one large tent spread throughout the room would be a more economical
investment than three smaller ones, one would think that you would care
to inquire about it logically."
"We aren't renting them. They are the host's and it would be
impolite to ask such questions."
"'They are the host's and it wouldn't be polite to ask those
questions,'" it mocked. "You are so Thai through and through: one dummy
in a nation of dummies. Here, let me look at this dummy."
After a thorough examination of Suthep's body like a doctor or a
depraved sexual stalker, it turned away from the one sleeping and spoke
Jatupon's disparaging nickname of "Jatuporn" disdainfully. Then it
told him that he and it would be playing cards. It shuffled its body
from corner to corner and then shuffled the cards. One card became
thwarted and dislodged from the uniform movement. It flipped face up
and showed a still life of his parents who were expressionless as
mannequins. They were a couple of a dark pigment (he from birth and she
with her Chinese skin all burnt and wrinkled brown). She was naked but
wearing a hair net and he was without his usual cap but was wearing a
loincloth that had been soiled by his weekend work in the rice fields
in the rural outskirts of the city. The mosquito quickly buried the
card into the others face down.
"Lets talk of them, the ashes that they be. They make up one of
two groups of people in your life and these categories of individuals
need to be discussed."
"Why are you crying?"
"Seeing them makes me miss them. They died in a horrible
accident."
"Accidents abound."
" We had to burn their bodies."
"That's done. You don't want them rotting in the streets. From