Chasing the Sun

050

The bike stopped in front of a big house I was not familiar of. It had a huge gate made of wood and lined with black metal strips. Outside, the house looked humongous compared to its neighbors. It stood out as its white color beamed even brighter under the sun's rays, and a portion of the interior was visible with the huge glass pane that allowed natural light to illuminate the inside of the house.

"Come in", Tawan said as he opened the gate and entered with his bike.

I followed after, and had an even more detailed visual of the abode. Upon entering, there's a stoned path that will take you to the actual house. The entirety of the floor except the stoned path to the house was a garden, so beautiful it looked like it was meticulously being taken care of. There were different kinds of plants, both flowering and non-flowering that were planted on the wet, loam soil. As I walked towards the house, I developed a more detailed view of the interior of the house.

Though the wall I saw outside was white, the colors inside where a mixture of brown and green, a very earthy vibe emanating from the walls and fixtures inside. When Tawan opened the glass door that led to the actual house, I was greeted by the warm feeling that filled the whole area. The lights were closed, but the abundance of windows and open spaces were enough to properly light the whole place. A big wooden couch with green cushions is situated at the center of the living room, and the four corners were decorated with Chinese Evergreens that were already too big. The leaves had dried as well, so I thought that it was already a long time since they were watered. And walking through the place, I noticed how it was eerily quiet. It was a big house and felt warm because the sun could pass through easily, but if it were a walled house, it would look and feel haunted. In one of the wall mounts where picture frames were placed, I saw a photo of as a kid next to a man that looked the same as the man in the hospital, and a woman I was not familiar with. She looked beautiful though, and contrary to the cold and joyless face that the man wore, she smiled very widely and warm too, just like Tawan.

"Anything I could get for you? water, tea, milk?", Tawan said as he guided me to the couch.

"I'm fine. It looks empty though, are your parents not around?", I asked as I sat on the couch.

"Nah, they're gone most of the time because of work. The only time I get to see my dad is when he's summoned at school for something bad that I did. He was at the hospital, but after giving me an earful, he left already."

I couldn't trace a bit of bitterness or melancholy in his words. He spoke so calmly that I got the feeling he was already used to the set up where he basically lives alone in such a huge house. With the way he talked about it the day it rained on the rooftop, I already knew he was not in good terms with his dad. However, I didn't expect that they were that distant with each other.

"How about your stepmom then?"

"They're business partners, and usually wherever he goes, she goes with him. The one time she answered your call was the only time both of them were actually home."

He didn't ask me to stop asking questions, but I knew he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Remembering their argument at the hospital, I suddenly felt guilty of breaking up with him when he's at a state where what he needs the most is a companion.

We sat for a couple of minutes until Tawan stood up and reached his hand out to me.

"Come, I'll show you something."

I took his hand and we walked towards the staircase that led to the second floor of the house. As we took the stairs, I looked at the pictures that hung on the wall. They were pictures of Tawan as a kid, witch each stair representing a year in his life. His baby pictures were so adorable, all smiles and completely innocent.