As we walked, I felt the weather getting warmer. I guessed that it was late in the morning now. A while later, we arrived at our destination. There was a small waterfall, about one or two meters high. To me, it looked more like a small, natural dam. Above the waterfall, there was a wide bend of the waterway. Large and small rocks surrounded the area as if they had been carefully arranged by a skilled gardener. On the banks stood large trees, growing green and dense. Here, the water was still and deep, unlike down the stream, where it was rather shallow reaching only up to our knees.

Meen stopped under a large tree that stood at the edge of the stream with a large rock underneath that could accommodate five or six people. The rock was of smooth granite, fine and coarse, but not slippery.

“Here we are. We usually come here to swim,” Meen said, and showed me an area where we could put our clothes.

As I was taking in the beauty of the place, what I saw next almost made my heart stop. Meen and Napa stood completely naked before me, their clothes nicely folded and laid on the ground. I hurriedly looked away.

“We are ready,” Napa said, her voice not showing the slightest hint of shyness.

“Uh …” I felt awkward and embarrassed and did not dare to say anything.

In the next moment, I heard both of them jump into the stream, laughing and playing with each other.

“Oh, it’s nice and cool. Come on, Tim, you said you wanted to have a bath, didn’t you?” Meen called out invitingly.

I slowly turned to look at them. The water was crystal clear, so I could still see everything very clearly and had to look away again.

“You … both … please enjoy yourselves. I feel a bit chilly,” I said, making more of an excuse.

“It’s not cold at all. The water here has been mixed by warmer water from another stream so it’s really not too cold,” Napa said.

I thought to myself; what a shame. Hadn’t they met other people before? Why were they not ashamed of being naked in front of a stranger like me? I decided to sit on the rock with my face turned away. Unsure how to react, I took off my shoes and placed them beside me. I could hear them playing in the water, and their laughter. Suddenly, everything was silent.

“Where are you going?” I shouted, without turning around.

Both popped up abruptly from nowhere and sat beside me. They reached out and pulled my arms, dragging me into the water with them.

“Come on, let’s get you into the water.” Still fully clothed, they pulled me in.

I was not sure what to make of the situation. The awkwardness I felt was numbing my mind.

“Are you alright, Tim? Don’t you like playing in the water like this?” Napa asked.

In fact, I had so many questions in my head that I wanted to ask them but I didn’t find the courage to do so.

“Ye … yes. It’s wa … warm and goo … good,” I stuttered, trying very hard not to look in her direction.

I asked myself what I was doing here. This place was a paradise; both of them were as beautiful as angels, the air was fresh and pleasant, but I felt like an alien here. Napa and Meen played like innocent children, not ashamed with each other, which was understandable as they were married. But the fact that they were not shy about being naked in front of a stranger like me confused me. I felt embarrassed and isolated.

We spent about twenty minutes playing in the water, which to me, felt much longer. Every minute felt terribly awkward.

“I’m done, I’ll get the stuff ready,” Napa said to Meen.

“Alright,” Meen replied.

I heard her coming out of the water, so I immediately turned around to look in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, I could not help visualising her, as perfect as an angel, walking completely naked out of the stream. I imagined the late morning sun caressing her smooth fair skin; it must be an incredibly beautiful picture beyond description. In fact, I did feel aroused and I tried my best to suppress my feeling, which made me incredibly uncomfortable.

I heard Napa dusting off her clothes before putting them on, and then Meen coming out of the water as well.

“Tim, we’re done,” Meen called.

“Alright,” I replied.

I darted a look at Napa who had already put on her dress and was now busy packing her things. Meen was standing in front of her as if he was waiting for something. It felt safe enough, so I turned to look at them. What I saw reminded me of the tale of Adam and Eve, the first couple in the Garden of Eden, and the image I had imagined very much resembled the picture in front of me. I saw every muscle on Meen’s body very clearly. He was well proportioned, with wide shoulders, narrow hips, a very lean abdomen, and slender but muscular legs. He was standing amongst the backdrop of this beautiful, fairy tale-like forest.

“I hope that Tim can wear this,” Napa took out a set of clothes and showed it to Meen, who was still dressing.

“Hmm … maybe they are a little bit too large,” Meen said, hesitating. The clothes seemed to be more his size, while physically, I was smaller than him.

“Tim, would you like a change of clothes?” Napa asked me.

“Yes, please,” I accepted readily.

“Take off your clothes, then,” Meen said.

“Umm … can I have a towel, please?” I asked Napa, planning to wrap the towel around my waist so that I could change behind it.

“Here you are,” Napa handed me a small piece of cloth, more the size of a hair towel.

“Is there a bigger one?” I asked, taking the small towel from her.

“Not really, this one might seem small but it absorbs water quite well,” Napa explained

“Um … I would like to use it to cover my body while I change,” I answered.

“Oh, come on, don’t be shy. Just take off your clothes,” Meen told me.

“Well … let’s do it this way. I will go and change behind the bush over there,” I proposed.

“That’s fine,” Napa then handed me the dry clothes she had brought for me.

I took the clothes and walked over to the bush. The top was similar to the one Meen was wearing: a shirt which was made by sewing many hand-woven pieces of fabrics together. It was meant to be wrapped around your body, similar to the Bhutanese style. The fabric was fine and soft to the touch, simple, without any pattern. The pants were long enough to cover the upper half of my legs, with a loose waist. It was also meant to be wrapped around the waist, then folded down and fastened with the small piece of cloth that Napa had offered me to dry my body.

“Oh! It seems to fit you,” Meen exclaimed happily when I came out from behind the bush.

“That’s good. Wearing these clothes makes you look very civilised,” Napa added, complimenting me and referencing to her society.

“Civilised? Do you call yourself civilised people?” I asked.

“It is what you say in your language, isn’t it? Or did I misuse it in this sentence?” she asked.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to call yourself civilised,” I said.

“Let’s not talk about it now. Soon, you will understand what we mean,” interrupted Meen.