It was just before sunset when Su reached the city of Mandalay after a day long journey. Earlier she booked an air-conditioned room at the Kaung Hostel. She took a bath, wore white t-shirt and jeans trousers before appearing at the restaurant downstairs. She was going to take her dinner. After returning from Win Thura’s monastery, she would take something very light before going to bed. The day after the next, she would head back to Yangon.

In any manner possible, Su had to learn exactly who was to become the sacrificial lamb of the heinous plot being hatched from behind the curtain. Upon entering the monastery hall room, she didn’t waste any time in joining the prayer session. The dinner was over by seven in the evening. Henceforth, the monks were meditating with a full stomach. She had no intention to meet the extremist priest. She travelled this far only to find out the monk who was secretly conveying to her, the activities of the extremist monk and his companions. During the prayer session, from the back row, she looked at the shaved heads before her. It was difficult to identify any particular head as all of them looked the same. However, the size and shape of two heads looked like the head of the monk she wanted to meet. As entrance or exit, there were two doors on either side of the hall room and one door at the rear. The two monks who looked like the one she had been searching for, sat on the left side of the hall room, close to the door at the rear end. Quietly, Su stood behind the door before the prayer session ended. She stood in such a way so that she could see the faces of the monks when they would leave the hall room. Su was dismayed, as none looked like the one she had been desperately seeking. The two monks came closer to Su for they had noticed her staring at them. One of them politely asked her if she needed any kind of assistance. Su disclosed to them the reason she had been there. Subsequently, the two monks asked for the name of the one Su was interested in. When Su could not provide any name, the two monks consulted for a while, and then suggested to her to be at the dining hall at seven in the morning. During breakfast, all residents of the monastery would be present in the dining hall. At the time, she could find the monk she wanted to meet. The two monks introduced themselves as Thain Lin and Khun Sa. Su said she was a journalist, and she came to Madalay to make a documentary.

From a distance, Win Thura noticed Su, talking to Thain Lin and Khun Sa. He had already been warned by his patron from Dubai about a possible informer at the monastery. This made him wary of this sight. Someone from his monastery had been busy passing sensitive information, so he was told to be more careful. When he went about to make a list of the suspects, Win Thura could not make up his mind, as almost all the monks had access to his private chamber. After watching Thain Lin and Khun Sa having a conversation with Su, to him it seemed like these two monks might be the informers he had been warned of. The two monks were immediately summoned to his chamber.

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Cautiously, Win Thura asked them, “The lady who was with you only a few moments ago, what did she want?”

Thain Lin replied, “The lady has come to the monastery to look for an acquaintance.”

“Do you know who that lady is?”

“Her name is Su. She is a journalist. She is working on a documentary and that’s the main reason why she is here.”

“Who is that man she has been looking for?”

“She doesn’t know his name, but she says she can recognize him if she sees him.”

“What did you tell her when she told you this?”

“We’ve told her to be there in the dining hall tomorrow morning during breakfast. The man she wants to meet will most certainly be there with the other monks.”

“Alright, I’ll also have breakfast with you guys tomorrow. Let’s see who it is she’s so eager to meet.”

By seven next morning, Su was there at the monastery dining hall. When she reached the dining hall the monks had not yet begun taking their breakfast. They were beginning to take their seats after getting their meals from the containers neatly arranged on a large table. Every morning three hundred monks would have their breakfast simultaneously. On either side of the dining hall, there were two huge wooden doors with images of Buddha engraved on them. That morning, for his meal, Win Thura sat with other monks near the door that led to the kitchen. However, the focus of his attention was the guest who was with them. Thain Lin and Khun Sa were seated close to the door at the opposite side of the dining hall. They had not yet started eating when Su greeted them from behind. They stood up and politely asked her to take a seat next to them. They were waiting for her with an extra plate on the table.

Su was having conversation with the two monks during mealtime, and from time to time, she would gaze at the entire dining hall in order to find the monk who had met with her in Yangon. Suddenly, the two monks stopped eating and stood up from their seats. Su turned her head to see what was happening. To her amazement, she found Win Thura standing right behind her. Next to him was the monk she had been so desperately looking for. The monk stood there like a statue, totally devoid of any kind of human expression. With a steady gaze at Su, he wanted to say something to her.

After the formal exchange of greetings Win Thura asked, “So, what do you think of our monastery?”

“You have such a wonderful atmosphere. Every visitor is bound to love this place. It’s very refreshing. It arouses a kind of divine feelings.”

“Pleased to hear it. By the way, did you find the man you’ve been looking for?”

With signs of confusion she said, “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I heard it from Lin and Sa that you wanted to meet someone.”

Su looked at Lin and Sa as if she was surprised by Win Thura’s statement, and then said to him, “No, no, I wasn’t looking for anyone, they misunderstood me. I said to them that I was working on a documentary. I wanted to hear from them something about your monastery. Already they’ve given me some information, and I’m grateful to them for their assistance. I would be much obliged if they were allowed to talk to me outside the monastery.”

When Su had stopped, the lingering smile disappeared from Win Thura’s countenance. He moved very close to the two monks, whispered something to their ears, and then left the dining hall. Before leaving, very politely, he requested Su to enjoy the meal.