Smile

Four

Non

It has been 12 years.

12 fucking years.

Out of those 12 years, it took Non 3 years to start living again.

The first few months after he moved to London with his brother, New always kept his eyes on him. Always looking at Non with worry on his face. Well, Non didn't give him a good reason not to act like that. After all that happened, Non refused to eat and drink for the first few weeks. His big brother had to force him and beg him to at least eat something. His brother's tears were the reason why Non, in the end, forced himself, too, to take a bite here and there, a gulp of water here and there. But he wasn't able to keep anything in his stomach for long.

Even when they moved to London, it took Non a very long time to finally keep anything in without puking everything out after a few minutes. To be honest, this time was nothing but a fight against himself.

It was all thanks to New, who only left his side when it was necessary. New always made sure to cook something light so as not to overstrain his stomach.

It took over a year for Non to be able to go to university and pursue his dream.

It took another two years and a lot of therapy sessions for Non to be able to make friends again.

After 3 years, New was finally able to watch his little brother live again. He was still hesitant, but he was finally able to smile with his friends, go out, and party. Non was finally able to live the life of a young student.

The trauma that Non experienced will never leave him at peace. Non will always remember it, but thanks to all the therapy sessions his brother made him go to, he was able to handle it better. His trauma shaped Non into the man he turned out to be today and, of course, the persona he created for himself. CHAY.

Thanks to that persona, Non was able to live his dream as a writer but still protect himself, his family, and thus his past. His trauma. His regrets. His loss.

So in short, Non put a lot of work into his life and career over the last 12 years, and no one is allowed to destroy everything he worked so hard for. Not even his ex-boyfriend, who betrayed him when Non needed him the most. And most of all, he will not leave his most precious project in said ex-boyfriend's hands unsupervised.

Yes, the project Phee was handling was Non's very first piece he ever wrote. Unlike his current novels, this one was not scary or anything going in that direction. Back then, this project was Non's way of coping. His therapist suggested that he write down his thoughts. May it be as a diary or in the form of a poem. Anything. So Non thought of writing everything down, and in the end, it turned into a whole book. The original plan was to keep it to himself, to keep that book hidden somewhere in his room, and maybe, one day, burn it. But a few years later, when Non cleaned up his room and found the book again, he started to read it, and something hit him, and he thought of turning it into a novel. So he alternated a few details here and there, deleted and added a few parts, and et voila, his first novel was created.

Well, it might sound easy, but in reality, it took Non almost a year to finish it. In the end, like he did when he was younger, Non showed it to New. The older man was thrilled and encouraged Non to publish it, so he did. Without any big expectations, Non posted it online, and the rest is history.

Now, years later, he was able to live his dream. To enjoy life with his little family. People are offering to work with him to publish his novels as series, and people are asking him to write a script for them. Life finally turned good again. After all the pain and the loss, after he and his older brother had to fend for themselves for so long, it looked like the universe finally had mercy on them. They felt blessed, and the biggest blessing came after his nephew, Neo, was brought into their lives.