Sotus Black

CH 5 - Backwards

Arthit POV

Everything changes with the passing of time, slowly remade. There are many things I remembered that time has turned to dust, but not everything is beautiful and not everything should be remembered.

The soul does the same, it's not time that moulds it but the people and things you do when it descends into a mortal body and lives. Hardships strengthen your will and love fuels your soul. It also remembers. In some small part, do you, maybe, remember me?

"Let's sleep here tonight."

"Outside?" I asked looking around. "There is nothing here."

"We have everything." He laughed. "The soft earth to be our bed, a canopy of weaved branches to shelter us and the stars to be our blanket."

I walk beside him, his hands cold in the morning air. He stayed up late again, waking early to come to this place. There was a restlessness to his sleep, I felt it but it was not my doing. The old you loved the night, staying up to watch the stars. Why did you want it to hurry past now?

"Should I not have invited you P'?" Kongpob's voice interrupts my thoughts. "You look far away."

It was this place you brought me to; I know it but why do you? I was extremely happy seeing his name when my phone rang, I had to move a good distance from his window so he didn't hear me answer. Time has moved on from this place for both of us, I didn't want you to remember how.

"It's early..." I answer.

"I've always been a morning person." He smiles. "I had a sudden urge to come and I wanted to bring you with me."

"You should sleep more."

"I never sleep much P'." His voice lowering. "And these days, I have strange dreams."

Dreams? What was he seeing?

"You walk through them and whisper sweet things." His lips curl. "Am I really yours?"

I stop walking and stare at him. After Nami's warning, I was careful, hiding in the shadows when I went to see him.

"What I like hearing the most." His smile playful pulling me along again. "'I want to kiss you, Beloved.'"

His arm moves to catch me when I nearly trip, did he hear me?

"Don't panic P'Arthit." He laughs. "It was only a dream. But I am hoping more interesting ones will follow."

He carries on laughing when I don't answer, holding my hand tighter as he leads the way through the overgrown path. I didn't want to come to this place, but if you hold my hand, no matter where you take me, I will go. I still sigh in relief when he heads away from that direction.

"This is an old estate, P'Arthit but all that's left now is the woodland." He moves a branch out of the way. "There was a huge family home a little further but it's gone now, the only thing left is the scorched earth."

I know, I burned it to the ground. I crushed every brick left with my own hands and let it be dust. The things that remain are what you thought precious. The woodland and the small place on the edge.

"There are no records of whom it belonged to or what happened to them."

It belonged to the man who killed you.

"It went to a relative's family but even they didn't have a record of who owned it first."

It went into the hands of a secondary trust owned by my Master who became my father; I would never let anyone have the ground seeped in your blood. There was another reason.

"What I want to show you P' is the house on the fringes of the land." He looks excited. "I found this place with my grandfather when I was a boy. Since I first saw it, I can't forget it. It has its own three-story high lighthouse next to the main building. A lighthouse on land!"

I know, I built it. The lighthouse isn't the main part, it was built to hide what's underneath.

"The light will guide a lost spirit home."

Kongpob stops and looks at me. "How did you know that?"

"It's an old legend." I reply. "People around here know it."

"I heard the story and I loved it when I was a kid." He chuckles. "I've wanted to buy this place for so long but it's hard to find who owns it now. I have a whole department to trace land ownership, records and deeds but even I couldn't find them."

"Is that why you live around here?"

"The next best thing, a house close by."

He pulls me along heading down the path, as the trees clear and the building comes into view. There is a truck and two cars parked outside, Kongpob stops to look around when familiar figures come into view. Nami found me a place to live, she meant here?

"Why are your friends here P'Arthit?" Kongpob asks me.

"Arthit, we are nearly done unloading your things." Knot answers before looking to Kongpob. "Are you joining us for breakfast?"

"Or just coffee?" Prem smiles.

"Let him stay for both." Tutah laughs.

"P'Arthit." He looks surprised. "You...you own my house?"

"This is the house you wanted me to find the owner for P'Kong?" Nami appears from the door. "What a coincidence, it belongs to P'Arthit. Morning P'Arthit and P'Kong. You're in time, George will be making breakfast soon."

She looks at Kong innocently before smiling at me and walking away. There is no such thing as coincidence where she was concerned. Did she know what was under the house? Would the old magic still work? I thought it a story but was it real?

"Nami!" Brights following her.

"P'Arthit... how?" Kong asks. "There is no connection between this place and the Panitchayasawad, I know I've looked. I wanted to buy this place for so long..."

"If you want it so badly, just seduce him." Bright looks at Kongpob. "He will sign anything you want."

Normally I would have buried him 10 feet deep and let him stay there for a few days for such remarks but Kongpob is here and watching me, with a strange look in his eyes.

"Would...you..."

"Nami! Listen to me." Bright's following her. "He's engaged. How can Rome be engaged to someone who isn't me! Tell me everything you know."

"Now you want to talk?" She rolls her eyes handing the box to Prem. "Whose fault is it? Who told you to say you were experimenting?"

"He told me he didn't plan on it to happen..." Bright defends. "What did you expect me to say?"

"Definitely not that." George heads for the car.

"Even I know you shouldn't say that." Godt shakes his head helping with boxes. "Can we eat soon, I'm hungry."

"Let's get all the stuff unloaded first." Nami smiles at Godt.

"Nami..."

It had been a while since anyone was this talkative around me, I wasn't used to it. It shouldn't take this long, why were they doing this the human way?

"He's engaged not married." Tutah snickers. "Steal him away."

"All is fair in love and war."

"You..." Bright looks at Nami. "You're not going to stop me?"

"Someone can steal my Bas?" Godt looks horrified. "Nooo."

"You both are different." Nami explains. "And the final decision will be Rome's."

"Oh...I see." Godt smiles going back to help. "P'Bright, do you know how to be romantic? I have books."

He's been staring at me for a while, I turn to look at Kongpob and bite my cheek. He has the look he did often before, whatever came out of his mouth would annoy me. I missed it, but now I had to stop myself from what I really wanted to do, kiss him.

"Seduce you?" His eyes sparkle, half-smiling at me. "Not a bad idea."