Of Tales, Old and New {✓}

1 - The Fairest of Them All

Arthit dumped his bag in the vicinity of his bed and faceplanted on his soft, inviting mattress. He let out a groan as he felt the exhaustion in every part of his being. He told himself that he would only rest for only a few minutes, maybe five, no... ten...

Buzz buzzzz

Buzz buzzzz

He jolted awake at the incessant buzzing. Swatting his hands about, he tried to locate his phone. He reached for the offending object, ready to chuck it away if it was Bright or Tootah. It was Kong. He sat up, scooting further up the headboard. It was then he realized he was still in his work clothes. No wonder he was feeling so uncomfortable. He accepted the call, getting up to freshen up as well, informing the other.

"But it's already nearly ten, P'. Did you just get home?"

"Oh, is it? No, I got home hours ago. I guess I fell asleep." As if on cue, a jaw cracking yawn crept up to him.

"Oh, if you're tired, I'll just let you sleep, P'."

"No! No, no, no. You don't need to do that. I'll just go take a quick shower and I'll call you back okay? I want to talk to you too," Arthit told him. He was answered with a soft smile and twinkling eyes before he cut the call.

He took a few minutes in the shower, succumbing to the temptation of the warm water cascading down and soothing his tense muscles. Thank the gods it was Friday. He dressed up quickly after and was back on his bed, arranging some pillows so he was comfortable against the headboard. He dialed Kongpob and was promptly met with a fond look on the screen.

"Hey handsome," he greeted. Oh god, the distance had turned him into a mush and he wasn't even embarrassed about it anymore.

"Hey beautiful," answered Kong, eliciting a blush with a dimpled smile from him, "how was your week?"

"Exhausting. Got swamped with work. We found some of the half-assed work designs that P'John had left and we had to do some revisions and it took us a lot of time. Seriously, the guy is gone for more than a year and he's still haunting us." Arthit grumbled. Kongpob let out a sympathetic hum.

They went on like that, asking the other about what transpired with their lives, sharing their woes of other people, sharing laughs over some antics of their friends. Until the younger remembered something.

"P', have you seen your book?"

"What book?"

"The one that you bought a week ago, the weird one."

"Oh, it actually slipped my mind." Arhit's eyes drifted over to the chest, lying innocently on his desk. The lid, firmly shut. "What about it?"

"There's a new entry that I haven't seen before on mine..."

"What? Wait, I'll go fetch mine." Arthit scrambled to get his, carrying it with him towards the bed. He settled it on his lap, opening the hardbound cover to the first page.

I see. It seems like both of your hearts have decided then. Your wish is my command and all that jazz.

He stared at the new entry, blinking his eyes, thinking he wasn't seeing clearly. When the text remained, stubbornly unchanged, he turned his bewildered eyes towards Kongpob.

"But I didn't wish for anything! I didn't write anything!"

"Yeah, me too P'. I just saw it there a while ago when me and my roommate were investigating it further."

"What have our hearts decided Kong??!" Arthit was starting to panic. Although he wasn't necessarily a believer of any kind of mysticism, he couldn't deny that the book was potentially dangerous and that they had to be careful with it. That said, being careful meant shutting the chest, putting it away and ignoring its existence, with the hope that nothing would happen. But that had proven ineffective so far, with the ominous words written damning them.