I Feel You Linger In The Air

Chapter 7- An Old Flame or a New Blazing Flame

 

After Christmas, here comes New Year's Day. I am taken from B.E. 2470 to B.E. 2471 in a daze. My life is the same. A small difference is the physical strength I have gained from the daily labour. I am still rejected by the future world. No access granted.

 

The weather in the week after New Year's Day gets considerably chillier. Frost is formed on the grass, sparkling on the green leaves. The breathtaking snow of the North. The fog even comes out of my mouth when I speak.

 

Today, the lady boss Ueang Phueng will visit the temple early to pray that the baby in her tummy is healthy. She wears a long-sleeve, straight-cut shirt, a shawl, and a patterned sari that covers her ankles. Her hair is tied up in a bun secured by a gold hairpin with tiny flowers hanging down from it. Her complexion is glowing. I am not accompanying her, but I pray in my mind that my Thai-American nephew or niece in the lady boss Ueang Phueng's tummy will grow up healthy and well and not be promiscuous like the father.

 

Seeing Mei stepping down the stairs of her house, I pop out of the bush and call, "Mei." Mei turns around. She stops in her tracks to catch up with the lady boss and Kumtib at the car, then walks towards me. "What's the matter, Ai-Jom?"

 

"Can you bring this to the car? Just in case the lady boss gets nauseous." I hand Mei a banana-leaf bowl of ten carps woven from pandan leaves. I usually asked Kumtib to deliver them late in the morning after Mr Robert left for work. But since the lady boss will be going to the temple early, I have waited here in advance.

 

"You're very diligent, Ai-Jom. You wake up to weave little fish every day." Mei takes the bowl.

 

"Yeah. Get going," I say, gesturing to her to hurry. I have been doing this every day after learning that the lady boss, Ueang Phueng, had morning sickness and dreaded the smell of every dish in the morning. She could only eat biscuits while sipping on pandan juice. I figured the mildly aromatic scent of pandan leaves relieved her morning sickness, so I wanted to make something the lady boss could carry with her. 

 

As I wasn't nearly skilled enough to make garlands or woven roses like the ones I'd seen, I attempted to thread small rattan balls and had Kumtib put them beside the lady boss. Later, my skill slowly developed until I could weave carps. Thanks to my home economics teacher in my primary school, I have finally made good use of the subject.

 

Once Mei is far off, Ming muses, "E-Mei is such a beauty." I follow his eyes. Mei looks really pretty today, glowing and beautiful as a northern woman who has recently bloomed. Her manner is pleasantly graceful. No surprise why Ming is so smitten with her. "Soon, she will wed some merchant who sells clothes and gems to the lady boss," Ming sighs.

 

I throw a glance at him, sensing disheartenment in his voice. "Will the lady boss force her?"

 

"She won't. The lady boss adores E-Mei. She wants her to wed a good person. She once said she would gift her a gold ornament for investment when E-Mei got married."

 

I can't help feeling proud that my sister is a kind-hearted woman. "Has Mei ever said she liked merchants?"

 

"No." He shakes his head. "E-Mei said if she weren't the only wife, she would continue serving the lady boss, being a spinster until she died, rather than being someone's mistress."

 

"You are a good person." I smile. "And loyal."

 

Ming turns his head abruptly, his eyes widening with rage, and lifts his foot to kick me. Seeing it coming, I hop backwards. He changes his mind, lowers his foot, and heaves a sigh. "I am a servant. Why would I wed her just to give her a bad life?"

 

Ming walks away disgruntledly, and I can only watch him leave with sympathy. I remember Ming said he wished to raise chickens and grow crops, but, tied to his parents' debts, he had to work here instead of living at home and following his dream. If only he had a budget to start something, not an empty wallet with a negative number.

 

I head off to the cowshed, my current office, and pause when someone calls me. "Ai-Jom, please wait."

 

I turn around. Fongkaew (or Kaimook) stands beside the orange jasmine bushes, her eyes fixed on me. She has grown much prettier, her skin fair and radiant in the Lanna dress. She wears fancy gold accessories, bracelets and earrings, strangely magnificent. I haven't talked to her since our last conversation by the kitchen that day. 

 

Since our jobs are drastically different, I work by the pigsty, and she serves in the little house, we haven't crossed paths often. Plus, even though I no longer detest her, it doesn't mean I want to be her best friend.

 

Presently, Mr Robert has given Fongkaew the sole possession of one of the little houses without housemate mistresses. She even has her own servant. This is quite dramatic progress. She totally beat the mistresses coming before her. However, let's not blame her for making her way up using her body. At least I know she was never willing to use her body to do anything in the first place. I nod to her a little as a greeting and ask, "What's the matter?"

