Wanfahmai took a seat at the back of the car as she held on to some of the boxes that were holding the packed food to prevent it from tipping over. As they were making their way there, Arthit was looking out of the window, appreciating the scenery while the radio was playing a song that describes his current situation in one way or another, causing him to smile by his recollections while he takes a look at his bandaged hand before peeking at the rear-view mirror to look at Wanfahmai who was seated at the back. Mr Danurut who happened to turned towards Arthit who was smiling slightly, takes a look at Arthit’s field of vision which led him to take a glance at Wanfahmai who at that time was looking out of the window, through the rear-view mirror, when suddenly, his phone ringing broke the momentarily peace within car, stopping Arthit from looking at Wanfahmai secretly and also causing Mr. Danurut to mumble to himself after looking at the ID caller,

Her timing is perfect uh~

As he answered via the wireless Bluetooth earpiece,

“Yes P’Tia… Oh okay… Sure… See you later then…”

When the quick call ended,

“Why kroo? P’Tia will not be coming?”

“Mai (no) … She will… Just that she will be late… Because she needs to settle some things first…”

“Oh okay…”

They finally reached their destination. Wanfahmai saw that people had already began crowding the area that they had set up yesterday.

“Kroo… Hurry up… We can’t keep them waiting any longer,” said Wanfahmai who was eager to step out of the car that was in the midst of parking.

“Ayyyy~~ Wanfahmai… Safety first!”

“Kroo… We’re not in the middle of the highway…”

“Urgh this girl~ will always have the last say…”

Arthit was smiling upon hearing what Mr. Danurut had to say about Wanfahmai. As soon as Mr. Danurut pull on the brake, Wanfahmai had already opened the door and trying to carry two big bags of packed food along with her. 

“Wanfahmai~~ wait for us… It’s heavy…”

“It’s not kroo… Get out of the car quickly and carry the rest, okay?”

Before Mr. Danurut could put in another word, she was already walking towards the crowd.

Arthit was feeling lost as it was a neighbourhood that he never thought he would come to. He didn’t know what to do and his eyes wandered around while Wanfahmai was already feeling at home. Mr. Danurut called out for Arthit, to assist him, but when Arthit came around to his side,

“Ah~ khot hor (sorry), Arthit… I totally forgot about your hand…”

“It’s okay kroo, I can carry with my right hand…”

“Mai mai~ I can’t make you do that if I don’t wish to get a chiding by that young missy over there…” with Mr Danurut loaded the balance on the trolley and hurrying his steps to where Wanfahmai was while Arthit was still stunned by the statement his teacher made just seconds ago.

What does he even mean by that?

“Pres! Just because we are allowing you to have it easy doesn’t mean you can just stand there!” snapped Wanfahmai, to which got Arthit’s attention immediately.

“Ahh~ khot hor (sorry),” as Arthit made his way towards the group of people.

Wanfahmai was already giving out the packed food to the people who were queuing up to receive their share.

“Khun lung, khun pa, please enjoy the food. And stay healthy,” quipped Wanfahmai with a smile on her face. Arthit stood there by her side and kept observing her.

When the queue had lessened, “Kroo… Do you think you can continue with the rest? I need to give this set to others.”

“Sure Ice… Go ahead… I’ll handle it here; P’Tia will be arriving soon too…”

“Thank you kroo…”

Wanfahmai was getting ready to move to another location when she noticed Arthit still stood rooted at the same position he was in.

“Pres~ Let’s go…”

Arthit was still feeling lost by the chaos, causing him to not hear that Wanfahmai was calling out for him. Instead of getting impatient with him, she ended up calling out for him again, for she knew the impact the scene was having on him, the precise reason why she insisted on inviting him along. 

“Pres!”

“Huh?” was all he could reply.

“Let’s go… We need to head somewhere else…”

“Orh~ Okay…”

As they were walking, Arthit offered to lend a helping hand,

“Do you need my help?”

“What?! Only now then you asked me this?”

“Ermm…”

Wanfahmai let out a laugh, “I was just teasing you pres! Do I look like I needed help? You just need to take good care of that hand of yours. You’re the school’s rugby team captain after all.”

