Twisted immortality

X - Not your chance

The throbbing in Songkarn's head woke him up. He opened his eyes and found himself alone in Anurak's bed. On the bedside table were pills with a glass of water. Songkarn took them with gratitude.

He walked to the window and saw that the evening light had spread over Bangkok. He had a desire to eat something really unhealthy and greasy. So, he headed to the front door, poking his head through the open door of Anurak's office.

"I'm going to go eat, you gonna join me?" Songkarn didn't listen to Anurak's answer, bolting toward the hallway. It didn't phase Songkarn at all that only a second before the elevator doors opened he felt Anurak stepping to stand beside him.

"Just where are you going to go to eat? I could have fixed you something." Songkarn felt a lot better when they were standing outside of the hotel, feeling the gentle breeze on his face. Did Henry sound a bit pouty?

"Don't worry. I've grown up with these kinds of street foods. From the second I became independent, I ate in this kind of places a lot more often than at home. Nobody made food at home anyway except me. And right now I wanted to eat something greasy and unhealthy." Songkarn didn't want to let the mood travel in too sad directions, from where there was no way back. So he quickened his steps. With a surprise, Songkarn felt Anurak take his hand. Not to pull him back or to give him a message to walk slower but to walk beside each other. To not lose one another. It was so satisfying to walk, hand in hand, with someone you felt so strongly about.

Songkarn thought to himself, "Maybe it's a need to remind me of those hard times. Somehow you are here after all of your difficult life and I am here after mine. Though short, mine was still not an easy one. There were times we seemingly decided to take care of only ourselves and not rely on others. Not care about others. Now walking here, together, feels belittling."

As they moved from vendor to vendor Anurak got more and more talkative. His strict manners eased up somewhat. Songkarn watched him bargaining over some shawl's price. When Anurak had got it at exactly the price he wished for he put it around Songkarn's neck.

"It suits you."

Throwing out such words that were simple and yet totally filled with anticipation. At that moment, after the day that they had. Songkarn decided to not look closely for its meaning. He could sense in himself a lot more anticipation he was prepared to admit, even to himself. He decided to avoid it excessively. Feeling that eating was the best means for it.

Songkarn decided to eat grilled pork on skewers called Moo Ping. They were so tasty that he just couldn't help but hum at every bite he took and between bites too. Anurak looked at him, smiling continuously. He himself ate slowly and quietly. Like a man who had learned not to rush. Anurak ate soup with rice noodles and wontons and meatballs. Songkarn thought it was ridiculous to eat this on the street. Especially when you could take something easy and tasty with what you can walk around. Now they needed to stay in one place so Anurak wouldn't spill his soup. Songkarn demanded a taste at once criticizing the soup wasn't spicy enough. Anurak intervened before Songkarn could order any for him. It was enough for him, he didn't want to add any. Which of course got Songkarn laughing.

"You're so old and you still can't eat spicy food?"

"I can eat it but I prefer not to." Anurak's face was slightly pink now and Songkarn got to laugh awhile more. He dropped the subject and walked on with a slightly embarrassed Anurak. It was not just seeing every change Anurak's face had or how good he felt over small exchanges with total strangers. It was obvious that Anurak had no idea how much he was enjoying himself. Every time, he discovered Songkarn watching, he looked perplexed and tried to control his expressions.

Songkarn had no idea how long it had been when finally they decided to call it a night. The night was there again and Songkarn decided to let Anurak be for the time being. Songkarn couldn't even in the best of circumstances ask him to talk about his story when they had been on it for the whole day already. It was something Anurak obviously wasn't used to. Sharing his life story. Sharing his life with somebody else had to be a stretch for him anyway. Also, as strong as his own past had made him, Songkarn was not prepared for this kind of tale to continue longer that night. At first, he had thought that there would be a strange supernatural storyline. When Anurak had kept talking, it got more serious and difficult to listen. Farther away from something he could relate to.