Thorns, Fire, and Petals

Chapter 6: The Flickering Lights

The darkness seems blinding, that emptiness fraught in silence in a distance a flickering light emerge, dancing, its movement was briefly causing a rapid variation of brightness suddenly I feel the breeze touching my face as a new dawn has arrived. My mind ponders with these emotions inside of me, I can feel its coming, I do not wish to miss it. --- Carlo

After the dream I had the other night, I'm having these mixed emotions inside me it's like an embrace. My life is starting to open up. This was in my mind when I fall asleep.

I woke up at around half past five in the morning, I remember Pierre's message I need to get going if I want to arrive there early. I step on the shower, my headache was now gone my body just needed a rest. I put on a white t-shirt, grey wide loose pants and white low top sneakers I match it with a beige Fedora summer hat. With me is my drawstring bag, inside is the water bottles, chips, cookies, cologne, sunblock and an extra shirt.

I arrive at around 7:15 am, quite early I would say since the gate opens at 8:30 am but even this time there's a lot of people and some tour group near the gate. I rang Pierre, to check where he is after 3 rings he answered and said he's on a taxi and will arrive in 15 minutes. So while waiting I grab my cookies and start eating. I should have brought some sandwich, I'm not quite sure of his itinerary for today but hope to enjoy it anyway.

After walking a few steps here and there still near the entrance I decided to go in since the gates were open and queue to purchase tickets, I felt my phone vibrated and picked it up. I told Pierre I'm at the ticket booth and after a few minutes he waived and we started to walk along with the crowd.

"You already had breakfast?"I asked Pierre who is now glancing at the demon guardians

"Not yet, I was rushing here," he smiles, "forgot to set the alarm, good thing that Anais woke me up before she left," he said

"I love how they made these mythical characters come to life and depicted throughout their culture. We do not have it in our culture" glancing at the same demon guardians he is now taking photos of.

"I know, right? You can see the details in their face and costume," he added 

"But what do you mean by 'you do not have it in your culture', "he asked

" by the way, I got some chips and cookies in my bag if you like" I mentioned in case his hungry

"That's great, don't worry I'll treat you for lunch," he said

"If you insist, here you go which do you prefer?"I asked and he grabs the chips from me

"What I mean is we do have mythology, we also have the devatas, we call them 'Diwata' but you won't see any monument, there may be some paintings but it is not celebrated like this," I continue answering his question

"If it were not for the Spanish, there wouldn't be any  Angels and Gods monuments," I carry on

"Maybe that's also the reason why there are no replicas of that mythology, the Spanish I mean" he retorted

"That's a good point," I said 

He is now taking photos of some of the temple building. The temples are truly grand, the intricate tile work, the details in each glass or flower design shows Thai craftsmanship and the structure are a work of art, it's spectacular. It's amazing how the government managed to preserve its beauty. If you would think of it, no country has conquered Thailand compared with the Philippines which has been under the Spaniards for 300 years, and Japanese and Americans during World War II. 

We are now in front of the golden stupa and I can see Pierre taking a selfie, I went and told him that I can take photos of him. I just now realized that he is holding another camera on his hands while he holds his phone on the other. I took photos of him both on his phone and his camera. We also took a photo of us with the help of some tourist. I just realized how good he is holding his camera, I can see how fascinated he is at the site and in taking photos. The place was packed with tourist, the Chinese' and Koreans tourist can be easily identified since they come in groups. The Chinese were either wearing the same shirt or has the same identification of their group. They mostly consisted of old people and they chat endlessly, you know they're coming from afar because of the noise.  

It is starting to get hot and the lights bounce from some of the relics around us. There are a few vendors around selling cold drinks and wet tissues. I bought another bottle of water for me and Pierre just to clench our thirst from this hot weather.

After going around my feet soar and sat down in one of the benches near the big tree. I still can see Pierre with his camera, he is not only taking photos of the buildings but also photos of people and any subject he feels like taking. I was drinking water when he came showing me the shots he has taken. I give him a water bottle knowing he would be thirsty. I also started cooling myself with the wet tissue and applied sunblock because of being under the sun for a few hours now.

I am not sure if we have managed to roam the whole place, I was at the entrance of the Emerald Buddha when I heard someone called my name. 

"Carlo is that you?"A voice of a woman coming from behind me so I turn around to see who it was. I cannot help but wrinkle my brow and realized who it was.

"Clarisse?" I mutter just enough for her to hear.

