THE SOCIAL MEDIA ARCHIVES.
His full name was Tine Teepakorn and he was 20 years old, a second year at the faculty of law. Oh. Sarawat was impressed, humming admiringly in his throat at this discovery. It required some brains to get into the law section at their university. For some reason it made him pleased that Tine was not just some average dude.
Sarawat parted his wide lips in anticipation as he continued scrolling through Fong's feed on Facebook. It stunned Sarawat how Tine was either laughing with abandon, eyes crinkled at the corners or just smiling devastatingly bright straight into the camera in every one of the pictures. He felt a little dizzy, getting a whiplash while trying to assimilate Tine in these pictures with Tine that he had first laid his eyes upon, all bloody like a road kill. It felt so surreal, looking at the two sides of the same coin.
It seemed that he had also been an avid participant of several university clubs, amongst them cheerleading and music. Sarawat arched his stark brows, making them disappear under his fringe.
Tine had been in the music club too?
Sarawat's long lashes fluttered restlessly, casting shadows against his sharp cheeks, while trying to comprehend this fact, looking to connect the missing pieces.
Tine must have been in the newbie group last year since he obviously could play the basic melodies that the beginners were usually taught in the music club. Sarawat had however, since the start of freshman year, advanced straight away to one of the few bands in the club that got sponsored by the school. They usually had different schedules for practice sessions and meet ups than the noobs, no wonder Sarawat and Tine had never actually met face to face.
Huh. So they had actually been this close all this time? The irony tasted a little bittersweet on Sarawat's tongue.
But wait, wait, wait.
Did that mean that Tine could actually remember certain things from his life, seeing as he could still recall how to play the guitar? Interesting. Tine probably did not even realize this himself, too focused on the bigger picture to notice these small details. A little smile curled on Sarawat's lips. And besides, he seemed a little dense if Sarawat was to be completely honest, even though he was supposed to be studying at the law faculty.
Sarawat had searched for Tine's own Facebook account too but it must have been deleted since there was no trace of it. But the amounts of posts that Tine's friends had been sharing over the years were more than enough to get some essential information about the ghost that he was rooming with. Yet it had been rather hard to wheedle any sort of more telling details about Tine directly from his friends and it would certainly be tricky to get more information on Tine's passing. While the trio of guys had been friendly enough when he had talked to them during lunch, there had been a particular air of hostility present that Sarawat could not shake off.
"Hey, why did you want to create a Facebook account? Are you gonna stalk Pam?" Boss speculated but also ventured a little since he was tired of the gloomy silence at their study table. The guys were currently sitting in a study nook at the library under the pretense of studying. While in fact, both Man and Sarawat were fully immersed in their phones, leaving Boss out like a sitting duck since he had only tagged along for socializing purposes and not studying, thank you very much. "If you ask us to help you with Instagram next, then we should check if you're possessed or something."
Sarawat looked up sharply at this, recognizing a perfect opportunity when he saw one. A Cheshire grin slowly made its way across his face, a type of smirk that irked Boss since his stoic friend usually never acted this eager.
"Please do, create an account for me." Sarawat gave his consent by quirking his chin up in a jerky nod, sending his fluffy hair flopping backwards and slipping away from his forehead to reveal a pair of large, dark eyes.
Boss instantly leaned away with a push of his hands against the table, tipping backwards while balancing precariously in his chair, trying to get away from this demon. Why was he interested in this type of stuff after exiling himself from all sorts of social medias in the first place?
Unperturbed, Sarawat slid his phone across the table in his friend's direction. He had actually noticed that Tine's friends had been constantly tagging one specific Instagram account in their Facebook posts, an account that could obviously only belong to Tine since no other sane person would call themselves Tine_chic. What did chic even mean?
Boss narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Seriously, what had gotten into Sarawat? He shared a perplexed look with Man, who just shrugged and went quietly back to scowling down at his own phone, continuing to scroll through the deserted feeds of his long distance relationship. That damned boyfriend of his had not been in touch for a several weeks now. Man was very worried by the ominous silence. The five o'clock shadow on his face was not making him look any saner either.
"What nickname do you want me to use?" Boss asked with an exasperated little sigh, while administering Sarawat's brand new Instagram account, his thumbs flying over the screen of the cell phone. It was like seeing a baby chick take flight from its nest with Sarawat venturing into all these social media apps so suddenly.
