Sun & Sea - Book 2

Sun & Sea - Resolve

Inside the house, Arthit had finally come up to his senses, Talay still sitting next to him, waiting anxiously to meet Arthit's needs.

"I... I should tell my mother." Arthit began. He passed a hand upon his face. "I can't believe we learnt that Nong Fah was alive just to lose Papa..." He looked up at Talay with pitiful eyes. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Talay's heart clenched so hard, it hurt.

"Let me come with you?" He asked. Arthit nodded and Talay helped him up. When he paused on top of the stairs, the corridor seeming so awfully long, Talay took his hand in support. Arthit pressed it, took a breath and walked towards his mother's room.

He gently opened the door and went to sit on her bed next to her. She was scrolling on her phone.

"Ah, son. I'm looking for a new job, and, look, I've found some! So we'll have money to get Nong Fah back!" She said happily.

"Mama... Mama you should be resting. Let your son work for you, you've done so much for us already!" Arthit said, putting his hand on his mother's arm. M looked up to Talay, who had stayed at the entrance, leaning against the door frame.

"Come here, son," she waved at him. "Come sit with us." Talay came and sat next to Arthit, looking at her. She searched in the night desk next to her and took a handmade bracelet out of it. "Here, give me your hand. I made this for you, to thank you for all that you've done for us."

Talay was feeling really bad about this gift, and he tried to refuse it, but she insisted so he had to let her adjust it at his wrist. "So you'll remember us, even when we part ways," Arthit's mother added. As if he could ever forget about this family. He looked at Arthit, who had been overlooking this exchange with a proud smile. Talay's heart felt even heavier. His serious look reminded Arthit of why they had come to see his mother, and his smile faded.

"Mama..." He began and paused, looking down, his eyes reddening again.

Talay put his hand in the hollow of his back and caressed it gently.

"Mama, Papa left us," Arthit said in an almost inaudible voice.

"What did you say, son?" His mother leaned towards him to hear better, and Arthit had to repeat such a difficult sentence.

"Papa left us," he said again, his mouth distorted, a tear escaping the corner of his eyes, even if he was fighting to keep them in.

It was his mother's turn to be overwhelmed by sadness, and Arthit hugged her tight.

"Nong Dao and Nong Mek should be home soon. Let's fight this together."

His mother nodded. "Can you... Give me some time alone to assimilate the news?" She asked.

"Of course, Mama. I'll go make us food." Arthit kissed her forehead and followed Talay who had already gotten up.

He closed the door to his mother's room, took a few steps, and broke down in the corridor. Talay was wrapping him at once, sheltering him in a dark bubble, as if nothing could reach him anymore. Arthit hugged him tightly.

When he broke from the hug, his hand brushed against Talay's bottom.

"What is it?" He exclaimed, the feeling of something hard in Talay's pocket taking his mind off the somber news.

Talay slowly took out the toy from his pocket. "It's... A motorbike." He paused. "You know how much I like superbikes, don't you?" Arthit grinned through his tears and replied: "Yes, a superhero needs a superbike to save children!" He went to pinch Talay's cheeks, who took a step backwards, avoiding the squeeze with a frown. Arthit pouted. "You're so not funny." And he led the way down to the kitchen, hoping that cooking could take his mind off reality for a short while. Arthit searched for a small carton of vegetal milk to give himself strength before cooking, but couldn't find it. Weird. He thought he had asked Mhok to bring some, as they were usually included in the delivery. Maybe he had forgotten. He opened a drink bottle instead.

Talay tried to help him cook as best as he could, but this was not an exercise he had done often. Arthit was unusually silent, a lot of thoughts running through his mind.

In the middle of adding salt to the pan, he suddenly exclaimed: "I'm going to look for Nong Fah!"

Talay rose his eyes, alarmed.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, I thought about it, and..." Arthit paused. "I shouldn't bother you with this," he finished with a small voice, and concentrated on cooking again.

"No, but tell me about it," Talay asked, getting closer to him, putting his hand on the worktop like the first time Arthit had been in this kitchen.

Arthit felt shy. He checked the pan, but now it was mostly about waiting for the ingredients to be cooked. He lowered the heat, and turned back to Talay, towering upon him. He bit his lips.

"I'd feel better seated to tell you all this," he looked up at Talay. They moved to the couch.

"To be honest, this is not a long story," Arthit began again. "But you're sure you want to hear about my problems?" Talay nodded, not daring to take his hand this time.

"Well, my father got injured at work a few years in the past. He had a very well-paid job, and we had a house like yours... With more helpers," Arthit chuckled. "He's French, do you believe that? You would never have guessed looking at me, would you? That's why we call him Papa."

Talay was listening to him very intently. "No, I would never have guessed", he answered with a heavy heart, knowing where the story was going.

"Well, after the accident, he couldn't work anymore, but he still wanted us to live as best as we had before." Arthit continued. "So he took a small loan, and a bigger one, and he began to gamble... You know how it goes. Mama knew about it, but I never heard them fight together, and she tried her best to hide it from us. But one day, I found a letter from the debt collectors when I cleaned up the restaurant. That's when I dropped out of school and found my part-time job at the convenience store."

The more he was talking, the more Talay's feelings were crushing him. How could fate have pursued Arthit so much? But Arthit continued.

"When I told you my father had had an accident and was in a coma, that day, it was actually because the debt-collectors had come to our place. They wrecked the restaurant and beated him and Mama up. I really had no time for delivering food to you anymore, I'm so sorry..."

Talay couldn't hold it in anymore and suddenly took his hands. "What are you sorry for?" He was almost yelling. "I didn't know, I swear I didn't know, if you had told me, I'd have come to help you..." And things wouldn't have turned out like this, he added in his head, but couldn't say it outload, on the verge of tears.

Arthit pressed his hands gently. "It's ok, I didn't want to bother you anyway, and it's my problems, you know. But they had become pressing, and they left a letter saying we had a week to refund the loan. Even though the fire occurred before the week elapsed, the more I think about it, the more I believe it was their doing too. It makes even more sense now with the letter saying that Nong Fah is alive..." He paused, and resumed with a small voice. "Because they are holding him hostage."

He looked back up at Talay, still holding his hands. "I have only a week again to refund the debt, or they said they'd kill Saifah. Now I'm afraid they would act hastily as they did with our restaurant. What if I'm late again? I can't let this happen. I've gathered some money, but if they're not waiting for the week, I can't let Nong Fah go like Papa just did." His eyes were watery again, but a resolve was forming in them.

"I'm going to search for him." He finally stated.

In front of him, Talay didn't say anything, stunned by his resolve.