Flashback
ARCHEN's POV
I'm here at the park. I don't have school today, so I thought I'd go for a walk to breathe in some fresh air and take some good pictures. I like to collect pictures, especially when I'm in nature. As I'm walking around the playground, I see a man hiding in a big tree. I approach him slowly and find out that he is crying. I walk nearer and ask him.
"Hi, may I help you?" he immediately looks at me and wipes his tears.
"I'm okay, don't mind me. You can leave. I don't need someone's help," he replied grumpily.
I know I don't have any right to be mad because I knew he has a problem, but hell, he's so arrogant. Doesn't he have any manners?
"Okay, I'll leave, but please stop crying. That's not the answer to problems," I answered him calmly, even though I was getting annoyed because of his rudeness. But I need to stay calm because I don't know what he's going through.
"Can you please leave me alone? I don't want your opinion, I don't want your concern. Do you understand?" he shouted, looking at me.
Because of what he said, my blood rushed to my head, and I held my breath.
"Okay, I'll leave," I hissed. "You don't have to shout."
After that, I left him there. I'm annoyed because I just met a person who doesn't have any manners. I know he has a problem, which is why he's like that, but I had hope for a little respect.
After that incident, I left and went to a quiet place, which is here in the garden of the park. This is my favorite place whenever I'm stressed; I like to nap here. I lay down on the grass and was about to take a nap when I felt someone move beside me.
That arrogant man? Why is he here?
"What are you doing here?" I asked him.
"Oh, you fell!" He handed me my camera. Oh, shit! Why didn't I realize that I forgot it!
I immediately took it and checked if it was okay. Thank God, it was okay.
"Thanks," I told him without looking at him.
"I'm sorry," those were the words I heard from him as he sat down next to me.
I didn't respond to him because I was waiting to hear what he had to say.
"I'm sorry for being rude. I'm not that kind of person. I just have a problem, and I poured the weight of my feelings on you," he said. I just let him speak to make him feel better. I didn't know, but I felt sorry for him.
"Can I tell you a story?" he looked at me and smiled slightly.
I nodded in response, indicating that I would listen. My dad wants me to leave and permanently stay in America. He wants me to stay close to his friend's daughter because he believes that we will get married when we are of the right age. However, I refuse to go along with this plan. I am not ready for any kind of commitment. I want to pursue my dreams first before settling down, and I want to do so with someone I love, not through an arranged marriage. What era are we living in anyway? Additionally, I don't love her. I don't want to hurt her, and I don't want to hurt myself either. My mind is in turmoil. I don't know what to do. My dad and I are constantly fighting about this," he said, his eyes shutting.
I feel sorry for him; I feel like there are a lot of problems bothering him.
"What if you try to talk to your dad because you both need some time to figure out what would be better? Maybe it's time to say what's on your mind. You can't just hide all of that."
"What if he doesn't listen?"
"You will never know if you don't try."
I can feel his sadness, his worries.
I found myself staring at him. His face is beautiful; his nose is sharp, his eyelashes are thick, and his lips are red. You'd think he's a woman with his beautiful face.
"Don't look at me, I might melt," he told me.
I immediately looked away. I didn't realize that I was staring at him. Why is my heart beating like this? It's not normal. Maybe I need to check with the doctor.
After a little silence, he spoke again.
"What's your name? May I know if you don't mind?" His eyes were still closed while saying those words.
"Why? Why do you want to know?"
"We are strangers. Maybe after this, we won't cross paths again," he said while smiling a little.
"I'm chen," I replied.
"I'm Dunk Natachai," he opened his eyes and stared at me, and our eyes met.
I could feel his pain through his eyes, but I could still sense that he was a happy person. I couldn't take my eyes off of him; it was as if I felt relieved just by looking at his face.
"I told you, don't stare at me. You might fall in love and not move on. You'll just get hurt," he said jokingly.
I immediately looked away. "Stop teasing me. Falling in love is not in my vocabulary," I said, while looking at the grass.
"Ow, okay," he replied with a little smile on his face.
"Can I take a nap for a while? It's nice here. I just want to rest a little."
"No worries, suit yourself."
After a few minutes, he has already fallen asleep. I know it's not good to take pictures without permission, but I secretly took pictures of him while he was sleeping. I know this is one good memory that happened in my life, and I want to cherish this moment with him because I was happy for a short time, knowing that I was not alone. But I know we need to do things on our own after this.
After taking some pictures, I picked a flower from the garden and placed it by his side. With one last glance, I left Nat, still sleeping in the garden. I stood up and put a short letter on the side of the flower.
Nat,
Everything will be fine. Just be yourself and don't overthink. You have a beautiful soul. I hope someday our paths will cross again.
Chen
