Little Artit was still sitting on the bed.
His eyes rolled around the room, moving back and forth, as he continued looking at his own hands. His feet were so small they didn't even touch the floor.
Suddenly, Nut rushed into the room without knocking. His hands were shivering and his eyes looked lost, as if he were terrified that Little Artit had already left.
Nut stood there, panting for breath. He looked at the boy, but Artit just stared back and then ignored him, lost in his own deep thoughts.
Nut wanted to speak, but his voice felt stuck in his throat, like it was caught on a thorn.
Just then, a monk approached the door. His steps were calm and slow, but he seemed to carry a heavy weight in his heart.
The monk stepped inside and said, "Sawasdee khab."
Nut greeted him back, "Sawasdee khab, Luang Phi."
The monk looked at the child. "Please come to the hall. Everyone is waiting for you, Nong Artit," he said calmly.
Nut rushed forward, his voice desperate. "I will go with him! Please, khrab..."
The monk nodded slowly and headed back outside.
While on the other side, the Master and the Grandfather of Little Artit were struggling to speak.
The silence was only broken by someone who entered into that triangle.
With a trembling hand... "Pa... you need to stop..." the older son said.
"Are you on my side or his side?" the Grandfather of Little Artit looked at the Master and said with contempt.
"It is a temple, but that doesn't mean those who don't believe can just enter," the Master said.
He made sure he was not losing his composure as an elder of the temple, speaking with a heavy tone while his hands were clenched behind his back.
Suddenly, small footsteps were heard with a heavy sound.
In that moment, the Grandfather and the Master lost their angry expressions, trying not to show a side to that child.
The grandfather's eyes were almost filled with red, while his older son, who was with him, supported him.
With sweaty hands, the older son said, "Pa... don't be like this. Look, he is looking fine. At least we got him alive, and that is what we need. We are not the only ones who lost , Pa... we are the only ones who can support him."
The grandfather looked at his older son and felt relieved. He tried not to show his weakness, while the Master brought his hands to the front and waited for Little Artit to come inside.
The older son suddenly jumped in front of Little Artit.
He dropped to his knees and held Little Artit's shoulders. "Do you remember me?" he asked.
"I am your uncle, your mother's older brother." He touched the hair of Little Artit.
"It's been a while... oh, you've grown a little. I am happy. Pa, look! How our little one has grown. It's been five years since I last saw him."
" Look, if he keeps going like this, he will be taller than me in a few years!"
He smiled and touched that little hair, telling many things from Little Artit's childhood.
Suddenly, Nut also dropped to his knees.
Even the Master and everyone in the hall were taken back by this.
The Master rushed over. "Nut, what are you doing?"
"Please give me permission! I want to go with Nong Artit. Master, please let me go!" Nut cried out.
The Master was taken back. He felt like he was being betrayed by his own disciple. But looking at Nut's face, he saw something else—Nut had already made his decision.
The Master sighed. "Nut, you've already made your choice, right? If you choose your own path, why are you asking me? Just don't regret it later."
The Master made sure not to let out his dissatisfaction to Nut or to the kid, who was looking at Nut with doubt.
"Nong, can I come with you?" Nut asked. He bowed his head, looking like he expected Little Artit to reject him.
The Grandfather was shocked. He pointed his finger as if to say, "What is this temple plotting now?"
But Little Artit just looked at Nut and said, "Suit yourself. You three make a good team. Good work."
Little Artit didn't sound like a little kid when he said it. Nut was so happy that Little Artit accepted him, but then he immediately thought:" Three? Not one? I am the only one here..."
He looked behind him. There were Mix and Rak, bowing their heads like their lives were about to be taken by the Grim Reaper.
The second they were accepted, it was like the Grim Reaper went back to his world, failing to take their lives.
Nut was taken back. He lowered his voice and asked Mix, "Why are you here?"
"Oh... if you go, then what will I do?" Mix looked like a puppy. "The seniors of this temple will finish me the moment you go! Please don't abandon me, Nut... I am begging you!"
Then Nut looked behind Mix and asked, "Then why is he here?"
Mix looked behind him in shock and surprise. "Oh! Why are you here?"
The Master interrupted, "Mix, lower your voice!" he said angrily.
"I am sorry, Master," Mix bowed his head.
Then he looked at Rak and asked in a low voice, "I am here because Nut is my friend... but why are you here?"
Rak looked at Little Artit, who was wondering what these three were doing on the floor.
