art diary

At the site of an anonymous grave, a team of three forensic investigators and two medical examiners were hard at work.

Police Captain Wichan, the most senior forensic investigator, shone his flashlight into the depths of the pit. The state of the corpse below sent a shiver down his spine. Despite having countless crime scene experiences under his belt, never before had he felt such a powerful urge to turn away in nausea. Fortunately, the full-face chemical and gas mask he wore shielded him from the overpowering stench of decay.

Police Sub-Lieutenant Tonnamp, another investigator, raised his digital camera. Looking through the clear visor of his safety mask at the camera’s display, he snapped a flurry of photos. Click! Click! Click!

Dr. Saran, a forensic team leader in his mid-thirties, knelt at the edge of the pit. He peered closely at the corpse’s head, his breath creating a faint fog on the lens of his mask.

The corpse’s skin had rotted to a dark greenish-black, sunken and shriveled against the skull, leaving the cheekbones protruding. The flesh of the nose had withered away completely, exposing the hollow cavity and the edges of cartilage. The lips had retracted to reveal a set of creamy-white teeth, some of which were missing. The eye sockets were deep pits filled with oozing, dark, murky fluid, and a swarm of maggots crawled ceaselessly from the eyes and nostrils. Both ears were twisted, flattened, and beginning to dry into a brittle crust.

Then, his gaze fixed on the corpse’s forehead. Right in the center lay an object resembling a small, square scrap of cloth, dark crimson tinged with black and dirt. It was so decayed it had almost fused with the rotting skin. Surrounding the fabric was a rust-colored, orange-red stain that had seeped out in a wide ring.

The young doctor narrowed his eyes, examining the object with intense interest.

"Is that a piece of cloth? Why is it there?" Dr. Saran asked his colleagues through the communication valve of his mask. His voice was slightly muffled, yet clear enough for everyone to understand.

Captain Wichan leaned down to get a better look. The object was placed perfectly in the center of the forehead, as if it had been intentionally positioned there. The middle-aged captain squinted, contemplating the scene before offering his theory to the medical examiner.

"I suspect... that is a spirit-binding talisman," he replied.

At that answer, Dr. Saran, Sub-Lieutenant Tonnamp, Police Lieutenant Sompob, and Dr. Pongsit—Dr. Saran's assistant—all whipped their heads around to stare at the captain in unison.

"A talisman!" Dr. Saran exclaimed in a low voice.

Captain Wichan nodded. "Yes. It looks like a spirit-binding talisman, though the characters have almost entirely dissolved away... But if you're wondering why I think that, Doctor, look at the black mark under the corpse's chin."

Dr. Saran nodded. Under the chin, the skin was scorched into a solid, pitch-black mark. That area of flesh was dry and hardened like raw leather; it had not decayed, and not a single maggot had burrowed into it—a stark, unnatural anomaly.

"I believe that is a burn mark," Captain Wichan said, his voice flat yet firm. "From being seared by fire under the chin."

---------

The picture is Mina in a rough painting.

"Behind The Gaze"

My hand just led the way. Created in Adobe Fresco without any reference or preconception, the lines are raw and unrefined, but I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

But what I love most was the quietness in my head. No thoughts, no overthinking, just me, completely lost in drawing.

Suddenly, a sharp gust of wind swept over Mina, sending a cold shiver running through her entire body.

Right then, a dog’s bark echoed from the other side of the small patch of woods. She instantly recognized it—that was Maya.

Mina called out, “Maya!”

The clever dog bounded into view, barking back in response. “Woof! Woof!” It was as if she were trying to signal something before turning around and leading the way back.

However, only halfway through following her, Mina froze. A foul, putrid stench hit her like a wall. The odor was so overwhelming and nauseating it made her gag. She quickly shoved her fingers inside her helmet to pinch her nose shut.

‘Did someone’s dog die around here?’ she thought to herself.

Wanting to get Maya out of there as fast as possible, Mina quickened her pace. But after just a few steps, she saw Maya frantically scratching at the wet dirt with both front paws, throwing up a large mound of earth. The dog was sniffing around, whimpering, and barking continuously without stopping.

Even though the stench was so brutal she could barely breathe, curiosity got the better of her. Mina forced herself to step closer and see what was inside the hole. But she found nothing except dark soil.

The rotting smell became too unbearable to handle, forcing her to back away. She ran back toward the Ta-khian tree to catch her breath and get some fresh air into her lungs.

Meanwhile, Maya was panting heavily but kept digging like crazy. A moment later, she stopped and let out a rapid volley of sharp barks.

