Prologue

Homlom and the Boy Who Collected Coins

    A light green Volkswagen Beetle wove its way through a small forest toward a modest temple. A plump figure with porcelain-white skin stepped out of the beloved Beetle. Homlom swept his gaze across the grounds in search of familiar faces, smiling as soon as he spotted someone hurrying toward him. He greeted the middle-aged woman with a respectful wai[1].

    “My dear Lom! I thought you weren’t going to make it in time for the ordination ceremony.”

    “Hello, Auntie Nom. You must understand, my dear Greenie can only go sixty,” Homlom replied with a playful tone, a hint of amusement in his voice.

    “Well then, let’s head inside. It’s nearly time.”

    Homlom nodded and followed behind Pranom—Auntie Nom—a long-time attendant of Lady Laor-Ong, the wealthy matriarch of Loei[2] and his grandmother, into the ordination hall. Homlom was born here but raised in the capital by his father, Asek, who had a respectable job in the city. When he was around fifteen, his father died suddenly in an accident. Homlom and his siblings then moved with their mother to her hometown of Chiang Mai[3], despite protests from their grandmother. After graduating from university, their mother, Pin-Ngam, also passed away, leaving the four siblings to live under Lady Laor-Ong’s roof. But by then, they were already grown. Before long, they each followed in their father's footsteps, taking jobs in the capital. They only returned home to visit their grandmother for holidays, much to the elderly woman’s frequent disappointment.

    “So, you finally made it, my boy.”

    Homlom gave her a faint smile. There was no doubt she was upset with him—for not coming home during the New Year. The plump man crawled on his knees to sit beside the old woman, massaging her gently with great care. He might not be as sweet-tongued as his youngest brother, Klinmok, but even so, his touch managed to bring a smile to her face. Homlom paid respect to his brother, who greeted him with a knowing smile. Inpha is his second oldest, but they didn’t see each other often, as Inpha had taken up a job in Nan province[4].

    “It’s time.”

    Their grandmother straightened up as the ceremony began, and Homlom followed suit, sitting upright and pressing his hands together in a wai at his chest. He watched his grandmother and Inpha take part in the ritual with practiced ease and couldn’t help but smile with joy when he saw the young man in the saffron robes. Though his head and eyebrows were now shaven, his face remained striking. The radiant serenity he now wore was a far cry from his usual stern expression in a suit.

    “Grandma hasn’t stopped smiling since she found out Brother Din…” Inpha paused, “since the Venerable Brother decided to enter the monkhood. She threw herself into organizing everything without showing the least bit of fatigue.”

    “This year he’s thirty-five already but just agree to ordain. Grandma had waited so long for this. Just last year, she was telling me she wasn’t sure if she’d live to see one of her grandsons in the saffron robes. I had to console her for ages.” Homlom shook his head gently as he glanced at the old woman. Her eyes sparkled with profound happiness, now that her eldest grandson, Aidin, had finally chosen the monastic path she had long wished for.

    Homlom was surprised to see far more people attending the ordination than he had expected. It was true his grandmother held a respected position in society, but his eldest brother had wished for a quiet ordination. That was why he chose to be ordained at a remote temple outside the city. Homlom hadn’t imagined the ceremony would draw such a crowd. Especially during the money scattering ritual—people scrambled and jostled so wildly he feared someone might get trampled.

    “Don’t know who let slip that Grandma tucked thousand-baht and hundred-baht bills in with the coins. Once the villagers heard, they all came to share in the merit,” Inpha said with a chuckle when he saw his younger brother’s expression.

    Homlom burst out laughing when he heard, not out of mockery but delight. At the very least, the people had come with good spirits to take part in a religious merit-making ceremony. He saw them helping one another without pause. His grandmother beamed so wide it nearly split her cheeks. Word was, she had tasked Inpha with cooking up a grand feast for the villagers. Homlom could only hope that the folks scrambling joyfully for the scattered coins would find what they wished for—be it merit, happiness, or one of Grandma’s thousand-baht bills… He was lost in thought when he noticed something at his feet: a coin wrapped in a clean white ribbon. Someone had folded it artfully into the shape of a jasmine flower—how creative.

    A medium-sized Orchid tree[5] offered cool shade, its soft white blossoms so lovely they drew his gaze. The afternoon breeze brushed his face gently. Homlom brought a spoonful of food from a coconut bowl to his mouth with a smile. Brother Inpha’s cooking was still just as delicious and well-rounded as ever. Had he been in the capital, he would have had to rush through his meal just to get back to work on time—or perhaps skipped lunch altogether. Though it was already well past noon and into the afternoon, they remained at the temple. Mrs. Laor-Ong still worried for her grandson. It’s true that this remote, modest-sized temple was so serene and suitable for monastic practice, but she would still worry from dawn till dusk, no matter what.

