Arriving in that Life

At dawn, Lily landed on the land of Thai after a long tiring journey. The flight was short but very exhausting. Her body and mind both got drained out of energy. She kept on thinking about what will happen when she lands? What will she do? What kind of people will she meet? The thoughts and worries kept multiplying with every passing hour.

During the flight, she read the letters in the envelope that her mom gave to her. It had small instructions. She had it jotted down at the last minute. It said, her mom has contacted their relatives in Thailand and they will be her host while she stays there. Her mom has asked her to resume her life as normal and stay alert all the time. And lastly, she had wished safety for her.

She collects her luggage and starts walking towards the meeting area. According to her mom, there will be people waiting for her.

On her way she again encounters some suspicious people, walking restlessly everywhere. They are surely looking for somebody. Lily got scared. She thought maybe they are one of them. But the truth is they are just normal people. People who came from abroad to home and people who came from home to abroad. People waiting to receive someone, people waiting to get received, all are gathering here, chatting happily, and greeting each other.

Her instilled fear couldn't let her think anything except for running. Everyone seems suspicious to her. She tried her best to hide in the crowd. She couldn't think of anything else. Out of fear she quickly exits the meeting area and heads towards the exit. She stops and finds herself in a completely strange environment. What to do now? Where to go? She feels like a lost child. Suddenly there was a bark from her behind.

"Woof!"

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Before Lily arrived in the waiting area her hosts were already there waiting for her.

Kiet Anusorn is waiting with his son Niran Anusorn.

"What is the wrong son? They said the flight has landed already. All the passengers must be out by now." Kiest is getting impatient waiting.

"Don't worry dad. I called Uncle Chaow in the Administrative office. He said there was some problem with one of the doors of the plane. It got jammed. She will be out soon", Niran describes the situation to his father very calmly.

"What? Jammed?! What kind of absurd service is this?! Unacceptable! What about the other one? There is not only one door? Use the other one and get her out!!" The lack of conviction from the airline company disappoints Kiet. He does not easily get disappointed or call out on people for their bad service but because of Lily and her unfortunate situation, he is already on the edge.

"Dad, it is not your first time facing on-spot problems of flight. It is fine, you know. Don't get so hyped up or you will leave the wrong impression on her", Niran tries to change his dad's focus so his pressure doesn't get high.

"You're right. Sora... No, no. she has a new name now. And it is so lovely just like her. Lily. A flower. Aren't you excited Ni to see her after all these years? I wonder how she has grown up? She was supposed to grow up here among us. All those few pictures that were sent over the years never satisfied our eyes. Lily was so lovable as a child. No camera can capture her liveliness and smile. I missed the child and her laughter so much. Your mother is becoming restless at home. She should have come with us. She cried the whole night after Manee asked us to take care of her. The poor thing, facing such danger at her young age. Remember Ni, no one or nothing can harm her."

"I don't know any Lily. The girl I knew is So...."

"There! Here come the passengers. Hurry up Ni. Look for her!"

The bewildered eyes start searching for the face of a little angel. But one by one all the passengers come out but there is no sign of Lily. Kiet begins to grow worried. Everybody is coming out but there is no sign of Lily.

"Hurry Ni. I'll go to the securities and ask for footage. We will search for the whole airport. We must find her soon."

Niran doesn't spend a word in fact before his father could finish saying he left to look for her. He knows how clumsy that girl can be and how disturbed she must be.

Niran keeps on looking without missing out on a single thing on his way. He comes out at the entrance hoping she might be waiting there for them after failing to find them inside. As he comes out half running and half jumping he hears a scream. He looks at the way the noise was coming from. It is a little girl in a suit running towards his direction. She is being chased by a dog, to say more clearly chased by a puppy poodle.

And he figures out what is going on. He becomes vexed but all his nerves calm down too. He deliberately stood in the girl's way and crashed into her. Both of them fell as the impact of running hit Niran hard. He enveloped her in his embrace tight and fell on his back. Lily falls on his chest and doesn't hit the hard tiled ground.

Lily keeps on asking for help with her eyes shut tight. She holds onto Narin's white shirt and tries her best to get dispelled in his chest. Narin with great efforts holds his head up so that he doesn't hit the ground with the head. He chases away the puppy. Then he tries to look at the scared Lily.

