At Phnom Penh International Airport...
Kanita pushed the airport trolley; her eyes were looking around.
A man was holding paper with her name on. She went to him and asked, “Crow Maison?”.
“Yes,” The old man said. “Are you Miss Kanita?”
Kanita nodded, “Yes.”
“Nice to meet you. I am Mok, driver of Crow Maison.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Let me help you.”
“Oh, thanks.”
“Car is over there,” Mok said with a finger pointing in the front direction. Later on, he took trolley from Kanita and pushed it.
Kanita walked after him.
When they arrived, Mok unlocked the door. He turned on the machine and switched the air conditioner on. Then he asked Kanita to sit in and he put the suitcase into the car trunk.
Kanita chose to sit in the front seat.
While she was putting on the car safety bell, Mok came in to sit in driving-seat.
“'We will spend about one hour and a half to arrive at Kompong Speu and another one hour and a half to reach the maison,” he said.
“I see.” Kanita wagged her head.
“There is pure drinking water free for you in here,” Mok said then he showed a water bottle in the seat storage box.
“Great.”
“If you have something, please tell me.”
“Thank you so much.” Kanita smiled.
Mok smiled back; afterwards, he stepped on gear and, slowly, the car left the park towards the exit.
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It was crowded on Phnom Penh street. Kanita took photos of things she saw on the street. Because of traffic, they spent half an hour leaving the city. Then the car moved in the direction to Kampong Speu province on national road number 4.
After spending a long time on the plane, Kanita was tired, hence she fell asleep. Car ran in a smooth way so she could take a nice rest but when it turned to run on a red ground way with some holes on the road, she awoke.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEBH44Dxi0
“Beautiful,” she said as she looked through the mirror and saw green farms before her eyes. without waiting, she took her camera and recorded the awesome nature with a smile on her lips. It was not easy to find such beautiful nature in the US. Since the driver understood, he opened the car window for her to take a photo.
“Thanks,” Kanita turned to Mok and said, and Mok replied to her with a smile..
Most of the streets in the rural village were ground streets. There was a lot of dust. As the window was not shut, the dust came in. Kanita needed to cover her nose and mouth with her hand. Seeing that, Mok closed the window quickly. Actually, there were a lot of great natural views, but because of the dust, the girly could only watch from inside the car.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNqLR9SPNv
After a long journey, finally, they arrived.
From a distance Kanita could see a house from the tall trees. As the car arrived in front of the house, Mok stopped and walked out to open the wooden gate. Then he came back in and drove the car to park in a wide space in front of the house.
Kanita stepped out of the car while Mok was opening the trunk taking the suitcase out. She stood and looked at the Crow Maison. There was no plaque. If she came by herself, she would not be able to find it, she thought.
Kanita scanned the house. It was made of wood with a shape like a box, and covered by a roof. There was no window, only a door in the middle where a lady was standing.
Kanita looked at that lady. She saw she wore a blouse and long straight skirt.
Mok came near and told, “She is Aunt Dari, housekeeper.”
Kanita walked towards the elder woman named Dari and she showed her hand on purpose to shake hands when she reached her, but Aunt Dari raised her two hands up and saluted her in Khmer traditional greeting way.
“Oh,” Kanita exclaimed in a little bit of surprise, then she saluted back.
Though Aunt Dari didn’t smile. She stated, “Please come in.” Then she showed her back and walked leading.
It was not a pleasant welcome; however, Kanita didn't want to mind her. She followed her while Mok carried her luggages and walked behind.
Seeing the outside design, Kanita thought it was strange. As she arrived inside, she felt it was very weird.
After the door, it was a big hall without any decoration or even a sofa. In the middle of the house there was a big pillar and it was round like an orange.
‘Who is the designer?’ Kanita thought.
After the pillar, there was a door. Next to the door, there were twin stairs towards the first floor.
“It is the door to the kitchen, bathroom and other rooms,” Aunt Dari said while pointing to the door. “Kitchen and bathroom, you can go in but other rooms are not allowed to go in.”
“Why?” Kanita asked.
“It is the rule of this house,” Aunt Dari said and her face was still straight. Afterwards, she went up the left stair. Kanita was silent; she climbed the stairs following the elderly woman with an unhappy mind.
