[2077] Visitors/end of vacation

June, 2077

“Sud! You little brat!!!”

Sin’s voice made Apaimanee jump in his bed. He went out and found his older son running after his younger sibling, picking the little boy up.

“What’s going on?”

“Sud thought it was funny to let a crab pinch my toe while I was asleep.” Sin growled.

“It was funny.” Sud had another crab in his hand.

“From the moment you were born, I knew you were trouble!”

“Hey, hey, no fighting now. Put him down, Sin.”

Sin placed his younger brother on the ground. The little boy stared at his father with wide eyes, not understanding why everybody was so serious.

“Sud, you can’t hurt other people. You don’t like it when other people hurt you, so why did you hurt your brother?”

“It was funny, though.”

“It was not!” Sin turned and left. Apaimanee sighed.

“See? It wasn’t.”

“I like seeing him scream.”

The father was at a temporary loss for words.

“Hey… You really shouldn’t like it when people scream. If you want your brother’s attention, there are tons of ways to do it, minus the screaming.”

“It’s funny when people scream.”

“Sud!” The girl came running from the back of the house. “Did you throw your breakfast away again?”

“Yeah, I don’t like veggies!”

“Oh, okay… No veggies next time, then.”

“Hey, you can’t just…!” Apaimanee massaged the bridge of his nose. “Alright, Sud, if you throw your breakfast away, you’re getting nothing else to eat until lunch.”

“I will go to Aunt Mook!”

“You can’t… Ugh, forget it.” Apaimanee sat down cross-legged on a bamboo bed that also served as the family’s dining space.

“Did I do something wrong?” The girl placed his breakfast down and sat across him with legs tucked back to one side.

“No.” The man furrowed his brows. “Did you put too much fish sauce in this? Have a taste.”

“Oh… I think I did.”

“You didn’t. Sud poured fish sauce into the food while he threw his breakfast away. I knew it, that kid. He’d burn down the house one day.”

Sud really did almost burn the house down when he was playing with the stove, and decided that it was a good idea to torch the roof.

The more Apaimanee watched his sons, the more he thought about his own family. Butterfly said she murdered them, but she spared his younger brother. Perhaps the person Apaimanee wanted to find was none other than his brother, but at the current state, he had no time or resources to do so.

July, 2077

The storm was particularly bad on that day. Everyone stayed inside.

Sin stared as rain droplets that leaked through their roof dropped into a bucket. Sud cuddled against his mother, fearing the lighting and thunder. Apaimanee sat beside the lantern, rolling his pi in his hand, but was not in the mood to play.

When the storm passed, they saw a yacht some distance away. People gathered on the beach to watch as the vessel drew closer. When it got close enough, they could make out the passengers on the yacht.

“Chan?!”

“Woah, isn’t that Apai?! I knew you were coming to this island, but I thought you didn’t make it!”

It was none other than Chan, the young man who gave Apaimanee the collar that allowed him to escape Butterfly’s grasp.

They could see another figure on board. It was a woman in a white dress, wearing a wide-brimmed white hat and sunglasses. Chan scooped her up, much to the displeasure of the rest of the crew, then jumped over the shallow waters and landed on the beach.

He put the woman down gently. She shuffled, not used to having sand beneath her feet.

“I have tons of things to ask, but let me first introduce you. Apai, this is Khun Malee, my boss’s daughter. Khun Malee, this is Apai, a former member of Langka. He used to work under Madame but had to escape.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Malee said with head held high. She did not offer Apaimanee a wai, a bow, or a hand, and just stood there, with her gloved hands clasped in front of her.

“The pleasure is mine.” Apaimanee did not mind it. She did not have to offer him anything. “I think we should get you inside before we talk.”

“Good, good. Sunlight gives you skin cancer.” Chan took his lady’s hand and followed Apaimanee.

The girl was surprised to see guests. She ushered Sin and Sud out of the house, much to the latter’s dismay. Then, she carried a tray of snacks and cold water for the guests.