 

"Can we talk over there?" Fongkaew points at the great bullet wood tree, which makes me knit my brow. It seems she wants to hide from others. I feel reluctant. Talking with women in this place may not be a big deal, but it can be if the woman is Mr Robert's favourite mistress who has done him wrong.

 

Still, I agree in the end. "Okay." I walk to the bullet wood tree with Fongkaew falling behind and flicking her eyes around cautiously. Once we are shielded by the tree, she speaks. "Ai-Jom, do you remember what you said to me?"

 

I tense up despite myself. Why wouldn't I remember? Ever since I resided here, we have exchanged only a few words. And there is only one matter that connects us.

 

"I do. How can I help you?" I ask, my heart dropping uncontrollably. Please, don't make me do something like being a lookout for her to run away with her lover. That is off-limits. Even if I were that bold and capable of watching her get in the boat with Ohm and escape, she should think of my repercussions. Will I be whipped until my back breaks?

 

Fongkaew inhales, her big, round eyes locked on me with determination. "Tonight, Ai-Kumsan, the man you saw last time, will wait for me at the dock."

I knew it!

 

"Fongkaew." My voice goes croaky in pleading. "Please don't do that. Didn't you say your sister would be in trouble if you ran away with him?"

 

"I'm not running away." Fongkaew's voice gets harsh. "I don't even want to see Ai-Kumsan again. I want you to meet up with him for me." Dumbfounded, my mouth flaps open and close, unable to utter a word.

 

"I don't want to associate with Ai-Kumsan anymore," Fongkaew stresses. "That's why I want you to tell him that I am happy living here. I am blessed to serve a timber merchant. Though I am a mistress, I am comfortable. I don't want to live a difficult life again. I hope Ai-Kumsan will forget about me and never return to put me in trouble."

 

"Are you giving up on him this easily?" I blurt out before I can stop myself.

Fongkaew's eyes change. She blinks, her lips pressed together. Then, she parts them and says, "Love doesn't conquer all. I am not the Fongkaew I used to be."

 

"You think your Ai-Kumsan will listen to me? Who am I to him? Why would he believe me?"

 

"I know what to do." Fongkaew hands me a square, folded piece of paper. "This is a letter I would like you to pass over to Ai-Kumsan. You can read it since there is no secret in it. I wrote that I have no feelings for him anymore and that he must stop holding on to hope for me. Let us end here."

 

I look at Fongkaew's face. Her eyes gloom, her lips curving down as if she were in deep pain to do this. Her voice is frail and tired. "Can you please help me?"

 

I avert my eyes, absolutely uncomfortable. Yet, whether it is to keep my promise or anything, I agree to help.

 

"I will tell him for you."

 

"Thank you, Ai-Jom," she says in appreciation. "I will be grateful to you until the day I die."

 

I can only hum a response as Fongkaew continues. "Please deliver this to him as well. It is the only thing Ai-Kumsan gave me as a memento of his feelings for me."

 

Fongkaew takes something out of a wrapped cloth in the shin pocket. It is a thick, silver circle bracelet etched with delicate vines. It is not an object of luxury to a wealthy man such as Mr Robert, but, for a commoner living from hand to mouth, Kuman must have worked hard to save up enough money to buy this gift for his beloved one.

 

I take the bracelet and the small letter. Fongkaew looks left and right, then thanks me and takes her leave. 

 

At night, I wait until Ming and the other servants fall asleep. When the moon glimmers in the sky, I carefully tiptoe out of the house. I march along the path leading to the dock, occasionally glancing back to see if someone follows me. The air at night is more frigid than in the daytime. I'm wearing a long-sleeve cotton shirt and fisherman's pants, and I still feel cold. I quicken my pace until the dock comes into view.

 

I am surrounded by silence, no boat paddling by nor a person walking past, only the river flowing and bugs chirping. I decide to sit on the bank, hidden behind clumps of grass, waiting for Fongkaew's dear Ai-Kumsan to arrive. I rub my hands together and blow on them to keep warm. 

 

The crescent moon reflected in the ripples forms an odd shape. I think of the letter and the thick silver bracelet I brought. What will Ohm feel when he sees these two things? I guess he will be heartbroken or cry his heart out in desperation. My heart feels strangely shaky. I have never seen Ohm cry. I don't know if seeing him cry out of heartbreak will please me.

 

I wait there for a long while. When my legs get tired, and my cheeks are freezing, I hear a paddle striking the water. It snaps me awake. The shadowy figure of a man comes into sight in the distance, paddling a small boat over here. I watch quietly until the boat stops by the dock. We both remain silent for a moment to ensure no unwanted people are present.