"Still the same," he says to himself.

"Get up now, So!" he tries to bring the scared cat back to the world.

"Ha!?!"

She looks around. There was no furry thing with sharp teeth around her and she was near the floor on a stranger's chest. She hurries up. "Sorry. Sorry" she apologizes. "There was this ferocious dog! I'm so sorry! Do you get hurt?" she was huffing. She hastily tries to apologize. Niran kept looking at her. "It's fine.

"My luggage?" She looked around but she couldn't remember where she left them. Niran looks at her annoyed. He starts to walk forward taking his phone out of pocket. He calls his dad to let him know that both of them were at the entrance and he should come soon to pick up the lost girl as he has a practice camp and can't wait any longer.

He brings back Lily's luggage with him that she left not so far away when she ran away from the dog.

"Here," he said. "Is there anything else?"

Lily took her luggage and nodded in negative. She looks up at the boy who has rescued her from that wild canine and also found her luggage. It is the first time she takes a proper look at him.

He is a tallboy. Maybe taller than Dom. and even older. More lean and tough looking. He isn't warm as Dom, but cold. The word that came into Lily's mind first was "Iceberg". Tall and white. He had shorter hair than Dom but slightly longer at the front. He is a fair boy. And his Adam's Apple is so prominent! Lily could see his strong build from the little scope of his shirt collar around the neck. The shirt was tight-fitting too. He was a strong person like a bad boy from French movies. All he was missing were tattoos. She kept staring.

He was going to open his mouth but then he saw his dad coming towards them so he left. He catches his dad's gaze, pointing a finger at Lily he points on his watch, meaning he was getting late and here she is. Kiet showed a thumb up.

Niran left without saying any more words to Lily. Lily tries to thank him again but he leaves without looking at her. Lily tries to thank him again but he leaves.

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Kiet walks up to her.

"Sor... Lily!" his eyes sparkling. He finally found her. This short time was so distressing. She couldn't even dare to pick up his wife's phone out of fear of getting eaten up.

Lily looks at the man. He was in his late 40 or early 50's. She couldn't tell. The man was smiling all ears. Love and warmth were flickering from his eyes. Just like her mother wrote, a very warm-hearted person. Lily could sense. So she let her guard down.

"Uncle.... Are you uncle" she looks at the envelope her mother gave to her "KI-ETT? Uncle Ki-eth that mom said about?"

A laugh passes out of Kiet's lips. Her voice was so sweet just like before even in this devastating situation. And she still couldn't pronounce his name nicely. Kiet was overly joyed to see the baby girl that he once raised in his arms, gave her piggybacks, fed her, and took her to her very first zoo trip while making his own son Niran mad. She was so big now. She had long curly hair like her grandma. Her eyes were like her mother and nose like her dad.

"It's Ki-thh. Yes, I'm your uncle. My little girl, you are so tall now. Do you remember me? I used to give you piggyback rides. I was also the first one to take you to the zoo. Your stupid father would so be busy that he couldn't", he kept on blabbering. Fortunately, his wife called.

Kiet came back to senses after talking to her, "You must be so scared. Don't worry uncle and aunt will take care of you. Better than your mom and dad like the past time. They never took you to the gaming zone. I used to…..." he again starts as they walk to the car.

Lily gets lost in the stories. Lily feels the sincerity in his voice. She can sense the warmth and something tells her she is now safe. Slowly Lily lets go of feeling scared and lonely. She lets go of her breath that she was holding for so long. She sighed a relief for the first time after all the trouble. She hugs him but doesn't cry. Her mom said not to cry.

"Rest assured now. You're safe. Soon we will bring your parents home too. OK?" Kiet tries to soothe the frightened girl. He has such a soft heart his eyes become watery.

"Don't cry, Uncle Kiet. Nothing remains forever. And soon we will bring your friends home", she was wrong again with his name. Kiet laughed at her sense of humor and hugged her back.

"Kut was not my friend but my nemesis. I really didn't like that fellow. But he sure had a lovely smile. You have that too."

"Kut? Was that dad's pet name?"

"Yes. that good-for-nothing had such a tough name. Mong-kut. Everything about him was hateable"

"Really? But mom said you could give your life for him," Kieth clears his throat and opens the car's door for her.

"Did she? No, she mustn't have. Why will I give my life for that stinky fellow?"

