Light

Chapter 11

It was cloudy and quite windy, but not likely to be raining anytime soon. Lâm, still in his school uniform, looked at his watch, which displayed twelve ten. An, in a long-sleeved beige shirt and black khaki pants, was standing at his front door. An's blue sport bicycle was parked next to the wall on his right. He presented his friend with a gentle smile, though the bags under his eyes made him look completely worn out. The other boy did not seem thrilled by the visit.

"Why did you take today off? Did you forget about the one-period Biology test?"

"I'll ask the teacher to let me take it with another class later."

"Why are you here?"

"Let's go have some fun. Watch a movie, eat crab vermicelli, drink bubble tea..."

"We're not a couple of girls hanging out. And I don't have money for those."

"I'll pay. I didn't treat you for my birthday, did I?"

"That's okay. You don't have to."

"I want to. Let's go."

Placing his right hand on his best friend's left shoulder, the smaller boy grinned. Lâm stared at him doubtfully but eventually went along as he gave a light nod in acceptance.

"Come inside. I'll get changed."

Smiling in content, An followed Lâm into the house. Seven spirits were present in the alley, none cared about the dialogue except for the one in soldiers' outfit that had been floating on the balcony all along.

The district's park in the early evening was crowded. Lâm and An rested on white stone stairs, gazing on the playground where children were running around like a flock of chicks. Their parents were gladly watching and waiting at the stairs and the benches or walking in large circles as exercise. A number of young couples were chatting and giggling while holding hands dearly. Gathered at a corner of the park was a group of middle schoolers enthusiastically playing soccer with two goals formed by their sandals. Everybody was enjoying the last moments of a day as the sun was setting on the other side of the sky.

"Ah, I meant to ask you earlier. What happened to your handrail?", An turned to Lâm.

"It decayed. What the hell are we doing here?"

"I'm tired~~"

An playfully leaned his head on Lâm's right shoulder, causing him to instantly pull back in embarrassment.

"Don't do that! You crazy bastard!"

The mischievous boy made a broad grin, showing his perfect white teeth. The other boy looked down at his bright blue jeans, grumbling in his mouth. A few people chuckled at them, and a tinge of pink ran across Lâm's cheeks. An, on the other hand, seemed all relaxed and comfortable.

"Let's sit here until you go to your part-time job."

"Quit the game already.", Lâm faced the playground again, "You've got skinnier lately, haven't you?"

"I'm fine. There's just too many challengers."

"Pay more attention to your health."

"Thank you."

"I'm your friend. It's only natural that I'm worried about you."

"I know. Thanks for taking care of me all this time."

Lâm sent a questioning look An's way.

"What's up with you?"

"I'm sorry.", An put on a mild smile.

"It's all right."

"No, not that. I'm really sorry... for everything."

Lâm opened his eyes wider as though to have a better scan of An's facial expression and thus understand what he was getting at. An reached a hand to brush off a tiny leaf stuck on the back of Lâm's white T-shirt.

"What do you mean?"

The shorter boy looked at his steel watch.

"Time to go home."

He stood up, smiling at Lâm reassuringly. It felt like the smile had never got off his face, which had become even paler than before. The two quietly strolled on the concrete path leading to the parking lot side by side. From a high branch of a Flamboyant tree, a certain spirit watched them leaving together.