The Elephant Gate Part 1 – Ch 41 to 45

CHAPTER 41

His telephone woke him up the next morning. “Mmm…hello?” he mumbled after fumbling for it on the night stand. The low chuckle caused instant wakefulness. “Rose?”

“I didn’t mean to wake you up. It’s 10am, and I wanted to see if you were up for a little adventure.”

He rolled over until he was sitting up. “What kind of adventure?’

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The Elephant Gate Part 1 – Ch 36 to 40

CHAPTER 36

Sleep was long in coming that night. After Rose left, the place seemed emptier than usual. That was just stupid, though. He had just met her, so there was no logical reason why she was still dancing in his thoughts long after she was gone.

He cleared his mind and rolled over to his left side. Finally he fell asleep. But it wasn’t an easy one. His sleep was disturbed by fanciful dreams of horses and trucks and talking elephants. A beautiful girl who looked similar to Rose was sitting in a decrepit gazebo, her gaze sorrowful as she rubbed a heart carved into the arm of her wooden bench.

The Elephant Gate Part 1 – Ch 31 to 35

CHAPTER 31

Tonight, he was relaxing with a glass of his favorite Shiraz, feet propped up on the coffee table, idly flipping channels. He settled on a NatGeo channel. It was about elephants, an animal that figured prominently in his books. This documentary featured The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, of all places. As the voiceover droned on, he watched the videos of the elephants interacting among the trees and grassy area of the place.

The Elephant Gate Part 1 – Ch 26 to 30

 

CHAPTER 26

It was decided this year that Kevin’s second anniversary party would be held on the palace grounds. The family woke up early to head out from the house. Khun Mattaya filled the back seat with goodies she had prepped for the party. Kevin and Duchess sat in the back of the pickup truck for the ride; he didn’t trust the young dog with all the food in the cab, or to be by herself in the truck bed.

The Elephant Gate Part 1 – Ch 21 to 25

There’s something ominious happening to Kevin on his first anniversary in Pra’dee.

CHAPTER 21

“Sur’kya!” The familiar call wafted into her bedroom, and Suri smiled as she tied her shoelace to her sturdy boots. Today they were going to go fishing with her father. A year after they first met, the pair was inseparable, except when he had his extra lessons with the elephants and combat training. She pouted. She wanted to learn how to fight too, but her normally-indulgent father had disallowed it. And no whining or wheedling would change his mind. Still, sometimes, K’vin would show her some hand fighting moves, and they would secretly practice them by the wooden house.

The Elephant Gate Part 1 – Ch 16 to 20

The baby elephant gets her new name. Kevin starts his schooling and his chores. And the captain finds the schoolteacher pretty as the one-year mark approaches.

CHAPTER 16

Once everyone was in place, several temple priests filed out and blessed the crowd while native music played in the background. After being blessed, the chief handlers walked over to the elephants. Kevin also stood up by his chair.

First, the adult elephant was brought forward. She kneeled for a moment as the priests splashed holy water on her head and placed a huge garland of flowers around her neck. She stood up and was led to the side near the royal family. Surikitiyia was held back by her mom when she tried to reach Kwamsoo.

Khun Wit led the baby elephant forward just behind the dais. The priests completed a similar ritual, this time sprinkling the animal with holy water from head to tail. The garland placed on her neck was much smaller but no less gaudy. Once they finished the blessing, the priests filed out into the recesses of the barn.

The Elephant Gate Part 1 – Ch 11 to 15

Kevin explores his new home and goes back to school.

CHAPTER 11

His room was airy, with cream colored walls and fruitwood furniture. A platform bed with a shiny gray comforter was tucked against a corner. A small student desk was on the opposite corner, already stocked with school supplies. There was no closet. The captain opened a large cabinet; one side had a series of pull-drawers and the other had two separate closet poles.

“All of your clothing should fit in here. Do you need any help to put things away?” Kevin shook his head. “Your bathroom is through those doors. Tomorrow I will drive you to the palace to start school, and afterwards we will go through your chore list and the house rules. And Noy Kevin? Welcome home.” With that, the man closed the door, leaving Kevin to explore his new surroundings.

The Elephant Gate Part 1 – Ch 6 to 10

Kevin meets the elephants and saves a life. And becomes part of a family.

CHAPTER 6

The Jeep bounced over ruts in the unpaved surface of the road, and the two children squealed happily with every bounce. Captain Thadchai frequently checked the rear view mirror to make sure they were both safely buckled in, even though they only had a short distance to go. He was happy to head to the elephant corrals himself; they had always been the place he felt most at home.

He stopped at the first electrified fence; he pulled open the gates, drove through, and prudently closed them behind them. This occurred several times, until the huge barn and paddocks that held the pachyderms could be seen in the distance.

“We’re almost there, K’vin!” Suri said, and he immediately craned his neck out to see if he could catch a glimpse of the big gray animals.

The Elephant Gate Part 1 – Ch 1 to 5

Hello everyone! This year I am attempting the National Novel Writer’s Month challenge, that is, to write a 50,000 novella in 30 days, with an average daily word count of slightly less than 1700 words. Below are the first five chapters. Be warned that the speed-writing nature of contest means there has been little (translation: none) editing or wordsmithing, unless it was done on the fly.  Enjoy!

PROLOGUE