What does it take to have a happy, loving relationship?
Love. Trust. Respect. Understanding. Communication.
It's been seven years since Arthit and Kongpob have been in a loving, supportive relationship, which according to them and everyone else, is...
At the crack of dawn on Friday, the Suttilak siblings and son-in-law headed towards the city home.
Kannika had barely managed to get any sleep worried about her brother, and only when Pool had hugged her tight, assuring her that everything has a way of working out, did she relax and fall asleep.
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(James & Bella as 'Pool' Prayut and 'Nik' Kannika)
That was not the case with Kongpob. He had stayed up all night; he had no one to assure him of the same. So, he sought refuge in pictures and videos of the past. Using Kannika's laptop, he logged into his social media accounts, going through all the old pictures from university days up until now, making him feel nostalgic, wistful, happy, euphoric, melancholy, joyous, sad and every other feeling lying in that emotional spectrum.
There were thousands of pictures since university days, and Arthit features in most of them.
A bittersweet feeling, wishing for the return of the days of past washed over him, making him yearn for his lover's presence beside him in his arms while he reminisced about his life for the last seven years.
He then opened his email account and went through all the emails he had exchanged with Arthit while he was away in China. Reading those letters after so long, gave him a new insight into Arthit's thought. His shy lover, who hesitated to hold his hand, had expressed his love in his letters to him. Sometimes explicitly, sometimes he had to read the meaning hidden between the lines. But every letter that Kongpob read was a testament to Arthit's love.
He tried hard! To hold his tears. He did. He wanted to be strong. Wanted to be like he was before. Be strong and reliable for Arthit. But will they ever go back to being the same again, he wasn't sure anymore.
With silent tears streaming down his face, he read and re-read the letters trying to engrave the words in his memory to draw strength. He would need this strength, to deal with the days they were to face ahead.
Reaching home, Kongpob was greeted by his Dad and Mom and a warm breakfast. It felt good to be among the people he loved. Listening to them talk normally about life in general. As he heard the laughter and felt the love around him, he was hit with sudden tiredness. His ever-observant mother seeing his state sent him packing to bed, and without a second thought, he did.
His mom woke him up at 1 for lunch, but when Kong said he wasn't hungry, she handed him a glass of juice before letting him go back to sleep.
The evening brought a surprise for Kongpob. Waking up in the twilight hours, he headed downstairs to find his second sister, Kanchana, and her husband, Suchart seated in the living room, along with everyone else.
Kongpob rushed to her and hugged her. He had missed her so much. Though elder by six years, she was like a friend growing up. Pulling back, he saw his sister glow with her pregnancy hormones. She was five months pregnant, and pregnancy was obviously suiting her very well. She looked stunning.
