A few months after the monsoon, autumn had begun to whisper its arrival. It was October, and the air carried a faint trace of moisture.
That day, Talotkan was in her room, preparing to sow the seeds of winter vegetables. The morning sun streamed through her window, casting its gentle light upon the white-flowered plant that rested there.
That morning, Talotkan stood in her room, preparing to plant seeds for the winter vegetables she had been saving. The early sunlight streamed through the window, falling gently upon the white-flowered plant that sat there....the one she fondly called "Miss Fate."
And then, suddenly… she felt something.
A sharp, stabbing pain pierced through her chest.
This wasn't just heaviness. It was a pain that clawed at her breath, tearing it away from her lungs.
Right at the center of her chest, a crushing weight pressed down.....as if an invisible hand had gripped her heart and was squeezing without mercy.
The pain radiated outward.....into her left shoulder… down her arm.
A strange tingling sensation followed, crawling through her fingers like icy threads until her entire arm felt numb, lifeless.
Her breath turned ragged, desperate...like a fish flung out of water, fighting for survival.
Her knees gave way, and she sank onto the cold floor of her room, trembling.
Her vision blurred.
The edges of the world faded to gray.
But just as the storm had come, it receded....slowly, quietly.....like a wild tempest that had wreaked havoc and now vanished without a trace.
Through her foggy eyes, she looked at the plant. The one she had named after Miss Fate.
A weak smile touched her lips as she whispered a silent thank you… to the only living thing that had been her silent witness all this time.
But deep down, she knew.
Her time was no longer her own.
Life had granted her only a few borrowed days.....like a prisoner released from his cell, only to return soon after.
Every time her heart clenched in pain now, it wasn't just agony she felt.
It was Yim.
Yim's face, her laughter, her presence.....flashing before her eyes like fragments of a life Talotkan was no longer sure she could hold on to.
She forced herself up, slow and trembling.
Drank a glass of water.
Then walked to the small table by her bed and sat down.
From the drawer, she pulled out a spool of red silk thread, setting it on the table.
And there...lying beside it.....was a small lock.
Heart-shaped.
Rusted and worn by time.
She had found it by the quiet riverside bridge.....the very place where their laughter once lived.
Talotkan picked it up, her fingers brushing over its cold surface, and closed her eyes.
Memories of Yim flooded her.
Her laughter. Her warmth. Her voice.
The weight in Talotkan's chest wasn't just physical anymore.
It was a wound.....a cruel, gaping wound carved deep into her soul.
The wound of leaving Yim alone… forever.
Tears brimmed in her eyes, burning hot trails down her cheeks as she began to work.
With trembling hands, she threaded the silk through the lock.
Creating something small. Something simple.
Something eternal.
A pendant.
A gift for Yim.
Something that would stay with her… even after Talotkan was gone.
Hours slipped by, unnoticed, as she worked in silence.....her tears soaking the red thread.
Finally, it was done.
She lifted the delicate pendant in her hand, her voice breaking as she whispered the name she had given it:
"To be lost… and never found again."
And then she broke.
Her body collapsed against the table as sobs tore through her.....violent, raw, endless.
Not from the fear of death.
But from the unbearable truth…
That she would leave Yim behind.
Alone.
Always.
Forever.
Because the final footsteps of her life… were already echoing in the distance.
And far away, Phop Rak had made up his mind too.
A decision that would change not only his life…
But theirs as well.