Kissing in a Dream

Tar's Thoughts

Meanwhile in Bangkok

The kid didn't deserve any of this. Neither did his mother. But what did everyone expect when the father was in line to be kicked in the balls by Karma?

I drove the old man into Bangkok for the second time that week. Though he usually shared his plans with me, his only instructions were to remain in the car and wait for his return. It irritated me. Though I was taught to respect my elders, my boss, I felt nothing but rage and contempt each time I thought of the hell he'd rained down on all our heads.

It was his weird sense of entitlement, the way he basked in the glory of power as it seeped through his very veins like booze.

I climbed from the car, lit a cigarette and dropped the lighter back into my pocket. It was a filthy habit, but it was either that or murder.

My first puff caused my eyes to close as I sucked in the nicotine, held my breath then pushed it out my mouth in perfectly form O's. I'd quit smoking for Wolf. While he was around, I had a purpose. I knew my duties was to look out for him. And I took my job seriously.

After a few years of watching him grown, I took him under wings, taught him to ride a bike and scooter, taught him to play the guitar—he was the son I would never have.

I indulged with a couple more puffs of the cigarette then hunched down to press out the flames into the asphalt. Once I was sure it wouldn't catch me on fire, I shoved the rest of it back into the box and tucked it into the small back I always carried in the car. As if nothing had happened, I climbed back behind the wheel, and closed the door.

I watched the building Anurak had scurried into as fast as his legs would carry him. It wasn't much of a one. The place looked as though it would topple over in a good breeze. The pale imprints of ads of years gone by was still in the grey concrete with cracks and chips. To the left, was a rusted-out gate and the front door seemed as though it had seen better days.

It had no name on it, no numbers, nothing to make it stand out from the others. There were no tell-tale signs of what secrets the interior walls held.

Everything else around it was bustling with activities. Restaurants, clothing stores, candy shops—all of them were full of life.

I supposed Anurak inspired darkness where ever he went.

No one entered or left aside from Anurak Channarong.

Lifting my phone, I snapped a few pictures of it. I paid special interest to the faded ads imprinted into the wall. I wasn't from Bangkok and would have to ask around to see if anyone knew what the building was.

Twenty minutes later, he walked out again while shoving something into the inner breast pocket of his shirt. He'd had all his shirts made that way. It didn't make sense to me at first, but a man with as many ghosts as Anurak had—well, it made sense now.

I scrambled from the vehicle to open the door for him. He entered and sat, and I closed the door without a word. When I was behind the wheel, he cleared his throat.

"Home."

"Khrap."

The drive back to Sukhumvit didn't take long. At the large black gates, the guard opened it and I pulled the Rolls Royce in and parked at the front door. I once again went around to open his door and he exited and hurried into the house.

I parked the car with the others, cleaned it down then entered the house.

Sure, my job wasn't to drive Anurak around. But sometimes, when he wanted something to be kept especially confidential, he asked me to get behind the wheel. My job for him wasn't any one thing. The job I'd been hired for was to look out for Wolf, protect him, ensured a competitor or a rival didn't kidnap the kid.

I was barely older than Wolf by two years.

Once Wolf left for school abroad, Anurak liked how I handled myself and kept me on. I was more than ready to go, but I'd made a promise to Wolf's mother.

By the time I rolled my motorcycle toward the gate, the sun was going down. I offered the guard a mock salute as he opened the gates for me then went left like I normally did. I stopped a nearby food stan, parked my cycle and took a table that had my back to a wall. I could see everyone who entered and left the space.

It was a bad habit of mine—needing to be able to see all points of entry and exit when I was anywhere. It had saved my life repeatedly and I wasn't about to stop.

With my helmet on the table to the side, I picked up the menu and read through it.

It took some time for the server to hurry over. She grinned prettily at me, set a glass of water on the table in front of me and offered me wai before asking what I'd like.

"Pad See Eiw." I replied tersely. "With Chili flakes."

"Kha."

I closed the menu and she hurried off. It did occur to me I was a little too serious sometimes. But it had served me well over the years. It was a lonely way to live. But I'd gotten used to it.

My meal arrived, hot and steaming. I sent out feelers about the building Anurak had visited to people I trusted. It would be some time before I received any answers at all. Instead of worrying about it, I set the phone aside to eat. A group entered the space and took the table across from me. They talked, laughed, play pranks on each other.

Though the noise irritated me, I focused on one, doe-eyed, black hair, slim build. He wore the uniform of a nearby university, black pants, white shirt and a black coat with his name stitched over the right pec.

Teswinja Arapawait – Pre Medicine

I smiled and bowed my head to push some food into my mouth.

Smart and beautiful.

I cleared my throat. I had no idea where that thought came from. To save myself, I stomped it out by eating more and focusing on the burn of the chilli.

Halfway through my meal, my phone rang.

"Khrap?"

It was one of my contacts calling me back.

"It used to be a medical building about ten years back." He explained. "The doctor was doing all kinds of experiments on patients without their permission."

"I assume he's in prison now?"

"No. They never caught him." My contact explained. "Around ten years ago, the doctor disappeared, and they were going to tear the building down. P'Anu bought it. Don't ask me why."

I rubbed my neck. "Anything else?"

"Well, no one really goes in there anymore. The building is private. Why are you asking?"

"No reason. I was driving by it today and noticed it seemed kind of empty." The lie came easy. "I mean, everything else had people going in and out."

"Oh. Makes sense. Anyway, I have to go."

The group across from me burst out laughing and I frowned and hung up. Without finishing my meal, I hurried over to the counter and paid for it. I also paid for the food for the noisy table—sure, it was more for Tes than anyone else.

Still, I couldn't come out and admit it.

I climbed into my cycle, shoved my head into the helmet and revved the engine. Tes glanced over to where I was, and pride rushed through me like adrenaline.