Aom walks up the stairs to the front door of her house and turn to look at the shadow that is waiting for her to get into her house, like that tall shadow wanted to make sure that the petite girl would not come down again.

“Is everything taken care of Honey?” ask Mrs.Orn as she saw her daughter closing the front door.

Aom didn’t answer right away and isn’t sure if she should tell her mom about what just happened or not.

“Honey, is there something wrong?” Mrs.Orn ask in a worried voice because Aom didn’t answer her question.

“I saw Kimhan there, when I was taking Mr.Worden to Ta Bua’s house”

“What?!?”

 “I think she knows that we were going to move the prisoner there, but she told me she was there to talk to Ta Bua”

“So, did she say anything about the prisoner?”

“She didn’t actually see him, I told Mr.Worden to go hide even before we reach the cabin. I told him to see if it’s safe, then he can go in but if not just hide until it does. Luckily, we prepare for this type of situation before hand and when I left Ta Bua’s cabin…Kimhan…errr she walks me back to the house” Aom struggle to explain what happened to her mom so she just cut it short, “She just left a minute ago, right now Mr.Worden is probably at Ta Bua’s cabin by now, I’ll go see how they’re doing tomorrow or maybe the day after tomorrow”

“Hurr...so what is Kimhan going to do?” Mrs.Orn said worryingly.

“Maybe she might not do anything because she said she is going to be transfer soon”

“Transfer? Who? Kimhan is going to be transfer?”

“Yes, she said she got 3 days off and would probably get transfer on to a ship”

“That’s too bad, she is a very good person. Hurr…what would the new commander of the boat dock be like? If he is not kind to us then we and the people around here would be in big trouble”

Aom don’t want to think about what her mom is saying so she quickly cut in, “It’s late we should go to sleep Mom. Grandma already asleep?”

“Yes, why is the sleeve of your shirt ripped like that?”

“Errr…it was caught on the branches, it was dark…”

“Ok, let’s go to sleep”

In morning, the river current is pretty strong, Aom helps her grandmother get into a small row boat. One hand she is trying to hold the side of the boat another is holding on to her grandmother’s arm.

“Be careful Grandma, slowly, the stair step of the dock is slippery, there is a lot of moss on it. I think I’ll clean it today”

Mrs.Orn gets on before the old lady and told her daughter, “Me and your grandma would come back pretty late today ok? We would stay and help clean up at the temple after the festival”

“Ok, no worries, I can stay here alone”

“Don’t forget to dries the banana for me today ok?” said Mrs.Orn

“Ok, oh and don’t worry about me if there is an air raid siren, just hide there ok?”

“Honey don’t jinx it, I don’t think it would come today, it haven’t come for many days now”

“Hahaha…I’m not trying to do that, I just don’t want you to worry if it happen. Alright, I’ll help push you guys out ok? Ok….go…”

The row boat is push out of the dock of Aom’s house and because of the strong current, it goes out pretty quickly. So it didn’t take much effort for Mrs.Orn to row the boat today. As they get farther and farther from the house, Mrs.Orn saw the white motor boat in front of her, the driver is bend down fixing the motor.

“Who is that on the boat?” the old lady asks

As the tall figure heard that sound, she quickly look up and smile brightly, “Hello…where are you…going?”

“We are going to help out at the temple, today they have the festival. What happen to your boat?” said Mrs.Orn as she smiles back at Kimhan.

Kimhan pointed to the motor and shake her head, “I don’t know…it just stop”

“Aom told me you’re getting transfer, where to?”

That bright smile faded a little, “To the battleship”

“Who’s getting transfer?” the old lady cut in

“Me, I’ll get…transfer away from here”

“Nooo…why?” the old lady said it disappointingly

Kimhan didn’t answer it, she just smile at the old lady.

“You haven’t come visit me recently”

“I’m…afraid it might not be good…”

“Why wouldn’t it be good? Who is going to say anything? Come and visit me at the house sometime, today we have to go, I don’t want to be late”

Kimhan smiles as Mrs.Orn continuing to row the boat to the temple, after they left Kimhan just went back to fix the motor.