Apaimanee sat on a bamboo chair inside his house, while Chan stood next to his lady. The rest of the yacht’s crew entered Aunt Mook’s house, which was only a few steps away.

A moment later, a small black bird flew in through the window and perched on Chan’s shoulder. It had seven tail feathers, each a color of the rainbow.

“Well, I’m sorry this is all I have to offer.” Apaimanee said, still looking at the bird. “What wind brought you here?”

“The wind, yes, the wind really brought us here.” Chan chuckled. Malee cleared her throat before taking over.

“Due to some miscommunication, we were caught in a storm while cruising, and somehow our GPS managed to malfunction, which landed us here.” She took a sip of water. “I have been horribly seasick for a whole day. I am thankful for anything you have to offer.”

“Uh-huh. This all sounds very suspicious. Are you sure you’re not here on Butterfly’s behalf to silence me?”

“Hey, milady may be Khun Huren’s fiancée, but we don’t mess with Langka’s internal affairs.”

“Wait, what?”

“What, you didn’t know? Oh, right, you went off grid for three years. Figures.” Chan stroked the rainbow-tailed black bird.

“Chirp.”

“Come on now, Su, did you really just say the word ‘chirp’ instead of chirping?”

“Chirp, chirp, bitch.”

Apaimanee watched the exchange, then turned to Malee. The woman tried to hold back her laugh.

“Su is Chan’s long-lost twin. We did not manage to salvage very much of them.”

“I can kind of see that.” The man shifted his gaze back to the bird and its twin. “Chan, I still need to thank you.”

“No need. I need to thank you for the hospitality. The sea’s been rough.”

“If you two do not mind, while you catch up, I will take a walk.” Malee got up and left. Apaimanee could hear his sons yelp when she swung the door open. As she greeted the children, Chan spoke.

“Hey, are you really going to live the seaman’s life from now on? I mean, you’re not the first one to do so, but it seems like you still have an awful lot to do back on the mainland.”

“I don’t know. It’s been busy, with my sons growing up and everything.”

“I see.”

“By the way, who’s Khun Huren?”

“What?! He’s been Langka’s boss even before I first met you! How come you work for him and don’t even know what he’s called?” Chan rubbed his chin. “Alright, I’ll do a short recap. Milady, Khun Malee, is Crystal’s next-in-line, but her father decided that she better marry Khun Huren from the rival clan Langka instead. Oh, her father’s name is Khun Silrach, in case you forgot. He also transferred me and Su to Khun Malee’s care.”

“I see.”

“So here we are. You were in Langka under Khun Huren, and I’m in Crystal under Khun Malee. Now that our bosses are married, we’re now the same plate of gold. Or the same ingot. I forgot what the saying was.”

“Have you heard anything about Butterfly?”

“She still works for Khun Huren. I heard she was given the lay-low order again, so I haven’t heard of her at all these past years.”

“That collar, Chan. Have you managed to make one that can scramble her enhancements?”

“No.” The young man rubbed the bird’s neck absentmindedly. “You sound like you still want to settle things with her.”

“She killed my family and sealed my memories. I still haven’t managed to undo the seal completely.”

“Whoa, what the actual fuck? She killed who now?”

“Fuck!”

“No, don’t say fuck, Su. Shush.”

“Fuck!”

“Keep that bird away from my sons.”

“Yes, papa bear. Will do. Shush, Su.”

The two men exited the house, and saw Malee playing on the beach with Sud. She took off her shades, hat, and flats, and laughed like a little girl. Sin sat a distance away with Apaimanee’s wife, both of them fixing a fishing net.

“Milady, you’ll get a sunburn!” Chan shouted. “Man, I’ve never seen her like that before.”

Apaimanee laughed, and Chan gave him a jab to the side with his elbow.

Malee got along very well with Apaimanee’s family. It almost felt like she was a cousin, coming over to visit from another country. Apaimanee could not help but think of his brother.

A few days later, as he sat watching Malee enjoy her tropical getaway, he decided to bring it up.

