Holden Caulfied in Thailand

[Gecko123]

The Catcher in the Rai

by Jai Dee Salinger

 

Holden sat on the idling bus waiting for it to pull out of the Mo Chit bus station. He peeked out the window curtain which was drawn against the harsh mid-day sun. The bay for the bus to Petchabun was right next to the main exit. He watched as a steady flow of buses wobbled over a patch of asphalt that must have melted in the sun years ago. The air shimmered in the heat and looked bluish gray from all the diesel fumes.

 

Holden glanced around the bus. Across the aisle, a barefoot woman sat cross-legged eating pickled mango. Holden noticed that when she took a bite her lips didn't touch the pale green fruit. His watch read ten after two. Even though the bus was scheduled to leave at two, there was still no sign of the driver. Everyone else seemed to have their seat backs lowered as far back as they could go, and to be well on their way to catching some shut eye even before the bus left the station. Finally, the driver showed up. The door closed with a thud, the driver found reverse, and he was on his way.

 

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On the five hour drive to Petchabun, Holden thought - probably for the 100th time - about what he would find when he got there. His uncle Roger had died almost 18 months ago, leaving behind a small wooden house and about 10 rai of land. Holden had pictures of the house, but they were stowed down below in his suitcase. His uncle had died without a will, and it had taken all this time to sort out what to do with the property. Holden was there at the behest of his elderly aunt Sarah who couldn't travel. His job was to finalize the transfer of the property to his uncle Roger's ex-wife as well as to pick up some personal items and family mementos aunt Sarah knew he had kept.

 

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Arriving at the house, he was relieved to see that no no one had broken into the house. In the field behind the house seven foot tall grass, bush-like weeds, even sapling trees had formed an intimidating and nearly impenetrable jungle thicket. Holden stood gazing at it, weighing the odds of coming out alive if he ventured in. It was so jungle-like, it wasn't difficult to imagine a tiger lurking in the grass. There had to be plenty of snakes. Did Thailand have anacondas, or was that just in the Amazon? He took a deep breath and gingerly ventured in. Almost immediately he stumbled, falling clumsily to the ground. But, unhurt, he got up and continued on. Crackling sounds at every step. A pungent odor of citronella in the air. Two birds circled overhead squawking loudly and  repeatedly feinting dive bomber attacks. Was he near their nest? He had wandered so deep into the field, the house was no longer in sight. Absolutely no one knew where he was. Who would ever think to look for him out here? How long would it take for someone to find him? Would anyone be his catcher in the rai?

 

Edited November 5, 2019 by Gecko123