Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Phet, which in Thai means 'Precious Gem.'  She was 5 years old, and she lived with her mother in a small village on the border between Thailand and Kampuchea.  She never knew her father.  They lived in an old, small wooden hut built on stilts.  Every morning, her mother would go to the fields to take care of their rice paddy, while Phet stayed home, cleaned the hut, and took care of the chickens that lived beneath it.  In the evening, her mother would come home, and Phet would help her prepare dinner.  They were very happy together.

Phet didn't have much chance to run and play with other children.  And so, to entertain herself, she would make up stories and play with imaginary friends.

One day, while Phet was taking care of the chickens, one of the chickens got out of the cage and ran into the woods.  Phet was worried, because her family needed those chickens for the eggs that they could sell.  So she ran after it.

After a while of running, she came upon an old tree growing near the temple.  The roots of the tree were growing above the ground in a tangled mess that looked so interesting to her that she forgot all about the chicken that had run away.  She had never seen such an unusual tree before, and so she imagined it to be the obstacle preventing her from entering a magical land.  She just had to climb it.  So she reached for the lowest limb on the tree, but it was so high that she had to jump with all her might before she could reach it.  But as soon as she grabbed it, it broke.  Out of the trunk, an unusual insect, unlike any she had ever seen before, flew out.  The insect buzzed around her for a while, then flew over to a mound of dirt nearby.  Phet followed it and tried to catch it as it flew just out of her reach.  She was consumed with the thought of possessing this newfound creature.  

At one point, the insect came to rest on a strange outgrowth of wood on the mound.  Phet took this as the opportunity she was waiting for.  She tried to surround it with her hands, but the insect was too fast for her and she hit the wooden growth instead.  She had inadvertantly pushed the wood, which wasn't an outgrowth at all.  It was a latch that opened a magic door in the mound.  Behind the magic door was a dark opening that led deep into the mound.

She stood in awe as she saw a treasure trove beyond her wildest imagination.  This cave was the type of adventure that every child dreamed of, and couldn't resist.  As Phet entered, she saw a cache of forgotten ancient temple artifacts, undoubtedly stored there many years before during a war, when young and greedy soldiers of the invading army were anxious to steal any souvenirs of a foreign country that they could find.  Cobwebs covered them all, and she instinctively went about dusting them off.

Suddenly, her eyes caught the glimmer of shimmering jewels, and she smiled.  The dazzling lights reminded her of dancing fireflies in the moonlight.  She dusted off what turned out to be a wooden statue of the Lord Buddha, embedded with colored glass.  It was the most beautiful statue she had ever seen.  As she used great care to remove all the accumulated grime, the statue started to speak to her.

"Ah, thank you, my child.  And what is your name?"
"Phet," she answered the statue.
"Phet, by finding this hiding place, that means that you must be the Chosen One."
"The Chosen One?"  Phet was excited and curious what that could possibly mean.
"Yes.  The Chosen One is allowed to stay and live in our magical cave with us for the rest of eternity.  But before we can give you this honor, you must prove yourself worthy,"
"Worthy?"  Her excitement was bubbling over.
"You must perform three tasks within three days.  If you finish the third task within that time, then we will welcome you into this magical kingdom, where everything is as you wish it to be.  But if you fail, then you must go away and never come back here.  Do you accept the challenge?"
"Oh, yes, yes!"
"Your first task must be performed tomorrow morning exactly at dawn.  When the first rays of the sun fall on this cave entrance, you must donate this gold chain to a monk, not earlier, and not later."  And the statue handed her an exquisite gold chain with an intricate carving on it.  The design was so unique that Phet couldn't stop admiring it.
"Oh, thank you, Lord Buddha."  And Phet knelt down before the statue as her mother had taught her.
"There is just one more condition that you must follow.  If you fail to follow this, then you will be banished forever."
"And what's that, Lord Buddha?"
"You mustn't reveal to anyone anything about this cave, or what your mission is, until the completion of all three tasks."
"Oh, I won't tell a soul."  Phet could hardly contain her excitement any longer.
"Well then, when your first task is completed, return here to receive the next task."  Phet bowed and gave a hurried wai in the manner of all Thai people, where both hands are brought together in front of the face, the fingertips touching the base of her forehead, signifying the highest form of respect a Thai person can show.  Then she turned around and ran out of the cave, all of her thoughts consumed with how she was going to complete the first task.

Reviews

[Paza]

Wonderful story, so far, bailish! Can't wait to get to the next chapter!