So I Don't Forget You

What Kind of a Loophole is THAT??

Everything was hazy, as if he were walking through a dense fog. It wasn't cold...or hot. Actually, Kongpob couldn't tell what the temperature was. He couldn't really feel anything.

Kongpob squinted when he finally could make out figures in the distance. He walked toward them, unsure if he was going the right way. In fact, he couldn't even remember what he'd been doing. He didn't know where he was.

Oh, yeah...he'd snuck out of the house with his bike, intent on seeing Arthit.

Had he fallen off his bike somewhere and knocked himself out? For that matter, where was his bike? None of this was familiar to him at all.

The fog lifted abruptly, and he found himself staring down at two people, near and dear to him.

His mom, and Arthit.

They were crying.

"Mae?" Kongpob said quietly, confused as to why they were upset. She didn't respond, and when he went over to place a hand on her shoulder, his hand went right through and he nearly toppled to the floor. "What the..." Kongpob swallowed down his panic. "P'Arthit, what's going on? Why are you both ignoring me?"

Arthit sniffled slightly as if Kongpob had never spoken. He squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing hard. "They'll be here soon, mae."

"N-not yet," she whimpered, hunching forward, agony in her voice. "He's my only son...I can't leave him alone. Not here. It's so cold...he hates the cold, N'Arthit."

Arthit's eyes opened, filled with unshed tears.

Kongpob had to have been sucked into the Twilight Zone. That or he was lucid dreaming. This was all too realistic.

Then his gaze fell on the table they were sitting next to, a white sheet completely covering a body. He watched numbly as Arthit stood and reached with one shaky hand, pulling one corner of the sheet up to reveal none other than Kongpob's own face, scraped and bruised, his eyes shut as if asleep. The only sign he wasn't sleep was his chest wasn't moving.

Ears ringing, walls tilting, Kongpob staggered back in shock, staring with denial thrumming through him. That couldn't be him. He wasn't dead. He wasn't! This had to be some sort of mistake!

"Hi, I'm Black," came a cheerful voice.

Kongpob weakly lifted his head. There was a young guy dressed in all black, smiling at him and holding out his hand. His eyes were so black the pupils were inseparable from the irises. The sight of the guy unnerved Kongpob, and he shifted away slightly.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," the guy said in a soothing voice, not making a move towards Kongpob.

Kongpob eyed him warily.

"The hard part is over," the guy continued, "and you can rest now. No more pain, no more sadness, nothing bad will ever touch you again."

"I'm not ready to go," Kongpob said stubbornly, turning back to watch Arthit and his mom hug each other. The sheet was once again covering the face of Kongpob's body.

"I understand. But we all have to go sometime."

"This was the worst possible time for me to die!" Kongpob snapped, glaring a the guy.

Black nodded. "There's never a good time to die."

Kongpob pressed his lips together. He wanted to scream at this stranger that it wasn't fair. Why should Kongpob be the one to die?? He was too young! He had his whole life ahead of him! All he wanted to do was make up with Arthit! Was that so wrong??