 

Shortly after, Ohm or Ai-Kumsan lights up his lantern. He slowly raises and lowers it as he did the day he rendezvoused with Fongkaew. I decide to stand up and call softly, "Ai..Ai-Kumsan."

 

He abruptly turns his head. Seeing it is not Fongkaew, he grabs the paddle to get himself out of here. "Ai-Kumsan, hold up. I mean no harm," I say quickly. "Fongkaew told me to wait for you right here."

 

Her name stops Ohm short. He turns to me again and pauses in hesitation. I step closer. He lifts the lantern and squints before frowning as he remembers. "You... were the one hiding behind the caladiums last time, right?"

 

I'm relieved. At least he might not hit me with the paddle before we get to talk. "Yes. Fongkaew asked me to come here in her stead," I reply, stepping up on the dock and making my way to his boat.

 

The light from the small lantern helps him see my face more clearly. Although his body is ripped and his skin looks rougher than the Ohm I knew, his eyes, his straight nose, and the lips that will break into a winsome smile belong to Ohm in every lifetime. My chest stings. I thought I would feel nothing towards him by now, or at least have no positive feelings left. I even thought I would loathe him. But that is not the case. I have tried not to love him, but it is not a complete success. Love withers while affection lasts.

 

He looks at my face, studying it for a moment. "Who are you?"

 

I am both amused and hurt, not sure whether to laugh or cry. Ohm is asking my name like a stranger with zero attachment. "My name is Jom. I am a servant here. Fongkaew and I are friends."

 

He nods a little, still not trusting me. "Why is Fongkaew.."

"She's not coming," I cut in.

 

Ohm's face shifts, his eyes gleaming. "Did the foreign boss lock her up?"

 

"No," I say. "No one locks up anyone. Fongkaew is well and loved by the foreign boss. She...doesn't want to see you anymore."

 

He goes rigid for a moment before growling, "I don't believe you." His brusque voice and eyes piss me off. I have brought myself here to help. It's not easy, yet I have to face things like this.

 

"If you don't believe me, look." I hold out my hand to show him the two things I took with me. The silver bracelet glints under the luminous moon. Beside it is a square folded piece of paper. "Fongkaew asked me to give them back to you, the bracelet and the letter, and to tell you to cut ties with her. Let it end here."

 

His eyes widen as he looks at the bracelet in my hand, his face pale in shock. I start to feel sorry for him, but I need to go on.

 

"Read her letter and give up. If you insist on having her heart, things will drag on, and Fongkaew will be more miserable."

 

He reaches out his trembling hand to get the bracelet and the letter in my hand. Before he succeeds, a voice blasts. It belongs to a woman filled with rage.

 

"E-Fongkaew! You damned witch. She's sneaking out to see her lover!"

Ohm and I flick our eyes over there. I falter and gape when I spot Fongkaew standing next to the bullet wood tree quite far away from the dock. She seems as shocked as us. Farther behind Fongkaew, a woman, one of Mr Robert's mistresses, jumps up and down, screaming and pointing at Fongkaew. Her shout reverberates across the whole place.

 

"Help! E-Fongkaew is going to run away again!"

 

Fongkaew hesitates. She must have watched us for some time. She turns toward us and yells anxiously. "Ai-Kumsan, go!"

 

I turn to Ohm. He is back on his boat and paddles away in a hurry without bringing anything with him. I am startled to see Fongkaew's letter floating over the surface of the river, having no idea when it slipped out of my hand. It is drifting away in the river flow and will soon sink in the dark water.

 

Less than ten minutes, Fongkaew and I are dragged to Mr Robert's great house. The light in the great house shines brightly, even at midnight. Mr Robert sits on a chair with a snarky face. The lady boss Ueang Phueng is next to him, her expression stern.

 

I am shoved to the floor in the great house and flanked by two mighty men as Fongkaew wails that she has done nothing wrong. No one looks convinced, though. Even Kumtib eyes her in doubt. Having become Mr Robert's favourite didn't only come with fine clothes and fancy jewellery. There was something else. Fongkaew inadvertently made enemies. The out-of-favour concubines despised her. They monitored every single move she made with jealousy, waiting to stomp on her once she made a mistake. And this time, it is Fongkaew's severe mistake for being unable to hold back. She was so worried that she came out to check on Ohm and me at the dock.

 

"I noticed Fongkaew sneakily speaking to Ai-Jom this morning, so I kept an eye on her, thinking she would have an affair with Ai-Jom."

 

The woman yammers in detail. She is On, one of the mistresses who has been out of favour. "I didn't think she would try to run away with another man while Ai-Jom was on the lookout."

