Member-only story
Boxing Day
A short story
Sunday, 26 December, early morning.
Palm fronds flutter in the gentle breeze as the sunrise paints a coral sky to the east. A pied imperial pigeon roosts with its mate under the canopy of a gazebo while a cormorant preens her feathers at the shoreline. A small boy, who lied about his age to get the job, scoops leaves from the pool of the Villanew Resort. The boy whistles to the birds, and they reply.
Chris Davidson stirs next to his newlywed wife, Chloe. He burrows his head under the silken pillow. They lay in a two-story honeymoon suite overlooking one of the expansive outdoor areas of the resort.
Not far away, Anna Müller strolls along Mai Khao Beach, taking notes and photos of the birdlife in the area. She is an ornithologist from Düsseldorf and is oblivious to what is about to happen.
Two early morning joggers trot through the nearby streets on their way to the beach. Shopkeepers, street merchants, and café owners prepare their wares in anticipation of an influx of tourists. A retired Aussie surfer drives past the Peykka Villas on Soi Koktanod 2 with a trailer of jet skis. His destination: Laguna Beach.
“Palm fronds flutter in the gentle breeze as the sunrise paints a coral sky to the east.”