Coming back to life

Chapter 1

Alex removed his shades and put them in the case. It was just after 5pm and he didn't need them anymore against the harsh glare of the hot Thai sun.

He should have listened and not gone for a walk  this late but he was a bundle of nerves and the walk was exactly what he needed to calm himself down.

That path didn't lead to the main road as he had imagined. If he didn't get help he would soon be lost. The more he walked the more the forest seemed to be getting denser and the trees began to look the same.

He cursed his stupidity at not using a local sim card, or even save the number of the Inn he was staying at. How was he supposed to even call anyone for help?

This part of the forest was so dense that the network was spotty. His best option was to get help soon.

He laughed at himself, if his dearly departed father was alive, he would smack him hard on his head for this stupidity.

He began to smell smoke. Smoke meant people. People meant help. All hope wasn't lost. He kept walking until he came upon a stone wall that must have been built years ago.

There were more rocks scattered around than piled high. This wall had to be hundreds of years old. It was easy to scale, with the hope that he wouldn't crack open his skull if one of these boulders got loose.

Now, she would kill him after finding his dead body. He really should be getting back to her. Back to the Inn where she was waiting for him.

Jetlag was always brutal on her, he hoped she hadn't noticed that he was out. The plan was to take a walk while she slept and be back before she knew.

He had promised her a holiday and after their fights, this was meant to be a new beginning. Reconnecting if one could say.  Thailand was the last place she wanted to go but he had begged and nagged her until she gave in. Three days was all she was willing to give this place.

A few steps in he saw the sprawling house in a clearing in a vale. Even from a distance he could see the splendour of the mansion. The view from up here was breathtaking, almost like a picture from a postcard.

The smell of the sea was strong and sharp, nothing in the world smelled like this. 

The white beach beyond the mansion glistened in the dusk. He should bring her up here one of these days. She would love the picturesque scene. She would paint it for sure. He really needed to get back to her, his vintage Rolex watch told him it was just before 5pm.

The nearer he walked, he saw people running around the yard. A huge tent was being pitched, the workers just about ignored him. He went round the house and walked to the front door.

A double heavy wooden door with intricate carvings depicting Thai folklore. In all of his travels, he had never seen anything so magestic. He tenderly caresssed the carvings. He could tell, this was more than a door for this house. It was years and years of history.

If the door could talk, how many people had passed through its threshhold. He shook his head to come back to the present. He was always easily distracted, his father called it his overactive imagination 'romantic nonsense'.

The knocker was brass and felt suprisingly heavy. Three hard knocks he paitently waited for an answer. The moment the door opened he smiled at her but her reaction shocked her.

"Sawaddee ka." He bowed in her face.

She grabbed the door as she steadied herself. Her wide smile faded as she grew pale. She looked ready to pass out. Before he could reach out to help her she banged the heavy door in his face.