 

"I wasn't on the lookout," I objected.

"Really?" On sneers in derision. "Didn't E-Fongkaew give you this morning the reward for helping her?"

 

My jaw drops as Fongkaew shakes her head and denies in a quivering voice. Mr Robert's eyes land on me. His gaze is cold "Search him," he orders. It is not hard, not even lasting half a minute. They just reach into my shirt pocket, and the bracelet is out for all to see. Mr Robert snatches the bracelet. Fongkaew trembles, her tears falling when Mr Robert holds it out in front of her.

 

"What is this? Can you say this is not yours?" His voice is sinister. "I saw you wear it the day your parents sent you to me." He throws it at Fongkaew. She shrieks in fear, her tears flooding.

 

"It's not like that, sir," I stammer. "I wasn't bribed to be a lookout for anyone, and Fongkaew wasn't cheating. She was going to cut ties with that man so he would never show up again. Fongkaew asked me to return the bracelet to him and a letter explaining that she hoped to end things."

 

"Where is the letter?"

 

Fongkaew stops sobbing. She looks at me with hope, though her face is streaked with tears. I swallow, my throat dry. "...I dropped it in the river."

 

Mr Robert's patience for the interrogation vanishes. Anger turns his face crimson. He bellows so loudly that all the servants get startled.

 

"You lowlife, how dare you lie to me! Ai-Som, get me a rattan stick. I'll beat him!"

I gape in shock. The others are just as stunned.

 

"I said, get me a rattan stick!" The man receiving the order scurries out. I am frightened. I know slavery no longer exists in the Seventh Reign, and the brutal punishments, including beating to death with rattan sticks, have been legally abolished. Regardless, this method... is still used by some families to punish servants.

 

They don't beat their servants to death, but enough to give them lessons for a long time. My body shakes when I see a meter-long rattan stick in Som's grip. If he whips my back with it, my skin will rip and tear on the second or third beating. And I have no idea how many times it will be.

 

I can't resist at all when the two mighty men push me on the plank floor on my stomach and grasp my arms and legs for Mr Robert to take action. My heart pounds as Mr Robert approaches. Fongkaew sobs and stutters in gibberish. She is freaking out since I am about to be beaten.

 

All of a sudden, the lady boss, Ueang Phueng, who has been observing everything in silence, lets out soft groans. "Oh.Ohh.."

 

Mr Robert spins. Seeing the lady boss Ueang Phueng holding her belly with a frown, he immediately asks, "What's wrong, Ueang Phueng? Are you going into labour?"

 

The lady boss shakes her head. "I'm not. The baby...kicked really hard."

 

Mr Robert furrows his brow. He looks at the lady boss in worry and gives Kumtib an order, "Kumtib, escort her to rest in the bedroom. Don't let her witness the foul scene."

 

Kumtib steps in and supports the lady boss as she resumes, "Ai...How are you going to punish him?"

 

"I will beat him ten times and kick him out." His voice is hostile.

 

"Ai, there is an old belief that the sin will fall upon your children."

 

"What sin? He is despicable. He worked with someone else to pull this shit out of my house. I can't let it slide."

 

"Ai...'I'm begging you." His pregnant wife's pleadingly feeble voice makes him stand still. The rattan stick is gripped by his side as he presses his lips together tightly. Mr Robert seems to be suppressing his fury. Finally, he raises his grip and flings the rattan stick on the floor, startling everyone. It bounces and slides towards my face. Mr Robert points at me and yells.

 

"Get the hell out of my house and never so much as let your shadow cast on my property!"

 

With that command, I scamper out of there. I trot back to the servants' row houses to pack the little stuff of mine to leave this place. The other servants watch from afar. None of them wants anything to do with me, except Ming.

 

"I don't believe you did what On said. That prick spoke nonsense."

 

Despite the tension in the air, I force a smile at him in appreciation. "Thank you, Ming."

 

"Tomorrow, I will paddle the boat for you," he says.

 

In the morning, I wake up before daybreak and carry my things, a few sets of clothes and some necessities, getting ready to leave before Mr Robert is awake. But before I exit the house, a servant from the great house runs over to deliver a message.

 

"Ai-Jom, don't leave now. Wait until the foreign boss goes out first, then come to the lady boss in the great house."

 

"What's the matter?"

 

"I don't know. Just do as she says," he answers in a curt voice and walks away.

 

I wait until late in the morning. Confident that Mr Robert's car has taken off, go to the great house to see the lady boss as told. The lady boss, Ueang Phueng, is waiting. Leaning on the triangle pillow, she gestures to me to come closer.

