A Tale Of Thousand Stars – Novel BoyLove – Chapter 4.1
The Sophaditsakul’s mansion suddenly became chaotic when Mrs. Lalita and her husband rushed back from the party after receiving the bad news. The mother fainted when she read the letter that their youngest son had written a letter for them before disappearing.
Mr. Teerayut immediately called his servant to look for a balm inhaler for his wife. Not long after, the security guard walked in to report the situation.
“I already have checked the CCTV. The images recorded at the entrance and along the fence have been erased since midnight, as if someone had deliberately cut the signal.”
It will be difficult for them since the person causing the problem, studied mechanical engineering.
The former general rubbed his temples, and he turned around when he heard his wife’s wailing when she had just regained consciousness.
“Why did you do that, Tian? What do you want? Why not you tell your parents? Is there anything in this world that I can’t find for you?” Tears wet both of her cheeks. Just yesterday the boy also said that he would not make his mother sad but less than a day had passed, making her heart devastated.
“Calm down. It may not be that serious. Our child is already grown up!”
“The only grown up is his body! An adult person will never leave home like that! Anything should have to sit down and talk to clear it!” Mrs. Lalita complained to her youngest son.
Mr. Teerayut sighed and sat down beside his wife, “Because he knows that if he asks properly, you won’t allow him.”
“Do I look like an unreasonable person?” She turned her gaze to the person who spoke with a dissatisfied expression.
“You are a rational person in everything, except those related to Tian.” The former general answered calmly,
“When you know that he had heart disease, you would treat him like you are incubating an egg so much that it would make him feel uncomfortable, behave like nobody else, hard-headed, incompetent. Then after he had the surgery, you forbid everything from one thing to another, and he can’t leave the house to go anywhere unless you allowed it. Our son is only a patient who needs rehabilitation care, not a prisoner!” Her tears immediately flowed after listening to the last sentence.
“You mean it’s too wrong for me to worry about our child?”
“You’re not wrong, but everything that’s too much is not all good. That’s why the Buddha taught us to live in harmony and balance! Not too little but not too much, then life will find only peace.”
“Tian said he was go out to search for happiness. I really don’t understand. He has both houses, cars, and never having to spend money. He have everything in this worlds. What he wants more?”
Mr. Teerayut smiled, “That’s what I call happiness but for Tian, still ‘not’ yet.”
A soldier like him may be feeling happy when his youngest son wants to go out to face the difficulties in this vast world, not to choose to be in the beautiful frame that the mother sculpted.
The most worrying thing is where’s Tian going and is there any danger?
The former General picked up the phone and called his immediate subordinates who were working in his Ministry of Military Affairs to ask them to send information to people. If he knew his son’s purpose well and considered that there was no danger, he would let someone silently monitor him to help his son in time and let him go out to explore everything as desired.
Having reassured his wife and taken her upstairs to rest, Mr. Teerayut went back downstairs, took the letter and read it again.
‘Dear Parents,
Tian wants the parents to understand that it’s difficult for me to make the decision to write this letter, but I want to make sure that this is not a real escape from home. Tian feel that things have changed a lot after escaping death like a miracle. It also made me realize that my life in the past has been so tasteless, and don’t know what I really want.
Tian just wanted to see things that everyone knows but I don’t. In the end, I want to say that what I’m doing is not going to cause any loss, and besides, I don’t want you to go looking for me right now, because wvhen the time is right, Tian will go home by myself.
Please don’t worry too much!
Love father and mother
Tian’
The former General folded the letter in his hand neatly. He hoped his youngest son could quickly find the “answer” he was looking for.
The bus shook as it passed the train tracks, causing the young man sitting against the window to sleep deeply, soundly startled.
Dazzling sunlight crept through the gap between the thick curtains. Tian opened his mouth to yawn before looking at the watch on his wrist, the clock hand pointing to the number two. His slender hand pulled the phone from his pocket as usual. There was no missed call on the screen.
Of course! He turned off all the location tracking apps and exchanged the SIM card to a new number, who could call him?
The young man twisted his body to prevent aches and pains, when he jumped over the fence and because he could not keep his balance, he fell slightly.
He walked out to catch a taxi in front of the alley. At three o’clock in the morning, there was almost no taxi operating.
Tian took a bottle of water and took a sip. then opened the curtain aside, looking at the countryside. Don’t know if the people at home know yet that he disappeared? If already knew. Then he expected them to follow the wishes of the letter he left in the room.
The air-conditioned single-decker bus turn to park at the gas station for passengers to walk down, stretch and go to the restroom. Although it takes ten times longer than traveling by plane, but it’s more difficult to check passenger information. Tian is confident that no one will ever guess a young man with such low endurance that he would dare to do these things.
In a few hours, he will arrive at the tour bus station in Chiang Rai Province. When thinking of it, he couldn’t help feeling excited from the information received. The village that he will visit is in the protected area of the military camp next to the border. And had to cross the rugged canyons to reach it. Therefore, the military will send people to protect his safety.
