In a wooden room, someone was sitting near the light, focused on a book. Someone entered from behind and called out, "Nut... Nut..."
Nut looked to see who it was. "Mix? Why are you here? Is the Master asking for me?"
"No, I'm the one asking," Mix said. "Do you know how many times I called you? Look at the top student of our school, studying like the world is going to end tomorrow." Mix teased him.
"You jerk, Mix!" Nut threw a pencil at him, but Mix caught it.
"I like studying, unlike someone who just flirts..." Nut said.
"Oh, Nut... what are you saying?" Mix pointed toward the woods outside. "Look at that... how scary." Suddenly, Nut slapped his hand over Mix's mouth to silence him.
"You... Nut... I'm going to kill you!" Mix joked.
Suddenly, a monk approached the room. "Nut, can you come with me?"
Nut stood up, confused. "Khab."
He looked at Mix and whispered, "Don't get on my bed." Then he walked away with the monk.
The temple was built as a vast structure. The first gate led to the main temple, where people could come to pray.
In the back, there was another large space where hundreds of students and monks lived their day-to-day lives.
Each area was built differently.
As they walked through a long corridor made completely of stone. They headed upstairs, the rain grew stronger, and the cold winds began to howl more fiercely.
They entered a room where a child, who looked barely ten years old, was lying down.
"I know you are a senior and have exams, but only you can stay here," the monk said.
"If you want to study more, you can, Nut."
"I can stay here," Nut replied with respect. "I am already done with my studies. You can go."
When the monks left, only Little Artit and Nut remained. Nut looked at the child, who was shivering with pain and sorrow. He placed his hand on Little Artit's forehead to calm him.
"It's alright... you are okay..."
While Nut sat on the floor, calming Little Artit with his touch, heavy footsteps sounded from outside.
The noise made Nut look toward the door. Thunder and lightning grew stronger, and the rain began to pour harder.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared in the doorway.
Clack...
"Mix... why are you here?" Nut asked in a low voice, trying not to wake the child.
"I was curious, so I followed you," Mix whispered, smiling at Nut as if to say, don't kick me out.
Mix entered the room and sat down beside Nut. "He's such a small kid... look at his hand." Mix gently touched Little Artit's hand. Suddenly, the child's tiny fingers grabbed onto Mix's. "Nut, look! He grabbed my hand. He's adorable."
"Mix... don't you have to study? Go back," Nut said softly.
"Oh, you know me. I'm a bottom student," Mix joked. "I don't need to work that hard."
He laughed until Nut jokingly hit his head.
"Nut! That's scary and it hurts!" Mix pouted. "Let me stay here with you..."
Nut gave up and let him stay. They both looked down at Little Artit.
"Nut, the Master tied a red thread around his waist..." Mix's face became serious and worried. "I wonder what this child has suffered."
Nut sighed. "Probably just like us... even though it hurts."
Nut and Mix looked at Little Artit as if they were seeing themselves. The coldness only reminded them of what they had suffered.
They both held the boy's little hands.
A very long, silent, yet scary night passed, filled only with the sound of the rain and the crashing thunder.
Days and weeks passed. Little Artit refused to go home. No matter how many times his grandfather came for him, he wouldn't go.
It was a hot day. The sun beat down on him, but Little Artit just stared into the trees as if he were lost in time.
Nut watched him from a distance.
Mix touched Nut's shoulder and said, "Nut, isn't it boring just watching him like a father who abandoned his son?"
Nut glared at him with scary eyes. "Mix, do you have a death wish?"
"Oh, Nut, I'm just joking!" Mix's voice suddenly became serious. "But let me tell you something." He looked around to make sure no one was listening. "I heard it from the monks in the mantra room. That kid... he remembers his past life."
Nut looked shocked, thinking Mix was lying.
"Don't look at me like you don't trust me! It's real," Mix insisted. "He remembers. They say he even speaks a language from the past. I've got goosebumps just thinking about it. They say he's confused, trying to figure out who he is."
Nut thought to himself: "Why? Why does a little kid have to suffer? If it's true, then he probably..."
"Nut! Nut! What are you thinking?" Mix asked, hitting Nut's shoulder.
"What about his parents?" Nut asked.
"They've already been cremated. His grandfather did it," Mix sighed with a heavy heart.
"Mix, I think he's having a harder time than we think," Nut said, looking far away. "I want to know what his little brain is thinking. I want to go and talk to him."
Nut walked toward Little Artit.
Mix called out, "Wait, Nut!" but Nut didn't stop. He went straight to the boy.
A shadow blocked the sun as Little Artit looked up. Nut stood there like a statue, suddenly forgetting what he wanted to say.
Little Artit just looked at him for a moment, then turned back to stare at the same spot in the trees.
Nut sat down on the wooden bench beside him.
"Sawasdee khab... I am Nut," he said awkwardly. There was no response.
Suddenly, Nut stood up. He cupped some water in his hands and splashed it onto Little Artit's face.
Mix was shocked. What is Nut doing? Mix tried to hide so no one would see him. "I am not part of this crime," he whispered to himself, even though everyone could clearly see him.
Little Artit stood up from the bench. He was calm—he didn't act like a normal kid.
"This is reality," Nut said. "Don't think too much. If you think too much, it will hurt you."
After those few words, tears began to fall down Little Artit's wet face. He touched his cheeks as if he didn't understand why he was crying.
Seeing him like that, Nut sat on the ground and pulled the boy into a tight embrace.
Little Artit wasn't angry and he didn't fight back. They stayed there for a long time, both of them crying.
From a distance, Mix watched them.
He smiled through his own sadness, feeling relieved to see them finally connect.