Obsessed

4-The Way We Were-Part 1

The green landscape of the quaint village was ornamented with specks of various colors of flowers as the spring emerged in her full glory. The brilliant blue sky was adorned with occasional clouds which floated like white cotton candies. The sun smiled brightly when the beautiful kite was swayed by the wild wind.

"Sim!! Slow down!! You are gonna trip and fall.", the eight-year-old yelled at the five-year-old who has chosen to chase the flying kite which soared like a hawk.

"P' Oon......If I fall... You will catch me na......", before he could finish, he slipped and fell down, only to be caught by two pale arms.

"I told you...You are going to catch me.", the younger one smiled sheepishly.

The two boys lied on their back in the ravine, covered with a green blanket of spring grass. They looked at the evening sun.

"I lost the kite...", the younger one looked at his P with misty eyes.

"It's okay Sim. I will make you a new one for your birthday next week.", Oon gave a dimpled smile at his little friend.

"You are the best.", Sim gave a megawatt smile and hugged his P, who had his eyes closed, enjoying the nice breeze, as the warm gusts parted their hair. He lovingly glanced at his P, who has the dimples which always mesmerises him. He is the only one allowed to poke the dimples, which made him proud. He was about to touch the pale face when his hand was caught mid-air. Oon kissed his palm and pulled to his feet.

"Let's go Sim. Grandma will be worried. It's already late."

Oon stayed with his grandmother who is his only relative left in this world. She was his everything, father, mother, friend. But it was until Sim came into the picture. Sim's parents were business men, and they lived in the city. They had to travel a lot and didn't have enough time to take care of their child. They couldn't find a babysitter as Sim was a fussy baby, who always craved for his parents' attention. Then they did the next best thing. His parents left him with his grandparents when he was only three years old, but of course with occasional visits.

Oon and his grandmother were their neighbors. Between his school and the other small jobs that he did around the village, he found time to spend with his little Sim. The younger easily settled in his arms whenever the child missed his parents. From the first day they became inseparable.

That year Oon was really happy because Sim is turning five, and now they can go to school together. Sim followed him everywhere like a shadow, and his P was his world. Oon tried hard to make Sim's every wish come true. Like how he swam to the middle of the deep pond just to get the purple lotus, how he learned to make kites, how he learned to cook simple dishes for Sim, how he sang lullabies for the younger.

They spent most of the minutes together, and they were carefree and contended in their little bubble of joy. They vowed to never let go of each other, but the fate had a different plan for them. Spring changed to the scorching summer, which gave way to the gloomy winter. Life has to evolve to survive, so do people. Their little world was broken into millions of pieces when Sim's parents came back to take him away on his fifth birthday.

Unlike Oon's tattered house, Sim lived in a decent two-storey house with a beautiful garden. Oon and Sim sat on the bench in the middle of the small garden.

"P'Oon, I don't want to leave.", he side hugged his P.

Oon looked at the younger one's tear glazed eyes. "You have to Sim. It's for your own good. They can get you better school."

"Then...Why can't you come with us?"

Sim had no idea how hard it is for Oon to part away from him. He didn't want to let go of his Sim. But he can't be selfish, and keep a child away from his parents. Can he? He also has a grandmother to look after, who didn't give upon him and struggled a lot to bring him up.