“This is your room,” Aunt Dari said as she opened the door of the room.
Without saying a word, Kanita walked in. Aunt Dari stood at the door. As for Mok, he came in after, but he just put her suitcase in the room then he left.
The room was clean, but Kanita wanted to tour around for a bit. She saw there was a bathroom on the right side after the door, then there was a big bed, and there was a wooden dress cabinet on the side of the bed. This room had three windows which she could see the road and the yard. In the yard, there was a big tree.
“Crow Maison has a rule,” Aunt Dari stated. “You can go out but you have to arrive at 6pm. Then you have to stay in the house. You cannot get out of the house even to the yard after that hour. Moreover, you cannot touch the owner's things and you cannot take out the owner's things.”
“I am a guest, not a prisoner,” Kanita said. But Aunt Dari ignored her words. “I come here everyday, from 6am to 5pm,” she claimed. “Mok working time is the same as mine. If you have something, you can ask me.”
Kanita didn't say but her face showed that she was not very happy.
“Please enjoy your stay. I'm going to make lunch for you.”
After saying it, Aunt Dari left and closed the door.
‘What kind of service?’ Kanita thought. ‘Even a five star hotel does not have such a rule.’
Although she could complain, she had to stay in this house because she paid already.
Lazy to waste time, Kanita took her dresses from her suitcase and organized them in the cabinet. There was a small makeup table close to bed. The girl put her cellphone and camera there. Then she went to bed and switched on her laptop. In the house there was no Wi-Fi. It was lucky she had asked her senior and had prepared things in advance. She could share connections from the local network she bought at the airport.
There was no air-conditioner, only a fan. Since Cambodia was a hot country, it was a little bit difficult for Kanita who had been living in a cold country. But it became good when she opened the windows. The wind was fresh and cool, making the young lady feel content and relax.
After organizing things, Kanita took her laptop then went to stayed on the bed. She started typing what she saw and felt as she stepped her feet on the land of Cambodia.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Kanita got out of the bed to open it.
“Lunch is already," Aunt Dari said with a trolley next to her.
“Keep it downstairs and I will go to eat,” Kanita said.
“Crow Maison does not have a dining room and it is the rule that the guests should eat in the room.”
Kanita narrowed her eyebrows, “Kidding? No dining room?”
Still the face of the housekeeper was straight and she didn't say anything. Having no choice, Kanita opened the door to be big for the trolley to be pushed in.
“I will come to take the trolley in the next one hour,” Aunt Dari said.
“Just half an hour is enough,” Kanita said.
But the elderly woman did not put her ears in. She left the room.
Kanita shook her head, “I don't like her behavior.”
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After finishing lunch, she continued her typing.
When one hour passed, Aunt Dari came to take the food trolley out. Kanita did not speak to her because she was busy with her laptop. Later on, Aunt Dari came back with a water bottle and a glass. She put them on a makeup table and said, “It is about 4pm. Today, do you want to go somewhere or not?”
“No,” Kanita said without raising face from the laptop. “But tomorrow I will.”
Aunt Dari didn’t continue. She just left the room quietly.
Later on, Aunt Dari came again.
“Miss, I and Mok will leave in ten minutes. We will come tomorrow at 6am. This is your dinner. Please put it outside your room after you finish and I will wash it in the morning.”
“Yes. See you tomorrow,” Kanita said, without looking at the speaker.
“Before I go, I have to remind you of the rule of Crow Maison. No out after 6pm. No touch anything.”
“Good night,” Kanita said. She did not want to listen to nonsense speech. In her head thought she was a guest so she could go wherever she wanted to go at any time.
As the clock hit 5pm, Aunt Dari was preparing to leave. When she arrived at the front door, there was a strong and cold wind. The elderly woman stood still. The wind touched her face, and she closed her eyes. Though she didn’t say a word, looking at her expression, it seemed to show that the wind voiced something which only she could understand. When she opened her eyes, she took a long breath then she stepped towards the car that Mok was sitting in and went in to sit next to him. Mok started to move the car slowly. As the car approached the street, Aunt Dari looked through the rear view mirror. She saw the gate closed by itself.
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