GODS AND MONSTERS

epilogue.

'Cause we're the masters of our own fate

We're the captain of our souls

There's no way for us to come away

'Cause boy we're gold, boy we're gold

The sun was shining really brightly in the sky today as I sat on one of the stools in the bar beside the beach. It didn't really look like a bar since it was just a quaint and beautifully made nipa hut without any walls. Just polished tree trunks as its foundations on the four corners. The place didn't have walls so I could see the hotel if I turned around. The wide span of the beach and the sea was my view from the sides and the front. Inside the hut, there was a long island bar table with bar stools. There were a few tables inside the hut too with all of them occupied.

The hut was crowded but not in a suffocating way. The music was playing and everybody was vibing to it. Who wouldn't jam and sing along with the Piña Colada song?

I'd only been here for three days and I already felt like I was wrong with my guess where Win could be. What I remembered was that conversation me, Win, Khaotung, and Gigie had while we were eating. We talked about where we wanted to be and Win said three places.

The first I went to was Koh Tao. I took the bus as soon as possible and booked my ferry ticket online. I was there for a week as I tried to find where Win could've been. After a week of scoping the area, I didn't find Win. I even went back to places I thought he would like or would want to do but I didn't see him.

Then, I went to Koh Lanta District. It was a big district and I was afraid that I would never find him. The beach areas were the place I went to because I know how he had an affinity for the sand and the seas. Win did say he just wanted the sea after all of what happened. After a week of trying to find where Win could be, I got scared of losing him forever because I was taking too long.

So, I decided to just leave and fly to the third place he said he wanted to be in.

Maldives.

Now that I was here, I felt like I wouldn't ever find Win. The piña colada – how fitting, right? – that I ordered finally came and I turned on my seat to watch the calm waves crashed on the sand. I closed my eyes and blocked all the voices in the area and the song that the bar was playing. Win had hidden himself so flawlessly that I knew I didn't have a chance of locating him. Three days in this paradise made me think of all the decisions I'd made in my life.

Maybe I wasn't meant to find Win even if he told me where he could be at. I was wasting my days of trying to catch someone who didn't want to be caught. I knew that a part of me wanted to find him because...

Because I also think that I actually loved him. Or at least I could fall in love with him. I wanted to see him and forget about everything and just be with him. Live a new life with him. Fuck everyone, fuck the world, and fuck everything that fucked us up.

But I guess not finding him was a good thing either way. As I took a sip of my drink and opened my eyes, I surmised that maybe this was how things had to be. The case was closed, Win had gotten away, and no one would be any the wiser. Maybe it's time to let it go.

Plucking my phone out of the pocket of my swim shorts, I went to my recording files and hovered my thumb on the recording that could incriminate Win. I contemplated for a few seconds if it was still important for me to kept it saved or if I should just delete it. Permanently let go of everything about Win in my life. Sighing, I pressed delete and confirmed its deletion.

I smiled at myself as I finally had made peace of everything. There were just things that happened in life that I would never agree to and never understand why it was done. People worked in mysterious ways and I had to accept that things weren't black and white.

I let out a sigh of relief and took another sip of my drink. The people in front of me were dancing to the song and I couldn't help but move my head to the beat of the song. I even sang the famous chorus line of it. I had a few more days left in Maldives so I decided to give up the original reason I was here and just enjoy life. After this, maybe I could go back to my work and start anew.

I took a long sip of my drink and damn, the bartender gave me something strong but I did finish it quickly. I turned around to the bar and asked for another drink then turned back to watch the people dance. They were living their lives and maybe I should too. As I was contemplating joining them and meeting new people, the drink was pushed to me. I decided that I would grab my drink and look at the bartender to thanked him but before I could do all of those, somebody spoke beside me.

"You look like this is the last place you want to be."

AUTHOR'S FINAL NOTES: 

Thank you so much to everyone who stuck around for my second fanfiction of BrightWin! This story is more of a crime story rather than a love story but I tried to give you some type of love story from our boys. 

I'm planning to write a third BrightWin fanfiction that's in another genre again but this third one will not be updated as fast as Gods And Monsters. Hopefully you guys will still be around for that! Here is the cover for the third book for you guys to see!