Snakebit

Earlier this week, a snake bit Jip’s mom as she waved goodbye to a visitor in front of her house. Snakebites aren’t always dangerous—she’s had dozens in her life—so she shrugged it off… until early the next morning when she woke up to pee, found that her ankle was a bit more swollen than usual, and apparently fainted, banging her head hard on the way down. No fun. She never did know what she hit.

I was already scheduled to show up in Ban Krud later that day. The plan had been for me to visit Chao’s house in Bangkok the night before and then to head south from there on my own to the village. But that morning we got the news about the snakebite from a neighbor who had taken her to the hospital. We decided to drive down together.

As it happened the whole country was a bit topsy turvy at that moment. The new king was due to be crowned the next day. Or maybe not crowned, maybe just installed. (He had said on the day after his dad died that he needed a year to mourn before taking the throne. That would mean he wouldn’t be king until September 2017.) Nobody was really sure, and to be honest he might have been about the only one who was really all that excited about the prospect, no matter when it was supposed to happen.

Chao and I arrived at the hospital. Mom didn’t look too good. Chao handed her a little gift he had brought along—a memorial necklace with the old king’s picture on the pendant. Watching her don it was a lovely moment. Despite the bruised head, black eyes, and puffy leg, her wonderfully expressive and vital face shone. She suddenly appeared peaceful and satisfied.