The Red Thread of Destiny

Chapter 4: First Meet

"Hope is a thing with feathers which perches in the soul."

"It is just the first week of school and I am already tired," Sig said, whining to his friends. Por and Sky nodded, agreeing completely. Rain feebly raised his hand from the floor of the dance room to indicate that he agreed, where he had collapsed after 4 hours of continuous practice. The programme was in two days, and Rain and his group, consisting of Sky, Sig, Por, Nut and Yihwa (the only girl), had been madly practicing their routine. Sky's forte was definitely music, so they had decided that he would take care of that. Rain and Yihwa, although both contemporary and hip-hop dancers, were trained in ballet right from childhood, a fact that they discovered as they started talking about what to do.

The six of them had really bonded over music and dancing, and had created their own group. They were all highly musically inclined and Rain and Yihwa were fabulous dancers as well. After a lengthy discussion, the group decided to do their own version of Swan Lake, a beautiful classic, but with a twist. At first the seniors had been very reluctant to allow ballet as a performance, thinking it might be too boring for the audience, but after they had seen the final presentation, they had been so excited to something so different and had given the group the green light. Which was why both Rain and Yihwa lay like two derailed engines after a collision. The practice was intense, because time was of essence. They had been given less than 10 days to plan and execute a show of this scale. They were not happy, but all of them knew that this was the platform that would help them create an indelible impression in the minds of the benefactors, teachers and management of the college.

Theerpanayakul Mansion –

"You are coming with us and that's final," Pete said, in his softest tone. Both Vegas and Phayu knew better than to argue when he used that tone. But today Phayu was just not in the mood. "I will not go," he said, addressing his father with uncharacteristic harshness. "Phayu!" Kinn growled. "You will not utter a word! We have given you enough leeway! You have spent the last 6 years of your life, with your head buried in the sand, and you need to get out of it! That day, you left without informing us, and we didn't say anything. We never do, so if we respect your wishes, kindly respect ours too," Kinn's voice was firm.

Phayu looked around the room. His dad seemed lost in thoughts and his Pa's eyes were filmed over with tears. 'What am I doing to them? They have never harmed me, hurt me. On the contrary both of them, and every member of this family has loved me and supported me unconditionally! Who am I to let them down again and again?' he thought, disappointed with himself for not realising how much his abrupt behaviour was causing a rift between his family and him. "Okay, I will go with all of you. I will not stay too long, but I promise to come. Phi Pakin has some work with me that day, so I have to leave to help him, but I will stay for a while," he said, much to the relief of his family, although they showed no outward reaction.

His phone buzzed almost as he finished speaking. "It is P'Pakin," he said. Vegas gestured a 'go-ahead' with his hand.

Phayu: "Khap Phi?.... Why Phi? What happened? .... Oh, okay, no problem. Then let's meet on Saturday instead. Khap Phi! Khopuna Khap," he said and disconnected the call.

"What happened?" Porche asked. "Is all okay? Is it to do with the liquor supply?" he continued. "No Papa P, P'Pakin is busy on Friday, so we will meet on Saturday instead. Looks like I can stay for the whole programme," he said, smiling at his fathers and uncles. "I will take your leave now. I will see you at 10 am on Friday," he said, waiing as he left. "Pai, he is your responsibility. Make sure he is there at the university. We want to ensure that he will be there and if we force him too much, he will back out," Vegas told his nephew. "Rest assured Papa V, Phayu will be there, come hell or high water!" Pai vowed, knowing that he was holding Phayu's happiness in his hands.