WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 13: Thanks

   Daotok

   The morning sunlight immediately flooded in as the heavy curtains were drawn open. I walked out to the balcony to get some fresh air, a hot coffee cup in hand. Despite not feeling as cheerful as the warm morning sun and atmosphere suggested.

I had to wake up early because today was the day we were supposed to travel to the hometown of the guy from the next room. I had prepared the documents a long time ago and last night checked them one last time to make sure nothing was forgotten before going to bed. While I was about to drift off to sleep, a notification from a chat I forgot to mute popped up.

It was a picture of that guy lying curled up on the floor, with a tire in the frame, making me guess it was in a parking lot, probably a bar’s parking lot. That guy must have been at a bar, the guy from next door sent that picture with a message implying he had dealt with him.

At that time, I replied with thanks without thinking much because I was sleepy. Now thinking about it, I believe he didn’t do it for me; they must have had a fight or something while drinking together because there’s no reason for him to waste energy beating up that guy for me. But anyway, I’m thankful for it, because honestly, I felt quite satisfied seeing that picture.

Finally over…at last.

The story between me and that person.

Last night before going to bed, I spent nearly an hour on a call with my friends, telling them the details. They were a bit worried about me going abroad with the person next door, just the two of us. At first, everyone offered to come along, but after consulting with the doctors, we got a firm ‘no’.

It seems the person next door really doesn’t like it if anyone gets involved or knows about this. Even the doctors have never asked, just as I thought. Even now, when he has to take me, he still doesn’t seem to want me to go, but it’s necessary.    I think there’s nothing to worry about because I can take care of myself, but it seems those around me don’t think so. Besides my concerned friends, there’s also Dad, who reminded me for the hundredth time not to sneak off to travel alone and to never be far from the person I’m traveling with.

With my habit of doing whatever I want, I often stray off course when I go somewhere. Initially, I thought after helping with the matter of the person next door, I’d sneak off to travel alone for a couple of days, but my papa saw through that and explicitly forbade it. When he figures things out like this, I can’t do much about it.

I decided to bother Cat by asking him to look after Mr. Jeon for me. Cat agreed without hesitation, telling me to bring Mr. Jeon over early so we could have breakfast together and not rush to the airport, leaving plenty of time, which is better. I agree because I like to leave a lot of extra time when I travel. If I wait until the last minute, I’m always anxious.

Looking at my watch, it was seven o’clock. I finished my hot coffee and went back inside. I didn’t forget to close the curtains and lock the balcony door. Last night, I had already packed Mr. Jeon’s things into a large bag.

I sent a Line message to the person next door when I was ready to leave, but there was no response; he hadn’t even read it yet. I didn’t know what time he planned to leave since our flight was in the afternoon, but I had to leave now because I had an appointment with Cat. I needed to go knock on his door.    I knocked for quite a while and with some force before the occupant came out to open the door with an annoyed expression, messy hair, and a faint smell of alcohol reaching my nose. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, but I didn’t care.

“What do you want?” He asked in a slightly hoarse voice.

“I’m leaving.”

“What time is it?”

“Seven.”

“The flight is in the afternoon.”

“I’m leaving now.”

“Funny as hell.” He said before he was about to close the door in my face. I quickly spoke up.

“I have a meeting with Cat.”

“Cat?”

“Tonfah’s partner, going to see him.”

“See Fah? Why?”

“To leave Cat with him, have breakfast together.”

“Cat? And why are you going to see Cat?” He frowned, looking more confused, probably because he was still half-asleep and a bit disoriented.

“I’m going to leave my Cat at Tonfah’s place.”

“Oh, you’ve made plans with him?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, ten minutes.” He said before closing the door. I went back to wait in my room until I heard a knock at the door. Initially, I thought if he didn’t go, I’d go by myself and meet at the airport, but if we go together, it would be more convenient since he has the tickets.

I took a box and two pieces of luggage – a backpack and a rolling suitcase – and walked out of the room.

“Huh? Why bring Cat?”

“I told you I’m going to leave him there.”

“Oh, in Fah’s room?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s his name again?”

“Khajornsak, but we call him Mr. Jeon.” I said, which made the person in front of me raise his eyebrows in surprise.

“What is Khajornsak, a human name?” He asked.

“Yeah, a human name.”

And then we walked to the parking lot. I put my luggage in the trunk and brought Mr. Jeon to sit in the front. Soon, the car stopped at a luxurious condo; come to think of it, I had never been to Cat’s condo before. The guy from next door must know the way, so I followed him, we took the elevator, and stopped in front of one of the doors.

