From the moment they met, Arthit Rojnapat, adored nephew of the King of Thailand and KongPob Suthiluck, adored son of one of the richest people on Earth, both agree that the whole concept of Fate is simply "crap".
To two of the most unbelievers in...
"Your name is Oon Puttipat" she says in English, looking at me deeply in the eyes. No, my name is Arthit Rojnapat.
"My name is Wanida Puttipat" she continues. No, her name is Achara Rojnapat.
"We moved here because I got a job and your father is abroad". No, we moved here because my father was murdered and we're hiding.
"Mike and Porsche are my younger brothers and your uncles, and they live with us." No, P'Leo and P'Noh are probably the most dangerous Thai men alive and they're our bodyguards, protecting, us, me so the current next heir in line for the Thailand throne doesn't get murdered.
But I don't voice any of these thoughts. I simply bite my tongue and nod my head. Swallowing with fear in her eyes, she hugs me and ruffles my hair while saying "Good Boy".
"Can I go to the festival now?" I ask pointing down at the festivities going on in the green field that you can see from our new home on the hill.
She looks at P'Leo and P'Noh, "it should be relatively safe" P'Noh says, "Besides, we can't stay locked up here all the time. That would only be more suspicious. We'll keep an eye on him" P'Leo adds.
She gives me the panic button, which is supposed to alert any police station/ military base near me of my location and states "Be careful".
Nodding, I don't look back twice before walking out the door, with P'Leo a safe distance behind me.
She's going at it, again, for the third time during the day.
"Your name is Kong Bunyasarn" she says in English. No, my name is KongPob Suthiluck.
"My name is Lawan Bunyasarn" she continues. No, her name is Prija Suthiluck.
"We moved here because I finished my degree in the U.S and got a job nearby". No, we moved here because dad divorced you, you had a mental breakdown, and someone tried to kill us yesterday, in that order.
"We're probably here to stay because we really like the town" she continues holding my gaze. No, we're here until you figure out what to do next with our life and until you find out who's trying to kill us.
But I don't voice any of these thoughts because I understand where she's coming from and do not want to cause her anymore unnecessary grief. I simply nod my head and say "Krab, Mae".
She pats my head and switches back to Thai "You can go to the festival now. Make sure you stay with the neighbors at all times." I nod my head, walk out the door, and head towards our neighbors that were waiting for me.
"Let's go Kong," one of the small boys who introduced himself as Korn earlier says. Nodding, we set out for the festival and I breathe out for the first time since arriving.
The festival is in full swing and I am enjoying myself for the first time in months watching the town girls dancing and singing in their traditional garbs and P'Leo trying to stay away from a girl who is aggressively trying to flirt with him. As I smile and try not to openly laugh at him, I am suddenly blinded by a boy in khaki shorts who sits next to me and blocks my view of them.
He turns his head towards me, and for the first time, I am captivated by someone. He is obviously a handsome guy. Actually, he is really handsome. I have never seen anyone with such a perfect face. His eyes, nose, lips and just whole face seems to have been made carefully with precise symmetry. His hair was cut short but styled in a way that boys my age usually are not seen in. He looks sophisticated and very well put together. Completely my opposite, which somehow jars me for some unknown reason.
As our eyes meet, I can also see his eyes widening. He quickly says "Sorry" and tries to move backwards in order to unblock my view but there's people suddenly sitting everywhere around us.
"It's ok" I croak out "I was just watching my bod...my uncle becoming uncomfortable". He follows my line of sight and says "That's P'Lyn. She's my neighbor. She flirts with everyone but she's harmless" while giving me a smirk.
I think he just became even more handsome. How is that possible.
"I am...Oon".
"I am...Kong"
We continue watching the show in silence until the village seeker comes out and starts to tell the tale of Lady Mapran who was a spoiled princess from a distant land, promised to another young, and spoiled prince until they both saw how their people lived and decided to fight for them and improve life in their country together.
When the seeker reached the end, and states that "from the very beginning, it was Fate". Me and Kong both scoff at it and then look at each other in surprise and delight.
After a minute of silence. He breaks it again by saying, "I know everyone around me believe in fate and all that jazz, but I don't."
I wholeheartedly agree and say that "life is made up of the decisions we have made. Not some sort of pre-determined Destiny".
He laughs at the dramatic tone I used and at that moment, we both knew that we had a friend for what may be the most miserable moments of our life that are about to come.
Smiling, we both watched the show and stayed until the lanterns lit up the sky over the river at the end of the field.