"Whatever man, just choose something," Sarawat replied, patiently waiting for his friend to finish, forearms diligently placed atop the table and hands at the crooks of his elbows, back straightened up. If he had a tail he would have probably been wagging it too. Boss snickered. Seriously, what was going on with this dude?
The phone in his hands buzzed suddenly and he looked down.
"Who's Unknown Number?" Boss asked confusedly as the message notification banner rolled down the screen over Sarawat's cell phone. "And why do they wanna meet you in 20? Hey, do you have two Line accounts?"
"Shit," Sarawat swore and pushed up to his feet, the chair scraping over the floor loudly. He snatched his phone out of his friend's hands, quickly pocketing it without an explanation and blatantly ignoring the hissed shushes from the other people that were actually studying in the library. Sarawat then scrambled around the table to pack his shit up.
"Later guys," he finally threw over his shoulder, not seeing any point in prolonging their goodbyes and hustled out of there, the school bag hitting against his hip.
Boss was left gaping at Sarawat's retreating back, eyes blinking rapidly while he was trying to comprehend what had actually happened. Seriously. What the hell? He turned to Man with a pout, trying to get some sympathy from him for Sarawat's abrupt dismissal. However, the other guy was still in his own bubble, angrily stabbing a message into the screen of his phone. Okay, then. Maybe Boss was better off studying after all, than hanging out with these sourpusses.
-----
Sarawat thrust one sneaker clad foot out and onto the concrete for support, the vibrations of the motorcycle winding down below him as he released the handlebars and relaxed in his seat, muscular thighs on each side of the black, sleek vehicle. He refrained from taking his helmet off and just sat there looking out over the majestic river sluggishly flowing below the massive bridge. It was a little hypnotizing.
Sarawat was on the narrow side road next to the wide traffic lane on the bridge, which ran parallel with the sturdy railing. Cars and other vehicles rushed past him, drowning out his thoughts with their roaring motors. Sarawat's long fingers tapped against his thigh impatiently, fingerless leather gloves gracing his hands. And soon enough another motorcycle showed up, its motor revving in the distance before it slid up next to Sarawat, tires screeching slightly at the abrupt halt.
"Hey" the other guy nodded his head at Sarawat, voice muffled by the shiny, black helmet. "You're not gonna jump are you?"
Sarawat chose to ignore the jab and just cocked his head to the side, the afternoon sun glinting on the sleek surface of his toned face shield.
"You're late," he stated instead.
"Sorry, sorry," the other guy exclaimed, raising his gloved hands in a placating gesture and Sarawat repressed a frustrated eye roll.
"Here, this is the last time," Sarawat said as he rummaged in the pocket of his jacket and dangled a USB stick in front of the other biker, who eagerly leaned over the handlebars of his bike and reached out a hand to grab the device from him. However, Sarawat pulled it back swiftly. The other guy swore colorfully, irritated face obscured by his helmet and Sarawat felt a smug smirk find its way to his lips. "Delete my contact details first."
"Ow, are you sure?" The biker baited, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest, seemingly scrutinizing Sarawat. "Because I have this new request..." he reached inside his leather jacket and pulled out an envelope, flashing a tattoo on the side of his neck when the collar of his jacket dipped slightly. "It's in here with your fee, check it out and let me know," he held out the envelope halfway between their motorcycles, waiting for Sarawat to thrust out the USB stick once more so that they could do an even exchange.
Sarawat accepted the paper envelope, a hand grasping around a thick packet inside it as the other guy quickly pocketed the memory stick.
"Well then, nice working with ya," he wagged his gloved fingers at Sarawat and revved up the motor, handlebars turning, swiftly gliding out onto the main lane and speeding away. What a joker.
Sarawat frowned in the direction of the other guy's rapidly disappearing back, one hand clutching at the envelope, contemplating if it was really worth the risk to look at the secondary contents inside or whether he should just blindly shred the damned documents. He had no plan whatsoever to keep up with this little side business anymore, having already received more than enough money out of it. But as they say, the curiosity might just kill the cat.
-----
Sarawat turned off the engine, casting his surroundings back into the natural gloom of the nightfall. He parked his feet on the ground while still sitting astride the motorcycle and took off his helmet, running a gloved hand through his sweaty hair. His gaze zeroed in unconsciously on his brother, who was standing stock still in the murky driveway.