“Chan.”

“Yeah?”

“I want to head back to Bangkok.”

“Alright.”

“I want Crystal’s protection.”

“That’s for milady to decide.” Chan stretched his legs on the sand, one hand stroking the black bird. “What about your family?”

“I don’t know. They can decide themselves.”

Chan opened his mouth to say something, then sighed and changed the subject.

“You know, if I had a kid when I was seventeen, I’d feel like my life ended prematurely. There was so much I had to do, but I’d be stuck taking care of kids instead.”

Apaimanee stared at the grains of sand at his feet. Then, he got up and walked over to Malee.

“Ma’am, I want to talk to you.”

They sat on the bamboo bed in front of the house, while everybody else headed inside to hide from the insects. Apaimanee lit a mosquito coil and set it by their feet.

“I assume you have a request for me.” She said as soon as he stood back up.

“I do. I worked under Madame Butterfly, but she’s now my enemy. There’s still somebody I have to find on the mainland, so I want to request for protection.”

“I can put a word in for Khun Huren to have Madame stand down.” She nodded. “I will see what else I can do. May I ask, who might you be looking for?”

“My younger brother. I don’t remember his name, but if I search for the Rattanawohan family, he will come up.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you sure it is alright for you to meet him, as you are now? To be precise, if Madame Butterfly is after you, then that is taking the danger to your brother. Or maybe, that is exactly what Madame Butterfly wanted.”

“To lure me out?”

“I am not sure if you know this, but your family was deeply involved with the regime that Crystal and Langka recently destroyed.” Malee caught a mosquito with her index and thumb, crushing it, and so let its lifeless body fall from her fingertips. “Hearing this, do you still insist on going?”

“I do, but I have to strike Madame Butterfly out of the equation first. She did unforgivable things to me.”

Malee sighed.

“That is fine by me. Go get your life back, if that satisfies you.” She got up. “From now on, you will be under my protection. And I have to tell you another thing: I agreed to be Sin’s godmother.”

“Oh. Well, I have no objections, but why?”

“It was a complicated conversation, but I had no reason to refuse.” Malee tucked her hair behind her ear. “The specifics of the conversation are something between me and Sin, so I ask for your understanding.”

“It’s alright. It’s been tough for Sin. I’m glad he found someone.” Apaimanee sighed. “I assume you’ll be taking him along?”

“If he agrees.”

Sin did agree. The Crystal crew got the yacht ready to head back. Apaimanee located his wife.

“Will you come along?”

“What do you want me to do? Please tell me.”

“Then stay here and take care of Sud.”

“Okay. I will.”

The man sighed and ended the conversation there.

Apaimanee and Sin boarded the yacht, and waved goodbye to their family and the islanders. The Old Master came to send them off as well.

It was smooth sailing until they neared land. The yacht cruised along the shoreline and docked at Malee’s private seaside residence. It was a house situated on a raft. Seaside homes were built this way to avoid the property being swallowed by the sea.

The passengers got off. Sin ran off the pier and into the house, while Apaimanee scanned the place for potential threats and escape routes. Chan caught him doing so and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“Khun Huren doesn’t even know about this place. No need to be so careful.” His eyes followed Apaimanee’s son, as Malee took him around to see the property. “You know, your son asked me some pretty interesting questions when we were on the boat.”

“What did he ask?”

“He asked me how to win against you. I guess it’s a son thing, and Freud will agree. I didn’t ask him what he wanted to win, but he asked me to be his mentor. Just letting you know.”

“You won’t even ask if I agree?”

“What can you do, anyway? I’ll coach him if I want to, even without your permission.”

Apaimanee sighed.

“He’s doing things without talking to me.”

“Yeah, that shows his resolve. Anyway, I’ll show you around the house so you can stop being paranoid.”

“I want a shit.” Su perched on Chan’s head.

“You don’t need to poop, Su. Get your shit together.”

“Bitch.”

“You’re the bitch.”

Apaimanee heaved a long sigh and followed the twin into the house.