“Come in.” Cat, who opened the door, smiled and invited me inside. I took off my shoes by the side and brought out Mr. Jeon, “Mr. Jeon.” Cat called out affectionately and reached out to touch him. Mr. Jeon looked at Cat confusedly since he was a stranger.

“Arthit.” Cat’s partner, who was sitting on the sofa, called out, “What time is your flight?”

“Afternoon.”

“Oh, so you’re out this early, where are you going?”

“I’m staying here, move over.” He said before sitting down on the sofa too. I shifted my attention from him back to Cat and Mr. Jeon. Mr. Jeon didn’t seem to dislike Cat; he wasn’t showing any signs of resistance. If they spend more time together, they might even like each other.

“What about his supplies?”

“I brought them.” I said, pointing to the large bag I had with me. Cat went over to look. It contained things like a cat bed, litter box, various toys, and food.    “If the food runs out, do I need to buy the same kind?” Cat asked. I nodded in response, “Want to have breakfast?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” and then I followed Cat to the dining table. This room was very spacious and clean. The four of us sat at the dining table together. I sat next to the neighbor and opposite Cat. Cat washed his hands after touching Mr. Jeon and then served the food.

“Did you  make all this?”

“Phii Fah helped too.”

“I didn’t help that much. Mostly, Phoon did.” Cat’s partner said. I looked back at the array of food on the table. I didn’t really know what everything was, but it looked good. After we started eating, I found it quite delicious.

“How is it?” Cat asked.

“It’s good.” I said with a slight smile. Cat’s smile widened even more.

“Then eat a lot, Dao, especially since you have a stomach condition.”

“Uh-huh.” I nodded slightly and continued eating. Honestly, I didn’t want anyone to know I was sick. I never told anyone about my stomach condition, but since I had to go to the hospital at that time, it was discovered, and then I was forced to eat regularly.

“Are you full?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks for breakfast, it was really good.”

“Hmm, glad you enjoyed it.” Cat smiled as he took my plate away.

…

   Arthit

   I sat on the sofa, waiting for the afternoon flight, having come out early because the guy from next door woke me up, saying we’d have breakfast at Fah’s place and leave Cat there. It wasn’t bad, getting a free meal, even if it was a bit early.

“Where are you going?” Fah, sitting next to me, asked.

“Hawaii, LA, San Francisco.” I said. Hawaii for the vacation home, LA for the hospital where my mom was treated, and San Francisco for my home.    “Wow, that sounds exhausting, how many days are you going for?”    “Booked for five. If it’s not enough, we’ll extend, but I think it should be enough. From Thailand to Hawaii is one day, right? Hawaii to LA is six hours, LA to San Francisco is about two hours. Not going sightseeing, just checking and coming back.”

“Hmm, take good care of him.”

“Of him?”

“Arthit, you’re the one who asked him, right?” Fah said seriously, “You asked him to do something, and I heard it’s not good for him, isn’t it? Phoon said that dealing with spirits is very tiring.”

“…”

“Honestly, he doesn’t even have to help you, but look, he’s still willing to help to this extent, willing to travel across the world just to help you. Has he ever complained or shown any signs of displeasure?” Fah asked. Come to think of it, he never complained, or maybe he did it internally. He never showed any signs of displeasure to me because he never expressed anything other than silence, sometimes I felt like I was talking to an automaton that only responds with ‘hmm.’    “Never.”

“And with that deal to be a dog deterrent or whatever, what you’ve done isn’t fair to him at all. So, take good care of him.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” I replied, unable to stop a sigh.

It’s true what Fah said. I don’t know if it’s because he’s a good person or what.

Whether he was willing to help or not.

   Deep down, I’m grateful to him.

   “What do you usually do in your room on days off?” I asked to strike up a conversation. Fah, who was watching TV, turned to look at me, “Don’t tell me you read.”

“Read books.”

“Damn. Don’t you want to do something else?”

“Watch movies, cuddle with Phoon.”

“Yeah, that’s good.” I said, letting out a bored sigh.

“Yeah, and what about your snake?”

“I left it with Pee.”

“Which Pee?”

“You don’t know him.” I said because he was a friend from another faculty, and

Fah probably wouldn’t know him, “At first, I thought about leaving my snake with Jo because North said he wanted to play with the snake, but then I thought, what if that bastard Jo accidentally eats my snake?”

“Accidentally? You use that word too?” Fah raised his eyebrows, because I usually don’t use unusual Thai words. No need to ask why, because I’m half-Thai, I used to fail Thai every semester, damn, it’s so hard, some words I still don’t understand. Being able to speak and read is already a blessing.

