Love after Five

Chapter 1

    "Be a horse again!" Bright's shrill voice echoed through Tul's apartment, and he sighed, getting back on all fours as his five year old niece climbed onto his back, her chubby little hands curling into his hair as she giggled. "Go horsey go!" She screamed, and he began to shuffle around his livingroom, listening to her peals of laughter.
      Man, taking care of kids is so exhausting. He thought to himself. Thank god P'Mark and Jeen are coming home tomorrow. How my sister does this full time is a mystery to me.
     "Hey Bright, want to go out for Massaman Curry? This horse is getting pretty hungry." He knew that Curry was a sure way to get her excited and also stop her from running around like a crazy person.
    "Yay!" She screamed, sliding off of his back and beginning to twirl in a circle.
     "Let me grab my keys kiddo." He said, ruffling her tangled hair.
    "Let's gooooo uncle Tul!" She yelled, jumping from foot to foot, practically vibrating with excitement.
     "Yeesh kid, you have so much energy." He commented.
     "Mommy says I'm her little battery." She said proudly, pointing to her chest with her thumb.
     "Well she's certainly right." Tul replied. Though he found his niece exhausting she sure was cute. His sister Jeen was short and darker skinned with straight black hair, and her husband Mark was an American with almost translucently pale skin and a mass of curly red hair, so their daughter was a strange mix of the two- lighter and freckles with her mother's facial features and black curly hair that stuck out from her scalp like she'd stuck her fingers in an electrical socket. She was chubby with baby fat and had a slightly upturned nose and ears that stuck out slightly, just like her mother and her uncle.
      It had been raining so there was a slight crispness to the air, so he grabbed a fuzzy pink cardigan and slid it over Bright's resisting arms.
    "It might rain, and I don't want you to get cold." He tried to explain but she furrowed her brows at him. "Listen kiddo, I let you wear your princess outfit today instead of the clothes your mom packed, so wear the sweater." She smoothed the puffy skirt of her glittery princess dress and then nodded curtly.
      "Fine Uncle Tul, I'll wear it." She said. He grabbed an umbrella and they ventured out.

     His favourite little curry restaurant was a tiny hole in the wall with only four little tables, a single counter with a chubby, stone faced grandmother behind it, and a single television that was always turned to the news. It was dingy and strangely unwelcoming, but the curry was incredible and the grandmother could never resist Bright when he brought her.
     The first time he'd brought Bright in when she was three and he'd been babysitting, the grandmother had smiled for the first time he'd ever seen, and he'd been buying curry there for seven years,since he'd been a teen.
    "My little Laan Sao!"
     "Curry Khunya!" Bright yelled running in and wrapping her arms around the woman's knees in a hug. Tul waied to her and took a seat, tapping his fingers on the table and turning his attention to the news.
     "Are you having fun with your uncle my little mouse?" The grandmother asked Bright, spooning out two bowls of curry over rice.
     "Yep! He's really fun and I always get to come eat curry with you when I stay with him, and that's my favourite part!" Bright said, following the grandmother to the table.
     "Well sit down and eat. If you eat all your curry I might have some coconut rice and mango for you afterwards."
     "Khunya thank you!" Bright cried happily, grabbing a spoon and stuffing it in her mouth."
     "Eat slowly please. You don't want to choke." Tul said absently, watching the news.
    "Flooding brought on by the monsoon in the south have claimed the lives of at least six people tonight when a bridge was washed out." The newscaster said. "Several cars were trapped in the river and rescue operations are still underway, though a spokesperson has informed us that it is unlikely they will find any survivors."
     The grandmother tutted, shaking her head.
     "What a shame." She said. "Every year during monsoon season flooding causes so many problems." She wrung her hands together. "Such a shame."
     Tul's phone buzzed in his pocket, and he dug it out. The number was unlisted and he answered it.
     "Hello?"
     "Is this Pakorn Thanasrivanitchai?" An unfamiliar female voice asked.
     "This is he, what can I help you with?" He asked.
     "You were listed as the next of kin for a Duangkamol Thanasrivanitchai-Adams."
      "She's my sister, but why-" he stopped talking, looking at the television screen. "Wait, is my sister okay?" He asked, getting up and walking out of the restaurant so Bright wouldn't hear him.
      "I'm sorry to tell you this sir." The voice began, and it was as though the world was filled with static, Tul barely listening as the woman explained that both Jeen and Mark had died in a flash flood, and he needed to come identify their bodies. He sank down to a crouch, holding his head in his hand, barely able to process what he was being told, tears beginning to trickle a trail down his face.
      "Are you okay Uncle Tul?" A small voice asked at his shoulder, Bright wrapping her arms around his bicep, blinking her dark eyes at him.
     He wiped his face, smiling weakly.
    "I'm okay little bean, how about you go finish your dinner? I just got a little adult bad news is all." He said. She hopped back into the restaurant humming to herself.
     "Sorry about that." He said politely into the phone. "It was my niece. Can I come tomorrow to... take care of everything?" He asked, trying to compose himself.
     "Of course sir. I am so sorry for your loss." The woman said with sympathy.
     "Thank you P'." He replied, hanging up the phone and standing up. As he turned, the sky opened up and it began to rain again. He let the water wash over him as he watched Bright chatting happily with the Curry Grandmother, who was watching him with stern concern.
     How am I going to tell Bright?

*****

Starting off with a little tragedy! I promise it will get less depressing, but I'm addicted to tragic backstories ❤️❤️❤️