Goddess Bless You From Death

Case File 36.

Inside the car, heading back to the city, a whole day of running around for the investigation and a whole night of running from ghosts had left Thup exhausted. The cool air from the air conditioner and the soft sunlight made him start to feel drowsy. Thup slapped his cheek with the back of his hand to stay alert. He couldn't leave Singha alone.

"If you're sleepy, just sleep."

"It's not safe yet. How can I leave you alone?"

"Nowhere is safe if that damn ghost can appear anywhere like this."

"Are you okay?" Thup noticed the fatigue and wounds on Singha, especially around his waist.

"I'm fine. We'll go back and pack up at Uncle Chai's house. I've arranged to rent a car. Driving back will be faster."

"Please take a break, P'Singh."

"Do you think we have time for that?" Thup bit his lip until it turned red. It was true; they no longer had time.

When they arrived at Uncle Chai's house, the two cars parked in front of the house. The once sparkling young doctor was now a dishevelled young man, dirty and unkempt, with an uninviting face.

The high-ranking police officer looked even more intimidating with his wounds. The bright, youthful man who had arrived earlier still retained that same essence, but now he was a flower that had braved the night, surviving the ordeal with his life.

"Oh!! What the heck happened to you guys? Why do you look like you've been to war?" Uncle Chai asked as he walked over, leaving his fighting cock bathing behind

"We did go to war, Uncle!! A war with ghosts!" Charn answered grumpily.

"Ghosts? Where have you been? And why is the kid bleeding?"

Uncle Chai worriedly walked over to Thup; the wrinkled hand softly brushed dirt off his face.

"I'll tell you later, Uncle. I need to shower and pack for Bangkok now."

"You said you'd stay for a few days."

"We have urgent business, but I'll come back to see you, Uncle."

Thup gave the old man a broad smile, not wanting to worry him any further. Singha let the uncle and two nephews talk while he went inside to pack. He removed his black leather jacket and T-shirt with one arm. His sharp eyes looked at the scratches on his body indifferently before looking at the stab wound on his waist. He had fallen into a pit of bones, and one had pierced him.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in." He initially thought it was the puppy following him, but it was the annoying doctor instead. "What do you want?"

"I saved your life. I got hurt and was haunted by ghosts." Charn leaned against the door frame, arms crossed.

"Thanks." Singha looked at him through the mirror, expressionless, as he cleaned the wound with alcohol. "Why are you here?"

"To do my job as a doctor." Charn walked in with a medical kit much larger than Singha's. "You can't just clean that wound haphazardly if you want to make it to Bangkok. Sit down."

"I thought you'd be too scared to do anything." Singha sat on the bed as instructed

"Give me a break. That burnt ghost kid haunted me, and it even burnt my chest." 

Charn complained incessantly, as expected from someone fearful. He poured saline onto the wound to clean it, then assessed its depth and width. "It needs stitches."

"Then stitch it."

"This is an old man's house, not a hospital. There's no anaesthetic."

"Don't need it."

"How did I fall for someone like you?"  Charn muttered in surprise, opening the window and disinfecting his hands. There was no time to follow medical protocol. 

Forcing Singha to go to a hospital would only waste time and make him try to treat the wound himself, risking infection and death. Charn nodded seriously to himself before sitting back in front of Singha with a needle. 

"Promise me you'll see a doctor to check the wound when you get there."

"No promises."

"Then I'll tell Thup." Charn furrowed his brow, putting on gloves and applying Betadine to the wound.

"Fine," Singha said, rolling his eyes. If Thup knew, he'd worry and hover around him all day.

"I guess you're tough, but you should bite on something." Charn glanced at a roll of bandages. When Singha bit it, he started stitching. The needle pierced the skin: the tugging and the thread moving through made Singha bite down hard, sweating from his temples. The pain radiated through his body, but they couldn't waste time. The station's silence suggested bad news.

"Ouch!!"

"You moved." Charn quickly defended himself from Singha's glare.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"P'Singh, what are you doing? Can I come in?" The voice from the door made them look at each other.

"Are you going to answer yourself, or should I?" Charn whispered, noticing that the injured man nodded in his direction, and Charn immediately took charge. 

"Don't come in yet. We're busy." Singha slapped Charn's shoulder without holding back when he heard this.

"Oww! Why did you hit me? The needle's still in, you know!"

"Why did you go into the room, P'Charn? P'Singh, can you open the door for me?" Thup's anxious voice made Singha glare at the person sewing his wound

"Continue sewing." Singha spat out the roll of gauze before answering Thup, "I'm dealing with case business. You go... take a shower first."

