On the other side of the world, and oblivious to Alfie’s problems, Nin tackled the thorny issue of how to save the family land, and stop Mother from selling it. With her sister Dum, who took the bus from Bangkok to Buriram, in support, the two girls confronted their mother. Alfie had sent the money, but Nin kept the amount secret from everyone, even Dum. It took three days of often heated argument to wrestle a deal from Mother. Dum returned home, more convinced than ever she made the right decision to move to Bangkok with her daughter, two years previous.

With the help of cheap labour from the village, man and womanpower rough-cleared the land. They removed debris from the pond, after dragging out the invasive pag boon (water spinach). Rooted to the bottom, it covered the whole surface of the pond, hiding dead trees and all sorts of accumulated rubbish. A farmer brought a chain saw and cut the trees into small pieces. Nin batched the wood and neighbours helped her stack it by the front gate, where she sold it for firewood. Mother took the measly amount of money they collected in a rusty old tin and kept it, saying the trees belonged to her. Retaliation for not getting her way in the land deal. Days of smouldering bonfires, which the workers lit to clear the rubbish, did nothing to help the world combat climate change. But the ignorance of the rural people meant they didn’t know the harm they did to their environment and themselves. They’d been doing it for centuries and had no intention of stopping unless they were manacled.

When Alfie returned, he wouldn’t recognise the garden he fell in love with. And he didn’t know Nin had a medical condition which was more psychosomatic than real. She would have to tell him, but not now. She trusted her wellbeing to a quack; a charlatan homeopathic doctor, from Ubon Ratchatani, on the Eastern border between Thailand and Laos. An ill-advised decision taken without consulting a qualified medical practitioner.