If tomorrow never comes [Complete]

Chapter 13

It was Kong's birthday the day they first moved into their new house. He was sure of it. He had been counting down the days for months now. He even had a tiny calendar in the back of one of his school notebooks. He had the date marked and circled. He was turning 6 that day. He was a big boy now. It was his birthday after all. And yet as the day progressed he wasn't so sure anymore.

None of his friends had wished him. How could they? He had left their small village before the day had even begun. He wasn't going to see them again. Atleast not before today was over. They had traveled for hours and hours before they had arrived at the large house, with a vast front yard. An even bigger back lawn. And then he saw the gardens. 1. 2. 3. Three whole different gardens. With different colors of flowers. And as pretty as he thought those colors were he was grump cause no one wished him at this new house too. Why would they? They didn't know what today was.

He was introduced to the owners of the house, and although he distinctly remembered them being very nice, even offering him something to eat, he couldn't really focus on everything that was going around him. While he was been taken around the grounds of the large property, or when he had to help with the unloading of the truck, or when he was sweeping the floors of his new cabin. All he wanted to do was confirm if today was the day he had been waiting for all these months. If only he could ask someone. His mom would have known. She would have wished him for sure. But she wasn't with them anymore. That option was obviously out. Maybe he could ask his dad, but that...just...didn't...seem like a good idea. Which left him back to his square one on his state of dilemma.

You see there was a really good reason why he must absolutely know if today was his birthday or not. At the end of the last school year when he had topped all his classes he had been given a big chocolate bar as a prize. And he was beyond elated. That was probably the best day of his life. He had tasted chocolate only a few times before and he knew he was instantly in love. It was sweet and perfect. And the way it melted in his mouth Kong didn't think there was anything else better that would ever touch his lips.

Yet he had taken only a small bite that day. Cause he had planned to save the rest for his big boy day. The day he finally turned 6. He was going to treat himself to the whole bar of chocolate today. He had been waiting for nearly 3 months now to be able to savor this treat. But it was really essential he did not waste it by eating the chocolate if today wasn't his birthday. What if he finished the bar and then realized it wasn't supposed to be today? He would have nothing left for his special day anymore. So he spent the entire day worrying about his chocolate bar when instead he should have been excited about moving to a whole new city, a whole new house, a whole new set of chores he would have to do.

There seemed to be a lot more servants in this house than the previous one. And hopefully once he had solved the mystery of today he would get around to knowing their names. He had always been a really shy boy, who nearly always kept to himself. Barely even spoke unless directly spoken to. And people liked him that way. Everyone was busy in their own lives and he had learnt it the hard way that nobody wanted an annoying kid getting in their way. So he stayed out of people's business and they typically ignored him. And that way everyone was happy.

But this also left him wandering all by himself in one of the gardens which had all the red flowers at the end day. He found a nice secluded corner near one of the groves and laid down to rest his aching feet, and gingerly took out the bar of chocolate from his pocket. He had been fingering the gold wrapper covertly all day. Salivating silently at the thought of relishing it.

It was close to dusk already. Soon the day would come to an end. He needed to make the decision soon enough if he wanted to eat it today or not. Would enjoying it today be worth it to face disappointment later? He was still contemplating how is life was going to shape up when he suddenly heard a loud shriek behind him. Kong whipped his head around to see a young boy running towards him in full speed, laughing at the top of his voice as he was chased by a rather boisterous dog.

Kong immediately shoved his most prized possession back in his pocket, lest it be lost or stolen due to all this commotion, and stood up. Except he was immediately knocked down again when the boy crashed into him not two seconds later. The dog catching up to their tumbled bodies and bouncing excitedly over both of them while giving wet, sloppy, playful licks.

The young boy seemed in no hurry to lift his weight off of Kong as he continued playing with his dog, quite content to involve a complete stranger in his roughhousing. When he finally did get up, he was still laughing jovially, scratching his dog behind its ear before finally turning his attention to the new kid.

"Hi. I am Arthit. This is Pugsly. Who are you?"

"K...Kong."

"Hi Kong. Are you lost?"

He simply shook his head, feeling shy at being questioned in such an effusive manner.

"No? Then why are you here?"

"I...umm...I live here."

"Nah uh. You don't live here. I live here. This is my house. You see that window over there. That's my room. Where is your room?"

Kong looked around for a brief moment to orient himself to this new place and then pointed towards the single cabin at the edge of the grounds.

"Oh you moved in with the new gardener?"

Kong nodded this head. Not sure if he wanted to continue talking to the boy or find a way to excuse himself and get back to his chocolate.

"Are you going to live here then? That is awesome! We can play all sorts of games. I got so many new ones that I haven't even opened yet. Come on, let me show you."

He grabbed Kong's wrist and pulled him towards the house, the dog obediently following at his heels. They even took a beeline through the kitchen as the boy called Arthit grabbed an apple, and tossed one to Kong before he continued dragging him towards his room. And as Kong stood awkwardly in the corner of the room, wondering if he was even allowed to be in the room of the owner's son, if he was going to get into trouble for being inside the house at all, as Arthit continued showing him one toy after another.

Kong had no idea what those games were. He hadn't even heard of any of them. So he stood silently as Arthit kept going on and on about the order of games they should be exploring. And the more he spoke, the more pleasant his voice seemed. Like he was someone Kong could genuinely like. Like someone who wouldn't think Kong was simply a nuisance to avoid. Perhaps they might even become friends someday.

So out of absolutely nowhere, while Arthit was very much in the middle of his discourse, Kong suddenly broke his silence.

"It is my birthday today."

Arthit immediately stopped talking about whatever he was and turned to look at the boy standing stiffly in the corner, and broke out in a wide smile. But instead of wishing him like Kong had hoped, he turned around towards his closet and started rustling around as if searching for something. Kong's heart had started sinking when after a good five minutes Arthit had still kept his back firmly to Kong. But just as Kong decided to head back to his own cabin, Arthit jumped up right in front of him, shoving a large box in his hands, and wrapping his thin arms around Kong's lanky frame.

"Happy birthday Kong. I got this candy for my birthday. But you can have it. It's your birthday gift."

"Really?"

"Ofcourse. We are going to be best friends from now on, right?"

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