DUJAPSORN-《DUANGJAI TEWAPROM》

OPENING (Part 1/2)

Bangkok, May 17, 1992.

The sound of news playing on TV made the tall, thin girl looking very dignified in a light blue shirt and knee-length black skirt, who was about to leave the house, stop to listen to the urgent news. A pair of male and female infantry broadcasters are reporting on developments at the site of student protests emerging across Bangkok, with large numbers of students rallying at the democracy monument to demand ask for peace, politically fair.

Dujapsorn is someone who shares the same ideals as the group of students. She believes in voting. If the right to rule is usurped by a group of people, the country can no longer be called democratic.

"Are all the documents ready, Fah?"

She turned to follow the voice and saw Aunt Siripon wiping her hands and walking out of the kitchen.

"It's all done, aunt."

"If so, then go home quickly, don't hesitate, it's chaos outside because of the protests. Don't go near there, take a detour away from the protest group, otherwise you will get into trouble if you get caught up in it. You are preparing to study abroad."

Dujapsorn raised her lips a bit as if smiling, but the smile did not appear in her eyes. She refused to respond to her aunt's words.
Since she had already decided, she could only avoid it.

"I know."

She kept documents in a fabric bag with colorful flowers sewn by herself, which was both beautiful and economical. She slung the bag across her body and pulled it forward.

"Be careful. When you're done, come right back." Siripon emphasized.

"Yes, aunt." She bowed to the homeowner before opening the insect-proof door and stepping out wearing leather shoes that covered her heels. She has a taller and thinner figure than Thai women in general, just like her paternal family, so she doesn't need to wear high heels, otherwise she will be taller than her friends.

Looking at the clock, she saw that it was still very early so she didn't rush out of the alley, waved to call a taxi and went straight to Sathorn Street to get her visa to study abroad as scheduled.

And even though she took a detour, her aunt's house was not far from Sanam Luang Square, so she could always hear the sound from the stage, until the sound subsided when the taxi left the area. She sighed looking at many people walking in the opposite direction, towards the democracy monument, each of them carrying within themselves the determination to demand democracy for the people.

Currently, Dujapsorn still cannot fulfill his civic duty because he still has work ahead. She arrived at the Australian embassy before the appointment time and announced her purpose to the staff in front, before going up to the building to wait for the interview. In less than two hours, everything was done.

The interview went well because she had documents from the university providing a scholarship for a master's program and living expenses for her studies for the next two years. After receiving the visa, the university will send Dujapsorn a plane ticket, she just needs to wait for the time to leave.

After taking care of her personal matters, she was not in a hurry to go home as her aunt had told her to do.The reason she didn't listen was because she had already decided in advance. The taxi took her to the place closest to her home because the crowd gathered from Sanam Luang square to the democracy monument.

She walked through the crowd to sit closest to the stage but could not go further because there were many people on the street. So she decided to sit close to the speakers to listen to the voice on stage driving the unjust prime minister out of office, interspersed with sounds of support. After sitting quietly next to a group of female students, she focused on listening to the sound coming from the speakers, then raised her fist in the air to voice her support. Enthusiasm and patriotism are present in almost every passing moment.

Then she couldn't help but smile to herself. If her mother knew where she was, she would probably scream loudly in the house because she didn't listen. However, she was always an obedient child who listened to her mother, but the problem of ideals was always her exception. She seems happy to be a cog that helps move the machine in the struggle to bring democracy back to the people.

Dujapsorn sat and listened until late in the afternoon when boxes of food and drinks were passed around. She didn't feel hungry at all because she was so excited, until she opened the styrofoam box and saw the freshly fried eggs and the fragrant stir-fry with é leaves, her mouth immediately watered. In just a moment, the rice in the box was suddenly gone.
She looked at her watch and realized that she had been fulfilling her responsibilities as a good citizen for a long time. Maybe it's time to go home. It was almost seven o'clock when I got home. Siripon saw her and impatiently went looking for her.

"Where have you been all day, Fah? Applying for a visa only takes about 1 pm, right? OMG! I feel very uncomfortable inside, watching the news on TV is all about protests."

"I went to Siam center to take a walk." She lied. "I came to Bangkok a long time ago so I stopped by to do a little shopping, but when I got to Phan Fa Lilat bridge, I saw soldiers blocking the road so I had to take a long detour."

"Huh, it's good to return home safely. A friend of mine whose husband is a soldier told me to stay home tonight and not go anywhere. It's already dark and Fah hasn't returned yet, so I'm very nervous and worried."

"I'm sorry." Dujapsorn clasped her hands in front of her chest, feeling really hurt that she was the cause of someone's worry, but her patriotic blood boiled if she showed indifference in Bangkok, like betraying herself, betraying his territory.

"It's okay, it's good to be back, let's go eat. Tonight my heart is restless, I don't know if anything terrible will happen or not, thank Buddha." Siripon raised his hand to bow towards the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

"Please, guardian angel of Siam, please protect us black-eyed Thailand, don't let anything terrible happen."

Dujapsorn doesn't think so. After listening to the propaganda, she saw that people were ready to stand up at any time. There are soldiers surrounding all sides, the situation seems too dangerous. It probably won't take more than two days. If we do not find a way to negotiate and understand each other, civil war could happen in the blink of an eye.

She temporarily returned to the bedroom on the second floor of the wooden house of Siripon, her father's only sister, who passed away when Dujapsorn was only 12 years old. Not long after, Siripon moved to Bangkok because she did not get along with her mother. Her father's property was divided into three parts and her father assigned Siripon to look after her portion of the property, much to her mother's displeasure. Her mother's money was also given to her father's lawyer friend every month because he was afraid that without a breadwinner, her mother would waste money to the point of causing difficulties for her.

Her father trusted his sister more than his wife because Siripon believed in Buddhism and was single, so he let his sister be the manager of the inheritance, making her mother so angry that no one could see her face clearly.

Siripon returned to Bangkok and lived in her grandfather's old house with a personal maid, while the riverside house was given to her mother to live alone.

Dujapsorn went into the bedroom very early because there was no news to pay attention to, and there were constant announcements from the government, with a male and female announcer couple reading the news. Dujapsorn thought it was a pre-written script to read. After joining the protest group, she learned the inside stories, not what the government tried to simulate for the people to see.

So, she vented her frustration by turning off the TV, then took out a new English novel she borrowed from the library to read before going abroad to study for a master's degree in mass communication. Because she received a scholarship and also won first prize in the exam and had to go immediately after graduating from university. So she spent the rest of her time practicing reading and listening to English fluently because she only had about two years to learn. If she does not graduate, she must repay the entire amount to the school.