The beautiful hand of the petite girl is holding a sharp scarper trying the get the moss out of the stairs of the dock, her whole body is sitting on the step dipping in water. At first she scarp quickly but the hand slow down as her mind drift off.

Aom wanted to tell her mom in the morning of what happened between her and Kimhan last night, so her mom would not have to hear untrue rumor from everybody else. But they were so busy preparing food to go help out at the temple, Aom didn’t get a chance to do it. Right now all Aom worry about is Aunt Inn, the blabbermouth of this area. She worries her mom and grandma would be embarrass by the rumor or how many people would believe what Aunt Inn say.

‘You don’t have the heart to love anyone!’

Those words is still ringing in her head.

‘Your lover, doesn’t matter who he is, you just have him because you just want to have someone who you can call your own. To help ease the feeling that you have trust issue, to help erase the pain of losing someone you had already experienced, but you never know true love’

Aom squeezes the scraper in her hand tightly and scrap the moss aggressively. She is declining all those word in her heart.

“That’s not true!”

But that voice is still continuing in her head,

‘You never know true love. The bond between two people who is willing to do whatever it takes for one another, to be willing to lose everything just for the person you love’

“I love Mike…I truly love him and I’m willing to lose everything for him, I know true love!”

‘If you’ve already experienced love and by that I mean true love, maybe…you might not be this heartless and cold. Because you would know the feeling of loneliness and the feeling of someone who is about to lose the person they love’

Even though Aom’s body is dipping in water but her whole body is heating up, she is very upset. Her eyes is focusing on the steps of the stair but her mind is drifting off, so much that she didn’t even hear the sound of the engine that is coming close by.

“I know it whole heartedly, I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. I lose my dad and also someone that…love me…that’s why I’m cold hearted toward love. Not because I don’t know how to love…”

‘You might use to have a lover but you don’t know what true love is…”

“Not true! Not true!” this time Aom blurt those words out loudly and hit her hand hard in the water.

“Oh..dosuta no dezka? (What happen?)” said the playful voice.

Aom wipes her face and turn around to see the source of that voice. The white motor boat is floating not too far away from her. The driver bend down and smile at her brightly, so wide that Aom can see the perfect white teeth, the cute red lip and that handsome face that is now kinda tan because of working outside.

“What are…you mad…about?”

“Just go away, I don’t want to talk to you…kaeru…(go back)”

That playful black eyes act like she doesn’t know what Aom is talking about.

“I’ll go…but before I do….we need to talk”

“I don’t have anything to talk to you”

“You don’t…but I do”

Kimhan acts like she doesn’t notice that Aom is very mad, so Aom just continue to work without saying anything else.

“That stair is not going…to run away from you…but…I would leave in a few days…”

“Congratulation” Aom said sarcastically

“But before I go….I want to know…if I have cause you trouble…”

“Why?”

“Because...” Kimhan hesitates a bit, “Last night…I went back and think…I feel that there’s something weird going on…that I don’t quite understand”

“You don’t need to understand anything”

“Heidako…” Kimhan’s said Aom’s name so affectionately in Japanese, like they are very close and know each other for the longest time.

“If there is anything…that I did…that cause trouble for you…I think…I should know it or else…it would not be right…for me to leave here…it would always bother me…this already bother me a lot…please don’t make it worst”

That voice is so sincere and Aom could feel it but her ego is still much bigger, so she still keep quiet.

“Ok…from you reaction…I can tell it’s something big…we have to talk about this now…I’m about to go to the command center in the city at the other side of the river…maybe if the transfer process…is done…I might not get to come back again…” those last word, Kimhan said it in a lower tone, but still try to hide her feeling and keep it cheerful.

“Let me dock my boat here…so we can talk…if you sit there in the water…turn away from me…I’m afraid I might fall off my boat soon…stretching my body out of the boat to talk to you”

Aom still act like she didn’t hear what Kimhan is saying, so the tall figure laugh a little at that sight because to her, the petite girl reaction is still very cute.

