Chapter 38

The first news that Sun learns after he wakes up deals a blow to him that, despite not being a physical one, is enough to render him incapacitated: Nana Bea left the Pitchitara residence. Her reason was because of family problems. As much as Aunt Mika and Uncle Jek wanted her to stay, they have to accept and respect her decision.

“Don’t be sad N’Sun,” Aunt Mika told him the other day when Uncle Jek and she were narrating to him the events that happened when he was asleep. “She has grown old serving with us, nong, so maybe it’s time we give her the reprieve she needs,” she continued.

“I know, auntie. It’s just…sad…that I did not get to say goodbye,” said Sun as he sobs.

“She told us that if ever you awaken, we can visit her in Kanchanaburi.”

Sun nods because he will surely do it as soon as he is able to.

“N’Sun, what is your plan for your schooling?” asked Uncle Jek.

Sun did not take long to answer. The tenacity of solving Exeter’s death is in him since the day he woke up, and it will only leave him once he is done. “I will not be going to school for the moment, uncle – at least – for this coming second semester. It starts in a couple of weeks, and I still have unfinished requirements from the last semester,” said Sun, a nice excuse to conceal the truth.

“What will you do then? You will be idle for five months or more.” asked Uncle Jek.

At this query, Sun is careful to think of a response. He thinks that if he simply says that he will solve Exeter’s death because he has a tight deadline, they will ask him why his time is constrained. This will have him regale his encounter with Thanatos, the deal he made with the God Of Death, and the terms that come with it. The sure result of it is none will believe him, or worse, they might take him to a psychiatrist to have his sanity checked. “For the time being, I’ll spend most of those months trying to find out what happened to Exeter, as well as completing my pending work in school.” Sun replied.

“Can you solve N’Exeter’s crime in five months?” asked Aunt Mika, sounding concerned.

“Do you want us to help you, nong?” added his Uncle Jek.

“No. No, thank you. I appreciate the help, but I can do it on my own,” replied Sun, sounding confident for the reason that only he knows.

“Okay, if that is what you want. If you need any help, just tell us,” said Uncle Jek.

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It is the fourth day out of the seven that Sun must spend in the hospital for confirmatory tests. As he sits on his bed, he carefully turns to the small table with drawer on his left and picks up the desk calendar sitting on top. In it, he sees that the next full moon will happen in five days.

There is a knock on the door of his room, and a lady from housekeeping enters to give Sun’s snack for this day. She puts the tray on the wheeled table by the bed and drags it close to Sun.

“Sawadee krap nong,” greeted the housekeeper.

“Sawadee khun. Thank you for bringing this.”

“You are welcome. I hope you enjoy this. There is milk in the small bowl in case you wanted more of it,” answered the housekeeper. She removes the plastic that wraps the tray, and after that, she leaves the room.

Sun feels a rush of sadness when he sees the snack served to him. It was Exeter’s favorite, and the memory of them from a vacation comes back to him.

“Hurry up, Grumpy. I’m hungry, and I don’t want to be late for the tour today,” said Sun. It was the second of their three-day stay in the province of Palawan in The Philippines. Today, their itinerary will take them to explore the Underground River in Puerto Princesa.

“What’s the rush Sun? We have plenty of time before the bus leaves,” replied Exeter, who just got out of the shower and was still topless. Sun, on the other hand, has already dressed up and is seated on the bed.

“I know. I’m just excited for what they will serve today at breakfast. Yesterday’s meal of cured beef, fried egg, and garlic rice was delicious.”

“Yeah. I agree. Oh, by the way, after the tour, I’d have to go to the grocery.”

“Huh? What for?”

“I’ll buy about a quarter of Calamondin fruit.”

“What’s that?”

“Calamondin fruit – it’s a popular citrus fruit here and is widely used in most dipping sauce.”

“Are you bringing it back to Thailand? I don’t think the immigration will allow you to bring it aboard the plane.”

“No. I’ll extract its seeds and use it on an experiment for our project. As for its juice…hmmmm…I’ll try to copy the same that they served us yesterday.”

“From dinner?”

“Yes, like those. They were really delicious.”

They went down together at the hotel’s restaurant to avail of the complimentary breakfast. After ordering their meals, they spent their time chatting – Sun about school, while Exeter about his upcoming conference in Morocco.

“What is that Grumpy?” asked Sun after Exeter’s food was served – a bowl of rice porridge cooked in chocolate and fried dried squid in a separate saucer.

