Chapter 1

Tieu Long walked in and out.

Every so often he would punch his fists into each other.

Tieu Long is very frustrated.

He walked around on the stone yard in front of the house, thought of something and doubled back to the backyard.

Tieu Long caught Tac Ke Bong bending at the waist and tilling the empty plot of land next to the water spinach pond.

-You just woke up now? - Tac Ke Bong looked at Tieu Long, who already comfortably sat down on the bricked well next to the star tree, smilingly asked.

Tieu Long pretended not to hear Tac Ke Bong’s question. He raised his chin, face cold as ice:

-Where’s Luom?

-He herded the cows out to the field early this morning. Right now he’d probably down by Cat Co hill.

-What about Qui Rom? Do you know where he went?

-Nope.

-Didn’t he follow Luom?

-Nope. Quy Rom is using my mom’s bicycle.

-Did he tell you whose house he is going to?

-He said nothing.

-Why didn’t you ask him?

-I did, but he only smiled and showed his teeth.

-Tieu Long decided to cease interrogating Tac Ke Bong. He recalled that if Quy Rom didn’t reveal anything to him, there is no way that he would say something to Tac Ke Bong.

Tieu Long glued himself to the well’s circular wall, lost in thought. Where could Rom have gone these last few days? On a daily basis, Tieu Long would find Quy Rom disappeared every morning. In the afternoon, Quy Rom also didn’t bother to sneak back home for lunch.

Inky dark, his friend would then show his face. Like clockwork, before the bicycle hit the wall, his friend was already out in the backyard dousing himself with water from the well without bothering to answer any questions from his friends.

-Where did you go to exorcise ghosts and demons this time Quy Rom?-Tac Ke Bong carefully asked.

Quy Rom continued to douse himself with water from the well.

Tieu Long blinked:

-Or are you visiting that girl Muoi Muoi?

Luom jumped in:

-De Lua said the sisters Ti Ti and Muoi Muoi are not coming this summer.

Tieu Long looked upward with desperation in his voice:

-So where did you go Rom? Are you going to wait until steam come out of our ears to answer our questions?

Quy Rom ran his fingers through his hair and casually answered:

-Nothing to tell.

Tieu Long starting to boil over:

-Every day you went out from dusk to dawn and you have nothing to say?

-Actually, this is a difficult thing to say…

-Hmm, are you making fun of me?- Tieu Long brushed his index finger across his nose, agitated - Since when you started to have “difficult thing to say?”

Quy Rom answered him by silently hung the water scooper onto the little pole right next to the star tree and turned around into the house.

-Quy Rom! - Tieu Long yelled loudly.

It appeared Quy Rom thought Tieu Long was calling someone else’s name because he headed straight inside without looking back.

Suddenly realizing how strange his friend was acting, Tieu Long became extremely curious. He has been hanging with Quy Rom all these years, not a single time had he seen his friend acting so strange. Tieu Long regretted that little Hanh is not here. With her intelligent she will definitely figure out what Quy Rom had eaten that made him behaved so strange.

Tieu Long knew he is not smart. He recalled Quy Rom occasionally called him by the nickname “Dimwit”. Those who are not smart should not think too much to avoid adding more stress to their brain. The best course for someone not smart is to ask other people. Tieu Long glanced toward Tac Ke Bong:

-Did you see which direction Quy Rom biked toward?

-Yes.

Tieu Long eyes lighted up:

-Which direction?

-I saw him biked out toward the intersection.

-Why bother said anything if he went toward the intersection! - The unintelligent person exhaled in resignation when he found out he was talking to another unintelligent person -I wanted to know which direction Quy Rom turned toward. Did he bike toward Duoi neighborhood or Dau Cau neighborhood?

- Ah, that I don’t know. -Tac Ke Bong planted the hoe into the ground and stood up straight - But why do you keep raising questions with this problem? Did he not already tell my parents he is busy exorcising ghosts and demons in the next hamlet?

Tieu Long grimaced:

-You believe his words?

