In Every Lifetime

Chapter Forty One

Arthit soon found out, the hard way he might add, that standing behind Kongpob might now have been the best decision he made that night. For starters, it was like these humans KNEW.

While his husband focused on getting them through the missions that were mostly easy, blowing out candles, moving things from one room to the other, Arthit was basically plagued by the wandering souls of the manor.

Not that they were actual souls like him of course, these were all just humans in annoyingly good costumes and make up. But Arthit had to be honest, being away from the other realm where he once resided in made him forget how scary some humans could look. When he had first arrived in the soul realm, he had been shocked and terrified out of his wits multiple times.

Many souls that dwelled in the parts that resided there had been wandering around those parts for many many centuries. Safe to say Arthit had seen his fair share of those who were criminally put to death and were often missing some limbs or well, missing a head altogether. But at least those people didn't come running after him or scaring him at every turn. Not on purpose at least.

"AAAAAAAAAAARGHHH!!!" He screamed for the umpteenth time that night, much to the amusement of his human husband as yet another 'ghost' came bumbling out of the shadows behind them, prompting Kongpob to hurry along.

The 'ghost' stared at Kongpob from afar after her job was done, as the lone youngster burst out into laughter and seemingly began talking to someone. The rooms may have been dark but she could have sworn the man came in alone. So who was he talking to?

"Ahhh.." Kongpob chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye from laughing too hard. "The real ghost is afraid of the fake ones. Hahahahaha." He continued laughing much to the chagrin of his very annoyed husband.

"I'm not standing behind anymore!" Arthit whined, shifting himself to the front of Konpob, completely plastering the human's chest to his back. He quickly pulled both his husband's arms around him, causing the other to waddle slightly awkwardly.

"You know they come from the front too right?" Kongpob chortled, but let Arthit do whatever he wanted. While he wasn't really afraid of a haunted house per say,  there were still moments where he'd still get shocked by the actors in the place. They were very good at their jobs, he admitted.

Watching the man in front of him however, made it all worthwhile. Arthit's head whipped from side to side so quickly as he tried to stay abreast the appearances of all the staff was a sight to behold and truly an applaudable effort. However, the soul that was his husband stood absolutely no chance as Kongpob's ears were once again graced with an even high pitch 'AHHH' when an Annabelle-like lady standing in the corner silently suddenly had the spotlight switched on right above her, revealing her presence to them. She silently held out her doll to Kongpob, her large dark eyes staring so intensely that Arthit wondered if they were fake as she never blinked.

"Hurry take it! She gives me the creeps!" Arthit muttered, tugging on Kongpob's sleeve furiously. Kongpob had to stifle yet another snigger as he smiled (a little disturbingly) too happy for someone going through a horror house.

The girl handed over the doll and backed away without a sound, disappearing into the darkness in which she had appeared from before the lights completely went out along with her presence. Being plunged into the sudden pitch black environment caused Arthit to let out a shriek, much to the surprise of Kongpob.

The elder of the two had tightened his hold over his husband's torso so much that the latter thought he was going to suffocate. Kongpob tried to pull himself out of the clutches of the terrified man but to no avail. Arthit had suddenly doubled in strength and had his hands in a death grip. Apparently, meeting a little girl head on was too much for him and Arthit had shifted to his original position behind Kongpob.

"Oon," Kongpob coaxed, patting the other's hand. "I'm here. You don't have to be this afraid. It's all just a show."

"That's what you say." The muffled answer came from between his shoulder blades before a deafening scream was let out by the very same man.

A spotlight had appeared behind them in the midst of the darkness, with the same girl now looming behind them, barely an arm's length away from the pair. A light tinkling of musical box music filled the air before a light airy voice of a little girl followed suit.

"Please bring my dolly to mummy.. Maybe she'll remember to come and find me.." The sad voice said, pleading with them.

Normally, the emotional Arthit would have reacted to such a plea for help but not this time. Nope. In fact, if you were to ask him who needed the most help right now, he would have screamed in your face. "ME!! I'M THE ONE WHO NEEDS HELP!" would have been the answer you would have gotten.

At this point however, Arthit was using the last ounce of his energy to keep himself upright. Having the little girl appear behind him was the last straw. There was absolutely no strength left in him. Kongpob was going to have to carry him now. He was done.

When the lights came on again, Kongpob found himself with an armful of Arthit. His husband had somehow miraculously moved to his front (once again) and was now choosing to be oblivious to the world, mumbling something incoherently under his breath.

"Oon?" Kongpob whispered, genuinely worried now. He had expected Arthit to be a little spooked but this? This had gone past his expectations.

But the little puff of air from Kongpob's breath was Arthit's breaking point. Letting out yet another scream, he bounded straight into the air, narrowly missing Kongpob's face that was thankfully angled as he tried to peer at the face that was stuck to his chest just not a second ago.

At this, Kongpob could no longer resist and let out a full blown laughter, his free arm snaking its way below the bottom of the other. Arthit had effectively leapt off the ground and had both his legs now wrapped around the hips of his husband as he shook his head furiously, showing his absolute refusal to return to the floor on his own two feet.

If there were people watching him through the cameras, they would probably have been incredibly puzzled. But the young man quickly gained his composure and proceed to move along the path that was lit for him, still lightly chortling along the way.

Arthit discovered, to his dismay, that he should have taken this position from the very beginning of this damn horror house. Truth be told, it was his pride that was in the way but he had forgotten one very important factor - no one else but Kongpob could see him at this point.

Had he been a normal human being, you know with a proper body and all, this would have been the peak embarrassment of his life. Being carried around like a baby by your husband was NOT the sight that anyone would have wanted the world to see. Not only that, they were both men which meant the number of looks they would have gotten would have probably doubled or tripled exponentially.

But right now, Arthit could care less. The fact that no one could see him was an added bonus that he had never expected. Tucking himself safely into the warmth of Kongpob, he let what remained of his pathetic pride go, revelling in the comforts of his husband. It didn't mean however, that he was spared the startles and jumps whenever a loud noise echoed through the PA system or when the lights suddenly went out but at least he no longer felt like his heart was going to stop again.

He had even enough guts to lift his head to watch the ending performance of the mother and daughter duo, who had a touching reunion at the end of their journey and bid them goodbye. This was done with utmost discretion, as his forehead had left Kongpob's shoulder barely enough to enable him a glimpse of the show that was put on in front of them.

It was only when Kongpob had stepped out through the last curtains of the exit door that he felt like he could properly breathe once again and he scrambled to regain his foothold of the ground beneath him, stumbling just a little from being carried for so long.

"Aow Oon.." Kongpob sulked. "Abandoning me once you made use of me?"

Arthit's face flamed bright red as he puffed up like a pufferfish before he exclaimed.

"KONGPOB!!"

~~~***~~~

The boys need to have more events for me to feel inspired. Happy ten years anniversary to this legend of a show!