“This is called ‘Champorado’. It was cooked in melted tablea chocolate according to the menu. I’m curious on how it tastes. It comes with this dried squid.”

“That is a weird combination Grumpy. I ordered a congee,” said Sun, who showed his food to Exeter – a porridge in pale-yellow color with strips of what seemed to be cooked beef tripe topped with garlic bits, chopped scallion, and a powder that Sun doesn’t know.

“Looks like our native Jok back in Bangkok, except that it is colored yellow. What’s it called?” asked Exeter.

“From the menu, it is called ‘Goto’. It is congee with tripe.”

“Looks delicious, but what is that powder on top?”

“I don’t know, Grumpy.”

“Can I scoop a bit of that?”

“Go ahead.”

Exeter takes a little of the powder and tasted it. Immediately, he knew what it was.

“It’s crushed chicharrones, Snobby – deep-fried pork. Someone in the institute brings that to us regularly.

“I see.”

“I think you should mix everything. Oh, and that small fruit in the saucer, that is the Calamondin fruit I told you about earlier,” said Exeter, pointing to the sliced little green fruit in the saucer beside Sun’s bowl of Goto.

They ate breakfast, occasionally feeding each other with the dish they ordered. Sun did not like the Champorado but loved the taste of the fried dried squid. Exeter liked the Goto but was torn on which of the two congees to replicate first when they get back to Bangkok.

“I’ll try to find a recipe for this Champorado. It’s now my new favorite snack,” said Exeter.

These memories come in Sun’s mind as he stares at the bowl of Champorado in front of him. However, his sadness did not linger for long, and it was replaced with determination – a good spur for what’s coming in the next few days when he begins with his task.

“Uhm. Aunt Mika?” asked Sun as he starts eating.

“Yes nong?”

“How are Uncle Robert and Aunt Jane? And Elixir too?”

“They were here almost every day when you were asleep. Now that you ask about that, they want you to come over at their house. It’s about the things that Exeter left to you.”

“I see. I’ll go there once I get discharged from here.”

The fact that Exeter left things for him raised questions to Sun’s mind. What could those be and what will he do with them. He can only pray that he can use whatever those are for his task.

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“We’re on our way to Sun,” typed Tas on the screen of his phone, answering Gan’s question.

“Who are you with?”

“Mochi, Pon, and Nom. How’s your shift?”

“Why did it take you too long to answer?”

“We are buying things to bring to Sun at the hospital. That’s why, Gan.” The annoyance in Tas’ face while typing the message did not escape Mochi’s eyes.

“Can’t you spare a minute to answer me, huh Tas?”

“I am helping the others pick out the items.”

“That is not an excuse, Tas.”

“Okay, so are we starting again, Gan?”

“It’s your fault.”

“I’m not going to engage you in another pointless argument.”

“I told you to send me a message as soon as you can.”

“Have a nice day Gan. Talk to you later.”

Tas sets his phone to vibrate after quitting the call and puts it in his pocket.

“Gan again?” asked Mochi. He is walking beside the cart that Tas pushes, while Nom and Pon are at another aisle to pick other items.

“I’ll give you two choices, but you will only need one,” said Tas, exasperated.

“So, it is your boyfriend then.”

“I don’t know what I am doing wrong, Mochi. He gets mad at me at the shallowest of reasons. If I try to state my side, he dismisses it.”

“Have you two tried to sit down and talk seriously?”

“His tantrums ensue; we talk; all is well; repeat. That is the cycle of our relationship Mochi – in that specific order.”

“Sounds complicated,” said Mochi, getting a bag of chips.

“I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I want to hold on because I really love Gan, but with what he is showing me, I am nearing the edge – I really am.”

“You said you really love Gan. You should do all that it takes to fix your conflicts.”

“I wanted to, but it seems that Gan doesn’t want listen to me and prefers to just nag and nag and nag some more.”

With Tas’ tone, Mochi knows that there is a deep source where his friend is coming from. Yet, as a friend, he can only give advice and nothing more.

Mochi turns to a shelf to get some powdered juice, and when he faces Tas again to put the packs in the cart, his friend is in tears.

“Do you think they would want a pomelo flavor?” asked Mochi, pretending not to see the tears falling down Tas’s eyes, when in fact, he actually did.

“I’m fed up, Mochi. I’m so fed up,” answered Tas, wiping his face with his hanky.