Phukong was staring at him with wide, slightly glazed eyes and a face that was slowly draining of color. But then he seemed to come out of his trance and pivoted sharply on his heel, darting up the driveway and heading for the lit up entrance of the family villa. The big, intricate door slammed behind his tense back as he darted inside.
Just perfect, his little brother was still avoiding him. It was not like they had been the best of friends or anything like that before, but they had still had their fair share of brotherly moments once in awhile. Sarawat exhaled frustratingly, sagging in his seat and throwing his head back. His fingers curled on his helmet, which he had placed on the leather seat in front of him. He stared up at the gradually darkening sky and the stars twinkled lazily back at him. There were just too many secrets in the universe, he decided then.
Sarawat stood up languidly when having enough of the gloomy thoughts, throwing one long leg over the bike, leaving the helmet on the seat and going up the same path as Phukong did just a couple of minutes ago.
"Oh, Sarawat! You're home?" His dad exclaimed a little confusedly from the living room where the late night news were running at full volume, noticing his son as he passed by the doorway. Sarawat stopped in his tracks, backtracking a little and leaned in more fully into the big and tastefully decorated room. He pressed his wide palms together while bowing his head in a quick greeting and then loosened up, placing one sturdy hand on the doorframe.
"Yeah, I just need to grab a couple of things from my old room, I hope it's okay. Is mother home?"
"No, they're working on some important project at the company so she's been practically living at the office this week." Sarawat hummed low in his throat in acknowledgement and was about to push away from the doorway when his dad added, "I know you might feel pressured by us but you should still come over more often. We are a family."
Sarawat quirked his lips into a stiff, almost downturned smile, eyes hard.
"Yes, father," he replied tonelessly and that seemed to please his old man well enough since he dismissed Sarawat from their little talk by turning around and once again focusing his attention back on the wide screen of the TV, his big brows furrowing at was being said in the news.
Sarawat slunk away quietly, steering his steps to his mother's study.
-----
Tine was agitatedly waiting for Sarawat to come back. What the hell was taking him so long?
If Tine had been alive then he would have been pacing back and forth inside the room, arms crossed over his wide chest and one hand at his sharp chin as he anxiously bit on his thumb. But since that was not the case, he was instead a spec of glittery dust in the thin, cool space between the curtain and the balcony door, gliding anxiously under the grayish light of the moon. That seemed to be his favorite spot in the whole room.
Well, besides his other safe spot, which was the tiny sliver of space between the pillow and the headboard at the top of Sarawat's bed. And that one particular space, Tine tried to avoid for the most of the time. It just felt too creepy being so up close and personal with the guy when he did not even realize that Tine was there too. Nonetheless, Tine still found himself gravitating towards Sarawat unconsciously at times, giving in to the urge and just curling up next to his sleeping form.
A sudden thought struck Tine low in his metamorphic gut, making alarms go off inside his headspace. What if Sarawat had gotten tired of him and all this ludicrous ghost nonsense? What if he had just abandoned the room? Abandoned Tine.
Oh shit! Tine scrambled out and from behind the curtain, taking in the room as a whole. It still looked lived in, boxes unpacked and the bed unmade, just as Sarawat had left it this morning with things scattered messily on his study desk. If Tine had a heart it would have been racing inside his ribcage right this instant, chest heaving with worried breaths.
The flow of time had proved to be a tricky little bitch, as it seemed to flow differently for Tine, especially when he was not fully present. What felt like mere minutes could actually be several hours in the normal, living world and sometimes mere living seconds seemed to stretch agonizingly ahead of him in his drifting asylum. It was safe to say that it fucked immensely with Tine's already scrambled mind.
He was now constantly worried that days, even weeks would pass without Tine being aware and Sarawat would just simply forget all about him, moving on with his normal life. Then who would help Tine to get out of this boring, meaningless existence? Tine only had Sarawat. Without him he would be lost.
The lock rattled, as the door was being unlocked. The sharp sound echoed throughout the silent room, reverberating even louder inside Tine's hollow chest. He turned around excitedly, stepping straight into his perceivable form mid-air and was in the blink of an eye floating in the middle of the room. His cheeks flushed the instant he was met with Sarawat's hooded gaze, long lashes at half-mast and keys jingling in his hand as he turned on the lights with a click, bathing the sparse room in a pale, golden hue.
"Did you miss me?" Sarawat teased, round eyes glinting darkly as they traced along Tine's windswept appearance.
It should not feel this good to come home.