Stepping out of the hotel into the sweltering heat, Kaori and Ma?l finally registered the obvious as streams of ice cold water struck them both, leaving them soaked to the bone.

  The street was a war zone, with gangs roving on the back of pickup trucks trading water with throngs of giggling foot soldiers wielding futuristic-looking but largely ineffective super soakers, or the far more powerful, but low tech PVC pump guns. Streets were lined up with barrels of icy water providing ammo indiscriminately to all revelers.

  Songkran! How did I forget about that? Ma?l wondered as he dodged a stream of water that struck Kaori square in the face. She spluttered, wiping herself. She looked at him with an air of confusion and betrayal. He yanked her out of the way of another stream aimed by a young boy standing on a crate, stole a man’s bucket as he was about to dunk it over Kaori’s head… and splashed it all over her himself before handing the bucket back to its owner, now empty.

  Kaori glared at him, acting miffed by his betrayal, but he gave her a hug.

  “Happy New Year!” he whispered in her ear.

  He was about to explain further but a passing pickup truck stopped next to them and unloaded several buckets’ worth of some of the iciest water yet.

  Most revelers used giant blocks of ice to keep the water cold. The more chemically-savvy also added salt to the water, making it drop to subzero temperatures.

  This one must have been the latter for the thermal shock caused their spines to straighten as if struck by lightning. Kaori shivered, indignant, but Ma?l laughed and she calmed down. If he’s laughing, it’s fine, she thought, though she couldn’t quite figure out what was fine about being soaking wet.

  Ma?l turned over to face the new menace with a large smile on his face, and the truck crew beamed wide.

  “Sawasdi Pi Mai!” a cute girl declared with a charming smile, dunking them with another bucket full of the icy stuff.

  Happy New Year indeed!

  Ma?l turned to Kaori. Whatever plans they had for the day were indefinitely postponed.

  “Ma duay, dai mai?” he asked one of the men in the truck, dodging another bucket of water like a toreador dodging a bull.

  “Dai, Dai.” The crew waved him on board.

  “Come on. Let’s go” Ma?l told Kaori, lifting her up onto the back of the pickup. Arms pulled her amidst an abundance of cheers, and Ma?l quickly followed, swinging his legs over the side like a gymnast and landing directly on board.

  Kaori couldn’t see anything with her soaked hair covering her face like a curtain. She threw her head backward, tossing her hair behind her in a spray and took stock of her situation. She was standing at the back of a pick-up truck surrounded by half a dozen smiling faces. All Thais, two couples apparently, a shy little boy and a cheeky little girl who stared at her admiringly. She gave the kids a warm smile. Ma?l just tumbled in. He stood up and began saluting them all.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Sawasdi Pi Mai” he said with a Wai, greeting all the truck’s occupants individually, as if boarding a random truck full of strangers was the most natural occurrence. Perhaps it was. The world had gone mad, with thousands of people drenched and spraying water all over the street.

  She followed his lead, imitating his Wai and greeting the other truck’s occupants who responded most formally, seemingly delighted to welcome two new recruits. There were plenty of people in need of a solid dousing after all, they could use the help.

  The little girl climbed over a large ice chest and motioned for them to come closer. Ma?l leaned in and she applied solemnly a generous dab of Dim Sor Pong to his forehead along with her new year benediction. The paste was lightly scented with sandal wood and a floral aroma. It was meant as a charm for prosperity and good fortune.

  Thus knighted, he received his very own bucket and undertook to earn his keep by splashing passersby, leaving Kaori to her own ceremony. Soon she joined the fun, dumping an entire bucket over his unsuspecting head.

  Trust women, I tell you! Ma?l thought as his spine arched under the chill.

  Kaori giggled as he attempted to retaliate. She had anticipated his move and dodged expertly. The man behind her didn’t, causing in-truck escalation of the hostilities. With abundant ammo and nowhere to go, they were now as wet as if they were fighting inside a pool.

  I haven’t had this much fun in ages! Kaori reflected. Being a star was nice and all, but she could never do that back home. Ma?l interrupted her musings with a hug. He pressed his face against hers and breathed in strongly, brushing his lips tenderly against her cheek. It felt strange but so intimate, it chased her thoughts away and she hugged him harder, ignoring the streams of water aimed their way. She smiled broadly at her man, her dripping shirt pressed tightly against his chest.

  Never mind what she couldn’t usually do. Today, she could.

  The Thai guys whistled wolfishly and the girls looked at them with a nearly audible “Aww.” It wasn’t every day you got to see a farang give a Thai kiss to a Japanese girl, and they were such a beautiful couple!

  When they stopped around midday, Ma?l had no idea where they were, not that it mattered much, the madness was the same everywhere. Their hosts treated them to fried chicken and Ma?l bought tons of ice creams, handing over a pathetic looking bill dripping with water.

  Smart people waterproofed their valuables all through Songkran. Ma?l had not, but his new phone could handle it and still appeared to be in working order.

  The rest of the afternoon passed in a watery blur and they parted with their new crew as daylight began to fade, but not before exchanging contacts and vague promises of keeping in touch. They lived further south of Bangkok and after a full day in the scorching sun tossing buckets of water, they were most eager to get back home. They had to make it through several more days of the same and that required serious stamina.

  As Ma?l and Kaori alighted from the back of the pickup, the battle still raged, albeit with a diminishing number of participants. It was a war of attrition, and they, like many others, decided they had enough water for a day. Following Ma?l, Kaori climbed on board the famous sky train, a magical no-man’s-land largely untouched by the mayhem below. On the downside, air conditioning was freezing cold and Kaori shivered, her clothes still dripping with water. She huddled against Ma?l who wasn’t faring any better.

  “So, what’s next?” Kaori asked. Talking on board of a train was a serious faux pas in Japan, but no one seemed to mind here.

  “Shopping! I think we need new clothes. Or at least, I do” he replied, looking at the half-torn “I love Kagoshima” t-shirt clinging to his torso. Someone had pulled on it at some point, trying to slide ice down his back no doubt, and the collar hadn’t held.

  She nodded in agreement.

  “Then I’ll call Noi. There are tons of concerts and shows around town, I bet he knows where the action’s at!”