She came running and hugged me with excitement. "Hey, how are you?" she said. "I haven't heard from you after college"

"I'm good, how are you?"I retorted back to her when I hear Pierre cleared his throat.

"Oh, by the way, this is my friend, Pierre. Pierre this is Clarrise, my college friend" I introduced them

"Hi pretty, nice to meet you" Pierre happily waived

They exchange greeting and handshake and Clarisse also introduces her companions. She is touring with 2 of her office mates and on their second day in Bangkok. I said hello to her colleagues and introduced Pierre to them. They were all ladies so they asked us if they want us to join them since we are all going in the same direction. I asked Pierre and he seems okay with the idea, he said 'the more the merrier' he grins from ear to ear and take shots of the ladies. I went back to Clarisse and answered her.

"There you go, he looked happy about the idea," I told her and she was delighted

"So are you also touring?" she asked me and clutch her hand on me and quickly asked

"Yeah, I wanted to see this place again. I used to visit this in the past but since Pierre wanted to see it and I agreed." I said I don't exactly want to tell her that I'm staying here

"(Papa mo?)Is he your boyfriend?" she silently inquired in our language

And I answered in our language giving her a big eye, "OMG, No! (Hindi no, wag ka maingay dyan hindi ko nga alam kung alam nyang Bakla ako no) Be quiet I'm not even sure if he knows I'm gay"

"(Kaya pla poging Papa ka ngayon) That's why you're a handsome dude today" she chuckles

We are now on our way to see the Reclining Buddha. Pierre seems to be enjoying the girls' company. Janice one of Clarisse's colleague walked beside me and asked

"Is he single?" she whispered to me. Since I do not know the answer I told her, "Why don't you asked him, I believe he would be happy to respond" so she looked at the rest of the gang and asked him loudly

"Hey, Pierre are you single?" she foolishly inquired. He was talking to the other girl and held his head up after hearing the question. 

He looked at her and answered "Yes, I am single and available" then he looked at me and winked giving me his wide smile and then he went back to his camera showing his photos to the ladies who are now giggling on his announcement.

We all went inside Wat Pho, the ladies went to get their lucky coins while Pierre moves to capture the different angle of Buddha.

It was now almost lunchtime, so I asked the ladies where do they want to eat.

"Ladies, where do you plan to eat?" I asked

"Do you have any suggestion?" Clarrise asked

"Well, there are many restaurants near the Khao San area, we can go around and see where we can eat. Do you prefer Thai or Western? How about you Pierre?" I inquire

"I am okay to whatever you guys would have" Pierre answered

"Well, in that case, let's go to Khao San area, That would also be great since our hotel is somewhere located there," Arlene said, noted by Clarisse and Janice.

We rode the 2 tuk-tuks since we cannot fit in one making the tour of Bangkok more rewarding. We arrived at the familiar brand Mc Donalds, the ladies are now looking at the other shops and stalls while Pierre is still on his camera. We finally settled in one of the restaurants that have an open dining area, with less pack than Mc Donalds and Burger King. We sat down where their's AC and fans to feel the air. We ordered rice, bread, chicken in cashew, mango salad, some grilled squid and tom yam which we shared. 

"How long will you stay here Pierre and Carlo?" Arlene asked 

I looked at Pierre while he eats I smiled and answered first, "Not long, we're just exploring the Bangkok and might go back home soon," I said, "Pierre still wanted to explore the neighbouring country," I added.

"Yeah, I might stay a little longer since my Sister lives here" he further explains 

 "Where did you two met?" Clarisse pry

"We actually just met the other night in a party and just agreed to visit the palace since his sister is busy and I'm free" I chuckled 

"Oh, is that right" Clarisse asked Pierre

"Yeah, Carlo here seems accommodating compared with the other people from that night." Pierre eating his bread with his chicken

"Will you go party again this evening?" Janice asked

"No, not for me, I have some business to attend to tomorrow, I need to sleep early. How about you Pierre?"I asked Pierre since I do not want to party late

"Me? I have a date with Anais this evening" he said and he quickly raised his brows like giving me a hint and beam showing all his teeth

"Oh, that's sad," Janice said while pouting now playing her food

"Where do you plan to go after this?"I asked tossing some mango salad to my plate

"Will go visit the other temples on the other side of Chao Praya, the Temple of Dawn," Clarisse said

"Is that also in our itinerary?"I asked Pierre

"Yeah" Pierre quickly replied

"Ok great, we can go all together then," I said "Is your hotel near here? You may want to freshen up, me and Pierre can wait here" I glanced at Claire and the other ladies 

"Yes, I think it's somewhere in the next block. I hope you guys don't mind. We will be very quick" Clarisse said

I smiled at her and just quickly sat beside her, "Clarisse, " I murmured "I hope you don't mind mentioning to anyone that we've seen each other here, my friends don't know I'm here. I would like to be the one to tell them, "I continued

"Oh sure," she said

They left and went back to their hotel to quickly freshen up.