 

"Take this with you. That is all I can help with." The lady boss sits straight and hands over a small wrapped cloth. I look at it in surprise.

 

"Save your breath, Kumtib." The lady boss waves it off when Kumtib is going to say something. "I don't know if I ever had some kind of connection with him in a past life, but I took a liking to him. How can I let him stray and end up starving to death? I have a baby in my stomach. Do you want me to commit a damn sin?"

 

Her cussing words shut everyone up. No one dares to make a sound. The lady boss, Ueang Phueng, nods to me. I take the wrapped cloth. The feeling of it tells me it is money. It might not be much, but enough to feed myself for days.

 

The lady boss, Ueang Phueng, leans back on the triangular pillow as if she has suddenly grown tired. She doesn't look at me anymore, but she picks up a pandan-leaf-woven carp. 

 

"You can leave. Don't worry about anything here. Mei can learn how to weave carps."

I gaze at her gratefully. The lady boss Ueang Phueng might not know her action is more meaningful than a cloth of money. Her kindness during my dark moment must have formed an invisible bond, and it probably fated me to take care of her as a brother in another lifetime.

 

I say goodbye to everyone who cares enough to talk to me. It narrows down to only Oui-Suya and Ming. The others avoid me at all costs. All I can do is sigh and look around the property. I am not attached to this place, but suppose I will never get to set foot in here ever again. The most I can do is ask Ming how the lady boss Ueang Phueng and Fongkaew are doing.

 

I don't let Ming paddle the boat for me as he wishes. Instead, I allow him to see me off at the gate, aware that I have nowhere else to be. I have no relatives here and don't want Ming to know the truth. I have been sent here and tossed around by the hands of fate. And now, the said fate is kicking me out of Mr Robert's place with its foot. I wonder if it is fun to make me suffer repeatedly.

 

The huge wooden gate of Mr Robert's place is shut. I trudge down the dusty road in a daze. It stretches far and curves into the groves of trees, hiding the way, making us wonder where the path will take us. Animal and cart tracks are evident on the road. The air is chilly despite the sunlight.

 

Where should I go? I ask myself as I walk on the solid dirt ground. The faint sunlight seeps through the bushes in bars. I remember this road runs to the Rubber Tree Road and finally the Nawarat Bridge across the Ping River. On the opposite side of the river, there is the residence of the provincial governor and the Warrot Market. Maybe I can start there. I might work as a coolie or in an elephant stable.

 

Shit... I don't know how to ride an elephant, and I don't have much muscle. I might have grown more muscular from all the labour, but I am not strong enough to carry sacks of rice. Who would hire me? It is probably too late to learn to do shows.

 

A cow cart wheels past. I guess the rider is a villager on his way back from selling their goods at the market this morning. I listen until the thuds and the sound of the wheels grinding on the road fade. The road here is not as jammed as the area near the bridge. Still, carriages and carts appear occasionally. Each house is built far from the others. I keep walking until sweat forms along my hairline, past a place with a large gate suggesting the owner's wealth and some villagers' houses surrounded by fruit gardens.

 

My stomach growls, reminding me I haven't had anything since morning. I quicken my pace and glance into the forest by the road, thinking I might need to dig out taros and potatoes to eat. I hear horses trotting from behind. A carriage speeds along the road and soars past me, sending dust everywhere. I wave the dust off my face and inch closer to the edge of the road before tripping on a rock and lunging into the bush at the side.

 

"Where the fuck are you rushing off to?!" I shout after the carriage in aggravation aloud as I know they don't hear it. I shift from the bush and flop there, my whole body covered in dust, too frustrated to get up. I am at a loss, to the point that I start imagining living like a homeless person.

 

Before I imagine myself in a tattered shirt with dishevelled hair that possibly has lice, a car accelerates from the other side of the road...Bring it on. If it is going to blow dust in my face, go for it. I am bracing myself to become a homeless man anyway. I might as well change my name to Ai-Fak* to match my misfortune. Nonetheless, the car doesn't pass by as I expected. It decelerates and comes to a stop. A window rolls down, followed by a voice and the face of a person.

 

"Jom..ls that you, Jom?"

 

I blink stupidly...Khun-Yai! I rise in a confused face, then decide to fold my hands in greeting.

 

"Where are you headed, Jom? Why are you sitting here?" Khun-Yai asks.

 

I hesitate, not sure how to respond to both questions. Khun-Yai senses that something is off. He shoots a glance at the wrapped cloth in my hand before turning his eyes to my face and saying, "Jom, can you come here for a moment?"

 

I walk across the road to him. Khun-Yai tells me to get in the car, but I hesitate about whether to take the passenger's seat at the front.