Rak started to cry. "It's all my fault... I am sorry... It's all because of me... I am sorry..."
Suddenly, the Uncle stood up, went to Rak, and sat beside him. He patted Rak's shoulder and said, "I don't know what you are saying, but everything that happens to our family is no one's fault. It is something we all suffer, because everyone will lose someone they loved and wished to protect. So don't cry." He comforted Rak, and it made Rak feel even better.
Mix covered his face and shook his head in sadness, but suddenly he turned to Nut and asked, "Hey Nut, he can speak, right? No matter how I tried, he wouldn't speak to me!"
Nut was already fed up with Mix. He explained that his name was Rak and that he was an outsider.
Mix was completely shocked, feeling like he was betrayed by his own best friend. "Oh! No wonder the air feels chilly around him!
Oh, Nut... why did you leave me alone in that room with him? Oh my god..." Mix was terrified, thinking all sorts of things about Rak.
Nut then turned to Little Artit's Grandfather, waiting for his permission. The grandfather sighed and gave a small nod.
"Then I am going to pack my things," Nut said as he stood up.
"I am going to pack as well!" Mix added, standing up quickly.
Rak, who was still on the floor, started crying again. "I don't have anything to pack..."
Suddenly, the Uncle said, "Stop crying. I will buy it... I will buy everything for you." Then the Uncle looked at his father and smiled.
"Pa... I think we just got three more children." The Uncle smiled like everything was finally going to be okay.
While everyone was already packed, Nut and Mix bowed to pay their respects to the elder monks and the Master.
Meanwhile, the Master and the Grandfather were still locked in an intense look. The Master was thinking, "That kid only stayed here for a few weeks and he already took two of my students..."
The Master controlled his feelings, while the Grandfather thought," I don't have a good feeling about this. Is the temple plotting something?" He tried hard to hold back his emotions.
All three Nut, Mix, and Rak stood behind Little Artit, but the kid had no expression, like a lifeless soul.
"Chai..." the grandfather called to his son. "I can't look at that. Artit doesn't even smile. He doesn't have any expression at all. What will we do?"
Uncle Chai spoke softly. "Give him time, Pa. We lost our family, but he lost his whole world. He is carrying something we don't remember. Let him be..."
Uncle Chai slowly went to Little Artit and said, "Artit, stop thinking. We are here. Don't forget that. We are always here for you. You can tell us anything."
Uncle Chai almost lost control of his own emotions as Little Artit's tears began to fall.
Suddenly, Uncle Chai grabbed him and covered him in his arms.
Little Artit's tears soaked one side of Uncle Chai's shirt. Slowly, the boy fell into a tight, safe sleep, as if it had been weeks since he last slept.
Looking at them, everyone in the hall felt relieved. Finally, they were getting the child's life back.
The Master took something from a wooden box that carried the smell of ancient times.
He gave the box to the Grandfather and said, "Make sure the thing inside this box stays in Artit's hands. Knot it tightly. Starting from today, before he goes to bed, you must wrap his hands. These are threads which have the power to protect a soul."
As they all got into the car, Little Artit remained asleep. Uncle Chai opened the car door for the three children as if he were opening a new life for them.
Just as the car drove away, their lives and their fates changed. Rak was fascinated by the car, Nut's head was filled with thoughts of Little Artit, and Mix was already asleep the moment the engine started.
As the car went on, there was an unreleased scene happening...
The Master looked at them from inside the temple; he didn't go outside. He thought to himself, "What is that little child thinking?
"Mother, please help that child find his life back... I only hope he will be happy."
He looked at the sky and whispered, "Whatever secrets this world holds, let them be secrets. Please give strength to the people. If we lose someone, somewhere a birth is seen. I only hope everyone will be happy and find their life with hope and love."
He prayed as he walked back into the temple.
Hiss... hiss... hiss...
"Master... Master... Master..."
"Where is my master? My master abandoned me... Master..."
Hiss... hiss...
The Temple Master froze as he saw the snake. He thought, "Why is that thing still in the temple? That Rak... like father, like son. Why does every trouble end up in my temple? I need to pray harder. Let's pretend I didn't see that snake..."
Sao had jumped off the bed, hit the floor, and was accidentally knocked unconscious, when Rak woke up suddenly with a loud voice.
When he finally woke up, no one was in the room. Now, seeing the Master of the temple, Sao decided: starting today, he is going to hunt the temple and the Temple Master until he gets his Master Rak back.