"It's written in here" she shows the envelope. "Mom wrote things about you and Aunt Dough-Woh... the names are tough." She smiles foolishly.

"It's Daw. But you do call her like that. It is funny."

"What can I do? The names are tough!"

"No worries. Call us as you wish. We are all yours."

They talk as they leave in the car.

When Lily was passing she saw those people again who she suspected as hooligans but were tourists. All of them were looking so happy like a bunch of kids.

"Lily, you are such a dumb," she murmurs.

The driver drives off and Kiet shows Lily everything on the way as they drive home. He was like a little kid with a new friend.

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Niran looked back once again as he hopped on her bike coming out of the airport. Lily was standing all bewildered. When his dad comes over he sees her changing into a more relaxed mode. He crooked smiles when she hugs her huge dad but fails. Her hand couldn't reach the end.

"That's it. She is finally back. We will settle the score now. Welcome back We have a lot to do", Niran thinks to himself. He left for practice brushing past Lily in the car. He gives one last stare.

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They finally reach home. Daw was standing there with other family members and the servants with flowers in their hands. It was a big house as much as Lily's in the Philippines. The structure was modern and open with surrounded fields, a fine example of a housing facility with nature untouched. Or nature so nicely kept and maintained that it seems unharmed. Lily loved the house at once.

But the loveliest thing was probably the woman named Daw who was standing in a pink knee-length dress with her hands in a fist. She was sure nervous and way too emotional. Tears were flickering. Her smile is like something that gives the feeling of getting something valuable back after losing it.

She could now see why her mother said that this will be heaven for her in the letter. She realizes that these people will love her as Dom parents and Nana did. Maybe more. She left assured again.

Daw walks up to her. She looks restless.

"You are back. We missed you so much!" Daw hugs her really tight. Lily hugs her back too. This time a small tear leaves her eyes.

"You will suffocate her. Kieth teases from behind. "Don't mess with me now, Kieth", Daw warns her.

An old lady in a wheelchair comes up to them. "My dear child, my eyes almost turn blind waiting for you all to come back", Lily bends and she kisses her forehead.

"This is my grandmother," Kiet introduces her.

"You can call her Grand Old Nana", a man teases the woman in the wheelchair.

"You are old nana. I'll be her friend", she fights back.

Everyone laughs including Lily.

"Stop you two. Chat, don't bother my mother in law. Come here, Lily. Let me see your face. It's been so long. I thought I would never get to see you again before dying. My dear child. Everything will be fine now."

She hugs lily and kisses her forehead.

"This is my mother in law, Lily. Boonsri, meaning beautiful. Isn't she a beauty?", Daw introduces the new lady.

"She is very. Three of you are really beautiful", Lily compliments.

"Hahaha. That is true. They are called the "'beautiful 4G' here. They are very attractive indeed. Welcome, Lily. you must not remember me. I'm Chat, brother of your uncle Kieth, and your partner in crime. You can come to me for anything. Beating up boys, best places to hit after school bunk, the cafes, anything." Chat introduces.

A young girl jumps from the back and giving her hands to shake introduces her, "My turn! Hey, girl! I'm Chani and I'll be your ears and nose. Not your eyes. Cause you should only believe your eyes."

One by one the servants are introduced too. They hand her the flowers they had bought for her. Everybody was very warm and cheerful. Lily was already feeling at home because of their welcoming attitude.

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Everybody sits down in the hall room and Lily is presented with multiple choices of refreshing drinks. Soft drink, fresh juice, teas, warm water, cold water, and a table full of food she has no idea about.

Lily was starving. And the table full of such delicacies just made her more hungry. Everyone was offering their favorite snacks to her and describing it. She too, one by one kept on eating their offerings. Very soon she ate way more than she ever had.

"Stop! I can't anymore. I will definitely get sick today", Lily was tired from eating.

"No worries. Daw brings in the magic cup", the great grand nanny grins.

"Yes, Yāy s̄ap̣hı̂(Grandmother-in-law). It's ready. Chani…."

"Here it is. I could see Lily suffering from the previous two plates so I went in to bring it. Here Lily bottoms up. Everything will be digested within minutes. So no upset stomach"

"It's Mæ̀'s (Meaning mother but here Boonsri is using it to refer to her mother-in-law) secret recipe for the stomach", Boonsri describes.