"I hope you're okay with the girls" I'm now talking to Pierre who is now charging his camera

"What do you mean? I enjoyed their company, so you don't have to worry about me" he responded

"I hope you don't mind that I didn't tell them that I work here, I just don't want them to know more of me," I explain

"Hey, that's entirely your right and not my business. I am not in the position to tell your story" he smiles

"Thank you," I said. I excuse my self to go to the restroom to freshen up

After twenty minutes the ladies are back so we decided to leave and go to Wat Arun. Like the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. Wat Arum is enchanting, there's so much history in the place. The architecture was stunning, you can see the view of the palace and Chao Praya river after ascending to the highest point of the temple. We roam around for about an hour making sure they have captured all the corner of the place. Afterwards, we went shopping for souvenirs I bought a key chain replica of the temple and a cloth bag with an elephant design while the ladies wander around buying shirts and other souvenir items.

We went to ride the boat again and watch the sunset, Wat Arun is genuinely impressive from afar. True to its name the Temple of Dawn. After crossing the river, we said our goodbyes to the ladies and parted our ways.

"Would you like to go for dinner?"Pierre asked

"I thought you are having dinner with Anais?" I said asking

"Nah, I just wanted the evening to be a little quiet. So do you want to go? he proceeds

"Sure, but is it okay if we go somewhere near my place?" I insist

"No problem" he answered

We went to a Mexican place in Promenade Mall, not so far from my place but no near either. It's somewhere between our place, his and mine and because he craves for Mexican food here we are. I got my self a beef quesadilla with beans and veggies on the side, while he got fajitas and burritos. 

"So what are your plans now, in terms of work?"I asked him

"I'm not sure yet" he answered while adding cheese and salsa on his burritos

"Have you think of doing photography?" I suggested

"Hmm, That's a great idea, but I needed to add more lens and light and a few pieces of equipment," he said

"You remember Andy, the one we were sharing a table with on the party" 

"Yeah, pretty Andy. What about her?"

"Well, they organized events and has a few networks. We can ask him to connect you in case there would be any photography needs. You're okay with events photography right?" 

"Yeah, I guess so. I have done some events photography for my family and they were quite satisfied."

"There you go, something to start with. I'm meeting Andy and the girls on Wednesday, you wanna come?" I extended an invite

"Sure, what time?" he asked

"I normally go in there place at around 6:30 pm,"

"That's great, I don't have any plans yet, send me the map and I'll be there" 

"Sure, do you have a portfolio? Maybe you can send me in advance so I can pass it to Andy and some friends" I asked

"I don't have, can you help me build one?" he asked me

"Do you have copies of your photos?"

"Yup, I keep a copy of them in my hard drive. I know they will come in handy one day"

"Okay that's a good start, you can start sorting them out and then we can put them together to build your portfolio"

"When can we do it? I hope I'm not bothering you," he said

"Oh, I'm not busy. My classes are in the afternoon, I just watch Netflix or iflix in the morning. Let me see, I'm available Tuesday and Wednesday morning"

"Great, Is it okay if you can come to my place?" he asked

"Sure, no problem. Send me the address and I will see you. Is 9 am, okay with you so we can have enough time, hopefully by 11 am it should be finished. Then I have enough time before working"

"Oh, you're really an angel. I'll cook you lunch as payment for your service" he smiled 

I smiled at the thought of it, "Cool, it's settled then, I'll see you on Tuesday" I went back to finish my meal

"Carlo, thank you for today. I enjoyed your company and the company of your friends" he said with gleaming eyes. I felt the sincerity in his voice and I gave him a big smile, "Thank you too, I didn't know we will have visitors" I said laughing 

After eating we parted ways, what an interesting day. I didn't expect to bump in with Clarisse nor would my meeting with Pierre to continue on Tuesday. My days are starting to get busy, and I somehow enjoy it.