Tua and the Elephant by R. P. Harris Page A

in the air as if illustrating a story. He cackled at the end, patted her cheek and shoulder as if dismissing a grandchild, waved his stick over his head to Mae Noi, hoisted up his sarong, and waded into the river.
    “I guess I’ll have to go back to Chiang Mai today,” Tua said, looking down between her feet.
    “Don’t you want to go home?”
    “I miss my mother. And I miss my auntie and all my friends.”
    “But you don’t want to leave Pohn-Pohn, is that it?”
    Tua looked up at Mae Noi and shook her head.
    “I don’t ever want to leave Pohn-Pohn.”
    “You may come here whenever you want,” Mae Noi said. “And stay for as long as you like. We’re only an hour away by car. This is your home, too, Tua.”
    “Thank you.” Tua gave her a tight smile and looked away. She was staring vacantly across thepasture when Pohn-Pohn reached out to comfort her, and she hugged the trunk to her cheek.
    “What do you want for breakfast, Pohn-Pohn?” she smiled, holding back her tears.
    Pohn-Pohn nodded her head and flapped her ears, then turned Tua around on the log and gave her a nudge.
    “Okay, Pohn-Pohn, I’m coming.” She giggled, slid to her feet, and looked up. Her mother was standing on top of a hillock above them, looking down and smiling.
    “Mama!” Tua cried, and ran into her mother’s outstretched arms. Taking Suay Nam by the hand, she led her down the hillock while telling her all about the excitement of the night before.
    “Pohn-Pohn saved my life, Mama,” she said. “How can I ever leave her?”
    “And you saved Pohn-Pohn’s life, Tua,” Mae Noi added, standing up from the log and bowing a wai to Suay Nam. “Sawatdee kha. Welcome. I’m Mae Noi.”
    Suay Nam returned the bow. “Thank you. Andthank
you,
Pohn-Pohn, for saving my Tua.” She bowed again, this time to the elephant.
    “This is my mother, Pohn-Pohn,” Tua said.
    But Pohn-Pohn already knew that by the way Suay Nam smelled, looked, and sounded. She reached out and caressed this larger version of Tua.
    “Oh,” Suay Nam laughed, and touched the rough skin on Pohn-Pohn’s trunk.
    “Can I stay with Pohn-Pohn, Mama?” Tua asked.
    “But how would I ever live without you, darling?” said Suay Nam. “Who’s going to find my shoes for me when they’ve run off and I’m late for work? Who’s going to wake me in the morning and tell me about her dreams?”
    “
I
am,” Tua said. “But sometimes I’ll be with Pohn-Pohn—like when I stay over at Auntie Orchid’s for girls’ night.”
    “I don’t know, Tua. What does Mae Noi say? And what about school? You have to go to school.”
    Suay Nam pulled Tua close and hugged her, as if to keep her from slipping away.
    Mae Noi spotted Kanchanok squatting in the tall grass and waved him over. He approached wearing a grin and, draping his arm over Pohn-Pohn’s neck, leaned against her. She slung her trunk around his waist in a similar friendly embrace.
    “This is my mother, Kanchanok,” Tua said.
    “
Sawatdee khrap
.” Kanchanok bowed.
    “I’m glad you’re here, Kanchanok,” Mae Noi said. “I want you to hear this as well.
    “Pohn-Pohn is going to need a mahout to look after her,” she continued. “Elephants at the sanctuary choose their own mahouts, and it’s pretty clear to me that Pohn-Pohn has chosen you, Tua. And since she’s so fond of Kanchanok as well, I was thinking that maybe the two of you could train to be mahouts together. What do you say? Would you like the job?”
    Tua swept a radiant smile over Mae Noi, Kanchanok, and Pohn-Pohn before shining it on her mother.
    “Can I, Mama?”
    “I don’t know,” said Suay Nam. “Is it really what you want to do?”
    “More than anything,” Tua answered.
    “Mind you,” Mae Noi continued, “it’s a lot of hard work and responsibility. And you’ll have to attend the village school and do your schoolwork as well. Come,” she smiled, “let’s talk about it over breakfast.”
    She took Suay Nam’s arm and guided