Walk A Different Path 🤍 Jaa/First

~ epilogue ~

After the snow had stopped the big thaw began and everyone pulled together to make life as comfortable as possible. 

Raz and Pon had been the first to leave but they assured everyone that they would be back as soon as they were able and Kiri, Kan, Chit and Paitoon could only stay for a few more weeks because they had been away for far too long and Kiri had other commitments.

The villagers stayed at the resort and one of them was a gas fitter and electrician so Kiri paid him and the village men to fix up the kitchen while they were there and when it was finished they were able to use it to cook their meals.

The younger men took turns in staying down at the other camp to care for the horses and they usually stayed three or four days unless one of them got sick.

The days turned into weeks, the weeks turned into months and before long the snowdrops began pushing their way through the last remnants of snow. 

Spring had finally arrived and the forests surrounding the village became blanketed with bloodroot and columbine wildflowers much to the joy of the village elders who gathered them to make dyes and homeopathic remedies.

Kiri and Kan came back for a couple of weeks and now that the mountain was almost green again they oversaw the construction and erection of steel snow bridges above where the village would be rebuilt.

Kiri was also able to meet the village elders and discuss further plans for their new village.

He helped to fund a military style operation where construction vehicles were airlifted to the site of the old village because they could clear the debris a lot faster than men and horses would be able to do it.

The rest of the funds were raised by Kiri's good friend Dominic Gold back in Thailand and the construction was overseen by Dapchattawat's Construction, an up and coming company that had caught Kiri's eye, the C.E.O Shawn was young but he was a hard worker and he didn't cut corners.

He brought his fiancé Darran with him and their dog Berkeley who wouldn't leave their side. Darran was a scriptwriter so while Shawn worked, Darran asked the locals questions and made notes for his next tv drama.

By late Spring the wild lupines began to bloom in certain areas and the houses in the village had all been levelled. Shawn kept the village elders informed of everything he was doing and ensured that the new foundations would be solid and could withstand anything that the North American elements could throw at them.

He couldn't build the houses exactly how they were before the avalanche but he worked with a architectural firm who designed six different styles then the village people could choose which design they wanted and the pre fab' company would prepare the sections which were airlifted when they were ready.

Each property had three bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room and a lounge and each property had a yard with outhouses. Any family who kept horses were given a stable with however many stalls they needed and while the houses were being constructed down in the village, the resort was undergoing renovations of it's own.

By fall, the first families began to move back down into their old village and many of them sobbed when they saw their new homes, they had lost so much but at least they were still alive. The women insisted on feeding Shawn and his men out of gratitude and the men wanted to help so Shawn found them little jobs that they could do to help.

Eighteen months later after a particularly mild winter, the construction was finally complete and because of the newly erected steel snow bridges up the mountain the villagers felt confident that such a tragedy would never happen again.