Singha tried to speak while holding back his voice. Sweat beaded on his forehead and palms.

"But.."

"Done!" Charn shouted before quickly clearing all the equipment and evidence into a plastic bag. "Here's some antiseptics and antibiotics."

"Thank you"

"Wow! You must be impressed with me now. It's not too late to let me hit on you."

Singha shook his head slightly before picking up a new T-shirt. The silence outside the room made him curious, so he walked over to check. The young man, sitting with his knees drawn up against the door, quickly stood, grabbing both of Singha's shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving. I feel sticky, and all these specks of dirt are intolerable, ugh," Charn quickly exited the room, fearing his secret would be exposed.

"Brother.." Thup watched Charn leave until he was out of sight before turning back to face Singha. His gentle hands wiped the sweat off Singha's temples without any hint of disgust.

"He just came to ask about the case and whether he needs to give a statement. Go take a shower so we can get ready to head back."

"Go take a shower first, P'Singh. I'll make breakfast for you. At least eat something before driving long distances," Thup withdrew his hands from Singha and walked into the kitchen, his small heart heavy with the earlier event. He didn't dare to ask himself, and even if he did, the other might not answer. After all, he was just an outsider, a random kid who had ended up staying with him temporarily. 

After showering and changing clothes, they sat down to eat before bidding farewell to the hosts, Uncle and Aunt, who had kindly let them stay. Charn, who should have said goodbye, had fallen asleep right after eating; he had even taken himself to sleep in the house's prayer room. So, they left without a proper farewell.

The car was filled with silence, unlike before when Thup usually initiated conversations. They drove for less than ten minutes before Singha turned into the entrance of the temple, as directed by Uncle Chai. The entrance to the temple grounds was neither luxurious nor grand; instead, it exuded a sense of peacefulness. The trees were lush, swaying gently in the breeze. Soon, they found a church made of bare concrete with wooden doors that, although not intricately carved, had beautiful, sprawling patterns from the wood's ageing cracks.

"Why are we here?"

"You said you wanted to pay respects to Luang Pu."

"Thank you!" Thup got out of the car and walked into the church with respect. 

Many childhood memories flooded back, making his eyes burn. The bronze statue of the Buddha, in the posture of overcoming temptations, was not gilded or crafted by skilled artisans. It was simply an old bronze statue, some parts of which were worn away by time, sitting cross-legged with his left hand palm up on his lap and his right hand resting on his knee.

Thup sat down and bowed to the Buddha as Luang Pu had taught him. He looked ahead and saw a picture of Luang Pu placed there. It was the only thing left to remember him by, because Luang Pu had instructed before he passed away: "Everything comes from the soil and returns to the soil." There was no need to keep anything that would hold back those who remained.

"Luang Pu, Thup is here to visit you. I have so much to tell you, so much that you would probably scold me, but I can't tell you everything now because I have to leave soon. Thank you for getting the Buddha amulet for me. Did you know that I would lose it? Hic, .."Tears fell from his beautiful eyes, and Thup wiped them away quickly because he didn't want to appear weak at this moment. 

"What you once told me-that what I see isn't always bad—I now understand what you meant." 

The young man bowed to the ground, then looked up at the single Buddha image in the temple. His eyes shone once again with determination and fearlessness. A gentle breeze swept across Thup's face as if offering a blessing.

"Please protect everyone facing this evil. Protect P'Singha. Protect me and keep us all safe."

It was a good omen to have paid respects to the Buddha before returning to face the turmoil ahead. The Buddha image Thup had just prayed to is believed to be the Buddha in the overcoming temptations posture is believed to be the Buddha image for those who don't know their birth date. It is also known as the 'Victory over Devil' posture.

Thup returned to the car with a calm heart. Whatever happened next, he would do his best. No matter what, he believed there would always be someone by his side. A tissue and a blanket were handed to him.

"Thank you, P'Singh."

"Why are you thanking me so much? Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, let's go."

Singha and Thup left Sisaket at 7:00 a.m. They needed to reach the station before evening; otherwise, it would be difficult to save anyone's life. Although they knew the father-and-son killers were waiting, they had no other choice but to face them.

The journey was uneventful. There were no strange occurrences, nothing at all, indicating that those people wanted them to return. Perhaps... they only wanted Thup.

"Here, P'Singh." Thup, who had just gone to buy some cold towels, water, and snacks at a convenience store at a gas station, noticed that Singha, who was sitting behind the wheel, looked pale. He reached out to gently touch Singha's forehead. "You have a fever. Let's rest for just half an hour."

