The weather was good. Rain from the previous days had quite settled the summer heat to a cool barrage of breezes, welcoming the season of fall. Every professor seemed to be busy, trying to finish their part of the syllabus before the end-of-semester exams. Nchum, too, was busy with his college work; even though he had no papers to write for the semester exam, he still had to finish the first draft of his thesis, on which his whole year depended. He looks outside his window as he takes a small break, tired after spending the last three hours working on his draft. As his eyes start drifting away far into the beautiful hilltops surrounding him, he starts to think about how lucky he is to be born in such a beautiful place, a place covered with beautiful trees that adds more to the mountains as fall reaches. As the bird chirps and flies through the huge sky with no chains, he takes out a cigarette from his side pocket and starts to smoke it, taking pleasure and just enjoying the moment.
He could have enjoyed his own small paradise for a little bit longer if not for the call he was about to receive. It was a call from Lichan. He looks at his phone’s screen and starts thinking about whether he should pick it up or not. He was not in the mood to talk with a guy who was always filled to the brim with energy. He thinks for a few seconds and decides it’s best to just pick up his call now rather than explain to him why he couldn’t in the future. He takes in a huge puff of smoke and picks up his call. Not even a second into the call, he is greeted with a huge scream from the other side wishing him, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”. Nchum was already prepared for his everyday energy, but today it was more than any other day. He was taken aback a little bit. “Thanks, Lichan," Nchum replied with a smile, trying to match his friend’s enthusiasm. “So, when’s the party?” Lichan inquires back with the same energy as when he wished him earlier. Nchum is still adjusting to the sudden burst of excitement that Lichan brought with him. He replied, “Well, how about 6:30 p.m. at the bar, down the university gate?”. "Sure, that sounds good to me. You better bring some hot bucks, cause I ain't walking straight tonight!” Lichan replies as he giggles to himself.
“Sure, sure, I will bring enough for the party and let Moa know about the party too. Forgetting to invite her would be the last thing that I would like to do, especially with her friendly “love punches. "You know what I’m talking about, right?” Nchum remarks with a fake but sarcastic tone.
“Yeah, out of the two of us, I’m the one who should be most familiar with her love punches,” Lichan replies as he laughs and ends the call after wishing him and making sure of the time again.
Nchum puts his phone back into his pocket and then looks for the cigarette that he was smoking before the call. He remembers putting it on the window stool, but it was not there. He tries to look out of the window in search of the cigarette just in case it does not cause any fire, but most of all, not to leave any evidence of his smoking as the owner had already, previously, warned him about not smoking inside the building. As he looked down the window, searching for the missing bud, his eyes wandered away, and he saw Sofia entering through the gate. Excited to see her, he tries to call her, but it seems like she can’t hear him from the gate. He then picks up his voice and calls her again, and this time, it seems like she heard him. She looks around her, trying to look at the direction of the voice. Finally spotting Nchum, she waves with a warm smile and makes her way towards the entrance.
As she nears the entrance, Nchum calls out to her, waving for her attention from the window. Sofia, a bit puzzled, walks towards the window and looks up at him. Nchum then bends over towards her, even though he’s on the second floor. Trying to keep his voice as low as possible, he asks, “Can you help me find a missing cigarette bud?” Sofia, with a puzzled look on her face, says, “What? A cigarette bud?”. “Yeah, the bud that I kept near the window might have fallen down, and you know my owner, right? I don’t want her to find out, he replies, as almost half of his body is outside the window as he tries to keep his voice as low as possible. “I thought we had an agreement about you giving out smoking, right?" Sofia responds, glancing at him with a hint of annoyance. Nchum pauses for a moment, feeling a bit sheepish under Sofia's disapproving gaze. He then offers a half-smile and says, "I know, I know. It's just one of those days. Please, Sofia, I really don't want any trouble with the owner. Can you help me look for it?"
Sofia sighs, realizing the predicament, and reluctantly nods. "Fine, but this better be the last time, Nchum," she warns. Nchum, grateful for her assistance, nods vigorously. Sofia then crosses the bush in front of her and starts scouring the ground beneath the window, searching for the elusive cigarette. After a good amount of time, she finally finds the cigarette stuck between two rocks near the bushes she had crossed. She then takes out a tissue paper from her bag, picks up the cigarette, and starts making her way to Nchum’s room.
Nchum waits for Sofia near his door. He watches her walk towards him with an expression of disappointment or concern. He couldn’t make it out. As she reaches his room, he looks at her with a sheepish look and greets her with a cheerful, “Welcome to my humble abode! and thank you very much for the help." Sofia, still with a look of disappointment on her face, raises an eyebrow but manages a small smile. “Humble abode, huh? It's more like a trouble zone with your smoking antics,” she teases. She then pulls out the tissue with the cigarette and holds it inside her fist, punches Nchum on the stomach, gives a cheerful smile, and says, “Here is your cigarette bud” as he hands the tissue ball to him. Nchum takes back a little bit from the punch, takes the tissue ball, and thanks her for helping him with a smile while fighting with the pain.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“So, what brought you here?" Nchum asks as he rubs his stomach to help with the punch. Sofia, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, replies, “Well, who knows?" With that, she puts her hand inside her bag and takes out a small cake, or maybe we can call it a cupcake. She then gives it to Nchum with a huge smile and wishes him, “Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy the cake. For your information, I baked it myself. No help from my parents or my sister." Nchum then looks at the cake with a pleasant surprise. The tension from earlier has now fully faded away. He takes the cupcake from Sofia, genuinely touched by her thoughtful gesture. "Wow, Sofia, you baked this yourself? That's amazing! Thank you so much!" Nchum exclaims, his sheepish smile now transformed into one of genuine delight.
