Autumn is a second spring

44. Cousin.

"Thank you for your help, Nong" The taller boy thanked Little Fluke sincerely. He had no idea how to handle all those girls if the little guy did not show up.

Little Fluke smiled at him. "My name is Fluke. I am eight years old. I am from Chiang Mai."

"You are not a local?" The taller boy asked.

Little Fluke shook his head. "No."

"My name is Dream. I am five years old" The little girl said showing her palm to show five fingers.  "This my phi, P' Ohm. He is eleven years old."

"Where are you from?"

"Bangkok," Ohm replied with a stoic expression as if telling Fluke to get lost.

"Boom!"

Fluke was so startled that he dropped the photos he was holding. "Ploy!" He yelled at his cousin for the jump scare.

"Aww, my Flukie is mad at me" Ployphach cooed at him.

"Fuck off!" He said in irritation. 

"I came here all the way from Canberra and this how you welcome me?" She acted as if she was deeply hurt.

"Quit the act, will you? You are going to make me puke." He said rolling his eyes.

"You only look cute. Once you open your mouth, you are like a porcupine" She commented.

"Ploy, I am in no mood to start a fight with you. So, stop getting on my nerves."

Ploy looked down at the bowl of porridge she was holding. "Sometimes it is better to let it all out na, Flukie. We are humans too."

After Ja, Ployphach had been the closest to Fluke among all his cousins. Despite not having spent much time together, they understood each other well. 

Fluke looked at his cousin. "Will letting it out solve my problems?"

Ploy stirred the porridge in the bowl and sat opposite him. "No. But you can still clear your head."

Fluke wordlessly picked up the photos that were scattered all over the floor.  He sat cross-legged on the floor holding those photos in his hands.

Ploy sat down next to him with the bowl of porridge. "Why are suddenly looking at all these photos? Feeling nostalgic?"

Fluke bit his lips. "Do you think that P' Ohm would have been better off without me by his side? Would it have been great if we never met again?"

He was holding his favorite photograph of him and Ohm from their childhood. It was the first photo they took together.

He still clearly remembered that day, when Dona, his nanny had taken the photo in the park. Ohm had been showing his signature smile for the photo. But Fluke found the smile to be too fake and had tickled Ohm to bring out his real smile.

"Why are you asking that? Don't tell me your thoughts are starting to go west," Ploy looked over at her cousin.

"The only thing going west is my relationship with P' Ohm, Ploy. I feel guilty for dragging him into this mess." Fluke put down the photograph and picked another one.

That one didn't have Dream in between him and Ohm. It was just the two of them. It was the one taken when he first visited Ohm's family back in Krabi. The smiles on their lips were sincere. It was around the time he and Ohm had started gelling in together well.

No matter how much Ohm had tried to push him away back then, he had been persistent in making friends with the dimpled guy and he succeeded eventually.  

"Don't make it sound like you are doing something wrong, Fluke. Your love for Ohm is real. You have never been unfaithful in your relationship, and you are giving your best. You can't control things happening around you Fluke. You are not god." Ploy convinced him.

"I just feel that P' Ohm deserves so much better than me. You know, I had been so worried when Fame's pregnancy issue came up. I was scared that P' Ohm would be mad at me. I didn't even dare to tell him about it. But in the end, when I told him, he was really calm. He even calmed me down." He placed the photos back inside the small wooden box and closed it.

"I know that he wasn't happy about the news. He never showed it, but I can feel how disturbed he is after that. It's all my fault." He placed the wooden box inside the cardboard box that held his childhood toys and other stuff and closed it.

"There is no use crying over spilled milk, Fluke. All you can do is make sure that your mistakes in the past won't haunt you in the future," She scoped up some porridge and fed it to Fluke.

Fluke pursed his lips. "It's easier said than done, Ploy. I have no idea what to do. I don't want P' Ohm to be hurt because of me."

Ploy patted his head. "Everything will be good. Keep your faith in god."

Fluke hugged his cousin tightly. The pressure that was being exerted from his families' side was too much to take. He couldn't talk about it to others.

Not even to Earth, who was his secret keeper, as he didn't want his friend's honeymoon spirit to be ruined because of his problem.

As one of the key players in the situation, he couldn't open up to Ohm as well. He was feeling so suffocated and stressed.

Ploy put down the bowl and hugged Fluke back. She didn't actually know the complete story. She had heard bits from her parents and seeing how distress her cousin looked, she could connect the dots and get an almost clear picture.

"How are things in Fame's end? Are you two still in touch?" She enquired.

"Not really." Fluke sat up straight. "As per my calculations, she must be twenty-one weeks into pregnancy now." 

"Are you sure that you don't have to be involved in the child's life? I mean the child is going to be your eldest after all. Don't you think it is somewhat unfair to the child?" Ploy knew how much Fluke loved kids. It would be impossible for Fluke to not have a soft corner towards his own blood.

"When I agreed to be the donor for Fame and Mist, I had already made up my mind that I wouldn't be involved in the life of the child hence born. And after what Fame did, that thought only became stronger. I don't want to be entangled with Fame anymore. It wouldn't do me any good." Fluke stated.

"I wouldn't say that I don't want to see that child or love her any less. But my love for her shouldn't be at the cost of hurting P' Ohm." He added.

"It's a 'her'?" Ploy raised her eyebrows. "I thought you weren't keeping in touch."

"I am not. It's your mom who is sending me all the details." Fluke retorted.

Ploy's mother, Megan was the director of Sirene maternity care centre in Taiwan. Every time Fame would come in for a checkup, Megan would send him all the details of the checkup including the ultrasound taken.

"Good luck, staying out of the baby's life then" Ploy said with a smirk.