Me After You ✔

017

"When the workers went into the water to clean up the debris, they discovered a single shoe. Initially, they simply thought that it was a piece of rubbish, and threw it aside. It was only later when they discovered......"

Nai interrupted, "The shoe belonged to Jay?"

"Exactly! After Jay disappeared, the Missing Persons poster was put up everywhere. Even the clothes and shoes that he wore that day were displayed on the web."

"What happened next?"

"Of course the workers reported the incident to the Police! The Police began to scour the area, and finally found a male corpse in the muddy bank beside the river, about 1 km away from the Chomphu bridge."

Nai pressed on, "He was buried in the muddy bank?"

"Yes – and when the police uncovered his corpse, he was entirely naked without a single piece of clothing on him!"

"But — that doesn't necessarily mean that he was raped and murdered."

"You probably don't know this, but..." Lowering her voice, Jamie whispered to Arthit and Nai, "there are quite a couple of girls and even boys in Lampang who have already been, you know, that. It's just that the culprit has yet to be caught."

Everybody knew what Jamie was referring to.

Arthit suddenly recalled the time he went to Chomphu Bridge, and Knott's reminder for him to be especially careful when he was heading back and forth from school. Doubtful, he inquired, "Even then, how do we know that the corpse is actually Jay?"

"Where do you think Jay disappeared to? I have a feeling that the corpse is Jay. It's definitely him." Jamie said confidently.

"But..." Nai was about to retort but a single glare from Jamie made him swallow his words back.

If the corpse was truly Jay, and he had died in such a nasty fashion, he must have endured insufferable pain before he died. Arthit chewed on the dried plum, a terrible and grotesque sense of happiness rising in his heart. On sensing his sense of happiness, Arthit immediately surveyed his own heart, and felt overcome with a sense of embarrassment and shame.

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Afternoon break.

Arthit sat cross legged on the cool bamboo mat. As Kongpob sprinkled small droplets of water on the area surrounding the bamboo mat in an attempt to lower the temperature of the room, Arthit told him the rumors' surrounding Jay. Kongpob simply gave a cursory "oh" in response, and didn't bother engaging Arthit further in the topic. The electric fan messed up Kongpob's fringe, causing his fringe to cover his eyes, effectively shielding his expression from view.

"Do you suppose, it really is Jay?" Arthit asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" Kongpob raised his eyes to look at Arthit, "I'm not the police."

Having sprinkled the water, the room felt marginally cooler than before. Kongpob sat himself on the bamboo mat and told Arthit, "Let's sleep."

Arthit lay on the bamboo mat and closed his eyes; Kongpob lay on the mat beside Arthit, and gently shut his eyes as well. The electric fan whirred quietly, the gentle wind grazing across their skins and offering them some much-needed comfort. After some time, the heat gradually dissipated. When Kongpob carefully placed a pillow cover on Arthit's tummy, Arthit opened his eyes.

On seeing Arthit stare at him with his eyes wide open, Kongpob asked in a low, muted voice, "Did I wake you up?"

Arthit shook his head, and continued gazing at him.