My imaginary boyfriend

3 : Reunion

I always longed for something to think about. At least I had my own home to think about now, besides the house wouldn't completely be mine if I didn't live in it. I decided to end my apartment rent and started living in my home. It's quite convenient to move nowadays. With just a call, the moving company will manage the moving for you. Since I didn't have much stuff, everything was placed where it should be within around half a day. I then lay down on the living room's floor. My home, right?, I murmured to myself. I was not quite certain if that phrase had been a murmur or a question, though.

My choice was to sleep in my old room, even if it was not the main bedroom of the house. Even if it was a designated room for the only owner of the house like me, that room still belonged to mom in my sense. I left that room untouched and used it just to store all the boxes and things that I didn't know where to put it, at least for now.

Yes, I used the biggest bedroom for storage. Laugh for your sake, Phraphai.

Besides, I was more bonded with my old bedroom. Even though there was not much of my childhood memory left in me, I still could visualize how my room was decorated. When I had talked to the mechanic head, I had asked the team to do the renovation that was close to the design I used to live in as much as they can. The books that were kept in the boxes -- old fairy tales, stories for kids, novels, books for leisure reading and some documentaries -- were now placed in the bookshelf. A lot of books still, even if I had donated so many of them and chosen only ones that I always wanted to reread and could never abandon. I put the books on the shelf and reached the category of stories for kids. The first one appearing in the box was Beauty and the Beast. I looked at its cover. The picture of the Beast Prince smiling at Belle was still the same as what I had seen thousands of times. What was unusual was that when I saw it this time, it stimulated something in my heart.

Thump thump thump.

That was not the sound of my heartbeat. It was the sound of the attraction that accordingly followed the beats to my heart. I was sure that it was really not a heartbeat, even if it did synchronize with my heart.

"What are you trying to tell me?" I look at the Beast Prince and Bell on the cover.

Gurgle gurgle gurgle.

It was not the sound from my heart or my chest this time. It was my stomach growling saying that I was hungry. I looked at the clock and it's 5 PM already. Since I almost finished unpacking, I should go out and have something for dinner. I had seen a simple cook-to-order restaurant at the entrance of the village when I entered it today. I would just walk to that place, then. That was unusual for me since I normally have the appetite at 8 PM or 9 PM and sometimes at 10 PM. I can't help it, though. I'm a doctor after all. Eating schedule is not something that we can really control. I grabbed my wallet, my phone and the house keys to go out for dinner. Even though I felt a bit weird doing it, I took it as the feeling of moving to the place. The faster I tried to get used to this place, the faster it would disappear, I thought.

"Get used to it fast, Phai!" I told myself.

This place had very delicious rice with chicken and Thai basil stir-fry. At least, there was a good restaurant nearby. I could count on this place as my staple for my meals. What a relief. I then took time walking home, pleasantly. Of course, I was full and the unpacking was done. I thought I had better take shower then watch something on Netflix. My friend said the new season of My Hero Academia was already available.

The lukewarm breeze gently blew on my face. It's normal for Bangkok Weather that even the breeze is warm. Suddenly, I sensed a familiar sweet scent that the wind dispersed. I turned to the upwind direction and saw the playground.

Thump thump thump.

The sound of attraction beat inside my chest again.

Unconsciously, my legs took me to the playground. It was already desolated. The equipment was old and the coating was peeled off, as if it had never been taken care of and never been repaired. So the village association might not have acknowledged the importance of it anymore. Maybe kids nowadays don't care about playing in the playground as much as playing with toys or tablets indoors.