Next Life Let Me love you again

Endings and beginnings

Bangkok 300 years ago

Phayu's heart beat fast with a mixture of fury and fear, as he ran into the abandoned house. Rain, his Rain, had been taken by his enemy. The note delivered in the middle of the night, "Come alone or you will never see your lover again."

Now as he entered the house his eyes immediately found Rain tied to a pillar in the center of the room. Surrounding him was several men, to Phayu's horror he saw one had a knife pointed at Rain's face.

"You actually came for this boy?" Stop said with an evil laugh. "Good"

"Rain," Phayu said desperately, "I will get you out of here. We will go home together."

"Oh I don't think you will be leaving here," Stop said.

"Let Rain go! You have me now." Rain shook his head at this letting Phayu know he wouldn't go anywhere without him.

"You won't do as I say if I let him go. Now kneel." Stop said pointing to the floor.

Phayu hesitated but the man with the knife brought it closer to Rain's face and pointed it at his eye. Phayu knelt. "Good," said Stop, "such an obedient dog."

Stop moved forward, knife in hand. "You love this boy so much you will die for him? Well who am I to deny true love then?" With that he stabbed Phayu. Rain screamed as if he had been the one stabbed instead. Phayu only looked at him with tears in his eyes and mouthed "I love you." Before slumping forward.

"Kill the boy." Stop ordered his man. It was almost a relief to Rain when he felt the knife against his throat. He didn't want to live without Phayu.

Bangkok a little over 18 years ago

Five year old Phayu was playing with his twin Saifah when he suddenly got up and ran to his mother.

"Ma, where's Rain. I want to see Rain please?" He said, close to tears.

"Rain like the weather?" It was currently sunny out. Phayu shook his head. "Is Rain a person then?" Phayu nodded.

Phayu's mother thought carefully but she didn't know anyone named Rain. She wondered if Rain could be an imaginary friend, but Phayu had never mentioned him before and that didn't explain why he was so upset.

"I'm sorry baby, I don't know who that is." Phayu was almost inconsolable for the rest of the day, finally exhausting himself into sleep. That night he dreamed of Rain for the first time.

Across town, in a small hospital a new mother slept soundly while her husband smiled in pride at both his wife and new born son. The name tag hung on the end of the bassinet read Varain.

Bangkok Modern Day

Rain was struggling. He was nearing the end of his first year at the University and everything seemed so hard. He was struggling with school, with dealing with his ADHD, with being a teenager making his first steps into the real world, and sometimes just with life itself.

So it was no wonder when his tire broke late one rainy night he panicked and froze not knowing what to do. He was close to tears when he heard the knock on his window. Relief began to flood into him when the other man said he would fix the tire for him. Rain got out of the car to hold an umbrella so he could shelter the man from the rain. He refused to wait in the car, this was the least he could do.

When the stranger turned to him, after putting the damagrd tire in the trunk, and lowered his bandanna Rain was shocked by his good looks but also because something seemed oh so familiar about the man.

"You are so handsome," Rain said in a daze. His heart racing, part of him wanted to lift his hand and caress the man's cheek to make sure he was real.

Suddenly remembering that he was talking to a virtual stranger Rain blushed but the man only thanked him for the compliment and told him to go home before he got sick.

That night Rain had THE dream again. For as long as Rain could remember he felt like something or someone was missing from his life that should have been there. He often had dreams of a person, a man, but he could never see him clearly. When he tried too hard to picture him he only saw brief images of a raging thunderstorm.

The next day Rain was telling his best friend Sky about his adventure with the flat tire and the handsome stranger when Ple came to talk to Sky. She needed some paper work from their seniors for an upcoming event and asked Sky if he had gotten them. He said he had gotten them last month from P'Phayu.

Rain froze at the name. P'Phayu? Storm? It had to be a coincidence, it couldn't have anything to do with his dreams.

"Who's P'Phayu?" He asked. Hoping it sounded like just a casual conversation. Both Ple and Sky seemed surprised he had never heard of the celebrity senior. They told Rain all about his accomplishments and qualities.

Rain only half listened. He couldn't still the beating of his heart. Just the name and he felt like his world had suddenly been shifted. He kept telling himself this was nothing to do with his dreams but it felt important.

The night of the code line gathering Rain almost decided to stay home. It was bad form for younger students not to show and accept the help of their seniors, but Rain hated crowds. He sometimes suffered from sensory overload when there were too many people around. In the end it was Sky that talked him into going. "You can always leave if it becomes too much, just show your face for a bit."

He was about to excuse himself to go home when the seniors at his table started talking about the one who was late. Rain's curiosity got the better of him and he asked who they were talking about. The conversation that followed reminded him of the discussion with Ple and Sky the other day. Another coincidence he told himself, but he wasn't really sure he believed that.

Rain turned as the door opened and his heart stopped. It was the man who had helped him with his tire. As the seniors greeted him everything clicked into place for Rain.

"Hey you're that Phayu." He said excitedly. It felt like he might finally get answers about why he had those dreams for all his life. At the very least he could thank him for helping with his tire, of the name really was just a coincidence.

"Yes, I am Phayu and who are you?"