The first time Phupha had made Tian a kite had been on a whim. He had watched the younger man animatedly explain how they worked and realized that Tian had been so busy teaching he hadn't made a kite for himself.
He had basked in the shy smile the school teacher had given him when he saw his nickname written on the light green craft paper.
Phupha's heart had gone through a roller coaster of emotions that day. First, beating wildly with the crush he had been sporting for the beautiful young man who had run across the field of daisies and then in fear when he had collapsed, letting go of the string.
The children had recovered the kite and hung it up in the school while Tian recuperated, and the smile he had worn when he saw it there had warmed Phupha's heart.
Phupha had cursed that very same kite when he had found Tian collapsed, but still clutching it tightly, in the burning building. But when it had come out of the luggage Tian had brought back with him, he knew just how much Tian adored it. Just as much as he had treasured that sachet of tea leaves Tian had embroidered for him. Now threadbare and scentless, it remained preciously stowed away at the back of his dresser drawer.
The second kite Phupha had given Tian had been a bright red, painted on with words of gold. He had it already flying at the top of the Pha Pun Dao Hill when Tian had reached after getting the message from Rang that the Chief was waiting for him there. Tian had laughed when he first saw his boyfriend flying a kite but then had become frustrated when he wouldn't say what was written on the paper soaring above them. Random letters of the words glinting in the sunlight much too quickly for Tian to read.
His impatience getting the better of him, he reeled the kite back down as fast as he could. The paper aircraft finally in hand, he had gaped at the words, "Marry me, Tian," before turning to see Phupha on bended knee with a ring box in his hands. He had nearly let the kite go in shock and had quickly scrambled to hold on to it. And he had, for the rest of his life.
The third was made by them both. A kite of pristine white on which they had written each other's names and flown on their wedding day to the sound of the cheers of all their loved ones surrounding them.
Every year since then, Phupha had gifted a handmade kite to Tian on their anniversary, forming a collection of over 40 bright, beautiful shades across the spectrum of colors. These were Tian's favorite presents. No designer clothes, fancy watches, or cars could ever compare. Phupha frequently found his husband admiring them on lazy weekend mornings while drinking his coffee as they had been used to decorate the sunroom in their new home.
Nam had warned Phupha that he would probably outlive Tian, especially once he had been promoted to the desk job. But Tian had lived longer than anyone had expected, and Phupha had cherished every day that he had gotten to share with his husband until Tian finally passed away in his sleep at 65. The inevitable heartbreak he had experienced when he had woken up to find the man beside him no longer breathing had not yet faded. He had cried silently, holding onto Tian's body for a long while before calling anyone.
Now, as he prepared the last kite he would fly on Tian's 100th-day celebration, his hands shook. It was that exact shade of lime green as the first kite he had made, bringing back the memory of the early days of their love. The neat handwriting of the former ranger inscribing the message to his beloved, "Rest in peace, my darling Tian. Let's meet again in our next lives."
Phupha had gone back to the hill early the following day, taking longer to reach the top than it used to in his youth. He had waited for a gust of wind before releasing the kite, masterfully manipulating the string until the delicate square of paper flew above him. Phupha reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. He stared at the kite for a minute before cutting the string that kept it tied down. That kept it tied to him. Finally letting go of it and allowing the wind to take it away, he turned around and walked back down the hill to the village, where the others waited for him to start the official celebration.
Where the wind took it, no one knows. But it is said that a string-less, lime green kite had been seen flying above Pha Pun Dao a few years later, making its final flight the day Phupha's body had been found lying peacefully on the sofa in his sunroom when he had started his own journey to his new life.
