Narin woke from his sleep after a nightmare, sweat soaking his body. He tried to calm himself, then reached toward the table beside his bed until his hand found what he was looking for: his glasses.
Narin put them on immediately, then went straight into the bathroom. After cleaning himself up, he hastily smoothed his black hair and grabbed his bag.
He left his room, walked downstairs, and found the house bustling, especially in the dining room.
Narin's uncle was sitting at the dining table reading the morning newspaper. He was wearing a dark blue shirt and took the occasional sip of his coffee.
“Good morning, Papi, Papa,” Narin greeted them as usual. The man lowered his newspaper.
“Good morning, Narin.” His smile was always as warm as it had been when he came to save Narin.
“Good morning, my darling,” he said gently.
Then several footsteps came from the stairs as two young men made their way down toward the dining room. They appeared with awkward, nervous smiles, clearly afraid that their Papa would scold them for waking up late.
“Papa can't believe you two are always waking up late,” he said, slightly angry as he put his hands on his hips and looked at the pair's behavior. “Look at Narin. He always gets up early. You should follow his example.”
“Sorry, my handsome, sweet Papa,” said one of the young men, Nawin, whose hair was dark brown. He was Narin's twin. He was cheerful and full of energy, while Narin's hair was jet-black and he was quiet and withdrawn. The two of them were complete opposites.
Then Aran, the son of Narin and Nawin's uncle, immediately kissed his Papa's cheek to apologize. Nawin followed suit. “Forgive me, my handsome, sweet Papa. Don't be mad anymore, or you'll age quickly.”
“You naughty kids! All right, Papa forgives you. Now come on, everyone, let's have breakfast,” their Papa said with a rough sigh, though he soon broke into another warm smile.
Narin smiled faintly as he watched the scene that played out every day. Even when his Papa gave them a little scolding and his two sons apologized with kisses, Papa would always forgive them right away.
Narin loved how his house was never truly quiet. The little arguments, laughter, scolding, and jokes made him incredibly happy in silence.
In the past, Narin had never imagined he would have a house like this again after that dark incident.
There had been a time when home only reminded him of loss, the dark nights that still occasionally came to him in his dreams, or loud voices that sometimes made his body tense with fear.
Fortunately, the uncle he now called Papi had come and taken him away, carrying a glimmer of light in his hand that made both Narin and Nawin feel warm and safe.
A few minutes later, they began getting ready to leave the house. Nawin and Aran had already gone outside, while Narin grabbed his motorcycle keys.
“Why don't you leave with them?” his Papi asked worriedly.
Narin shook his head. “I'll take my motorcycle, Papi.”
Papa immediately looked at him with concern. “All right. Be careful on the road, okay? If anything happens, call Papa right away.”
“Don't worry, Papa, Papi. I'm safe.” Narin smiled faintly to reassure them.
Narin knew his family was only worried about him. But there was another reason he preferred to leave alone.
On the college campus, he was often bullied by one obnoxious person simply because he was close to Nawin and Aran. They were his family—there was nothing else going on—but that person accused him of hitting on both of them and trying to take advantage of them.
Narin deliberately kept his family relationships secret and locked everything away. He didn't want people approaching him just because they wanted to meet his charming relatives, who were fairly popular on campus. Another reason was to protect his twin brother's safety.
Narin preferred to stay unnoticed and keep his distance from everyone. He barely had any friends. He put on his helmet, started his motorcycle, and immediately left for campus, just as his two relatives had already done.
If home was the most comfortable and peaceful place in the world for Narin, then campus was the most frightening and exhausting place for him.