Book #1 | A perfect life doesn't mean having a wealthy family, a stable job, true friends, and a loyal lover. Singto Prachaya almost had everything till he got into an accident and lost his memories. Months after the accident, unknown symptoms showe...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"YOU HAVE A journal?" His mother asked, slowly placing the meal on Singto's bed table. "I didn't notice you brought one in here, or did Gun brought it for you, or New? Well, it's a good thing you have it in case you're already bored."
"Gun brought it for me,"
BUCKET LIST: 1. To sing a song with an audience ✔ 2. To dance under the heavy rain ✔ 3. To read a book ✔ 4. To play with kids ✔ 5. To socialize with other people 6. To take a selfie with a digital camera 7. To wish upon a star 8. To eat foods under the hate list 9. To never lie 10. To love myself
Singto smiled while crashing out the fourth on the bucket list with a yellow-inked highlighter. Recalling what happened at the children's playroom, he began to wonder the reason why he hated kids. For him, kids aren't supposed to be the source of fear, but it should be the happiness within.
Or maybe he was just scared, just like what his lost memories told him.
"You look happy," His mother said, emphasizing the smile on Singto's face. "Do you still want to talk about it? I don't want to ruin the mood, especially when you're smiling after sending you off to the children's playroom."
"Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow or before my surgery?"
"Whenever you want,"
"Also, have you heard anything from Gun or New? Gun was supposed to visit me here today, and I was out all day at the children's playroom, not leaving a note behind."
"Gun texted me that he was busy at the café. Two of his staff were on sick leave, while New informed me that he would drop by tomorrow after his voluntary project with Tay at the province."
"Can you text New to bring my camera with him?"
"Of course, I'll text him after we eat dinner, okay?"
Singto nodded while playing scenarios in his head for tomorrow. It would be best if he'll have the scenery at the hospital's garden, the one located on the rooftop. It would be breathtaking because the model itself is a masterpiece.
After dinner, Singto's mother decided to bid her goodbye leaving his son alone near the window. Humming to the children's song in his memory, Singto flipped the next page of the journal for the first time in a while. Seeing the random designs and doodles around the handwritings, he smiled sweetly upon tracing the paper raffia ribbon glued on both sides.
"Our love story will be our greatest adventure," Singto read the first line with Kit's name at the bottom part of the second line. "Luckily, I've found someone like you, my greatest love in this lifetime."
Cheesy, but whoever Kit's partner is, so damn lucky. Singto commented in his mind.
Singto was about to flip the next page when he noticed the heart-melting question written at the bottom right side of the paper. But no matter how heart-melting the question is, he could feel the brokenness of his own heart— no clue as to why his heart reacted that way.
"Let's meet again in another life?"
***
MORNING CAME, AND Singto found himself inside the children's playroom. He's been sitting and waiting for the same annoying kid, but later that day, the nurse informed him that the kid underwent surgery last night. Loneliness is an understatement, and he wished for Krist to appear in front of him, just like whenever he felt so alone and scared about what's to come.
Singto was about to leave the premises when a hand touched his right shoulder to get his attention. With his eyes wide open and jumping out from the floor, he turned around to meet the eyes of the young man yesterday.
"Sorry, but I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Plustor, by the way, and you are?"
Singto stayed quiet, and he tried his best to avert his gaze away from Plustor. One thing he's not sure about in his life is the anxiety of socializing with other people. He could feel his heart beating so fast, not because he's in love but the fact that there's a stranger in front of him.
Biting his lower lip while calming himself down, Singto finally cracked a smile. If he wanted to complete Kit's bucket list, he needed to fight his anxiety and socialize, just like everyone else's in the room.
"The name is Singto,"
"I saw yesterday," Plustor said while comfortably squatting on the floor and motioned Singto to do the same. "If you're curious as to why AJ's not here, he's probably with JJ."
"JJ? You mean AJ has a twin brother?"
AJ is the annoying kid Singto played with yesterday, while JJ is the little kid Plustor helped build an empire. When Singto realized the similarities between the two according to his memories, he gasped.
"The one and only," Plustor picked up a plastic ball and handed it to Singto. "They are identical, and some nurses here find it hard to recognize who's who. Yes, the nurse gave you the wrong name. JJ, not AJ had surgery last night and chose to play here all day before the call time— and then I saw you with AJ."
Singto nodded, shooting the ball to the nearest basketball ring. "Thank you for telling me all this, Plustor. I badly want to know you more, but I have to get going. A friend of mine might be waiting right now as he'll be visiting today."
"Okay," Plustor sweetly smiled while waving his right hand. "See you whenever, Singto!"
"See you— whenever!"
Singto immediately went back to his room, and upon entering the room, he saw a cute sleeping polar bear on the sofa. Walking like a cat, Singto stood in front of his friend while thinking about an evil plan. After a long debate with his mind, Singto started to tickle New in his soft spots until they found themselves rolling on the floor while laughing like crazy.
Singto couldn't believe that he could laugh so hard, knowing all the piled-up problems of his life. What can he say, life short? There's no time to frown on things he couldn't stop, but laugh it out instead and just enjoy the remaining time.
"How long did you wait for me?" Singto asked after the laughter died down for a bit.
"Around two hours?" New glanced at Singto, trying to stop himself from laughing.
"That long?"
New shook his head. "I'm just kidding, okay? Maybe around ten minutes? The sofa was calling me, so I gave in and fell asleep."
Singto nodded and joined New at the sofa. "I have a question in mind, and I hope you don't mind me asking. Something happened—"
"What happened?"
"Excited much?" Singto asked, rolling his eyes playfully. "Do you think that I'm unfriendly? Like, I'm kind of an introverted person? Because I met someone at the children's playroom, I wasn't afraid of the kids, but when this guy approached me and something inside me felt different— scared? I don't know."
"Not because of the kids?"
"No,"
"Do you remember when we told you about the accident? The rain wasn't just the only thing you're afraid of, letting other people inside your life as well. You became wary, and we don't know what caused you to that extent till now, Singto. I don't think it's connected with the accident."
"So, you think that I lied to all of you?"
New nodded and bit his lower lip. "You made us believe that trusting people will just cause heartaches and heartbreaks. Year after year, and what truly happened remained a mystery till now."
"But why not with the kids as well? I was chilling out with a kid yesterday,"
"Not with kids," New heaved a sigh before directly looking out the window. "Because you have another issue with kids, and you're aware of it already. Letting people inside your life, I believe it's another story."