Sofia shrugs, trying to play it down. "Well, it’s nothing for someone who comes from a family of bakers," she replies with a smile and a sarcastic tone. Nchum, appreciating the effort, grins. "Well, I hope I don’t die from eating this, right?" he teases. Sofia chuckles, "I can’t give you that assurance. Now, blow out the imaginary candles and make a wish!"
Nchum, still holding the cupcake, closes his eyes for a moment, makes a silent wish, and blows out his imaginary candles. As he opens his eyes, he looks at Sofia with gratitude and takes a bite out of the cake. "Thank you, Sofia. This is really good," Nchum says with a genuine smile, appreciating his birthday gift. Sofia grins, pleased with his reaction. "Glad you like it. Birthdays are meant for a little sweetness, right?". Nchum nods in agreement, "Absolutely. It just makes the day more special. Thanks Sofia." Sofia gives a warm smile at the appreciation she just received as she watches him finish her gift with great delight. Nchum, after finishing his cake, sits down with his back against his bed and gives Sofia a sign to come and sit between his legs. After noticing the sign, Sofia approaches him and takes a seat, blushing slightly.
Nchum hugs Sofia and puts his head on her shoulder. They both sit in silence—a beautiful silence. In this beautiful silence, a sense of gratitude and understanding lingers. Their eyes wander out into the hills outside the window as both of them try to hide their blushing. As both stayed silent, the guy next door decided to end it by playing music with his speaker. They could feel the vibration coming from the next room; both of them started humming the tune and just enjoyed the song. Why not? It was “All My Loving” by The Beatles. The guy unknowingly became a cupid. Nchum, playing with her hair, tried to be the first one to make the move. He gently turned her head towards him, and as the music played in the background, he went for the kiss. Sofia’s face was fully red with embarrassment, but she didn’t reject him, and she also went for the kiss. Both their lips came closer and closer with each passing line of the song. The lips were about to clash, but suddenly the music ended, and both of them were looking into each other’s eyes in silence. The silence was a little bit painful, but not for too long as the cupid played the next song, “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen. The mood was back, and Sofia’s eyes seemed to have given the green signal. Nchum, encouraged by the renewed atmosphere, smiled and softly said, "You know, the guy next door has an excellent taste in music." Sofia, still blushing but now with a playful glint in her eyes, replied, "Yeah, he's our unofficial DJ tonight. Let's enjoy the playlist." As the lyrics of "You're My Best Friend" filled the room, they both chuckled, feeling a mix of excitement and awkwardness. The close call with the previous kiss lingered in the air, but the music became a delightful distraction. Still looking into each other’s eyes, it seemed like a second chance had just popped up. Both of them started to get closer to each other again and were about to finish the deed, but suddenly, Nchum’s phone started ringing, which startled both of them, and the mood was again gone.
Nchum picked up his phone to look at who was calling, and it was Father Anto. He quickly received it with a crackled hello. Father Anto was quick and wished him, “Happy Birthday, Nchum. I hope you have a good day, and may the Almighty bless you with happiness and success.” Nchum, feeling a warmth in his heart from the unexpected call, genuinely thanked Father Anto for the kind wishes. As they exchanged pleasantries, Father Anto inquired about his classes and his plans for the day. Nchum, eager to share the recent events, briefly recounted the unplanned celebration with Sofia and the unexpected role played by the neighbor's playlist. Father Anto chuckled on the other end, "Ah, the ways the universe conspires to bring joy to our lives. Cherish these moments, Nchum. Sometimes, it's the unplanned celebrations that become the most cherished memories." And with that, the call ended with a heartfelt blessing. Nchum then looks at the time and exclaims, “Ah! Is it already this late? We should start moving now." Sofia, with a confused look, asks him, “Late for what?”. “Oh, I forgot to tell you about the party, right? We are going to have my birthday party at the bar down the university gate at 6:30 p.m. It’s already almost 6:14; we should start moving,” Nchum explains. “Ah, then let’s start moving. Better not be late for your own party,” Sofia replies with a smile. Nchum, still buzzing with the events of the day, grabs his keys, and they head towards the door. Sofia suddenly calls him and says that he forgot to pick up something. He turns around to look at what he had forgotten, and suddenly he feels his lips press against Sofia’s. She pulled him toward her and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She then turns around, embarrassed, and blushingly says, “Well, we can’t just leave something without finishing it, right?”. Nchum, slightly taken aback but pleasantly surprised, grins and responds, "Well, that's a delightful birthday kiss. I guess my day just got even better." Sofia, still blushing, playfully nudges him and says, "Let's not make a big deal out of it. Now let's get moving; we are already late." And with that, they walked through the corridor, holding each other’s hands. The distant sounds of music and laughter from neighboring rooms echo through the air.