 

"Come sit with me. We won't be able to talk well if you sit at the front," he says. Thus, I hop into the back seat beside Khun-Yai and try to make myself small, afraid I will dirty the seat. I must look horrible because I just fell into a bush.

 

"So? You brought so much stuff. Where are you headed?" Khun-Yai asks.

 

"Well, I'm thinking of going to the Warorot Market."

 

Khun-Yai slightly nods. "You must be running an errand for Mr Robert."

 

"No. ..." I hesitate. "I don't serve there anymore."

 

Khun-Yai knits his brow and studies me for a while. My face falls as I don't know how to act. Finally, Khun-Yai says, "Tell me. What is the reason you don't serve there anymore?"

 

I tell Khun-Yai what happened truthfully, avoiding elaborating certain details unnecessarily, such as Mr Robert's prejudice against me or how he was going to punish me with the rattan stick. I reveal only significant parts-l foolishly volunteered to help a woman out of goodwill and got misunderstood. Without any evidence to prove my innocence, I was later kicked out.

 

Khun-Yai listens quietly without asking much. Once I am finished, he is deep in thought, then says, "Are you looking for a job?"

 

"Yes," I answer in a weak voice. "I'm going to the market. Perhaps someone there needs a worker."

 

"You are not picky, are you?"

 

I almost bark a laugh. Am I in a position to be picky? "I'm not picky in the slightest."

 

"Good." Khun-Yai nods. "Come with me, then. I can find you a job."

 

"Hmm?" I was surprised. "What kind of job? Where? Who's the boss? What occupation? Ugh, it doesn't matter. I'll do anything."

 

Khun-Yai cracks an amused smile. "A job at the place of my father, Luang Thep Nititham."

 

My face freezes in that surprised expression. Khun-Yai orders the chauffeur to drive off in the direction I came from.

 

Later, I learned that the large gate I had walked past earlier was Luang Thep Nititham's gate. The car enters the parted entrance and runs across the macadam lined with the lawns and beautiful dwarf plants. Porcelain basins with colourful lotus motifs are set at intervals. I look at everything, impressed. When the car swerves at the curve and the view of the great house, standing grandly amid the shade of the trees, comes into sight, my impressed feeling turns to astonishment!

 

My eyes widen, and my hands go cold as the great two-story house is right before me. It is a building influenced by colonial architecture, a Manila-style house with hipped and gable roofs. On the bottom floor, white, thick, square concrete poles border the front and sides, each gap forming an arch with magnificent stucco work. The top floor is made of teak, and its front and sides are encompassed in a large balcony.

 

This is the house I was renovating when I was an architect, before I swerved my car, plunged into the Ping River, and travelled through the distortion of spacetime to the past!

 

"Jom, what's wrong? Why are you so pale? Are you scared? My father isn't scary," Khun-Yai says.

 

I turn to him, speechless. Khun-Yai..Was he in the old photo in the stencilled frame decorating the wall in the bedroom of the little house? It was a photo of the owner of this place and his three children, standing on the lawn in front of the great house. The photo was fading in my mind, but it is vivid and colourful in front of me right now.

 

Before, it never struck me that it was the same house. Whenever I paddled past, I only glimpsed the roof and the back balcony with a stencilled wooden railing behind the line of trees from a distance. In my time, the back of the house was ruined and converted into a room with brick walls painted concrete. The images of the house in my time and this period were different, so it never occurred to me.

 

"Jom...Jom, are you okay?" Khun-Yai clasps my hand. "Why is your hand so cold? Are you sick?"

 

I pull myself together, force a smile, and come up with some excuse, "I'm okay, Khun-Yai. I'm just excited. I've never met a high-ranking authority before. Is Luang a scary man?"

 

"My father is not vicious. Why are you scared? He is out to work at the moment. Only my mother is present. She may appear fairly strict, but she is kind."

 

"Do I need to meet your mother?"

"Not now. I have to inform her first. Please wait at the pavilion. I will catch up and tell you if I successfully secure a job for you."

 

"Sure," I agree complaisantly.

 

I advance to the pavilion on the lawn as Khun-Yai's car pulls over by the stairs leading to the entrance of the great house. My eyes trail after his figure stepping up the stairs. It feels like this is half-dream, half-reality for me to be here, at the same place I used to stand and watch the house with a sketchbook and a pencil in my hands. The difference is nearly a hundred-year gap.

 

I don't know how much time has passed since then. I let myself drown in my train of thought, wandering through all the incidents I have encountered, experienced, and lived, both in the past and future. I sit there for fifteen or twenty minutes or maybe more. I can't tell. Finally, I notice Nai-Jun descending the stairs and marching to the pavilion. I remember Nai-Jun. Besides Khun-Yai, he is the only person I know here. 

