A Melody in the Twilight Sky

13 A Night of Fun

The lights in the living room suddenly flicked on, accompanied by footsteps approaching us.

'Follow me.' Taking advantage of the increased light, he mouthed the words to me, like the charades game we used to play.

I nodded, and Poon stealthily led the way. He walked me to the storage room. I followed closely behind, trying to be as quiet as possible. When we arrived, he waved me in, then he crept in after me and slowly slid the door closed.

My heart was pounding. I had no idea what was happening.

The kitchen lights turned on, I could tell from the light seeping in through the vent at the bottom of the storage room door. It was so dark in the room that I couldn't see anything, so I fumbled for my phone and turned on the screen, just enough light to see Poon's startled face.

He crouched down, his back against the door, and raised a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet, as usual.

What was going on?

I sat down and slowly backed away until I hit the wall on the other side, giving myself enough space to stretch my legs without bumping into him.

"Who is it?" I whispered to Poon, who was breathing heavily.

He mouthed a reply, but I shook my head, indicating I couldn't see. He then turned on the screen of the camcorder he was holding, illuminating his face, and said again,

'The housekeeper lady.'

'What?...' That aunt again? 'Where's your grandma?'

'Just wait. She'll get back soon.'

I glanced at the time displayed on the camcorder screen and grew even more anxious.

It was past 9 PM...

The clinking of dishes came from the kitchen, as if someone was eating or washing dishes. It made me even more afraid to breathe loudly. He didn't want this lady to know because he was afraid of being dragged back to Bangkok. I didn't want to be seen either, because she would think I was sneaking in to do something mischievous.

Ugh, when would Grandma come back? I hadn't eaten dinner yet, and sitting here for so long was starting to make me tired.

'Hmm hmm hmm hmm~ Hmm hmm hmm hmm~'

A sweet humming sound, soft and smooth like a cool breeze carrying the familiar scent of fresh wood, drifted from afar, like a dream. No, the figure of the woman humming was not far away. She stood blocking the incoming light, so her figure was just a dark silhouette, her face unseen.

It was a dream I didn't want to wake up from...

"Hmm..." I startled awake and something fell onto my lap.

What was this cloth?

I tried to open my eyes as I picked up the cloth and held it up. It was light blue, thick, long-sleeved, and the smell...

"Eww." Realizing whose denim jacket it was, I reflexively threw it away with all my might. It flew across the room, hit the opposite wall, and fell to the floor.

How did Poon's denim jacket end up with me?

And then my brain started processing, and my eyes snapped open.

Oh no. I was hiding in the storage room of Poon's grandma's house. Did I fall asleep? And where did he go? Why was the storage room door left open? The kitchen lights were on too. Most importantly... what time was it?

5:05 AM

"Shit..." I almost screamed out loud when I saw the time on my phone screen.

This was bad. My parents went to visit my grandma in Rayong province yesterday morning. They said they would be back around this morning. If I didn't get back before my dad arrived, he would know I was gone all night. I would be dead. Oh no~