In the orange-colored muddy water... splash.
Two pairs of feet were running, both were soaked by the rain.
The thunder made sounds that could make anyone frightened.
The sky was full of light, even though it was dark, because of the lightning.
The trees were drenched as if they had already had enough of this rain.
Both were women, running and panting while their dresses were covered in mud.
One of them slowed down and slipped into the mud.
"Bua..... it's only a little further, just a little..."
A voice filled with anxiety shivered from the cold.
The one sitting in the mud was protecting her large, pregnant belly. She slowly stood up.
"Khun Waen... I can run... I am okay," Bua said, her whole body pale. Her voice cracked because of her dry throat.
They both ran and entered a small hut.
Waen slowly laid Bua down in a corner that was not wet, while water still dripped from the top of the hut. It was leaking.
"Bua... careful..." Waen slowly wiped Bua's face, trying to keep her warm.
"It hurts... Khun Waen, it hurts..."
Touching her bump and swallowing her own pain, Bua was already at her limit.
"Just a little more. I will find someone to help us... Can you wait here?"
Waen quickly tried to go outside, but Bua grabbed her.
"Don't go..." Her face was full of anxiety, as if Bua already knew what would happen to her.
"Khun Waen, I think my baby is coming."
The sound of the thunderstorm was louder than Bua's screaming.
The baby cried. Water drops fell onto the baby's face. Waen looked at the baby, then she looked at Bua.
"Look, Bua, he looks just like you... look... Bua? Bua? Why aren't you saying anything? Weren't you the one who wanted to see him? Bua..."
Waen slowly touched Bua's foot, the warmth of her body was slowly drifting away.
Waen looked at Bua. She sat with the baby like a cold stone. She was already broken.
After a few minutes, Waen slowly gathered Bua into her arms while the baby was also in her lap.
Waen cried. Her tears did not stop. She cried and screamed until there were no tears left.
"Bua... Bua... I didn't say it. I always wanted to say something to you. When I knew you liked my brother,"I...I just want to ignore my feelings."
" I wished for you to be happy, Bua... but I didn't say that. If I had said it, I thought you would hate me. You would ignore me... "
" Bua... Bua... can I come with you?"
Waen broke down. Her dry throat bled from her screams. The baby stopped crying,instead, he gave her a closed-eye smile.
"Bua... What am I going to do? How can I come with you when you gave your life into my hands?"
Waen slowly kissed Bua's forehead and said, "Bua... you are the only one I loved. You will be the last one. Don't be scared. Let our baby grow. I will love him just like I love you. So, can you wait? Don't worry, I will come... I will come to you Bua. I will find you."
Blood covered Bua's dress.The blood grew cold, just as Bua's body had already turned cold. The hut was silent.
The baby slept. Waen looked at the baby and covered him more.
"Daeng... my luk."
That night, the rain never stopped. It flooded, as if it were filled with sorrow.
18 Years Later...
Small footsteps ran through the long hall toward the kitchen.
"Oh... Khun Aung! Stop right there! You can't run like that! If Master Daeng sees you, we are done! Khun Aung... Khun Aung!" the servants screamed, chasing after her.
But the small feet never stopped,she had a goal.
Aung could see it in the distance.
At the center of a garden filled with jasmine and covered in white wild roses, near the lotus pond where the beautiful flowers blossomed for only one person... there he was.
He sat in a wooden chair before a white canvas, half-finished with a painting of the lotuses.
He wore white clothes that made his skin look even fairer, while his black hair partially covered his ears, which were flushed pink by the sun. He was lost in his world of lotuses.
Clack...
Aung slipped on a rock she hadn't noticed while running toward him. The sound made him turn around.
"Ahhhhhhh! Phi! Ahhhhhhh!" Aung started to cry.
"Nong... Nong Aung!"
Daeng stood up quickly. His white shirt was a mess of paint, but he ignored it and rushed toward her. He gathered her into his arms.
"Nong Aung, let me see... don't cry. Didn't Phi always say not to run? Ah... don't cry, let me look..."
A tiny part of her toe was wounded and red.
Daeng thought to himself," It's a real wound. Even if it's small, if I tell her it's small, she'll never stop crying ."
Daeng picked her up and carried her. "Nong Aung, no more running, okay? Look, you got hurt. If you keep doing this, what am I going to do?"
Daeng made a sad face, which helped Aung calm down. "Wait... Nong Aung, why were you running toward me? Don't tell me you want more sweets?"
He teased her, and she pouted her lips.
"Auntie Waen called for Phi Daeng! That's why Nong Aung ran! Not because Nong Aung was being bad!" she said, hugging his shoulder even more tightly.
"Oh... is that why my nong was running? Good girl, don't cry. Let me wipe your tears... oh... where did they go?"
Daeng teased her until Aung was smiling, completely forgetting her pain.
While the mansion was divided into three sections, the third was Daeng's.
In that part of the mansion, there was an open room filled with finished paintings that anyone could see upon entering.
There, someone was sitting in an armchair, looking at the paintings and feeling the breeze from outside.
She held a book in her hand, though she was still only halfway through the first page.
With hair that only reached her shoulders, her skin did not reflect her age, she was every woman's dream. She was a woman who was strong and successful, and one look from her reflected her deep wisdom.
"Mae... when did you come? Why didn't you write to me? Do you know how worried I was?" Daeng entered, sat on the floor, and leaned his head into her lap. "Mae..."
Daeng looked up at Waen, while she only gave him a small smile.
"It is your birthday, so how can I not come?
I came here only to see you."
"Mae... I never celebrate my birthday. I don't want to..."
Waen flicked Daeng's forehead. "You are talking back to your mother?" She looked out the window, pretending to be annoyed.
"Mae... it's been months since I saw you, and now you are like this?" Daeng lowered his head, looking sad.
"I am not going back. I am stopping my travels. When I started, it was only an escape from my life... but look at my Daeng, you are growing so fast," Waen said softly.
Filled with tears of happiness, Daeng hugged her tightly.
"That's good... at least you will be with me. It's not like I don't feel loved by everyone, but I just can't. I can't forgive Master Suchat and the Asawa family... Mae, can't we just go somewhere else?" Daeng asked, his voice filled with sadness.
"Your mother's memories are tied to this place. Bua loved it here... Daeng, don't call your father 'Master.' Call him—"
Daeng ignored her and closed his eyes and covered his ear .
Waen touched his hair and sighed heavily.
"You have every reason to be angry, but don't forget that forgiveness is the most difficult and often the most regretted word. It has been many years now. I know you have suffered a lot, but please, give him a chance. The Daeng I know never hates anyone. I know you want to forgive him..."
Her voice cracked as she wiped away Daeng's tears.
Just then, Chim—a servant and Daeng's only good friend—entered the room.
"Master Daeng, everyone is calling for you to begin the ceremony."
"Daeng, go..." Waen watched Daeng, her eyes following him until he finally stepped outside."
She sat in the chair for a long time, thinking about Daeng's first steps. "Luk... slowly... my baby..."
She thought about how he first called her "Mother."
"Open... Daeng, ahhh..." she coaxed him.
"Ma..." His first word had been filled with warmth.
Waen sat there, remembering every moment of her son's life and their happiness together.
She thought, "Bua... What can I do? The more I love him, the harder it is . If our son knew the truth, he would hate me... Bua, I am a bad mother, right? Which mother would want to leave her own son? Please, don't hate me. Bua, can I spend just a little more time with our son? I want to see him get married and have his own children... "
Her tears dropped as if she could never forgive herself. She felt lost, having no idea what to do.