GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 44: Farewell to the Frangipani

“Phii Singha, should I take this too?”

“Take it.”

“This?”

“No, leave that here.”

“This one, sir?”

“Are you moving house?” Singha squinted at the kid who was currently loading things into the car.

It had been three weeks of him lying idle in the hospital. Although there were documents to sign, it was still considered his recovery time. The cases had progressed somewhat. Thankfully, public attention ensured the senior police didn’t let the case drag on, as society was watching.

He had missed Lieutenant Khem’s funeral but expressed his condolences later. Many things were lost in this case. He himself almost became one of those losses. Singha arranged to send the investigation files and condolences to the families of the deceased, leaving it to each family to deal with what they faced. To let them know, before passing, what their loved ones were fighting for, not to torment or pressure them, but so they could understand the efforts made to live.

– Know that some are deeply focused on the future.

– Know that some are trying to fix their mistakes.

– Know that some are dealing with unsolvable problems.

– Know that some are seriously considering starting a new life.

– Know that some still have people they miss.

– Know that some are just unlucky to have witnessed certain events.

According to the procedure, Singha chose to go pick up and handle matters in Sisaket with Thup, just the two of them.

The legal processes, the initial documents, until the other troublemakers found out and decided to tag along. This trip to Sisaket also included three more friends: Say, Darin, and Merk, who volunteered to drive the rental car back to return it.

“Are you sleepy, Phii?”

“Not really, just dizzy because the driver drives like a maniac.” The inspector, the young man, looked at the driver through the rearview mirror, and Merk noticed.

“If you’re such a smartass, why don’t you drive yourself?”

“Do you want some pills? I brought some.”

“Keep them.” Singha declined before looking out the window.

During his hospital stay and at home, the kid next to him had taken good care of him all along. They never talked about moving out or separating, but it seems they’ll need to talk soon.

Along the way, they stopped at gas stations and changed drivers a few times. Singha was dozing off and on, just like the kid next to him, who used his shoulder as a pillow several times until he stopped complaining. From the kid who kept asking questions with innocent eyes when they got in the car, now he had to be the one leaned on instead.

They arrived at the old wooden house they’d visited before after nearly eight hours of travel. Uncle Chai and Aunt Noi welcomed them warmly before inviting them in for a meal since it was almost 4 PM.

“Come on, don’t be shy, make yourselves at home.”

“And how are we going to sleep, Uncle? There are so many of us.” Charn interjected, raising an eyebrow at the newcomers aside from Singha and Thup.

“It’s fine, we’ll have Darin sleep in one room, and you’ll sleep with us, Uncle and Aunt. The rest can share the same room.”

“I feel bad, Uncle, really, you could let some of them sleep with me.” Darin, spoke up, pointing at the three friends.

“No way, you’re a lady, you can’t sleep with a bunch of guys, come on.”

“Uncle, these guys are not interested in me.”

Uncle Chai and Aunt laughed heartily, it had been a while since they’d laughed like this with the house full of kids. “Oh, by the way, there’s an event at the temple today. If you guys have nothing to do later, you should go.”

The chatter from outside didn’t catch Singha’s interest. He was leaning against the wall inside the room because the tension from his wound, after sitting for hours in the car, made moving around too much painful.

“Phii Singha, does your wound hurt?” Thup, who had just opened the door, saw Singha frowning and immediately worried.

“A little.”

“Then maybe you should rest a bit?”

“Come here.” Singha beckoned to the person standing at the door. Thup quickly approached, as if he’d wag his tail if he had one, like meeting his owner.

“What’s up, Phii Singha?” Thup tensed up as Singha leaned into his lap like he did in the car, but this time he’d already told Singha how he felt. “Sitting like this, your neck will hurt, you know.”

“Mm.” Singha responded shortly before closing his eyes. “I told you we could have come later, after you’d healed.”

“I still had to come to deal with the legal stuff here anyway.”

“…The officers have already gone to search that house, right?”

“Hmm, most of the skeletons they found have been taken for identification to return them to their relatives.”

“And…” Thup abruptly stopped speaking, pressing his lips together.