Lily quietly drinks it all.

"You are such a good eater even now", Chat admiringly looking at Lily. "You have eaten well since you were a baby. Anything that was given to you. Can you write now? What about speaking? You used to eat most of your words and speak in one breath. We could hardly understand you, only Ni did. He was your unofficial translator. Do you remember that time when we went to the lake and you dropped your red ball in the water? You were crying so loud. None of your words was understandable. You kept on crying and we stood there completely puzzled. Then, Ni finds out you lost your ball. So he and I took and went on searching for your ball. Ni found it too. When we returned it, then you only stopped crying. Does Lily want to go and see that lake? Come I'll take you. We can play all day and swim too. We have a pool at home now so we can take a dip anytime. Do you wanna go now...."

"You are the one who speaks in one breath. Chat she has just arrived from a long 5 hours journey in a flight. She has to eat now. Does Lily want to go to the snack store down the road? It is the same old one. I will bring the owner here instead. They still have your favorite meat pancake. I bought the shop and kept the real owner so that you and I can go once you come back. Ni doesn't like oily fried food. He is of no help. Or want to go to an ice cream parlor? Now you can choose from 159 exotic flavors from all around the world. They also have indoor skiing. And we can spend the whole day. Stores don't close until midnight here now. Wanna come?" Kiet was overly enjoyed.

"Both of you stop!" Daw gets frustrated. "She came back from journey old men!"

"That's why I want to take her for a stroll to clear up my mind", Chat clears his statement.

"I know. That's why she should eat. Lily must have missed home food so much", Kiet argues.

Both the men start explaining them hastily. After all, they want to compensate for the years they were apart. It has been so long.

"Susshhhhhhhhh!!!" Daw hushes them.

"But!" Both the men try to coax her.

"Sussshhhhhhhhhh. What do you men know what a young fine lady like her wants now?" Daw passes the final verdict. "I will tell you. She wants and needs an aromatic bath with our Thai's special formula. A warm and relaxing bath."

"And you know. You are not a young or fine lady" Kiet criticizes.

"What?" Daw gets angry. "What do you mean? I'm old and rowdy."

"Here now sister-in-law you can't surely defy time and your personality...." Chat tries to make her realize the harsh reality.

"If you two don't stop this instance....." Daw warns them.

Both the brothers zipped their mouths and moved away cuddling into each other.

"Very brave big brother", Chat compliment Kieth.

"Nice backup little brother", Kieth praises Chat.

Daw turns to Lily. "Isn't it a bath you want the most?" She bats her fake eyelashes at Lily making her laugh.

Lily giggles and nods her head in approval.

"See. I mean I know what she wants. A mother knows the best" Daw comes out victorious.

All of them bust out laughing.

"Go up. Chani is the granddaughter of my aunt. She is the same age as you. She is a nice girl. You two will be good friends. She will take you up to your room and show you around. When Ni comes back from university he'll accompany you all the time like he always does. Now go up. Your bath is ready. I'll set a table of warm tasty food. I cook better than your mom. She learned from me."

"We can testify that" both the men lend out a hand of help.

Lily laughs again. She knows her mother really can't cook that well. They always had servants. But only now she notices for the last few days there were none. She didn't see any house help or chauffeur. There were changes in their life from a long time ago but Lily failed to notice.

The girl, the same age as her age took her hand.

"Come with me. My name is Chani. There are only me, aunt Daw, and the nana, and these 2 who are women. Rests are all men. The stinky species. Not master Niran of course. It is nice to have a pretty girl like you to play with. My dream is to be the world's best chef. My granny is a certified traditional chef of Thai food. My goals are bigger than her. I'll let you be the first one to taste my food."

"Our Lord saves Lily" prays Chat.

"Uncle Chat!" Chani feels insulted. She ignores him and turns to Lily to compliment her, "Let's go Lily to your room. Before these men start again".

Chani takes Lily to her room.

Both girls go up. It is on the 1st floor. Right next to her was another room. The door was closed and was pure white. Whereas all the other doors were colorful. Her door has a nice painting of a child playing on the swing. So many colors there.

To her, that door feels a bit gloomy and scary. She decides to neglect it. Maybe she is overthinking like before.

Time knows what that door will bring in the future.