Banana Pancakes

Just one more obstacle (Part 17)

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Part 17

Just one more obstacle

"Fifteen is half of thirty."

I didn't know the significance of that sentence, but it was the title of the notebook entry I wrote for that one day. I've always looked back at my fifteenth year with nothing but happy butterflies and nostalgia. Even though a person can't live life without going through trials and tribulations, I've always known that I'm lucky. I've always had people who were there for me. People who would drop everything and be by my side. 

But I do admit – the person – the one person who has always been there for me through all these years is none other than Kongpob Suthiluck.

Some people may say it's because of the fact that we've been friends since we were six.
Some people may say that our fates have tied us to another.
Some people may say that it's a choice we choose to be there for one another.

I say it's because, in some small way, we care.

Kongpob may be obnoxious, and at times just one big pill. But deep underneath that tough rugged exterior, there's one thing I know for sure about him. It's his heart. He may change and fluctuate between 'nice' and 'jerk' within moments, but Kongpob's heart never changes. He has the biggest heart in the world – more than anyone I know. His promises are always kept and never broken because he puts his heart on the line. Maybe that's why when things get messed up, Kongpob becomes angry and bitter. He's consistent and when people are not, he feels he's the one that got hurt. It's happened to him so many times that Kongpob has learned to not put his heart on the line anymore.

He doesn't say or do things that he doesn't know for the sure the outcome.

I believe that's his biggest flaw. Because he doesn't trust easily, he doesn't take chances. Things end up getting delayed. Eventually, it'll be too late to do anything. But when he does promise, and takes the chance, you know for sure things will turn out a hundred percent.

I learned this about him when we were fifteen that summer during the camping trip. It was my Grandpa who had suggested our two families get together. Kongpob's father became exclusively busy and couldn't go. In the end, Grandpa was the one that took us down to the family campsite near the high mountains. That was the first time I saw my usual Five-Star Hotel-Grandpa pitch three tents, catching fishes and cooking, and lighting fires.

At that time, Alex and Grandpa were still close so they were the ones that were extremely protective of our group. Kongpob, Diana and David, who was around ten at the time, came along with us too. Because our families were so close, it was like we were one family. During the day, we hiked up around the forest-like place all the way to top. When we finally made it up, everyone was extremely exhausted and panting like crazy. But the view was worth it. 

During the evening, we all went back down to the lake stream. With the wild calls of birds and the water running over rocks, the six of us all pitched in catch our dinner. During the night, we set up a fire and sat around it in our campsite. Other families joined us, and we ended up having a blast. We didn't strike out a guitar and sing some corny camp song; instead, we all gathered around to light fireworks. Then, my Grandpa shot it up the night sky. The blast was so bright as it broke into millions of pieces, shooting out all shades of the rainbow. It was all fun until a camp ranger arrived and told us to cut it out and gave my Grandpa a fine for breaking the rules.

That night, I shared a tent with David. Grandpa got his own tent while Alex, Kongpob, and Diana shared the other tent. I remember sleeping soundly and peacefully until I woke up in the middle of the night. I realized how scared I was about ten minutes later when I realized I couldn't hold in my pee anymore. I rolled over in my sleeping bag to see that David was facing the other way; he was already in a deep sleep. I considered calling him, but I didn't want to wake him up in the middle of sleep. So I had no other choice.

I crawled out of my sleeping bag with a flashlight tucked underneath my right arm. I unzipped the tent as quietly as I could. David didn't stir from his sleep, so I left the tent as quickly as I could. Once I got out, that's when the fear really overwhelmed me. The night sky hung over like a black blanket; there were stars or moon out that night. I clicked on my flashlight and looked around. The campfire had died and all the other tents were dark. Everyone was asleep.