Dharma: The technical definition is order and law or the right way of living. Dharma can manifest in different ways such as taking care of your community but in this context, they're referring to their duties to pay respects via donations and worship.

Chapter 57

Pranee found herself sitting upright in front of the cave. Tears were still streaming down her face as she processed what she had dreamed.

Correction, what she had remembered while she was asleep.

Pranee couldn't tell if it was morning or evening as the sky was orange and the sun was stuck on the horizon. She felt the cloth underneath her and she figured that the group had

The majority of the group was chatting away to themselves at a distance. Anuman handed a wrapped banana leaf packet to Bayu and Tanet while she seemed to react to their conversation with bashfulness. Chann was picking rice stuck on Kiet's face and he seemed to pout in response. Wipa was off to the side and was dusting what seemed to be a straw doll. She either had eaten already or just didn't want to eat yet.

Her gaze swept the area in an attempt to find Shashi.

There was a sloshing sound and she looked to the side to see a wooden bucket filled to the brim of water on the ground. Shashi had water dripping down their face and their hair seemed wet.

"Are you okay?" Pranee furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I just bathed in the nearby river. We happened to have a bucket and you probably need to clean up too. There's probably a cloth you can use in our supplies too."

"Thank you..." She wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"I should be asking you if you're alright." They sat down next to her. "You look like you've been crying."

Pranee mulled over her thoughts while staring blankly at the bucket. She wasn't sure what to say first. The memories that resurfaced in her dreams or the events of the cave itself.

"I... You know, I didn't expect you to kill the kinnari back there. The expression you were wearing was strange." Shashi's voice faltered as they spoke.

She blinked slowly. "My expression?"

"I don't know if this will make sense but it seemed like you were... seeking vengeance." They stared at her intensely as they waited for her response.

"I don't have an explanation for that either." She dipped a finger into the water to check the temperature. It was freezing cold.

"It must be weighing on your mind."

Pranee hummed in response. "Mm... I've never taken a life before."

"A kinnari too. We actually paid respects before we slept for the night. You should too. It's never bad to be too careful when it comes to karma too." Their shoulder nudged Pranee's as they stared at the ground.

She sat there unresponsive as she continued to dip her hand in the bucket. "I should probably perform dharma at a temple too. If I get the chance to visit one again."

"Do you mind if I use some of your water? I'm having a hard time cleaning this toy," Wipa interrupted.

Pranee pulled her hand away on instinct and found herself staring up at the woman. She had the doll in one hand and she had the same amused expression as she usually did.

"Go right ahead." Pranee waved her hand towards the bucket. "The doll is for Somchai?"

"It was his favourite toy until he lost it and it got mixed up with the kinnari's hoard."

"You must love him a lot," Shashi remarked. They didn't have judgement in their tone which caught Pranee off guard as their interactions with Wipa had always been passive-aggressive or straight-up hostile.

"I would travel halfway across the world to get him special medicine if I had to."

Wipa's response made Shashi raise an eyebrow and she picked up the bucket.

"What's that look for?" Wipa retorted.

"Is that why you stole my books?"

"It's just a saying." She narrowed her eyes at them. "Don't take everything I say at face value."

She walked away with the bucket, clearly done with the conversation. Pranee glanced at Shashi only to see that they had done the same.

"Is it really a saying?" Pranee asked.

"I've never heard of it." Shashi shrugged. "How about we pay respects first and come back? It may take a while before Wipa is done with cleaning that doll."

"Ah, sure."

The pair stood to their feet and were about to make their way to the cave.

A sudden explosion burst at the cave entrance and the rest of the group reacted with a mixture of gasps and screams.

"Was it the kinnari?" Shashi yelled towards the group.

"No," an unfamiliar voice responded. "It was me."

The new face appeared from the jungle's foliage and a familiar snake was coiled around the woman's neck.