-Of course. - Tac Ke Bong answered easily.

- It’s illogical to think there are ghosts and demons in this world. - Tieu Long placed his palm on the well’s circular wall, simultaneously exhaled loudly - Last year’s episode involving the one-legged demon throwing stones on Mr. Sau Canh’s house was caused by someone pretending…

-I know that one. But what about the story about a bunch of demons partying in the haunted house on top of Cat Co hill…

Tieu Long interrupted:

-That was also made up by someone; there were no ghosts or demons there.

Tieu Long’s strong assertation caused Tac Ke Bong to widen his eyes, the hoe in his hands almost fell out:

-Are you saying the truth?

-Why would I lie to you?

-Who would do such a thing? To what end? Why did Quy Rom told my mom those demons on Cat Co hill really did exist?

Tac Ke Bong continued to press on. This time he tossed the hoe aside and stepped toward Tieu Long.

Sensing the kid’s determination to pursuit an explanation to the end, Tieu Long waved his hands nonstop:

-You should continue to till the soil. This is something difficult to say and I can’t tell you.

The image of sister Cam meeting brother Son on top of Cat Co hill popped in Tieu Long’s head. Cam is De Lua’s older sister. De Lua is a good friend to both Quy Rom and him. They could not allow the people in the hamlet to gossip about their best friend’s sister, especially when it involved something that was already in the past.

In a state of confusion, Tieu Long didn’t know he was imitating Quy Rom’s voice.

- Oh so all of you have something “difficult to say”? - Tac Ke Bong glanced at Tieu Long out of his peripheral vision, his voice mildly amused.

Tieu Long cannot see his face, but sensing the hotness on the back of his neck, he immediately had the image of a ripened tomato.

He nervously fingered his nose reminiscing of someone touching the base of a tomato, stuttered:

- To be honest…to be correct…

- Are you saying you never speak correctly before? - Tac Ke Bong let out a breath of air.

-Who did Tac Ke Bong study under and why is he so talkative this year? - Tieu Long cursed inwardly, then struggled to change his response:

-To be honest, the ghost on Cat Co hill concerns many parties. If we reveal this information, surely someone will leave the hamlet…

-Is this true? - For the second time in 5 minutes Tac Ke Bong’s eyes widened.

Surprised, he didn’t know if he’d asked the right follow up question. He also wasn’t sure if Tieu Long was being honest:

- Why would I lie to you? asked Tieu Long.

If Tieu Long wasn’t lying, it meant that Quy Rom had.

Tieu Long had told Tac Ke Bong and Luom that Quy Rom wasn’t in the business of exorcising ghosts or demons in the neighboring hamlet.

Tac Ke Bong and Luom were torn as to whether to believe this or not. To be exact, they only believed about thirty percent - leaving the other seventy percent open for suspicion. -Oh right - Luom slowly recalled, -the times they went exorcising ghosts on Cat Co hill and conversing with the one-legged demons at Mr. Sau Canh’s place, Quy Rom always permitted them to come along. This time around, Quy Rom was secretive as to his whereabouts. Tieu Long being excluded from participating would be unheard of.”

- This means brother Quy is not exorcising any ghost! - Luom spoke aloud the thought that was running through his head.

After herding the cows into their holding area, he wiggled in to sit between Tieu Long and Tac Ke Bong.

- So where had he gone all those times? - Tac Ke Bong looked up asking no one in particular.

- Tonight we will obtain the answers to our questions - Tieu Long replied bitterly punching the air. Among the three, he was the angriest with Quy Rom. Naturally, Quy Rom, little Hanh and himself were like triplets, revealing everything to each other. It was hard to believe now that Rom had left him out of the loop. Rom obviously didn’t see him as a close friend anymore.

Tieu Long was mad. He had spent the whole day out back sitting and chatting with Tac Ke Bong. Even when the sun had gone down below the bamboo tree and Luom had already herded the cows in, Tieu Long remained outside with Tac Ke Bong - just to show how mad he was with Tac Ke Bong. Extremely mad!