“Not found yet.” The young man said, looking down at the face of the person on his lap who, despite having their eyes closed, still responded to him and knew what he was thinking, “If you mean your mother’s body, they haven’t found it.”

The room fell silent again, with only the sound of the fan working now, after a while, Singha sighed before sitting back up.

“But there’s one place we should try looking.”

“Where’s that?”

“Follow me.” As the older man left the room, Thup quickly followed.

The car stopped in front of a wooden house at the very end of the community, with a forest behind it separated by a fence. A sign on the front indicated the house was for sale by the bank, but it seemed finding a buyer would be hard due to its dilapidated condition.

“Where is this place?”

“Your family house.” Singha said as he got out of the car and pushed his sunglasses up onto his head.

“Pardon?!”

“If the records are correct, your mother rented this house twenty-five years ago because it was close to the hospital where she was getting prenatal care. She worked as a bar manager not far from here, but after getting pregnant, she quit to take up sewing at home instead.”

Thup watched the older man’s back as he crossed the fence into the woods behind the house, his beautiful eyes looking at the house once more with a warm rim before following Singha.

“I had no idea.”

“How could you know? When it happened, you weren’t even a year old.” Singha continued walking, still gauging the reactions of the kid behind him, “On the day it happened, the neighbors heard a commotion but thought it was just another argument like always, so they didn’t pay attention. They only got concerned when they heard a child crying non-stop.”

“They found you in the closet, took you out, and then brought you to the doctor.” Singha said, stopping before turning to look at the child following him with a distant gaze. “It was not a good relationship, Thup. Your mom already filed a report. She moved, tried to escape.”

“…But he found us anyway.”

“Do I need to tell you who he is?”

“I think I know… even if I don’t want to.” Throughout the time he observed, his mother tried to do various things to make him feel scared. Not because she wanted to, but to keep him out of this case, to keep him away from that man, the one who took his mother’s life, and took his mother away from him.

Singha didn’t say anything more. Just seeing the dimmed look in the boy’s eyes, he didn’t want to continue. How could he tell him that the deranged killer was his own biological father? How could he say that the person who killed his mother and tried to kill his own child was called his father? His hand reached out to gently stroke the smooth cheek, his thumb wiping away the clear tears from the cheek.

“Phii, do you think, sniff, Mom was in a lot of pain? Did he hurt Mom?”

“If you want to know, then ask.” Singha moved his hand down to remove the Buddha amulet necklace from Thup’s neck, then adjusted the young boy’s clothes properly.

“The forensics guessed that if she escaped from that house and wanted to return here, she would take this route. So, ask her, so we can take her back home.”

Singha finished speaking and walked a distance away not to disturb the mother and son reunion, but still within sight of Thup.

“Mom… Mom, can you hear Thup?”

‘I can hear.’

   The spirit in front of his mother was in perfect condition because she was free from worries and about to depart. Her messy hair turned into shiny black hair, the face that was once full of wounds and red threads turned into a beautiful young woman, her tattered clothes became neatly woven fabric again.

“Mom, sniff, where are you? I want to take you back home…Can you tell me where the house is?”

‘Don’t cry, Thup, I am not hurt. It doesn’t hurt. No suffering. The only thing I regret is that from today on, I can’t take care of you anymore.’

   “Don’t, sob, don’t go, okay? I only saw you for a brief moment, and then who will I stay with?” Tears flowed profusely as he spoke. It was the first time he saw his mother up close, the first time she approached and touched his cheek. Though he couldn’t feel the touch, Thup sensed the warmth emanating from it.

‘My child, you are safe now. I have no more worries.’

   “I am sorry, sob, truly sorry for ever being afraid, sorry for ever running away.”

‘You don’t need to apologize for anything, my child. You’ve lived well all along. It’s okay to fall, to be scared sometimes. Live on, Thup, live in the way you want.’

   “I want you, Mom, sob.”

A tender smile was given to her grown son, now larger than when he was in her embrace.

‘I will be right here, in your memories and in your heart.’

   Her slender, beautiful hand pointed to his chest, his face, his lips, and this beautiful hand.

‘I love you so much, dear.’

   “I love you Mom too, sob, I love you, Mom.” Thup now realized he had his mother’s eyes.

‘I love you my son just the same.’

