Phop Rak had finally arrived before the house.....
the house that both he and the past had long left behind.
Once a home, it now stood swallowed by wilderness, like a small forest where no human presence lingered. It was nearly noon, and not a soul could be seen nearby.
Akat was startled, almost disbelieving, at how small the house looked compared to the image in his mind.
With a half-smile and a teasing tone, Akat turned to him.
"Phop… don't tell me your grandmother and sister were secretly forest tribesfolk. This place looks more like a jungle than a house."
Phop Rak immediately smacked him on the head and twisted his ear sharply, his voice heavy with unspoken weight.
"Years ago, Grandma and my elder sister left this place. After that, Mother and Father took me to England. Since then… this house has stood abandoned."
Akat's smile faded. He hesitated, then asked the question lingering in his chest.
"Then… do you know where your sister is now?"
Phop Rak lowered his eyes. Even he had no clue where she might be. But he knew one thing for certain... he had to find her. No matter where she was. After all, he had come all this way for her sake.
Still, for the moment, exhaustion weighed heavier than anything else. They decided it would be better to rest, to stay in some hotel nearby, wash away the dust, and gather their strength.
Meanwhile...back at Phop Rak's family home...chaos erupted.
Everyone searched, voices rising in panic, demanding to know where Phop Rak had gone.
And elsewhere, Talotkan was about to reveal something to Yim.....
something so heavy, so unbearable, that perhaps Yim might never be able to accept it.
Yet Grandma… Grandma sat quietly in her own world, breathing peacefully in that serene air, completely unaware…
…that the calm she cherished was about to shatter.
That peace was about to transform into a looming tragedy.