Cockatoo Pt. 34

Nin had let her hair down, it fell almost to her bum at the back, and wore a pair of bright red shorts and a dangerously short pink top. I told her she looked beautiful, and she kissed me on the lips and said I did too. We jumped in a tuk-tuk and headed out to get to the early show. We were early, so we killed some time with a drink before we went in. I was now much more confident about being dressed and I know I got some looks, but I didn't care too much what other people thought any more.

The show was great. The dancing, the lip syncing, the outfits and the sets were all so well done. The girls were beautiful as were the boys who were also in the show. I could only hope we would be able to get somewhere near as good as this in Samui. It gave me some many ideas for what we could do when we were able to get our show going. More importantly, it was exactly what I needed to get my mind off what was going on. I lost myself completely in the music and the excitement of becoming involved in something like this. As we left, the girls lined up either side for the guests to take photos for a few baht. Nin took a few of me with some of the girls although I was a lot taller than most of them. They read me, of course, and were giggling between themselves, but not in a nasty way. As I was about to leave, one of them took my hands, kissed me and said, 'You very nice, look lovely.' I thanked her and tipped her a few more baht. Well, who wouldn't?

Yaorawat is Bangkok's Chinatown and is one of the most authentic and unchanged parts of a city which is changing rapidly everywhere else. At night Yaorawat Road is teeming with food stalls and restaurants which overspill the pavements and onto the road itself. Nin and I walked hand in hand down the road, stopping to watch the cooks preparing the food right in front of us. The smells, the noise and the smoke flickering around the light bulbs of the food carts is intoxicating. Nin had a text from Shane saying he could get away in an hour, so to tell him where we would be around then. We sat and ate at one of the pavement restaurants where the food was ridiculously cheap and eye wateringly spicy.

Nin wanted to see one of the old bars she used to work in before she came to Samui and she texted Shane to meet us there. It wasn't far from Yaorawat and Nin said she knew a shortcut, so we decided to walk. Hand in hand we wandered slowly along the streets. The crowds began to thin out and Nin began to look nervous, casting anxious glances over her shoulder. I asked her what was wrong.

'I think I make wrong turn. I am not sure, but I think we are also being followed.'

I looked round, but couldn't see anything behind us. I gripped her hand, 'Come on, keep walking. Never look like a victim.' We walked on trying to appear as we knew exactly where we were going. Thailand may be the land of smiles, but there is also a snarl not far away if you're unlucky. Nin had found her way again, but just as she said the bar was around the next corner, a group of men stepped out of a side alley in front of us and blocked our path. There were three of them, and they looked like trouble. One of them said something in Thai and Nin snapped something back, which seemed to anger them.

'What did you say, Nin?'

'He tell us to give them our money and I told him I would rather piss on his mother's grave.'

'OK, maybe not what I would have said, but it's too late now.'

I tried to step in front of Nin to shield her, but she shoved me out of the way. The three of them seemed uncertain what to do, not expecting a show of defiance from a couple of girls. One of them drew a knife and waved it around. Even I could tell by the way he was acting he was nervous. He said something again in Thai and Nin just spat on the ground. I looked around and all I could see was a short metal pole lying on the pavement by my feet. As I bent down to pick it up, the man with the knife yelled something and ran straight at Nin. I shouted at her to run, but it looked as if she had frozen as she didn't move at all. I got my hand on the pole just as he reached her and I thought he was going to kill her right in front of me. Memories of what happened to Pao flashed into my mind and red-hot rage enveloped me as fight overcame flight. Adrenaline was pumping into my bloodstream, and I was ready to die before I would let anything happen to Nin.

Everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion. As the man reached her and thrust his knife towards her, Nin took a step backwards and sideways, grabbing his wrist at the same time and turning her whole body, somehow throwing him straight over her shoulder onto the ground. Standing over him with his wrist now in both of her hands, she twisted sharply, and I heard the crack as bones in his wrist splintered. His screams echoed down the alley as he lay on the ground writhing in pain. The other two ran towards us and I could see knives glitter in the light.

'Take the one on right,' said Nin as she turned to face the other one. I was concentrating on the guy heading for me as he thrust his knife towards my stomach, but I managed to parry it with the pole. He took a step backwards and came at me again. By sheer luck I managed to block this thrust, but the knife flashed very close to my face. He came at me once more, but this time I was expecting it and smacked the pole straight down on his arm. I hit him hard enough that the knife fell out of his hand, and as he bent down to pick it up, I hit him on the side of his head with the pole. The impact jarred my arm so badly I almost dropped the pole. He grunted and fell to the floor. I hadn't seen what happened to the other guy, but as I turned around I heard him scream and saw Nin stand over him then stamp on his wrist with her foot. Some people were watching from the end of the road, drawn presumably by the screams. One of them would surely call the police, and I didn't want to be here when they arrived.

I turned back to Nin and said, 'I think we should get out of here quickly.'

She nodded, but walked across to the first guy who lay whimpering on the ground like a wounded animal as he held his wrist with the other hand. She bent down and said something to him before standing up and reaching for my hand.

'Well,' said a deep Australian voice, 'I wouldn't want to run into you two sheilas in a dark alley.'

*****

My gratitude to the lovely Abigail for editing this story. Kisses.

To be continued