The sound of the bus start ringing is a signal for all passengers to board the car in few minutes. The large bus turn out to run on the highway. And drove to the destination without stopping anywhere again.
The big bus arrived at the Chiang Rai bus terminal around 4:30 pm. Tian took the backpack from the trunk, put it on his shoulder and got off the bus. He spent time looking around.
The place, the people and everything seemed strange and new to him. But then, Tian decided to follow other passengers walking to a nearby station.
This bus station is quite large with a high, open ceiling. Several seats had already been occupied by another group of passengers that preceded it. Not just luggage or backpacks, but also other types of round wooden baskets with some fruits or vegetables inside.
Tian saw a jeep parked in front of the station, the old-looking vehicle with state-owned number plates. Tian wondered if the car would come to pick him up to the village or not? Because he still haven’t seen the driver.
The slim boy put his heavy backpack on the ground and leaned against a pillar at that station, then took out his cell phone to look for the foundation’s emergency phone number. But then he had to stop because someone coming to greet him from behind.
“Teacher of the Saengthong foundation, right?” It was the first time that someone called him “teacher”, which was completely strange. Tian never thought he was a real teacher, but he had to take that title anyway.
Then he smiled at that person and answered, “Please call me Tian. Teacher seems too formal for me.”
Tian greeted (Wai) to that older person, who wore a soldier’s uniform and looked slightly younger than his father.
“Yes, Teacher Tian.” it seems that he won’t listen to Tian’s words at all.
“My name is Yodchai. I am a sergeant in the field, you can call me Sergeant Yod.” He introduced himself in a local accent.
“Is that all your luggage? Let me carry it for you.”
Tian didn’t stop him from taking his backpack into the trunk of the car because he was used to other people serving like that. He just sat in the car in silence. The jeep was quite old, so when it started, people could hear it from afar.
The car started to leave the terminal and went out onto a street. It was a welded vehicle and had no air conditioning. There was just a little wind blowing outside the truck, and Tian was sweating a lot. Sergeant Yod laughed out loud at him.
“It’s a little hot during the day, but after arriving in the city tonight, it will be very cold at night.”
“I’m not going to stay at the soldiers’ camp, am I?” He just wanted to make sure he had his own place to stay, according to the information he received from the foundation’s office. Except they didn’t tell Tian where he is located.
“Your place is in the city. Our camp is three kilometers up the hill.” Tian nodded and listened to Sergeant Yod, giving him some details about the city he was going to arrive in the next two hours.
“Phu Pan Dao Village is a small village of Akha ethnic group, they have lived on this Thai land for generations. Their descendants also have Thai nationality. Previously, Akha people planted a lot of medicinal plants, opium, which was completely illegal. So King Rama 9 came visiting them and helped them use the agricultural system to grow other fruits and vegetables.
..Not only that, but there are also some tea farms, coffee farms or flower gardens. Try to look along the ridge, you will see the parcels of land cultivated in a terraced form!”
An hour later, the old jeep headed to the narrow dirt road, full of trees on both sides. Sergeant Yod explained that this road was built by soldiers and village people several years ago. Although it was just a small dirt road it became very useful to shorten time travel.
The sun began to leave the sky causing the overall temperature to cool down. Tian sat huddled on a seat, while sergeant Yod continued singing songs of northeastern folk songs and drove the car along with the sound of crickets until it stopped and parked on the side of the road.
“Teacher Tian, from this point, we have to walk!” Sergeant Yod smiled at the new young master.
Walking?
Tian smiled and asked, “Is it far?”
“Not too far. I’ll take you on a shortcut. The road that takes us to the end of the village, your accommodation is right there. If we go from the top of the village, you’ll have to walk another 5 kilometers just arrived, but if you come across this road, it’s only 2 kilometers. Very comfortable!”
Very comfortable with ghosts!
A city boy couldn’t believe what he just heard. Usually he drove his car, even though he was only 50 meters away. But now, he had to carry that heavy backpack and walk for miles on this rocky slopes?
Sergeant Yod saw Tian’s uncomfortable face and added more information to comfort him.
“Don’t worry. It’s just a small slope. It’s not that high.” And he decided to help Tian carry his backpack. Letting Tian turn on the lantern.
The sky was getting darker and darker, so the old soldier urged him to start walking before the reptile crawled to greet them. Tian used the lantern to see where they were going. The trail was quite narrow, but it took them to the city right in front of them.
Fortunately, after the surgery, Tian always exercises regularly according to the doctor’s instructions, so he still has enough strength to walk to the destination.
Sergeant Yod pointed to the shadow of a cabin ten meters farther from where the were. But Tian had already leaned over, resting both hands on his knees, and panted repeatedly.
“We are almost there, teacher, keep walking!”