“Cool, huh?” I raised my eyebrows at Fah.

“And why would you think Jo would eat your snake?”

“I don’t know, with someone like Johan, anything’s possible, damn.” I said, shaking my head slightly. My main worry was that my snake might bite North because he’s unfamiliar, it’s not poisonous, but if it bites North, my snake might end up dead at the hands of North’s husband, or worse, boiled alive out of spite, and then they would just transfer money to buy me a new snake, “I wouldn’t entrust it to you or Hill either.”

“Leaving it with Cat is enough, I don’t think he can handle a snake, Phoon probably wouldn’t like it.” Fah said, “As for Hill, like you know, he doesn’t like strange things in his room.”

“So, I left it with someone else.” I said.

“Yeah, and how was it talking to your ex’s friend?”

“Hmm. It was okay, I guess, that kid looked pretty down, must’ve been hurt by the cursing.” My words made Fah slightly raise his eyebrows, “But that bastard is really a bastard, did he tell you what he did?”

“Yeah, he told me, so I advised him not to go back, and that’s all you did? Curse him?”

“I went out for drinks with him afterward.”

“With Khram?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re going with him, huh?” Fah shook his head slightly, “How did it go? Did you guys get along?”

“Nothing much, but when I was about to leave, he pissed on my car tire, so I beat him up.” I said, and the person next to me let out a small laugh.

“You beat him?”

“Yeah, he’s in the hospital now. I called my dad to send someone to change the car. They helped take him to the hospital too. Don’t know if he’s dead or alive, but

I didn’t hold back much.”

“Then he must be in pretty bad shape. It’s hard to feel too sorry for him, pissing on someone’s tire is bad.”

“Not just bad, it’s damn disgusting, bastard. Just thinking about it pisses me off, he was drunk and a mess.” I complained, getting more frustrated the more I thought about it.

In the end, Fah had to give up his sofa for me to nap. I’d almost say Fah’s sofa is like another bed for me by now; I’m so used to sleeping there. I drifted off to sleep until I was woken up by a gentle shake.

“Arthit, it’s time.”

“Huh? Time for what?”

“To go to the airport.” Fah’s voice said. I opened my eyes sleepily, sat up, and saw Fah standing behind the sofa. I glanced around to see the kid from the next room waiting. I got up from the sofa and walked to the door, “Safe flight.”

“Yeah.” I acknowledged, standing there as the kid from next door spoke with Fah’s wife for a moment before we walked down to the car. On the way to the airport, there was just the soft sound of music playing in the car. I didn’t talk to him like I did on the way here, “Hey.”

“…” He didn’t respond, just looking out the window.

“What’s your name again?” I asked because I couldn’t remember. I think I asked North once before. Calling him “blue-haired kid” or “next-door kid” isn’t right, especially when we’ll be spending several days together.

“Daotok.”

“Huh?” I furrowed my brows slightly because the name sounded strange, or maybe that’s why I couldn’t remember it, “That’s a weird name.”

“Yeah.”

“Dao.”

“?”

“Thanks.”

“…”

“For coming to help.”

I finally said it, while still looking straight ahead at the road. I’m not such a jerk that I wouldn’t feel a bit grateful when someone goes through trouble and spends time to help me. Moreover, I wasn’t even sure we’d find anything this time.

   It was like gambling. In the end, it might just be a waste of time for both of us.    “Uh. No problem.” He replied in his usual slow tone. I didn’t look to see his expression, but it was probably the same dead-fish face as always.

Honestly, I was starting to feel anxious when I thought about going back to look for my mother at home and other places I could think of. It was a feeling like…what if we don’t find her? And what if we do?

   I thought if we didn’t find her, it might be time to accept the truth, but now that it’s happening, I’m not sure I can handle it. I mean…I’m starting to be afraid of the truth. Would it be better to turn the car around now?

   “…” When the car stopped at a red light, I caught a glimpse of the person next to me from the corner of my eye. He looked at me, so I looked back, “What?” I asked.

“Nothing. Just…slow down a bit.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“…” I didn’t respond, he turned away before the light turned green, and I stepped on the gas. I didn’t even realize I had slowed down, probably because I was lost in thought.

We arrived at the airport and boarded the plane; Direk had booked two adjacent first-class seats for us. I took my seat, and the person who followed sat down next to me, picking up a novel to read. I looked away. Normally, I would sleep on a plane because I have nothing else to do, but it seems like this time, falling asleep wouldn’t be easy.