    Whoosh~

    Homlom raised a hand to shield his face as the mild breeze suddenly turned into a gust, scattering white orchid blossoms onto the ground. A sweet scent—butterfly bush flowers[6]—hit his nose, making him open his eyes, thinking his brother had come to call him home. But there was no one there, making him paused. Strange... he thought Brother Inpha was looking for him. The scent of butterfly bush flower was his brother’s signature. Other than Brother Aidin, who was an Alpha, Homlom, Brother Inpha, and their youngest brother Klinmok were all Omegas. That wasn’t surprising—Asek, their father, had been an Alpha before falling in love with his fated mate, Pin-Ngam, a beautiful Omega woman from the Lanna region[7]. Homlom didn’t particularly lament or take pride in being an Omega. In truth, he resembled a Beta more. His looks were unremarkable, and his scent so faint it was almost undetectable. Though his siblings and grandmother claimed he carried the soft fragrance of white champaca flowers[8], he didn’t quite believe them. Perhaps he was simply an Omega with no allure whatsoever—his twenty-nine loveless years stood as proof.

    “Grandpaaa, I got two.”

    Homlom was snapped out of his reverie. He looked toward the sound and spotted a pale little boy in ragged clothes, wearing an oversized shirt that slipped off his small shoulders. The rainy season had already arrived in Loei, and seeing the child dressed like that made Homlom shiver in sympathy. He saw an old man hurriedly turn over the boy’s hand, inspecting it with alarm and rasping in a hoarse voice:

    “Homnoi! I told you not to go pick them up—see, now you’ve got a wound.”

    “But they said there’s money in those, Grandpa.”

    He saw that the old man said nothing in response, only stroking the boy’s grimy hand with a sorrowful look. The old man seemed even older than Lady Laor-Ong, who was already eighty-two. His body was thin and frail, hunched over from age. The pair wasn’t far from where Homlom stood, and he could see the grandfather laying out a torn mat under a large tree. The sight of the two sharing a single boiled egg and a small basket of sticky rice stirred something deep within him.

    “I want to buy eggs for Grandpa.”

    The boy was excited as he unwrapped a white ribbon to reveal a twenty-baht note and a ten-baht coin. Homlom felt his heart soften as he watched the boy hand all the money over to his grandfather. He took a step closer. The boy’s round eyes turned and met his gaze, then the scruffy child bravely darted in front of the old man as if to shield him, looking up at Homlom with a pleading expression.

    “Are you here to chase us away, mister? Can Grandpa eat his rice first, please? He can’t walk anymore.”

    Homlom pressed his lips together, moved by the boy’s earnestness. The child’s shoulder-length black hair was tied carelessly, his big light-brown eyes, small mouth, and button nose were charming—though all of it was hidden beneath layers of dirt and grime. Without careful attention, his natural cuteness could easily be overlooked. But then again, if someone did see it, it might not be safe for the boy. Upon reflection, maybe it was better this way. Or could the scent of butterfly bush flower from earlier have come from the boy? Homlom knelt down and gently took the boy’s hand to examine it, finding a reddish bruise—likely from being stepped on during the scramble for coins. The boy flinched and hunched his shoulders in fear but didn’t pull away, as though he could sense that the man before him meant no harm.

    “Want to go see a doctor with Uncle?” Homlom asked tentatively. The boy shook his head quickly. The old man’s face twisted with worry. Homlom sighed, already knowing the answer. He had asked only out of concern.

    “It’s just a little scratch, really—just a little one,” the boy replied hastily, breaking into a relieved smile when he wasn’t chased away.

    “My name is Homlom. What’s yours? I think we might both be Omegas.” He didn’t know why, but he just want to build trust and assure the child he meant no harm. The boy tilted his head, confused, but it was the old man who answered:

    “Little Homnoi is a Beta, mister.”

    Homlom frowned. His first instinct was to suspect the old man of lying to protect the boy. But those clouded, guileless eyes told him otherwise. The old man wasn’t lying. Homlom glanced around but found no trace of the flower that had the fragrance he’d smelled earlier. Was that right…? Was the boy really a Beta?

    “Your name’s Homnoi?” He asked quickly, changing the subject. Regardless of the child’s secondary gender, it did nothing to lessen his fondness.

    The boy nodded eagerly. “Yes, kind mister. My name is Homnoi.”

    Homlom found himself smiling, a strange warmth blooming in his chest upon learning that the boy had a name so similar to his own—Homnoi, was it? Come to think of it…the child was filthy head to toe, yet there wasn’t the slightest unpleasant odor from him. “Have you had enough to eat, little one? How about Uncle gets you some more food? There are desserts too.”

    “I…”

    “P…please don’t trouble yourself, mister, I didn’t help with the ordination today,” the old man, named Granpa Kloi, interjected humbly. He had seen that there was a big ordination ceremony, but he’d been helping the host of another funeral collect bones from yesterday’s cremation, so he hadn’t joined the merit-making ceremony. He never thought his grandson would sneak off to grab scattered coins.

    “Don’t think anything of it,” Homlom said quickly. Seeing the sparkle in Homnoi’s eyes dim, he felt like his heart was pricked with guilt. “Wait here, alright? Uncle will go get it for you.”