 

"Nai-Jom, Khun-Yai requests your presence upstairs to meet his mother." I suddenly get excited and repeat his words, "His mother?"

 

"Right." Nai-Jun nods. "Her name is Khun-Kae."

 

I clasp my hands together, suppressing my nervousness and recalling the information I learned before departing Bangkok to oversee the renovation in Chiang Mai. The ancestor of this place is a Phraya, which strikes me that Luang Thep Nititham will be promoted to Phraya in the future, and Khun-Kae will be addressed as Lady Kae in the future as well.

 

I follow Nai-Jun up the stairs to the expansive balcony, evenly decorated with flower pots. It adjoins the living area, where the plank floor is raised a step, shielded under the stencilled eaves. I crawl into the hall, floored with shiny, polished wood. The sunlight shimmers through the open lovers. The air is cool, scented with jasmine.

 

Khun-Kae rests in the room. Nearby, a servant is sewing banana leaves, and another is stringing jasmine garlands. Khun-Yai sits farther to the side, more reserved than I have ever seen. I bow on the floor. 

 

Khun-Kae is a middle-aged woman, her face sharp and beautiful. Her manner is gentle and dignified, but her eyes are keen. She gazes at me and says, "Is this the artless Nai-Jom Poh-Yai talked about? Lift your chin."

 

I raise my head as told. Khun-Kae looks at me, her pupils glossy, dark and wide, similar to Khun-Yai's. "Clean, flawless skin. You don't look like the likes of people here, though. Are your family not from the North?"

 

"My father is Chinese. My mother is Thai."

 

"You speak Thai rather fluently."

 

I drop my gaze and stay quiet. I can't tell her my problem is the northern dialect.

 

"Are you literate?"

"Yes."

 

Khun-Kai hums softly, seemingly quite satisfied, then she speaks to Khun-Yai, "You want him here to help out?"

 

"Yes, Mother, if you allow. Father has been busy lately and needed Nai-Jun at his heels to assist at all times. If Poh...ah, Nai-Jom can run errands for me, it will lessen the burdens."

 

I kind of get it now. Nai-Jun is like a butler, a close servant taking care of matters ordered by the Luang. People in this era may refer to him as a majordomo. That explains why he has the power to order other servants and often sticks by Khun-Yai.

 

Khun-Kae ponders it for a moment. "If Poh-Yai would like a servant, it is not a problem. As you pointed out, your father will not oppose it because he is busy. But what about his recent misdemeanour? What are we going to do about it?"

 

Khun-Kae turns her head to me. "Tell me. Did you play a matchmaker and get bribed to assist a woman to commit adultery?"

 

"That's not true," I deny humbly yet firmly. 

 

"Mr Robert misunderstood. I met up with Fongkaew's former lover to deliver her letter to him, knowing it was the means to end the relationship and cut ties with him. The letter, however, dropped in the river, so I had no evidence to prove the truth. I only had a silver bracelet that Fongkaew asked me to return to her former lover, which was mistaken as a bribe and made my behaviour inexcusable."

 

"Why did you help her?"

 

"I felt sorry for her. As Fongkaew had a younger sister, she would not commit adultery to put her family in trouble. Fongkaew is a grateful child. I couldn't help sympathising with her."

 

Khun-Kae narrows her eyes at me to squeeze out the possible lie hidden in my eyes or facial expression, but I have nothing to hide. Every spoken word about Fongkaew was true.

 

"And so, you got kicked out?"

 

"Yes."

Khun-Kae pauses to think. My heart beats strangely. I stare at the lower-arm-long plank on the floor, not daring to glance up at Khun-Kae or Khun-Yai.

 

Soon, she says, "Do you know what convinced me to believe your word? Aside from Poh-Yai guaranteeing that you are an artless man, not greedy for others' possessions, you even returned Poh-Yai's pricy watch. You were careful with your choice of words, avoiding any defamatory statements or any attempt to sabotage the woman. Evil possesses a self-serving bias, but you don't."

 

Khun-Kae lets out a soft sigh before speaking in a gentler voice, "The old belief says to adopt the stray cats and dogs entering the house. How can I dismiss a human? All right, you can stay here. But you must not misbehave by visiting the gambling den or smoking opium and such. The Luang will not tolerate it."

 

My heart swells in my chest. I bow down on the floor immediately. "I will never do that."

 

Khun-Kae turns to Nai-Jun and orders, "Well then, have someone prepare the room in the little house. Clean and tidy it up so he can reside there starting tonight."

