In Every Lifetime

Chapter Twenty Six

Kongpob stepped out of the Suvarnabhumi Airport and let out a sigh. He was finally here. In the one place that constantly haunted him in his dreams. Pulling out his phone and checking the address he had to go to one last time, he flagged down a taxi and was soon on his way to his destination.

His arrival in Bangkok was one that took years of planning. Kongpob's parents had disapproved of his decision to return - until now. They knew that the one and only reason he wanted so desperately to come to Bangkok had everything to do with the dreams that he has had since he was a child. It had scared them half to death when Kongpob started talking about a part of the country that he had never stepped foot in, as well as describing events that he could not have possibly known. So in an attempt to distract the young child, they had sent him away to study overseas, staying with his Uncle Danai.

So as Kongpob grew older, he kept his recurring dreams to himself and never spoke of them again. But he never forgot any of them. He knew exactly why he kept dreaming of these events and more importantly - that single most important person. He woke up each time, feeling a dull ache in his heart and a face full of tears.

He knew that these were the memories of his past life.

From the point that he had started earning his own keep, he hired a private investigator to search for that person. However with just a name, no age or even a proper face drawing of the boy of his dreams, there was not much he could do. And each time the results drew blank, his heart withered a little.

That was when he decided to put an end to his misery and return to Bangkok once and for all. Regardless of the results, he needed to try for himself. Then and only then, would he be able to give up if he could not find him.

His parents had tried to talk him out of it but to no avail. They knew their words were falling on deaf ears. Kongpob could be stubborn like that. So Mrs Sutthiluck called up an old friend of hers who was also in Bangkok to ask for a favour - that they took care of Kongpob and gave him support whenever possible.

One thing led to the other and here Kongpob was, now on his way to meet the Rojnapats and his parents who had flown in domestically from their hometown. His heart was beating a hundred miles a minute as he sat within the cab. The surname of the Rojnapats had coincidentally matched the name of the person from his memories.

This meeting though, was also supposed to be a fulfilment of an old promise between his mother and Mrs Rojanapat. Being close friends, they had promised each other in their youth that they would let their children marry. This arrangement had been forgotten by both parties but the phone call brought up old memories and a favour from Mrs Rojnapat as well. As much as Kongpob was unwilling to think about anyone else other than the boy of his dreams, he harboured hope that his supposed betrothed was going to be him. Otherwise, he had a full mind to reject the Rojnapats, courteously of course.

His mother too had not shared much details with him about this supposed arrangement or child of her friend's. 'I leave the decision fully up to you.' she had said, albeit with a somewhat grim expression. That baffled Kongpob a little but he didn't have the time to think further into it. He figured he would decide on his next course of action after meeting this person.

Upon reaching the restaurant, Kongpob was immediately shown into a private room where two other people and his parents sat waiting for him. He greeted them all with a wai before putting his things aside and settling down on the opposite side of the table. They had ordered a generous amount of food on the table and were busy asking various questions, directing them at both his parents as well as himself. Kongpob however, could not help but notice that his to-be fiance was nowhere to be seen.

As the dinner went on, Kongpob noticed the two Rojnapats getting increasingly uncomfortable and squirmish. Were they uncomfortable with him as a prospective son-in-law? It was strange that they had not brought his supposed spouse along and he was wondering if it was because their child had rejected this marriage and they had to breach that subject with him. All these, of course were his own speculation but it was evident in their faces that they were having issues breaching the next subject.

"Kongpob, how much about this marriage arrangement did your mother tell you?" Mrs Rojnapat asked, her voice audibly cracking.

"Call me Kong, Aunty. Please. My mother didn't say too much about it. She only told me about the promise you two had when you were younger and wanted me to decide for myself." Kongpob said courteously, smiling.

"Ah.." Mrs Rojnapat sighed, her previously cheerful face now dampened with a grimace. "Well Kong, you see.. I only had one son in the end, unlike your mother who had three of you."

Kongpob nodded, this much his mother had shared. His two sisters were both married so it was left up to him to fulfil the promise between the two families. His mother knew he had no particular preference when it came to gender and had always been supportive of him.

"Arthit was his name," she continued, obviously crying now.

Kongpob's breath hitched. Arthit. What were the odds? But Mrs Rojanapat had said 'was'. He was sure he hadn't heard it wrongly.

"Remember Kong, no matter what, the decision is all yours." His mother reminded him gently, squeezing his hand that was on his lap.

"He was 24 when the accident happened. That was 2 years ago." Mr Rojanapat took over, as he pulled his wife closer to him. "I know this is going to sound very unfair to you but we would like you to consider going through a ghost marriage with him. He can take on the status of your wife. It would just be a ceremony. You are still free to marry whoever you would like to in the future."

"We just.. We just didn't want him to be lonely in the afterlife." Mrs Rojnapat sniffled. She reached into her handbag to pull out a small photo from her wallet and handed it over to Kongpob with a trembling hand. "That's my sweet boy. He's cute isn't he?"

"Kong, I know this is a lot to ask of you and we fully understand if you would like to reject this marriage." Mr Rojnapat said with a sigh, while Mrs Rojnapat sat beside him, sobbing silently.

Kongpob couldn't answer as he stared long and hard at the photo that was just handed to him. The face and smile staring back at him was all so familiar. Too familiar.

Tears prickled his eyes as he continued staring at the photo. "..Oon.." he breathed out in a soft gasp.

Mrs Rojnapat looked at him, staring with disbelief. "How..how do you know that name? We didn't tell you. Not even your parents know."

"It's.. hard to explain," Kongpob replied, sniffling a little to hold in his tears. "But I am more than willing to go through with this marriage." He looked at Mr and Mr Rojnapat smiling, and turned to his own parents. "Shall we set the date?"

The Sutthilucks looked at their youngest son. They were proud of him and yet also worried, of what they had just asked of him.

To complete this ghost marriage.

"Kong, are you sure?" His father asked, face solemn. "There may be a lot of people who will judge you. Ghost marriages aren't something to be taken lightly."

"We can have a small quiet wedding. It doesn't have to be anything big." Mr Rojanapat quickly interjected. "No one other than us has to know about the wedding. It wouldn't be legally binding or anything."

"Aunty, Uncle," Kongpob started, addressing both elders. "I'm not afraid of a ghost wedding. And even if it was legally binding, it wouldn't make a difference to me. I.. I have my own reasons for doing this."

He looked at his parents who were looking at him with confused faces. He nodded gently, assuring them it was really okay.

"Would.. Arthit be okay being bound to me by marriage? We are both men after all." Kongpob asked worriedly. The last thing he'd wanted to do was disrespect the dead, much less the one he had been searching for all his life.

"He.. I think he would be happy with such a handsome husband." Mrs Rojnapat smiled, remembering her boy.

~***~

Am I mean?