   “If there really is a next life, I wish to be born as your child again, sob, to stay with you.” The spirit of Thup’s mother stood still and Thup knelt down before bowing at her feet.

‘I hope for the same. Goodbye, my child.’

   A gentle breeze blew past, and when he looked up, Thup found a frangipani flower had fallen onto the back of his hand. His mother had left. Gone without returning.

Singha let the young man sit there for almost an hour before Thup stood up and walked forward. He stopped under a large tree, sat on the ground, and began to dig the earth little by little without saying a word, while the person watching from behind did not stop him.

As time passed and the sky changed colors, he picked something up and approached for a closer look. Singha saw that Thup had stopped digging. A complete skeleton was lifted and placed against his chest. Singha, who was watching, decided to take off his shirt and lay it on the ground beside him.

“Put it on there so we can take it back.”

Thup gently placed the bones on the shirt before wrapping them carefully. His beautiful eyes, red from crying, looked up at Singha and smiled, “Let’s go back, you must have waited a long time.”

“If you still want to stay, stay. I’m not complaining.” The young man hugged Singha, resting his head on the broad shoulder, just as Singha put the necklace with the Buddha amulet back on him.

“I’m so tired.” Singha didn’t reply. He simply raised his hand to pat the gently trembling back, “Really tired.”

As the sun gradually set from the sky, Thup and Singha walked out from the forest line to get in the car and head home.

“Phii?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we stop by the temple first?”

“What for?”

“If mom could be at the temple, that would be nice. She’d be with the old monk, because both of them raised me.”

“Let’s go back and shower first. We can go tomorrow to arrange everything and make merit. Today you’re as dirty as a puppy.”

“Okay… Do you have my mom’s history?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Can I read it?”

“I’ll give it to you when we get back.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you hungry yet?”

“Not at all.”

“You’re not hungry, but I am. Once we’re home, take a shower so we can go out.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

It didn’t take long for both to return to a house filled with the noisy chatter of people. Not sure what they were up to. Now, Merk, Charn, Darin, and Uncle-Chai had arrived, sitting in a circle in the middle of the house with a jar of liquor in the center.

“Where’ve you been, Singha? And why does Thup look like that?” Say walked in, looking for them with a water bottle in hand.

“I’ll tell you later, but why is it like this?” Singha pointed towards the group in the middle of the house, “Uncle brought out his homemade liquor to show off, and next thing I know, I see this scene.”

“Cheers, Uncle, cheers!” Merk raised his glass in front of him, “It’s damn good, smooth on the tongue, well-rounded, umami.”

“Umami, umami.” Charn echoed before clinking his own glass, “I told you, this stuff is great, don’t bother with capitalist booze, tastes like foot wash.”

Laughter filled the entire house, just as Darin turned to see Singha, she called out loudly making everyone else look over.

“Singha! Good that you’re back, come, come, sit and drink with us!”

“The wound hasn’t even healed properly, and you’re already inviting him. You too, troublemaker.”

“Such a nag, like you’re my dad or something.” Darin lightly slapped Say’s hand.

“Alright, I’ll go grab something to eat from the temple fair and come back.”

“I want to go too.” Darin’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Stay home in your condition.” Singha admonished before ruffling Darin’s soft hair gently. “Thup, go take a shower.”

“Yes.”

The sullen mood of the young boy made everyone fall silent until Merk started the conversation after Thup had gone to the bathroom.

“What did you do to him? Why does he look so lifeless?”

“Took him to the old house.”

“About his mom?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that explains it… his dad then.”

“Yep.”

“Damn! That sobered me up.”

“What are you talking about?” asked the four visitors, with Charn looking puzzled at the conversation.

“Must be his business in everything.” Merk replied.

“Are you cursing at me or what?”

“No way. Who would think like that?”

“Well, whatever then.”

Singha shook his head at the scene in front of him. He wasn’t going to intervene since it wasn’t work time, and after they had all narrowly escaped death, it was good to let loose a bit.

Half an hour later, Thup returned, standing next to Singha, wearing a long-sleeved black t-shirt and knee-length shorts of the same color. His hair, slightly wet, was brushed down, his eyes red and swollen from heavy crying, contrasting with his fair skin, making him look pitiful.

