identification at the morgue. There is no investigation needed. He is a long wanted criminal and his civilian victims took the law in their own hands. Besides, whoever killed him appears to have so much firepower that the investigators will not have any inclination even to ask who they are. No one comes to neither claim nor identify, so they send the body to the nearest pagoda that still does cremation.
When Visal is about to be cremated by a young help, a young seductive woman appears and charms the pagoda boy to give her the corpse. Her hair is bright green, wears a short a skirt with leafy details, a revealing blouse and too much make up for decency inside a pagoda. Not only does he wrap Visal’s remains in black thrash bags taped together, he even carries the package to the back of her pick up.
At the foot of the Cardamoms, the foxy girl abandons the pick up and carries the corpse into the forest like the corpse does not weigh anything. She reaches a promontory, a large flat rock jutting out of the jungle and overlooking the vast Cambodian plains and lays down the wrapped corpse. It’s midnight. Under the full moon, she cuts away Visal’s burnt clothing with a scalpel- sharp fingernail. She carefully arranges the missing or distorted body parts into their proper places. Kneeling over the naked corpse, the green lady starts gyrating to a seductive drum music that can make any man’s passion burn bright in an instant. Her normal clothes floats away and a magical green shroud envelopes her luscious firm body. The music heats up and she turns possessed by it yet seems to be the one leading the music to go hotter. Her body turns translucent and glows green. Her insides are not human, more like a plant’s. Then, a pair of big dark eyes opens and glows from among the trees where the music is coming from. White teeth suddenly shine bright along with the widening of the glowing eyes. Trees and vines starts to wither, leaves dry as fall as their life force drains from them and flow through the roots that are now part of the green woman’s anatomy. Visal’s flesh start to heal. His broken bones claim back the shattered pieces. Bullets fall off from the wounds. Entry and exit points close. Skin grows back and burned skin falls off. The dancing green woman is now in what seems to be a delirious state gyrating and arching like she’s having an orgasm, sweat on her translucent body gleam in the moonlight. Suddenly the music stops and Visal’s torso launches upwards carrying the green woman who shrieks in joy. Visal’s body seems to have received an electric shock, his eyes and mouth open wide, gasping for breath, all the muscles and nerves in his body in uncontrollable spasm. The glowing eyes and white teeth close shut in the dark forest. Visal wakes up from his death and chokes the woman who is on top of him in rage. “What the fuck did you bring me back for? I was catching up with my parents!”
In a classy restaurant, the beautiful woman from the Phsar Chas murder, slices angrily at her raw beef sirloin, her handsome celebrity date is puzzled “Is it something I said?” She smirks, “No, silly. You’re going to take me to Olympic KTV later, right, dear?” He’s puzzled even more, and gets impatient. “That’s no place for a lady like you. We can go to Rock or Spark KTV. Why Olympic? I am not sure I even know where it is. We’ve been doing the rounds of all the sleazy joints the whole week. Aren’t you tired of talking to these cheap girls?” She purrs sweetly, leans very close to him, so close he can spy her nipples from the loose low-cut neckline and strokes his thighs under the table. “Honey, I have a secret. These girls are my long lost cousins. This holocaust and Khmer Rouge thing you know. I’m the lucky one. I promised my relatives back in Long Beach that I will return and give them a better life. I heard they are so poor they have to work as karaoke girls.” The guy snorts weakly, “Great. Looks like your cousins do not want to be found.”
“Easy there, man! We don’t want to lose another beautiful Apsara.” booms a 10-feet tall creature who rises from the dead trees. He has a set of drums, exotic beads across his tattooed hairy body. His beard and mustache are impressively abundant and are curved and I neat tresses. He looks every bit a well-groomed giant ancient drummer or musician right out of Bayon Temple wall carvings. He is a gandharva, musician to the gods and lovers of apsaras. Visal is overwhelmed and let go of the green woman. “My mistress is just playing her part in your destiny in the universe. We have spent a week reviving you. I am Jake.” The green woman shrugs off Visal and lilts to her giant. “I am Viridian, the steward of the forest and everything green in these regions. Happy eighteenth birthday!” She offers him a shopping bag full of new clothes.
“Well, Jake, Miss Gardener.” Visal dresses up, “You seem to possess the power of resurrection. Not bad for a sexy dancer. Tell me what’s so urgent?” The apsara walks up to him, touches his head and softly moves away his long bangs to reveal his forehead. “We can use your third eye.” Then she moves her hand over his chest. “And half of my sister’s golden heart. Your mother’s golden heart in you.” Visal runs out of something to say. He always felt he is a good guy trapped in a bad’s guy circumstances. He even has a tattoo of the Yin and Yang shaped into a heart, the battle between conscience and action, he explains to whoever bothers to ask, mostly prostitutes who see him naked. “That’s why I can heal you, even bring you back from the dead.”
