The Elephant Gate

The sun was brilliant in the sky when the trio emerged from the rear of the palace. They skirted the edge of the pool until they reached the dark green path stones. Surikitiyia ran back and forth between the flower beds; it seemed she wanted to see or touch everything. Kevin hung back with the captain, and tried to copy his bearing. Unfortunately, his smaller legs made it hard to match the captain's strides. Thadchai realized this, and a few strides later, Kevin was giggling on his back, piggyback-style, forgetting that boys needed to be more serious than girls.

"Do you have any kids of your own, Mister Captain?" Kevin asked. From that height, he could almost see forever, and easily saw the bright yellow of Sur'kya several yards ahead of them.

"I'm not married, so I don't have any children." His voice rumbled against Kevin's c.h.e.s.t, eliciting another giggle. "Is this where you woke up?" They entered the clearing with the gazebo on one side and the lotus pond on the other.

"Yep." The captain lowered Kevin to the ground, and when the little boy was steady on his feet, stood up and carefully examined the wooden structure. There didn't seem to be anything unusual or different. Kevin climbed up and walked to one of the benches. "This was the one I woke up on." He sat down, but nothing happened. He had half-hoped that somehow he would end up back home. He had a flashback of his mother's teary eyes in the hospital before he fell asleep, and felt a lump in his throat.

Thadchai sat down next to him. "Noy Kevin, do you feel anything when you are sitting there?" Kevin shook his head. He felt the same as he did yesterday when he first found himself in this spot. The captain made a decision.

"I want to tell you a story that's been handed down for many years now. A hero is supposed to come from a strange and far away land, to battle on our behalf and protect Pratheptikundee. This warrior shall be known by the mark of our country." He looked at the little boy. "Our symbols are the athame (1) and the lotus."

Kevin instinctively touched the back of his head felt the bump of the scar. "D'you think it's me? Because I play video games but I don't know nothing about real fighting." He liked playing on his XBox, but not the idea of real fighting and maybe getting hurt.

The captain ruffled his hair and smiled. "I think you are too young to be the prophesy. And we are currently at peace. But I don't have an explanation as to why you are here, or how to get you back home. For now, though, you can stay at the palace." Surikitiyia climbed into the gazebo.

Thadchai enjoyed his interaction with young Kevin. If he ever married and had children, he would hope they would be as open and friendly as this child from another world.

"I'm bored. Can we go see the elephants?" At this, Kevin perked up, his worries gone in the blink of an eye. Did they have real live elephants? He had seen them in a zoo, and he had really liked them, and his favorite stuffed animal was an elephant.

He looked at the captain. "I wanna see them too, please." The captain nodded, and Kevin jumped down off the bench, his moment of homesickness disappearing under his eagerness. He grabbed Sur'kya's hand this time. "So, do you have a lot of elephants? And can I touch one?" She laughed.

"We have a whole bunch! And baby elephants, too." Her face clouded for a moment. "One baby is really sick. Mom said he was born too early, so he's really small. Yunno, he's got a funny mark on his head, just like yours."

"Cool! When can we see them?"

The little girl looked up the captain. He leaned down, and patted her head. "You will need to ask permission from your parents. If they say yes, I will drive you there." She clapped her hands and jumped. Kevin almost did the same thing, but stopped himself. He didn't want to act like a little kid in front of Cap'n Thadchai.

After taking a final look around the gazebo, the man gestured to the youngsters, and they started back up the path to the palace.