“Aren’t your shorts too short? And why didn’t you dry your hair?”

“I’ve worn shorts almost up to my butt, and he never commented. Look at your friend, Say.” Darin retorted sarcastically before turning back to clink glasses.

“Get in the car, take some mosquito spray with you.” Singha gently pushed the still confused young man towards the door, “Is anyone else coming?”

“Oh, at this point, who would want to go and be a third wheel?”

“Why the hell did you smack my head, Thup?” Merk yelled because suddenly his head almost dunked into his drink, but when he looked up to meet the exasperated eyes of the culprit, his next curse was swallowed back.

“Nobody else is going, so I’ll be right back.”

“Go on, go, and hurry back. I’m tired of carrying these guys to their rooms, one by one.” Say said while waving his hand dismissively.

Once in the car, seeing the excited eyes of the kid beside him, Singha could only sigh before driving away from the house without a word.

The local temple fair is held annually. Though not as grand as the provincial ones, there’s still plenty to see. Villagers come out to walk around, enjoy the hustle and bustle, with dazzling lights, music, numerous rides, and various shops scattered all over the temple grounds. Singha hadn’t been to such an event in ages because he was always busy working; if Thup hadn’t looked so down today, he probably wouldn’t have come either.

“What do you want to eat?”

“What’s that, Phii?” The music from the Ferris wheel was so loud that Thup could barely hear the person in front of him.

“I said, what do you want to eat?” Singha leaned his face closer until Thup could feel his warm breath on his ear.

“Uh… anything is fine, whatever you decide, Phii.”

“Boat noodles, then, that’s easy.” Thup nodded before following the older man.

As the crowd thickened to the point of jostling, Thup almost lost Singha. The young man quickly moved closer and hugged the older man’s waist.

“It’s getting crowded.”

“It’s a temple fair.”

“You might get lost.”

“With how tall I am, like giants, could probably see me from the temple gate.”

“Don’t talk about ghosts in the temple.” Thup made a stern face before gently rubbing the older man’s waist.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t scared anymore?”

“Well, that’s because I’m with you now… If I had to go back to being alone, I’d probably still be scared.”

“Why would you need to go back to being alone?”

“The case is almost closed, isn’t it? At most, I’ll have to testify in court. You once said you’d let me stay only until I’m cleared of charges.”

“That’s true, but behave yourself, and maybe I’ll change my mind.” Singha led the way to sit at the noodle shop, taking the seat of someone who just left, then raised his eyebrow at the boy standing stunned in the walkway.

After they had filled their stomachs, the two strolled around the fair for a good while longer. From the initially sullen Thup, now there were signs of a returning smile. The young man was fascinated by everything he saw, whether it was little trinkets or greeting vendors.

“Phii Singha, shall we play that?” he asked with excitement.

“Whatever you want.” Thup turned to look at the person following him after asking.

The young man weaved through the crowd to the stuffed animal shooting booth. the older man followed, paying as he had at every other stall.

“Phii Singha, which one do you want?”

“How about you hit something first?”

“When I was a kid, I was the master of temple fairs.” Thup said with a voice full of pride.

“That one.” Singha pointed at a brown puppy plush hanging above.

“I’ll get that doll for you!”

Singha chuckled in his throat before crossing his arms and watching the young man pick up the gun and aim at the dolls on the shelf.

First shot, second shot, third shot…

The fourth shot has passed, and so has the fifth.

Thup put down the gun and turned to face the older guy. His beautiful brown eyes avoided Singha’s gaze because he had clearly explained everything well, but didn’t manage to hit any targets.

“Wow, softie.” Singha teased, “Don’t pretend.”

“Hmph, step aside, I am an expert.” Singha said as he took his place, accepting more rubber bullets from the vendor. “Which one do you want?”

Thup looked at the older man with sparkling eyes. From the first day until now, he still looked at Singha with the same admiring gaze, but what had changed was that they were no longer strangers. He wanted to be more than that. His slender hand rose to point at the prize he wanted.

   “I’ll take this one.”

That long finger settled on something Thup never took his eyes off for a second.

   It landed on Singha’s shoulder.

  

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