Mina rushed back to look again, and the sight before her eyes made her freeze in pure shock. Deep inside the hole—nearly three feet down—what Maya had unearthed was a human head—putrid, badly decayed, and utterly horrific.

The trapped stench of the corpse erupted, hitting her right in the face. Nauseated and lightheaded, Mina bolted, running as fast as she could before bending over and throwing up.

Worried about Maya, Mina took off her sandals, held them in her hand, and hurriedly walked barefoot through the water, wading into the sugarcane field to search for her mischievous four-legged friend.

She walked straight ahead along the furrows between the rows of sugarcane, calling out Maya’s name as she went. Along the way, the water level gradually receded.

Though her voice kept calling for Maya, her eyes were fixed on that small patch of forest. She noticed a large tree standing majestically apart from the rest at the western edge of the woods, on the same side as the road.

In fact, she saw it often when riding past in the car, but she had never paid attention to what kind of tree it was.

Mina slowed her pace without realizing it, yet she kept stepping forward, trying to remember what kind of tree it could be, but nothing came to mind.

It wasn’t until she reached the very end of the sugarcane row, with the large tree standing some distance away, that a memory suddenly flashed into her mind. Her mother had once told her that in their little forest, there was a Takian tree (Ironwood tree) growing.

Maya ran up and stopped beside Mina, panting heavily. The chest-high water didn’t seem to dampen her high spirits at all. She looked up at Mina as if to ask, 'Why stop? Aren't we going any further? This is so much fun!'

She made a motion to leap forward, stopped, and then turned back to look up at Mina, inviting her: 'Let's keep going.' Mina glanced down at her for a second before shifting her gaze back to that small patch of woods.

Seeing the other remain completely still, Maya leaped forward once more and stopped, turning back to look at Mina’s face yet again. But Mina still paid no attention.

Maya repeated the routine one more time. When the young woman showed no sign of looking her way, the dog decided to bolt, plunging forward and quickly disappearing into the rows of sugarcane.

The loud splash of scattering water snapped Mina back to reality. She cried out after her four-legged friend, her voice strained with panic, “Maya! Maya! Come back right now!”

But Maya wasn't listening. She kept charging through the water at full speed. All Mina could do was stand there, listening to the sound of wading water gradually fading into the distance… until everything finally went dead silent.

Chapter 1: The Rookie Farmer and the Gloomy Grove (Part I) (Temporary name)

Late one morning in June, it was a bright, sunny day, but the heat was blistering. Mina rode her trusted motorbike out of the house, with Ma-ya, her favorite black female dog, standing firmly on the floorboard, sticking her face out to catch the wind. The four-legged companion stared at the roadside view with excitement, thrilled to be out for a ride.

Mina’s destination was her sugarcane field, located less than a kilometer north of the village. After a heavy storm that had poured down continuously for over an hour last night, she was anxious to see how much water had flooded her plots.

Upon arriving, Mina parked her motorbike by the roadside before leading Ma-ya down a weed-overgrown, soggy path toward the sugarcane field, which sat on a slope lower than the road level. She found that the area inside was completely flooded with yellowish-brown muddy water.

Mina scanned the surroundings and noticed that some of the sugarcane leaves were starting to turn yellow. This was hardly surprising, as her field had already faced flooding issues for nearly two weeks. Just as the water had begun to recede and almost dried up, the storm last night mercilessly poured down yet another deluge. Seeing the floodwaters return, she could only let out a heavy sigh.

Moreover, Mina noticed that various types of weeds were growing tall, competing with the sugarcane plants to the point where they were almost indistinguishable; quite a few were vines tangled and wrapped around them. She anxiously wondered when the water would finally recede, while feeling puzzled in her heart—the sugarcane had been waterlogged for so long that its leaves were turning yellow, so why weren’t those weeds turning yellow at all?

While Mina was worrying about the flooded field, Ma-ya was joyfully running back and forth through the muddy water between the rows, behaving just like a typical water-loving dog.

The deeper she walked inside, the higher the water rose. Moments later, Mina came to a stop at a small clearing amidst the sugarcane thicket, where the water had risen nearly to her knees. She felt hesitant about whether to press forward or turn back. But at that exact second, her eyes caught something far out in front of her.

It was a low mound at the far end of her property. Upon it stood a dense cluster of trees tightly packed together, forming a small grove. However, its atmosphere looked ominously dark and gloomy—a stark and eerie contrast to the bright, clear sky above.