Arthit was still speechless from what he had seen earlier to counter her teasing, and now they are making their way towards a more secluded alley causing him to be overwhelmed. His senses were overloaded. Wanfahmai who recognised what he was feeling decided to leave him be as she led him to a rundown building. He followed without a word said. Wanfahmai took the flight of stairs up to the top of the five-storey building. She began knocking on the door and greeted the tenant before handing the packed food over, making her way down level by level till they reached the first floor of the building. After showing example with the previous four level prior, this time around, Wanfahmai left the first floor to Arthit as she nudged him to knock on the first door. She then handed the packed food to him to pass it on to them. She finally put Arthit to work. He was still awkward but manage to do a good job on it. He was friendly and came off as sincere. Though on some doors that he knocked, the tenant of the room asked about Wanfahmai who had hid herself behind the door since the door swung outwards.

“I thought you no longer want to see us that’s why you send a new face over…” commented the elder lady.

“Of course, not auntie… It’s just that he wanted to help me out…”

“Why? Is he your boyfriend?”

“I’m too young to have a boyfriend auntie…”

“Too young? I already got two children by the time I was your age… It’s better to marry early…”

“Ehhh~~ Auntie… I still want to enjoy my life…”

“Is he really not your boyfriend? Why would he want to help if he is not?”

“Khao mei dai jing jing, khun pa (he’s really not, auntie) … He is really not my boyfriend, plus why would a guy like him be interested in me…?”

“Why not? You have a beautiful face and most importantly a very beautiful heart~”

“Auww~~ Khun pa… You are making me blush… Thank you for your kind words khun pa… But he is really not my thirak (darling) ... When I have one, I’ll tell you alright?”

“Make sure to tell me… I want to prepare something special for you!”

“Really khun pa…? So, you must stay healthy till I get married…” replied Wanfahmai before they moved on to the next door.

Arthit who watched the whole conversation was feeling conflicted but it was put on halt when they finally reached the last occupied room. Wanfahmai took the key out of her pocket to unlock the door. She then whispered to him to give a knock before opening the door. She stepped aside as he knocked on the door and a response with a raspy deep voice was heard from the inside, “Come in…” Arthit turned to Wanfahmai to which she gave the go ahead,

“Just go on and greet the uncle.”

“Khun lung~ I am here to pass you some food.” said Arthit in a soft voice.

With much difficulty, a response could be heard, “Where is Wanfahmai?”

“I am here khun lung… It’s just that I brought a friend along…”

“Come in, come in…”

“Thank you khun lung…”

Unlike the other doors, where Wanfahmai simply asks of Arthit to hand over the food at the door, this time it was different. She took off her shoes and stepped into the room first with Arthit following suit. It was cramp, damp and the smell was unpleasant. Arthit could not hide his expression and Wanfahmai noticed it. She gave a pat on his arm and her eyes were speaking – it was serious and sent a clear signal to Arthit to control his facial expression. She then went ahead to clear some of the mess before she grabs a small foldable table tucked in corner and placed the food on the table.

“Khun lung… Today you don’t look too well… Is everything ok?” asked Wanfahmai nonchalantly as she took a seat on the floor with Arthit following suit.

“I’m okay Wanfahmai…” replied the uncle with much difficulty.

“Eh~~ Kohok (lies) … You cannot hide things from me khun lung…”

“I’m really okay…”

“Okay okay… If you insist… Today do you need me to help you with the food, khun lung?”

“Mai~ I can eat on my own.”

“Okay khun lung…” as she stood up to get a medium sized towel and placed it at his neck to act as a bib before handing him a spoon, “Eat slowly, okay?”

She then stood up and began clearing the rest of the mess, picking up the rubbish that was on the floor and placing it in a plastic bag that was on the sink. Arthit was feeling extremely awkward as he sat there quietly, watching the man trying to feed himself with badly shaken hand due to his illness. When Wanfahmai finally finished clearing the trash, she washed her hands and took a seat again in front of the uncle. She then took a piece of tissue to wipe the food that was stuck to the side of his lips and chin.

“You are eating well khun lung… Today food is delicious, isn’t it?”

“Cai (yes)… aaroi (delicious)…”

“Let me help you with cutting this into smaller pieces…” with the man passing the spoon over to Wanfahmai as soon as she commented.

“Khun lung… If you need someone to talk to, please tell me… I will come here more often…”

“Auw~ you come to visit me every day… I am very happy that you do… But you still need to go to school,” came a reply from the man as he formed each words slowly.

“Should I not go to school so I can spend more time with you?”

“You want to make me angry?” said the uncle with a slowed down speech.

Wanfahmai pouted her lips