 

"Right away," Nai-Jun replies.

 

I wonder why I will be in the little house instead of a row house with other servants, as it should be, but I don't dare to ask.

 

"Poh-Yai, are you moving to the little house tomorrow?" Khun-Kae now asks her son.

 

"Yes, Mother. I can focus on reading better over there."

 

I listened in surprise.

 

"Ha… l see you don't want Lek to bother you." A small smile flickers on Khun-Kae's face. "All right. We don't have any guests to use the house anyway. You will be heading to Europe in a few months, so you should focus on your studies. I will have someone transfer your necessities to the little house early in the morning."

 

"Thank you, Mother." Khun-Yai bows on his mother's lap. She strokes her eldest son's hair affectionately. After that, I follow Nai-Jun out of the great house and get introduced to a woman named Erb. She is an old servant who has served Khun-Kae since she was a young lady. Erb is a chubby woman in her 50s. She wears a cloth wrapped around her chest and a loincloth in a central style, her mouth red from chewing betel nuts constantly.

 

"Erb, this is Nai-Jom. He will serve Khun-Yai at the little house," Nai-Jun introduces me to Erb. "Please train him. He seems like a quick learner."

 

Erb stares at my face, spits the betel juice in the spittoon, and says, "Your face is white as a boiled egg. Must be a Jek's child."

 

I then left with Erb, who seems to be a head servant who takes charge of things in the houses in general, from taking orders from Khun-Kae to distributing tasks to other servants to do household chores, prepare meals, and other stuff. I am assigned to ensure Khun-Yai's convenience. I have to bring his meals from the kitchen to the little house and make sure all necessities are ready to use. A female servant will deliver clean clothes to the little house. In addition, I have to run errands for Khun-Yai as he wishes.

 

Erb reminds me not to go to the great house if unnecessary. Besides the Luang and Khun-Kae, Khun-Prim, Khun-Yai's sister, and Khun-Lek, the youngest son, live there. It is a place male servants shouldn't hang out unless called for.

 

After a brief lecture, I follow two female servants to the little house to clean up before Khun-Yai moves in tomorrow. My heart swells in my chest. Apart from the majestic great house, the little house is another building that impressed me and deeply fascinated me even before I travelled back to this era.

 

The familiar house appears in the distance, and I can't help but grin. Every piece of wood is new and dark, not a single one pale. lift my gaze at the sloping roof. No trace of a hole from the giant branch piercing through, like the day I observed the damage in worry back in my era.

 

The stairs on the side lead to a landing that connects to another set of stairs rising to the balcony above. This house features a U-shaped balcony along the front and sides. In the middle is a hall extending to a 4x8-meter bedroom, where a wide wall abuts another smaller room that will be used as my sleeping place, so I can serve Khun-Yai at all times.

 

I walk the length of the front balcony and turn to the side towards the small bedroom, without being given directions by the female servants. I know the plan of this house as well as my own apartment. Plus, I know the small bedroom shares a wall with Khun-Yai's bedroom. It is not connected, though. The small bedroom can be accessed from the side balcony, but I have to go through the hall to reach Khun-Yai's bedroom.

 

The two female servants are tidying things up on the bottom floor, leaving me to take care of my room and put my items in the wooden closet brought here by someone. I plop on the plank floor facing the open window, feeling oddly at ease.

 

I can't believe this. After a series of misfortunes during my time in the past era, my luck has suddenly turned. My career advancement shoots up drastically, from a piglet-keeper at a timber merchant to a majordomo for Luang Thep's son. I have jumped to such a high position that the landing almost broke my leg. I am so absorbed in admiring my luck that I do not notice someone standing by the door.

 

"How is it? Are you comfortable?" Startled, I turn my head before smiling since it is Khun-Yai. He stands by the door with his hands behind his back, sweeping his gaze around the room.

 

"I am very comfortable, Khun-Yai," I answer. "Thank you for your kindness. Without your help, I have no idea where I would have been."

 

"Are you pleased?"

 

"Ugh, I am more than pleased." 

 

My smile nearly rips my skin. Everything is great, as great as a dream. Aside from no one here despising me, it is a place where I have been granted the chance to set foot again, knowing that in another hundred years, I will be honoured to renovate both houses. This place is the actual connection between my world and the past world, and the fact somehow warms my heart.

 

"So am I." Khun-Yai nods, then steps over the threshold and into the room. Khun-Yai locks his eyes on me for a brief moment, and his beautiful lips break into a bright smile that turns his face playful and wily, a totally different expression he puts on in front of Khun-Kae.

 

"We live under the same roof now, Poh-Jom."