“You are very…stubborn…misbehaving like a little kid. If you’re a little kid in Japan, you…would get spank for sure”

“Urgh!” Aom groan loudly

“Fine…I’ll dock my boat over there at that tree…so you don’t have to move…this would not stop me…from talking to you today…you can’t escape it”

Aom still keep quiet and think to herself, ‘I won’t say anything and you can’t make it!’

Aom look over at Kimhan who is now heading toward coconut tree that is next to the boat dock of her house. The tall figure jump from the boat to land and tie her boat with the coconut tree before walking over to Aom.

“If you don’t tell me…I would just let you…sit there and freeze in the water”

Aom bites her lip and smash her hand, which is holding the scraper, hard on the surface of the river water. Kimhan laugh at that reaction, so Aom looks up at her with an evil eyes. Kimhan bends down and smile at her playfully.

“What did the stairs do…to make you this mad?”

“It’s too slippery and crafty that it cause me a lot of trouble!” Aom snap back at Kimhan and smack her hand in the water again but this time the edge of the sharp scarper hit her other hand and give her a long cut.

“OUCH!” Aom flick her hand back and forth to try to make the pain go away.

“See…mad at me…and be aggressive toward other things isn’t good…are you ok?”

Aom hold her hand up to look at the wound and red blood dripping out of her hand, so she uses her other hand to help stop the bleed.

“Ummm…you are bleeding?...Let me see…”

“NO!” Aom yells and put her hand in the water.

“Don’t…the water isn’t clean…let’s go to your house…and wash it with clean water” Kimhan said while grabbing Aom’s arm and trying to pull her out of the water.

“NO!” Aom yells again and jerk her arm back to put her hand in the water again like she is a little kid who didn’t get her way, but she is still slower than that big hand. Kimhan grabs Aom’s hand out of the water and grip on it tightly with a concern look.

“I don’t mind…that you’re going to act childish…but don’t do it to the point that it hurt yourself…you shouldn’t be too stubborn because you are at me…Do you know that this water isn’t clean? You can get an infection in the wound if you’re not careful” Kimhan said it like she’s teaching a little kid.

 “Come on…let’s go up to your house…I’ll help clean the wound”

“No…”

“No matter what…I’ll drag you up there” Kimhan said it while trying to pull Aom up from the water.

“No, let go of me, it’s none of your business” Aom yells back but Kimhan still won’t let go.

“I would let go of you…when I’m done cleaning your wound” Kimhan pulls Aom’s arm up and the petite girl try to force her body back with all her might as well, so Kimhan give out a long sigh.

“Hurrr…you are so stubborn…if you don’t come up…”

“NO!”

“Are you sure?”

“YES!”

“Ok…then I’m going to carry you up…its fine if you don’t wanna walk”

“No no…stop!” Aom pushes Kimhan and stand up from her seat, because that tall figure is about to come down into the water and carry her up.

“I thought you said…you don’t want to come up…”

“Fine, I’ll go up by myself” this time Aom stop yelling and try to twist her arm out of that big hand, “let go of me, the bleeding already stop”

“I’ll let go of you…after I clean your wound”

Kimhan isn’t backing down so Aom has to let it be like that.

“Aom, where is your mom and grandma?” a voice yells from behind her, so she quickly turn around to see the source of the voice. In that row boat there is 3-4 women, looking over at her laughing mockingly, their eyes looking like they want to bust in her business.

Aom tries her hardest to jerk her arm away from that big hand but Kimhan still won’t let go. That tall figure also look at her with an innocent face, like she doesn’t understand the situation.

“Let go!” Aom said it in together with knitting her eyebrow at Kimhan, so Kimhan slowly let go of her arm. 

“Mom and Grandma just left not long ago” Aom quickly said it, like she wants to explain all the misunderstanding to those people.

“Is that so? And you’re not going?”

“Ummm…” Aom hesitate, she doesn’t know what she should say next because she know it’s going to be bad for her either way. Because if she said she was gonna go they would question, why hasn’t she left with her mom but if she sa