This year, the temple's Kathin festival ceremony coincides with the Loy Krathong festival. The villagers decided to hold the Kathin almsgiving in the morning, and the Loy Krathong festival in the evening.
Khem loves the Kathin festival because there's a lot of delicious food.
However, he doesn't enjoy the Loy Krathong festival as much because he nearly drowned twice in his life, which left a deep impression, and he needs time to get over it.
Khem returned to Pharan just in time for both events. This year, he planned to make palm sugar sweets to distribute at the temple's alms hall, along with his team, Jett, and Chan.
In the morning, Khem woke up Jett and Chan to clean the house and prepare for the merit-making event.
Jett was groggy and didn't want to wake up, having stayed up late playing a game with friends. Chan had to carry him out of the house to wash his face and brush his teeth. Jett was so sleepy he nearly fell into the sink while brushing his teeth, but Chan and Khem held him back by his shirt collar.
What a pity...
After cleaning the house, they took turns bathing. Khem, who dressed first, went out to make some hot ginger tea to wake up Pharan, who was still in his room.
The golden teak door was gently pushed open, and Khem walked in with a glass of ginger water, placing it on the bedside table. He then knelt on the floor and softly called out to the person sleeping, who was turned towards him.
What kind of person. Even asleep, he's still handsome.
"Master, wake up, it's morning." He said.
"..." But there was no response. Khem felt the heat rising in his face, knowing well that Pharan was already awake but just wouldn't open his eyes.
"Phii Phim." Pharan's sweet, just-awoken eyes slowly opened to look at Khem before closing again. Not only that, but he also shifted, expanding the space beside the bed, and slapped the empty spot three times.
Khem clenched his lips, then slowly moved to lie down where indicated.
He placed his head gently on Pharan's strong arm, and Pharan's other arm came around his waist, Khem's hands loosely clasped together over his chest, unsure where to put them since today Pharan was only wearing silky blue pajama pants.
Khem's heart beat erratically as he stared at the onxy-and-white lotus tattoo on Pharan's neck. Even though this wasn't their first time, he still felt a bit uneasy.
In the past, Khem and Pharan had never had a deep physical relationship.
Everything had started from zero, slowly developing over many years until now, where they could lie together in bed and listen to each other's breath in the morning.
"Five minutes." Khem said. Pharan hummed in a low grunt in acknowledgment, and Khem closed his eyes too.
When the time was up, both men, lying loosely embraced, opened their eyes simultaneously.
Khem got up first to hand the now comfortably warm ginger water to Pharan, who got up after him. Then he went to prepare the clothes ironed the night before, socks, and polished shoes, setting everything except personal items like underwear at the foot of the bed.
"Come here." Pharan called in a deep voice, beckoning Khem with a wave. Khem approached and knelt between Pharan's legs.
Pharan touched Khem's left cheek gently before pressing his cold nose against the pink flush on the right side.
Khem recently learned that this is the body language Pharan uses to express "thank you."
After that, around six in the morning, Uncle-Lah's truck, which volunteered to pick up instead of the village chief, arrived and parked in front of the house. Uncle-Lah got out of the truck to help carry things from the kitchen and load them into the truck bed, including the Kathin tree that Pharan co-sponsored as he does every year. Once everything was loaded, they set off for the temple.
Upon arrival, they helped unload everything from the truck. Many of Pharan's students who came to participate in the Kathin merit-making event
greeted him upon seeing him, helping to carry the items and the Kathin tree down from the truck bed.
The atmosphere at the temple had tents, tables, and chairs set up to facilitate those giving and receiving alms. Jett started a fire in the charcoal stove while Khem and Chan mixed the dough for palm sugar sweets before steaming them. Meanwhile, the head monk was invited to the main pavilion with the Kathin tree for the ceremony. He would return after the ceremony.
The sweet aroma of palm sugar sweets filled the air, attracting villagers to line up for them. Each bag contained five pieces of sweets.
After the Kathin ceremony concluded, the atmosphere became even more lively and chaotic as people started to leave the pavilion. Khem, Jett, and Chan were busy making and distributing sweets until their hands were stained.
To top it off, when Khem's distribution table was visited by the "the master" or the head monk, whose charisma seemed to make the already long line even longer, the trio was sweating profusely, panting heavily after distributing all the sweets.
"You did well." Pharan said, gently ruffling Khem's soft hair. Khem smiled at the praise, his face still flushed from the heat, but his heart full of joy from the merit-making.
"Have you eaten anything yet, team? Are you hungry?" Khem asked.
Pharan shook his head slightly, wiping away a bead of sweat from Khem's cheek.
"I was waiting for you."
Khem nodded in acknowledgment, quickly helping Jett and Chan gather all the things together on the table. After they found something to eat, they would load everything back into the truck to take home and clean.
Once finished, Chan lured Jett away by saying he wanted a thermal cup as a prize at the shooting booth but wasn't good at shooting. Hearing this, Jett rolled up his sleeves and headed straight there.