   How could I sleep when my head is full of all sorts of thoughts?

   After the plane had been in the air for nearly half an hour, the person next to me was engrossed in reading his novel and listening to music, not paying attention to anything else. It seemed to be a mystery novel. With nothing to do, I glanced over occasionally.

   “Hey.” I called out.

“Hmm?” He responded without looking at me.

“Do you have another one? Can I borrow it?”

“Sure.” He handed me another novel and went back to reading. I looked at the mystery novel in my hand. Normally, I don’t read novels much; textbooks are enough, but now there’s nothing to do. If there’s anything to distract myself from overthinking, that would be good.

“Do you have another pair of earphones?” I asked.

“No.”

“Let me borrow one side.”

“No.”

“Share one, come on.”

“No.”

“Damn heartless.” I muttered slightly. Initially, I planned to listen to music but forgot to bring my earphones. When I asked this kid to share, he was stingy about it. After a while, he sighed and took out one earphone, handing it to me. I put it in, not knowing what song he was listening to, but whatever. Asking him to change the song would be too much.

I listened to music with him, each with one earphone, while reading a detective novel to kill time.

“Why is this song so mood-swinging?” I asked when the song that was initially relaxing suddenly turned into rock.

“Changed the playlist.”

“You listen to this genre?”

“I listen to all genres.”

“Really? There are people who listen to every genre?”

“If it’s good, I listen to it all.”

“Oh.”

“Damn, now it’s Chinese songs.”

“Yeah.”

“…” I couldn’t help but frown when the song changed from indie rock to Chinese music. I almost couldn’t adjust to the mood shift, damn. Honestly, I had never thought of listening to this before, but I kept listening, and I ended up liking it,

“Your playlist has some good songs.”

“Hmm, thanks.”

“Share some with me.”

“Which ones?”

“All of them.”

“Uh, I’ll share it.”

“Okay.”

After nearly two hours had passed, he put down the novel, having finished reading it, and took out a sketchbook and pencil to draw. I had finished reading too, so I borrowed the novel he had just read. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him sketching and, out of curiosity, kept glancing over.

   “What are you drawing?”

“The scene from the novel just now.”

“Oh, the cornfield scene?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s just like how I imagined it.” I said, because I had just read that cornfield scene in the novel. The image I had in my mind matched what this kid was drawing, as if he was illustrating the scenes from the book, “Try drawing the scene behind the cave when the protagonist escapes, I can’t picture it.”

“Uh-huh.” He turned to a new page and began sketching. I watched with interest, wondering how someone could draw so quickly and beautifully.

“You draw really well, damn.”

“You can hire me.”

“Hey, selling them yourself?”

“Just a little.”

“Do you take drawing commissions?”

“I do everything.”

“You’re not choosy because you’re not rich.” I teased a bit. Honestly, I find it easy to talk to people, like with North, we got close really fast despite his bad habits, but he has lots of friends, and they all have similar habits, they’re easygoing too. Even with Khram, who I just met, I went out for drinks with him.

Good-looking and good-natured, what kind of person is this?

I think the self-obsessed trait comes from Jo. No one needs to tell him he’s handsome; he’s known it since birth. I’ve been the same, handsome since I was a sperm.

I was starting to feel a bit better. After being overwhelmed with thoughts when we arrived at the airport.

That’s how it is. If I’m not feeling great, just leave it be, I’ll get better after a while. If I could drink alcohol and smoke, I’d feel better faster, but unfortunately, that’s not allowed on the plane.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“You’ve done autopsies, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Is it like this?” He asked as he showed me a sketch he had made. I raised my eyebrows a little to look.

“Why not look at real pictures?”

“I’m asking someone who’s actually done it.”

“Yeah, it’s somewhat accurate.”

“If I can, can I watch when you do one?”

“Try asking the professor.” I replied before turning my attention back to the novel in front of me. I can’t believe someone like me is reading a novel. Probably because I’ve never read one before, but once I tried, it was pretty fun. The protagonist was so cool that I even felt like becoming an FBI agent, “Is there a sequel?”

“This one’s a series.”

“With this protagonist?”

“Yeah.”

“Really? Hey, that’s good, how many volumes are there?”

“Three translated into Thai.”

“And the rest?”

“Not translated.”

“I want to read more.”

“They’re not available in Thailand.”

“There must be some in LA, right?”

“Really?”

“They’ve got to have them.”

“So, can we go?”

“If there’s time, I’d like to read more too.” I said.

“Uh-huh.”

 

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