Part 4

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Nun comes in to Arthit's living room, looks around and heads straight to the kitchen, to look at the view of the night Bangkok. Satisfied, she turns around on her heels and calls out loudly to Arthit. Arthit walks in grunting, dragging her heavy luggage behind him.

"Wow nice place you got here P'. I'm really tired though," she stretches her arms and yawns, "where is the bathroom? I want to wash up and sleep. Do you have an extra toothbrush P'? By the way, I'm sleeping with you, I'm not sleeping on your sectional."

She chatters non stop, her high voice filling up the rooms and bouncing off the walls. She doesn't even wait for Arthit to answer as she finds her way to the bathroom. Arthit chuckles, shaking his head and gives her a clean towel and toothbrush. He then makes his way to the bedroom, trailing her one wheeled suitcase behind him.

He sits on the bed, leaning his back against the headboard and laughs, hearing Nun singing loudly in the shower. Arthit is glad Nun's here. He doesn't feel as lonely with her in the apartment. He met her about five years ago, on one of those dates his mom had set up for him.

********

Sunny Rojnapat is preparing marinade for the steak she'll cook for dinner, when she hears a loud thump coming from the front porch. She disregards the noise and continues with her task. After the preparations are done she grabs the book she is currently reading and makes her way to the living room. Sunny makes herself comfortable on the big, soft chair and dives into the world of "crime and punishment".

Sunny is reading for hours when she thinks she heard soft cries coming from the front porch. She gets up and walks to the front door, opening it slightly, pokes her head out and looks around the wooden porch.

There, she finds Arthit half laying half sitting on the bench. The sun has burned only one side of his body, the consequence of lying in the same position for hours. His eyes are closed and he is whimpering.

"Oon? Are you ok? What happened?" She runs to him and holds his face in her hands. She pats his body all over, to check if he is injured anywhere.

Arthit half opens his eyes, and looks at his mae with blind gaze.

"It's not my body that's injured," he mumbles incoherently.

"What? Oon, what happened to you? Oon?" she shakes him hard.

"It's not my body, it's my heart. It's over, mae. It's over. It's over." he shuts his eyes again.

She understands and her heart aches for her son's first heartbreak. He didn't even behave like this when he lost Namtan. She sits on the bench at the head and places Oon's aching head on her laps. She starts softly gliding her fingers through his hair.

"It'll be fine son. Give it some time. It will be ok." She soothes as she keeps caressing his head.

"No it won't. It's over and it's all my fault. I'm a coward, my fault." he keeps saying as he breaks into sobs and cries quietly into his mom's comfortable laps.

They sit there is silence, Sunny stroking Oon's head affectionately as he sobs and shudders until he falls into a deep slumber.

His dad came when the sun was down and the first shadows of twilight were cloaking the farm.

"Honey? Why are you sitting here? Arthit is here too?" he asks as he sees his son's legs hanging from the bench, and his head on his wife's lap, sleeping.

"Hi honey, take him to his room. He had a very bad day." she murmurs.

The tall man scoops Arthit and picks him up, as if the younger is as light as a doll and takes him upstairs. He places his son gently onto his bed, stares at his tear stricken, swollen face and strokes his cheek. Then, he places a fatherly kiss on his forehead and leaves, leaving the door open just in case.

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