Warawee Now fully awake, Warawee hurried to get ready.
She washed her face in a rush, slipped into fresh clothes, and hastily stuffed her camera into a bag. Meanwhile, Lamai sat on the edge of the bed, flipping through the photos Warawee had taken.
Her expression said it all.....disappointment, irritation, and finally, anger. She couldn't hold it in any longer.
"What is this? These photos are terrible!"
Warawee, brushing her hair with deliberate calmness, replied casually,
"They're not terrible. They're actually pretty good…"
But those words drained the color from Lamai's face.
She let out a half-angry, half-bitter laugh before exploding again.
"Wee....., tell me one thing. Out of thirty horses standing there, the only thing you managed to capture was their tails! Look at this....here, only the teeth; there, only a tail; and in some shots, no horses at all! Your photography is four times worse than terrible. Forget about Show Land!"
As she said this, her eyes drifted toward the corner, where a painting stood covered with a blue cloth. Curious, she asked if Warawee had finished it.....and whether she could finally see it.
But when Warawee turned her gaze toward that covered painting, her eyes suddenly grew wet. Without reason, without warning, tears welled up and glistened.
Lamai froze. She had known Warawee for years....no one in the world was tougher than her. Insults, scoldings, pain....nothing ever left a mark on her. But today, for the first time, Lamai saw sadness and tears on her face.
Startled, Lamai rushed to her side. Her voice softened, trembling like the silence after a storm.
"Wee…? What's wrong? Are you okay? Did I say too much?"
Warawee shook her head, denying it. Yet her eyes remained fixed on that veiled painting, as though some long-forgotten memory was clawing its way back into her soul.
---
Somewhere Else…
On an empty road, Kai drove slowly, letting the cool breeze wash over her.
The world outside the window was alive.....lush green valleys stretched endlessly, the horizon painting a scene so beautiful it coaxed even a faint smile from Kai's lips.
And yet, her heart was restless. Ahead lay something that stirred a thousand questions in her mind but never once offered an answer.
The Gentle Heart Institute.
It rose in the distance, solemn and vast, and at the sight of it, a strange peace settled over Kai. As though the place itself carried the weight of an old bond....an invisible thread tied to her past.