When Visal is about to be cremated by a young help, a young seductive woman appears and charms the pagoda boy to give her the corpse. Her hair is bright green, wears a short a skirt with leafy details, a revealing blouse and too much make up for decency inside a pagoda. Not only does he wrap Visal’s remains in black thrash bags taped together, he even carries the package to the back of her pick up.
At the foot of the Cardamoms, the foxy girl abandons the pick up and carries the corpse into the forest like the corpse does not weigh anything. She reaches a promontory, a large flat rock jutting out of the jungle and overlooking the vast Cambodian plains and lays down the wrapped corpse. It’s midnight. Under the full moon, she cuts away Visal’s burnt clothing with a scalpel- sharp fingernail. She carefully arranges the missing or distorted body parts into their proper places. Kneeling over the naked corpse, the green lady starts gyrating to a seductive drum music that can make any man’s passion burn bright in an instant. Her normal clothes floats away and a magical green shroud envelopes her luscious firm body. The music heats up and she turns possessed by it yet seems to be the one leading the music to go hotter. Her body turns translucent and glows green. Her insides are not human, more like a plant’s. Then, a pair of big dark eyes opens and glows from among the trees where the music is coming from. White teeth suddenly shine bright along with the widening of the glowing eyes. Trees and vines starts to wither, leaves dry as fall as their life force drains from them and flow through the roots that are now part of the green woman’s anatomy. Visal’s flesh start to heal. His broken bones claim back the shattered pieces. Bullets fall off from the wounds. Entry and exit points close. Skin grows back and burned skin falls off. The dancing green woman is now in what seems to be a delirious state gyrating and arching like she’s having an orgasm, sweat on her translucent body gleam in the moonlight. Suddenly the music stops and Visal’s torso launches upwards carrying the green woman who shrieks in joy. Visal’s body seems to have received an electric shock, his eyes and mouth open wide, gasping for breath, all the muscles and nerves in his body in uncontrollable spasm. The glowing eyes and white teeth close shut in the dark forest. Visal wakes up from his death and chokes the woman who is on top of him in rage. “What the fuck did you bring me back for? I was catching up with my parents!”
In a classy restaurant, the beautiful woman from the Phsar Chas murder, slices angrily at her raw beef sirloin, her handsome celebrity date is puzzled “Is it something I said?” She smirks, “No, silly. You’re going to take me to Olympic KTV later, right, dear?” He’s puzzled even more, and gets impatient. “That’s no place for a lady like you. We can go to Rock or Spark KTV. Why Olympic? I am not sure I even know where it is. We’ve been doing the rounds of all the sleazy joints the whole week. Aren’t you tired of talking to these cheap girls?” She purrs sweetly, leans very close to him, so close he can spy her nipples from the loose low-cut neckline and strokes his thighs under the table. “Honey, I have a secret. These girls are my long lost cousins. This holocaust and Khmer Rouge thing you know. I’m the lucky one. I promised my relatives back in Long Beach that I will return and give them a better life. I heard they are so poor they have to work as karaoke girls.” The guy snorts weakly, “Great. Looks like your cousins do not want to be found.”
“Easy there, man! We don’t want to lose another beautiful Apsara.” booms a 10-feet tall creature who rises from the dead trees. He has a set of drums, exotic beads across his tattooed hairy body. His beard and mustache are impressively abundant and are curved and I neat tresses. He looks every bit a well-groomed giant ancient drummer or musician right out of Bayon Temple wall carvings. He is a gandharva, musician to the gods and lovers of apsaras. Visal is overwhelmed and let go of the green woman. “My mistress is just playing her part in your destiny in the universe. We have spent a week reviving you. I am Jake.” The green woman shrugs off Visal and lilts to her giant. “I am Viridian, the steward of the forest and everything green in these regions. Happy eighteenth birthday!” She offers him a shopping bag full of new clothes.
“Well, Jake, Miss Gardener.” Visal dresses up, “You seem to possess the power of resurrection. Not bad for a sexy dancer. Tell me what’s so urgent?” The apsara walks up to him, touches his head and softly moves away his long bangs to reveal his forehead. “We can use your third eye.” Then she moves her hand over his chest. “And half of my sister’s golden heart. Your mother’s golden heart in you.” Visal runs out of something to say. He always felt he is a good guy trapped in a bad’s guy circumstances. He even has a tattoo of the Yin and Yang shaped into a heart, the battle between conscience and action, he explains to whoever bothers to ask, mostly prostitutes who see him naked. “That’s why I can heal you, even bring you back from the dead.”