“What?  You have seen my father?  How was he?  What kind of situation was he in?”

The sangnom replied, “Your father looks very hungry.  He is in rags which hardly cover his body, and he is wearing a beggar’s hat.  I did not recognize him at first.  He said in tears that he has become a wandering beggar, because he has no house and no money.  However, he did not forget to ask me about you and your family, and I told him about you.  At that moment, I happened to find a penny in my pocket and I gave it to him to buy a bowl of rice.  When I saw his miserable appearance, my heart ached for him.”

The saengwon asked, with a mixture of shame and worry on his face, “After you saw my deceased father, did you see my mother there?”

After a few seconds of hesitation, the sangnom answered the question subtly.  “I saw your mother also.  But it is hard to talk about her.”

“Do you have something difficult to say?  Right now there is no one except you and me in this room.  Your words will reach only my ears.  Don’t hesitate to tell me.”  But the sangnom did not say anything except, “I’m sorry.  Please, let’s not talk about it.”  The saengwon was so anxious to hear about his mother that he pressed him to tell the story quickly.

The man said reluctantly, “Since you ask me so earnestly I will tell you what I saw.  I entered a tavern with Yama’s guards.  The tavern was spacious but crowded with drinkers.  I was shocked to see your mother working as a hostess serving the drinkers.  I said hello to her, and she treated me as if I were her own son.”

“Is that true?  It’s very strange.  Why has my mother become a beggar?  My mother was wealthy.  Well, did you see with whom my mother lives?”

The sangnom mumbled that it was awful to talk about.  But because the saengwon was so curious about his mother, the sangnom finally said, “I will tell you the truth.  But don’t get angry.  Since your deceased mother did not get along well with your father, they have separated.  Now your mother lives with my dead father.  That is why it is really hard to tell you about this.”

When he heard these words, the saengwon turned pale and shed tears without a word.