"I'm fine."

"If you drive like this and something happens to you, we won't be able to help anyone," Thup reminded him, placing a hand on Singha's shoulder.

"You're so fussy," Singha muttered, knowing the young man was right. Given that it was a weekday and the road was sparsely populated, exceeding the speed limit had caused the cars to travel farther than anticipated. However, the wound on his waist was starting to ache, leading to a mild fever due to lack of rest over the past two days. His body was beginning to protest.

"Eat a sandwich first, and I'll go get you some fever medicine. There's a pharmacy right there."

After the young man left, Singha ate the sandwich and took the medicine Chan had given him. He then moved to the back seat to lie down because the front was too cold from the air conditioning. As soon as he lay down, dizziness overwhelmed him, and he had to massage his temples.

Soon, the sound of the car door opening and the sunlight hitting his eyes made him curse softly.

"That hurts my eyes, Thup."

"Let me put this cooling gel on you first."

"Come in."

"What?" Thup looked as Singha lifted his head slightly, enough for him to slip in and sit down. Once he was in, Singha's head rested on his lap, making Thup tense up.

"Close the door."

"O-Okay?" Thup obediently reached out to close the door.

"How's the wound on your hand?" The elder brother asked while keeping his eyes closed

"P'Charn redressed it, but it still hurts a bit."

"Okay."

"P'Singh, are you comfortable? Should I move to the front?"

"No, stay here."

"Then... take this fever medicine first." Singha opened his eyes to look at the young man holding the medicine before taking it. Anything that could alleviate his condition was good. Who knew what they would face next? He had to keep himself as fit as possible. "I'll put the cooling gel on you."

"Do whatever you need to. Don't talk; I need to sleep. Wake me in "Well, okay." 

Thup watched as Singha lay down, arms crossed, and closed his eyes. He brushed Singha's black hair away from his perfectly shaped forehead before applying the cooling gel. Throughout the half-hour that followed, Thup could not take his eyes off the face resting on his lap.

The slender hand gently stroked the soft hair of the elder brother, feeling quite at ease. If only things could stay this way forever, having P'Singh by his side like this would be so wonderful. The young man slowly leaned his face down until the tip of his nose touched the cool fever-reducing gel. When Thup opened his eyes, he found the person who should be asleep now looking back at him.

"Do I have to ask what you're doing?"

"Uh, n-nothing. Well, I.. I was just checking to see if there was anything stuck on your face," Thup quickly sat up, denying it with obvious awkwardness. His face flushed red, spreading to his ears, making it impossible to hide anything from the person lying on his lap.

"Oh, really?" Singha spoke with a flat tone before sitting up. Thup, who was about to sigh with relief because it seemed the elder brother didn't know what he had done, was taken aback when Singha moved close enough that their faces were barely an inch apart. His lips straight, his nose prominent, his dark eyes glinting with reflections, and his eyebrows raised, almost teasingly. "Then, is there still something stuck?"

"N-N-No! Nothing at all!"

"Really? You haven't looked closely yet." 

Thup felt his face burn as if it were going to explode. His hands didn't know where to go, and his eyes burned with embarrassment, unsure if it was from crying or just being too flustered. His heart pounded harder than when he saw a ghost.

To escape the situation, Thup buried his forehead on the elder brother's chest, hiding his flushed face. "Huh, you little puppy."

Singha ruffled Thup's hair until it was all messy before stopping his teasing and getting out of the car to wash his face. The phone, fully charged, vibrated in his pocket, prompting him to answer.

"What?"

[Where are you now?]

"Nakhon Ratchasima. Near Saraburi?"

[Good. You haven't been able to contact Sei, right?]

"Yeah." Singha's face turned serious again. After turning on his phone, he called Sei, Darin, and King, but no one answered. When he said there was no time left, he really meant it.

[I've been trying to reach King, but I can't get through. When I checked the station, it was a complete mess... Sei is in the hospital because of a car accident. He's safe now. King and Darin are missing, and the station's in a battlefield-like state.]

"How are the others?"

[Several officers are injured and have been sent to the hospital. And, Singh, there's something you should see.] The worry in Mek's voice made Singha pause before reaching the car to open the pictures sent to him. I don't know what it means, but I have a bad feeling that this message was meant for you.]

Mek's intuition was right. The message was deliberately sent to him, and the young man sitting in the car. The message on the wall was written in bright red blood, the source of which was unknown, and only he and Thup would understand it.

"Offer the soul for rebirth's embrace. Before misfortune shows its face, send Saturday to me.