    Not lingering for a reply, Homlom hurried back to the gathering. It was one of those rare moments where he truly rushed. By now, most of the crowd had thinned out. Fortunately, there was still food left in the large pots. He ran to his brother to ask for a food box. Inpha, busy serving curry to the villagers, raised an eyebrow in surprise at his brother’s urgency—Homlom was usually the calmest of the four siblings, second only to Inpha himself. Homlom filled the box with braised pork and eggs, green curry chicken, and a whole sweet-and-sour sea bass. As for the Thai desserts, he didn’t hesitate—whatever could fit in the box, he put in. The plump man ran back to under the Orchid tree, letting out a breath of relief when he saw the boy and his grandfather still there. Little Homnoi ran toward him gleefully.

    “You really did come back, kind mister.”

    Homlom grinned and sat down right in front of the boy, not caring about the dirt. The pair raised their hands in a respectful wai so quickly he had to stop them. The boy was one thing, but the old man—likely even older than his own grandmother—made Homlom worry it might shorten his own lifespan[9]. “No need to wai, Grandpa. There’s plenty of food. Let’s share.”

    “Do you like sweets, Homnoi?” He asked with a smile. The boy opened the dessert box, face lighting up with delight. The sight made Homlom’s heart ache. It was as though the child had never tasted such treats before. Homnoi nodded so enthusiastically his hair swayed.

    “They smell so good. But I don’t know what they are.”

    Homlom looked down at the naturally decorated box—its leaf-patterned design was no doubt something Inpha had come up with again. “This one’s crystal jelly, that’s thong yip, thong yot, and foi thong[10]. And this is candied coconut. Eat the golden sweets first—the crystal jelly and candied coconut can be saved for tomorrow.”

    “So many…” The boy stared wide-eyed at the desserts, glancing between them and the kind mister. His small heart swelled, tight in his chest. Aside from his grandfather and the Venerable Grandpa who had cared for him, only this kind mister had shown him such kindness—no chasing him away with a stick, no looks of disgust.

    “Lom! We're heading back now.”

    His brother’s voice pulled Homlom from the moment. Strange… he didn’t feel like going home at all. He wanted to stay just a little longer. But the hour was not right. In the blink of an eye, it was almost dusk. The boy, who looked down at the ground, felt the same. So, the kind mister is leaving me too, just like Mama and Grandma did. Homlom gently stroked the child’s hair. The stickiness of it made him want nothing more than to scoop the boy up and give him a proper bath and shampoo.

    “Where do you live, little one? So maybe we can meet again.” He really, really wanted to meet with this little boy again, hoping that this farewell wouldn’t be a final goodbye. He thus posed the question carefully.

    The boy’s round eyes sparkled. “I live right here. Forever and ever, kind mister.”

    That meant they would definitely meet again—because Homlom had already made up his mind to return and live with his grandmother at the traditional Thai house. Recalling something, he took out the jasmine-shaped ribbon he had picked up during the money scattering ritual. He hoped there was enough money inside for the child to buy at least a tray of eggs. Little Homnoi took the jasmine flower with a puzzled look. Homlom hadn’t handed the money directly to the boy because he didn’t want the old man to feel insulted or belittled. After all, this was their first meeting.

    “Uncle will come see you again, okay?” Homlom raised his hands in a respectful wai to the elderly man. Then he reluctantly turned away from the small figure, glancing back one last time before they disappeared from sight.

    Homnoi watched the kind mister walk away, then turned excitedly to Grandpa, asking if he heard that? The kind mister said he’d come back to see Homnoi again!

    Grandpa Kloi looked at his grandson, whose grin stretched wide across his face as he swayed and fidgeted in excitement. The old man’s gaze dimmed. He wanted to caution his beloved grandson not to get his hopes too high—but seeing the boy’s pure joy, he couldn’t bring himself to say a word.

[1] The wai is a greeting in Thailand that consists of a slight bow, with the palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion.

[2] Loei is one of the more sparsely populated provinces (changwat) of Thailand. It lies in the Isan region of upper northeastern Thailand.

[3] Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in Thailand.

[4] Nan is one of the provinces that lies in upper northern Thailand.

[5] Orchid tree or mountain ebony (Bauhinia malabarica / Bauhinia variegata) is native to an area from China through Southeast Asia to the Indian subcontinent.

[6] Butterfly bush (Buddleja paniculata) is a flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, endemic to a wide upland area from northern India to China.

[7] Lanna comes from the words Lanna Kingdom, which was an Indianized state centered in present-day Northern Thailand from the 13th to the 18th centuries.

[8] Magnolia × alba, also known as the white champaca, white sandalwood, or white jade orchid tree, is a flowering plant of hybrid origin that is commonly cultivated in Southeast Asia and tropical regions of East Asia.

[9] Many of Thai people believe that when an elder greeting the younger one with wai, it can shorten that person’s lifespan. This probably associate with the culture of respecting elders.

[10] Thong yip, thong yot, and foi thong are three of nine auspicious traditional Thai desserts. It is usually made for important occasions and ceremonies such as weddings, ordinations, and housewarmings.