A Single Reason Why.

What Do You Dream About?

Sky woke up to Iris wailing loudly in the crib. He got out of bed and ran up to the crib, to find Iris sniffling with a red face. Sky took her in his arms and walked out to the balcony. He then rocked her gently as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear. She quieted down after a while and looked at her father with swollen eyes. Sky smiled at her and continued to rock her while looking at the sea in front of him.

That's when the memory of what happened last night came back rushing. He remembered feeling the loneliness he had felt every night for the past two years again. But what he saw next left him in a trance. P'Pai's lone figure on that deserted beach made him forget all his thoughts. Their eyes locked. The next thing he knew, they stood there staring into each other's eyes for who knows how long. There were a million misunderstandings between them, a million questions unanswered. But neither wanted to break the silence that was only interrupted by the crashing of waves and howling winds.

But the trance was broken eventually. Sky heard his phone ring and looked back inside the room. When he turned to look at the beach again, P'Pai was already gone. Sky did not want to think about anything else at that moment. So he went back to his room, switched his phone off and went to sleep with the fleeting feeling that he wasn't lonely for now.

But now he remembered his situation and what P'Pai's arrival would entail. He quickly called Kom while holding Iris up with one arm. "How may I help you sir?",

Sky watched as P'payu helped Rain down the staircase of the dining hall. They must have had a pretty rough night, Sky thought smirking. The crowd of tourists was bustling in the hall, all enjoying their breakfast. Sky waved at Rain and P'Payu to come over. They began having breakfast once all of them settled down.

"So, what are your plans for today?", Sky asked curiously. "I'm not sure, maybe we'll relax at the beach for a while", Rain said while giving P'Payu a doubtful look. "We can do whatever you want", P'Payu smiled as he interlaced his fingers with Rains. "What about you Sky? Are you gonna hang out with us?", asked Rain. Sky just shook his head, "I've got a lot of work. You guys enjoy though, you can use the spa and other rooms whenever you want. I promise I'll be back by dinner, let's have something fancy?", he hurriedly added the last line when he saw Rain had started pouting about him not hanging out with them.

"At least leave Iris with us. I swear we'll take good care of her. Please?", Rain continued to pout as he stuffed toast in his mouth. "She'll start crying if I'm not around her for a long time. You won't be able to handle that Rain. Just enjoy your stay", said Sky. The conversation flowed for a while. Sky seemed calm and composed, but he kept looking around the hall every once in a while.

According to Kom, P'Pai had some business in Phuket and he chose to stay in this particular resort out of so many options. What a coincidence, Sky thought sarcastically. He didn't want to encounter Phi at all. He was strung up all through their conversation.

Sky finally took a breath of relief when he got out of the resort and drove to work. He threw himself into work and took care of Iris all day. He tried to ignore it all day, but he could feel a strange kind of apprehension about what was to come. He knew P'Pai's arrival in his life again would lead to more pain and misery. He looked fine on the outside in front of his friends and colleagues, but he knew all too well how fragile his state was. He wouldn't be able to deal with more pain.

Sky came back to the resort for dinner. And he was on time as promised. He found Rain giggling hysterically as he looked at the waiters arranging platters full of fancy carp and meat at the table. P'Payu was shaking his head as he looked at Rain jump up and down. Sky was happy to see his friend so excited. He barely got to see his friend anymore. They had been together since kindergarten but now they saw each other once or twice a year. He missed his friend a lot, so today he called Kom after the morning meeting and asked him to go all out on food and wine.