Chan is really smart, Khem genuinely admires him...
"Let's go." Pharan loosely held Khem's hand and led him away to grab something to eat. This scene had gradually become a familiar sight for the villagers. They thought that soon enough, they'd have the honor of attending the celebration for Master Pharan and Khem.
Today, Pharan wore a long-sleeved white Chinese collar cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing his tattoo. His usual black sunglasses were
tucked into his shirt collar since it wasn't very sunny, accompanied by well-fitted black slacks and leather shoes.
Khem, on the other hand, wore a matching cotton outfit, but with short sleeves that were slightly more form-fitting, along with black jeans and white sneakers, looking quite chic. Wherever they went, people would wave at them, offering food until they had to call someone to help carry everything.
One was a benefactor to the entire village, and the other was a charming, sweet-talking youngster who always brought back gifts from his school breaks. How could they not be loved and cherished by everyone?
As evening approached, it was time for the Loy Krathong festival. Jett was especially excited because the temple was hosting a retro dance, thanks to his father who arranged it to keep Jett from going out into the city, unlike the last time when he got into trouble.
Pharan, having been out in the sun all day, was feeling weak and had been asleep since returning home around three in the afternoon. Although Khem wanted to invite him to join the Loy Krathong festival, he didn't dare wake him, so he decided to let Pharan stay at home and buy some food to bring back later.
"Feeling sorry?" Jett asked Khem, who was watching couples floating their krathongs. Khem quickly shook his head.
"No way, ouch, why did you hit my head?"
"Who are you trying to fool?"
"Well..." Khem wanted to say he wasn't really sad, but under the gaze of Jett, who was like a second mother to him, he had to shut up.
Actually, he was a bit sad. In the past, Khem had always celebrated Loy Krathong in Bangkok because it wasn't during school holidays. This year was the first time he was here with Pharan during the festival.
Seeing Khem's eyes moisten, Jett felt a pang in his heart.
"Oh, come on. Don't you dare cry." Chan pushed up his glasses and grumbled.
"Khun Jett, why would you want to make Khun Khem upset?"
"Oh, sorry, sorry, I'll go win a stuffed toy for you with a balloon dart."
Jett consoled Khem by patting his shoulder, and all Khem could do was nod in a subdued manner.
After they had their fun, they went to float their krathongs at the lotus pond. Upon arrival, Jett told Khem to wait here and dragged Chan to buy
krathongs.
After arriving, Khem felt he didn't want to participate in the Loy Krathong festival anymore, because the memory of losing Grandma-Si, Ekk, and Thong came back to haunt him, and the incident happened right here...
While standing still, lost in old memories, someone came to stand behind him, holding out a krathong made from bread shaped like a lotus flower.
"What's on your mind?"
A familiar voice asked softly. Khem bit his lip, quickly wiped away a tear, and took the krathong before turning to smile at the newcomer.
"Phii Phran." Pharan nodded, gently stroking Khem's head to comfort him.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Khem asked, looking down slightly.
"I saw that you were tired, so I didn't dare to wake you up." Pharan said, caressing Khem's cheek with affection.
"You could have woken me."
"Tell me if you want to go somewhere, or do something." The tender brown eyes conveyed so much love and reverence that words couldn't describe, Khem could only nod slightly in response.
"Yes, next time I will tell you."
"Alright, let's go."
Pharan led Khem by the hand to the spot for floating the krathongs, passing by Jett who stood dumbfounded because he had bought the most magnificent and expensive banana leaf krathong shaped like a swan, intended to impress Khem, ignoring Chan's warnings. Chan watched Khem go with a sense of relief.
He was sure that the head monk would follow.
"Let's go float ours too." Said Chan, pushing Jett to follow the head monk and Khem.
At that time, the full moon's double illumination lit up the night sky,accompanied by a myriad of fireworks bursting and displaying their beauty,captivating everyone's gaze.
The bread krathong shaped like a lotus was adorned with incense andcandles, lit up, and lifted for a prayer. They asked for forgiveness fromMother Ganga, wishing for blessings upon the dearly departed for eternalhappiness, and for themselves and those still by their side to live a life ofpeace, joy, and harmony forevermore.
After the prayers, Khem and Pharan gently placed their krathong ontothe water, pushing it away softly. Khem laughed when he saw small andlarge fish swimming around their krathong, seemingly to receive theprayers.
Jett and Chan, upon floating their krathongs, felt an overwhelming senseof joy, especially Jett, whose krathong floated prominently and majesticallyon the river, more so than anyone else's. However, he soon shrieked infrustration when a village child surfaced from the water to dismantle hiskrathong, searching for coins even though it hadn't floated far.
Jett's face flushed with anger; he stood up, rolled up his sleeves, andpointed at the child.
"Are you Granny Pia's grandson? You're dead meat!"
"Khun Jett, don't..."
Splashhhhhhhhh!
With nothing else to be done, Chan closed his eyes, accepting the water that splashed onto his face, feeling a sense of resignation beyond words.