Coffee and Bliss

The dancing lights of the fountain in front of Harris made his mouth wide open. It was his first time wandering like a tourist because for the past years he‘s been busy studying hard enough to enter his dream university. School, library, and their house were his daily places to go. And now, his hard work finally bloomed. He was now in Thailand to reach his next goal—to graduate with flying colors. He graduated with great praise from his previous school and now passed the entrance examination at Thai University.

The splash of water on his arm made him jolt. He came back from reminiscing. He looked at the children laughing and shouting while watching the dancing lights show. He spent more time watching it then decided to look for more fun. He has a one-week vacation until the first day of school.

“Phi?” A voice behind him sounded soft and lost. He turned around and saw a little girl with her pleading eyes. She tugged his shirt’s hem that made him bent closer to her.

“Hi. Amh, what’s going on?” He asked. The girl looked cute in her all-pink dress, shoes, and large bunny ears headband.

The little girl pointed at something behind him. Looking over, he saw an ice-cream stall. “Can I have one cone, Phi?”

Hesitant crossed over his face. He looked around first because he thought it may be some kind of pranks but the girl tugged his shirt again. A growling sound from her stomach proved that she wanted ice cream. He sighed and patted the girl’s head. 'It’s not a crime to feed a hungry stomach, right?' He gestured to her to come with him and look for the flavor she wanted.

“What flavor do you like, Nong?” Both of them are scanning the flavors.

“Phi, I want this dark chocolate. Na? Na? Na?”

He chuckled when the girl clapped her hands with excitement written all over her face. 'What a cute little girl.' He thought.

After buying, he guided her to one of the benches nearby. She ate happily and looked like she was not worried even if she sat beside the stranger, which was him.

He watched her, made a sound of distress after. He didn’t know who the girl was. She didn’t look like a street kid based on her kind of clothes. “Nong, what’s your name? And are you here alone?”

The girl stopped licking her ice cream and instantly shook her head. With her eyes wide open she looked around as if someone might see them. “Phi, thank you for this ice cream but I need to go,” she said with a low tone.

She hurriedly stood up and made her way to somewhere, leaving him dumbfounded. But to his surprise, the girl went back and clasped her hands tightly. “Phi, if ever you encounter someone who’s looking for me—I mean looking for a little girl wearing a pink dress and pink headband, can you please not tell him? He’s some kind of strict and jerk, that’s why. Thank you!” She was about to run when she bumped into someone. She bounced back, stroking her forehead after a while.

He gasped when he saw a tan man in front of them. The man scooped the girl that started to wriggled for her release, but not a chance that the man will do it. Because he was like Hulk to him. He snapped after the realization hit him, the girl was being held by someone. He was alarmed. Not knowing either to snatched the girl or just ignore them. ‘What if this was a modus and they blackmail me to pay money in return?'

He practically choked when he heard a stern voice from the man. “Who’s the jerk again, little bun?”