That old man didn’t look tired, he looked completely fine. Tian raised his head, took a deep breath and gnashing his teeth. The smell of the leaves burning with the haze drifted into the wind, making the volunteer teacher curious about where it from. Then he looked around and saw a fire in a house made of some stones and branches together in front of the stilt house.
Suddenly, a tall figure appeared, Tian turned his eyes to the tall body of a man, who stood with his arms folded across his chest, face facing the small stilt house with gaze. It’s like thinking of something. Although he didn’t carry a gun or wear a millitary uniform and badges, Tian was able to remember that stone-like backs perfectly.
Tian accidentally dropped the lantern to the ground and made a sound, causing the face hidden in the darkness turned to face him. He looked directly at Tian with those sharp eyes, it was like all everything around him stopped. Tian’s heart continued to beat so fast and hard. His chest hurt again.
Suddenly, Tian fell to the ground, but that stranger came up to him, grabbing Tian’s slender waist before touching the ground. Tian’s cheek touched that soldier’s chest and he pressed it harder than he thought. But then, he realized that he was hugged by a man, blood from the veins kept rushing to his face, making his face burn hot.
Tian frowned and closed his eyes. He tried to control his heart to keep it from beating so fast as if to shoot out from his chest, but he couldn’t.
“…are you alright?”
That deep, discreet and manly voice whispered in Tian’s ear. Tian startled, immediately pushing the opponent away quickly, causing his body to stand unsteady and fell on the ground.
“Teacher!” Sergeant Yod ran as fast as possible, but before helping Tian, he not forgetting to greet his commander first. Then he helped Tian to stand up.
Tian brushed the dust off his jeans and looked at the giant that was right in front of him.
Oh god! You bastard! Pushing and dropping me like that!
“T’m alright!” Tian told Sergeant Yod, who was looking at him worriedly.
“Teacher…”
Sergeant Yod introduce the commanding officer standing beside them with a calm expression.
“This is Captain Phupha, commander of Infantry Company 3307 of the Phra Phi Run military base!”
Tian pursed his lips and looked at the face of Captain Phupha, who kept staring at him with the sharp face as if he was the one who caused the problem.
“Do I have to ‘salute you’ too?” Tian couldn’t help being sarcastic, but it seems like the opponent didn’t understand.
“No need. Just Wai for me.”
(*) Wai is The Thai greeting referred to consists of a slight bow, with the palms pressed together like praying.
The young man suprised by that and he reluctantly Wai to Phupha. On the side, Sergeant Yod seeing the atmosphere of the first meeting was not very good, So he decided to say something to save the situation.
“Sir! Teacher Tian is coming to replace Mr. Oad.” He was talking about the old volunteer teacher who lived here for three weeks. Before giving up the hardship, packed his bags down the mountain last month.
Captain Phupha nodded in response and pointing to the hut, “You can put your things in your hut. I asked people to prepare some personal things necessary for you. So it’s ready.”
He paused just before adding a phrase that almost made Tian want to kick Phupha’s ass.
“I hope you know how to use them.”
“Is there a user manual for me?” Tian sarcastic again.
“These are simple and basic things. But if you really need a manual, I’ll ask someone at the camp to make one for you.”
Tian really couldn’t say if this is sarcastic or serious. since Captain Phupha’s voice sounded very serious.
“Thanks.”
Tian decided not to argue with this giant soldier. He grabbed his backpack from Sergeant Yod, who stood smiling at him nearby. Tian went to the house made of bamboo and thatched roofs with a high floor above the ground.
Sergeant Yod watched the new master climb those broken stairs and turned to consult the commander.
“Haven’t you allowed the soldiers to fix the stairs, sir?”
“These days, we’re busy with issue of illegal logging, so I forgot.” Phupha simply answered as if he didn’t care much.
“And maybe we don’t need to fix it because he won’t be with us for so long.”
“Please, Sir. You may be fine. You never know. Look at Master Oad, for example. Seemed to get along very well with the people of the village. But he still left this job.”
The old sergeant sighed heavily. His eyes seemed to hide something he shouldn’t mention.
“So, do you think a very young man who just turned 20 and wears expensive clothes and accessories from head to toe will be able to stay until the end of the semester? 3 months?” Phupha asked back.
Sergeant Yod laughed, not daring to give an opinion on this. “By the way, how did you get here, Sir?
“I borrowed a motorbike from the base.” Although the road is crooked, bumpy, with many high slopes, it’s not a big deal for a person who has lived here for more than four years.
“Do you want to go back to base with me? It’s dangerous to drive a motorbike late at night.”
“It’s okay. I’m used to it. See you at base, Sergeant.”
The commander finished the conversation and went directly to his motorbike. He started the engine and drove away through the cold breeze, but suddenly he stopped because he remembered something…
..He forgot to tell that rich boy what he have to do tomorrow.
Never mind! Tian didn’t look like someone who wakes up early in the morning. There should be plenty of time if come to his hut again in the morning. Once the captain realized that, he immediately twisted the engine straight back to the base that was three kilometers away.