The sound of the ambulance filled the air, like the buzzing of an intolerant mosquito. The screams of people calling for help added more to the buzz. A body was taken up, a slight pulse—maybe the last pulse—beat up—a sign that the body was still alive, but maybe not for too long as the softness of the pulse dictated. The ambulance then quickly made its way to the hospital, carrying a body and its blood-covered partner.

As the door of the bar opened, they were welcomed by the going-merry voices of the workers of the nearby coal mine. The workers were enjoying a small bit of luxury after a whole day’s worth of toil inside a godforsaken hole. As the bar owner welcomed them, her greetings got muffed up by the loud laughter of the workers. One of the miners turned around and joked after taking a puff of his cigarette, “DO YOU KNOW WHAT A MANCHILD WHO DRESSES WELL AND CLEAN EVEN THOUGH HE WORKS DIRTY IS CALLED?”. The other workers gave a nod, and some in unison screamed, “NO!”. The miner then looked around to make sure that everybody was looking at him, them included, and screamed, “THE GOVERNMENT MINSTER WHO’S SUPPOSED TO LOOK AFTER US!”. All the workers started to hysterically laugh, while some of the locals who were also present giggled a little bit. Even them. The owner asked them to wait for her a little bit as she had to calm them down, but she instead got caught in their small jungle. As they were waiting for the owner to come back so they could order some drinks to start the night, both of them heard a call from behind, back inside the bar, calling for them. As they turned around, they saw Nchum and his group waving them over from inside the bar. They were kind of surprised, but not too surprised, to see Nchum and his group at the bar. They made their way towards them, traversing through the many tables on their way, trying their best not to trip anything. As they reached the table and sat down, he looked at Nchum and said, “So what’s special today with all the drinks and food around? I mean, it’s not even the first week of the month." Nchum was about to say something when he got interrupted by Lichan: “It’s his birthday! It’s not every day when he treats us to something." As he nods his head in disapproval for the last line, Nchum looks at him and replies,” Well yeah, It’s my birthday. Why not join us for the party? There is enough space for the two of you.” Both of them were happy to accept the invitation and join their table. As they sat down and got themselves comfortable, Nchum looked at them with a sly look at his face and said, “Well, it looks like both of you are very good friends nowadays? Huh? Always together, even at the university." Moa also chips in and says, “ True, true. They even came to the bar together and were ‘all alone’” as she too gave them a sly look as the last word came out of her mouth. Lichan, confused, looks at both Moa and Nchum and says, "Well, both Robin and Crystal are good friends, isn’t it? It’s just normal.”. Robin and Crystal, both of them, start to laugh as they see Lichan with his puzzled face and Nchum and Moa with their dumbfounded looks towards Lichan. Robin, with a playful glint in his eyes, responds, “Of course, Lichan, we are just good friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Just good friends." Crystal nods in agreement, though a mischievous smile plays on her lips. Nchum raises his brows and, with a grin on his face, replies, “Oh, just good friends, huh? Well, if you say so.” He exchanges a knowing look with Moa, and both of them burst into laughter. Lichan, still not knowing what they are talking about, gives out on it and starts to gulp his beer down.

As the group starts settling down with their banter and laughter, the bar owner returns, weaving her way through the crowd with practiced ease. She looks at Robin and Crystal and says, “So, you guys were here? I thought you guys had left the bar. Anyway, what do you guys want?”. Robin pulls out the menu and starts browsing through it, while Crystal smiles at the bar owner and replies, “Oh, they called us to join them while we were waiting in the front. Thank you for checking in!”. Meanwhile, Robin finishes browsing through the menu and orders some beer and fried chicken with hot sauce. He then looks at Crystal and asks, “What about you?”. She then looks at the menu for a few minutes and then looks up and says, “Well, I’ll have the same as his, but don’t make the chicken too spicy for my order." The bar owner writes down the orders on her notepad and repeats the order to make sure. “I’ll have that out to you right away." With a friendly smile, she heads back to the kitchen to prepare for their orders.

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Now with the ordering done, Robin looks at Nchum and asks, “Are you done with your thesis draft? The deadline is getting near." Nchum pauses for a moment, a flicker of concern over his face. He replies with a sigh, “Almost done." He then suddenly turns his mood around, gulps his beer in a single shot, and replies back again, “It’s a day of partying." Don’t bring that stuff now." Lichan, like a minion, followed soon and added,” Yeah, true. Don’t talk about anything related to the university. Just enjoy the party because Nchum is paying for all of it." Nchum then turns quickly towards Lichan. “Wait, What! I’m not going to pay for all of it! We’ll split the bill, don’t worry,” Nchum retorts with a chuckle, pretending to be offended by Lichan’s assumptions. Robin interjects with a playful smile, “I would stop talking about university work if you paid for all of it. I mean, come on, it’s your birthday treat! Let’s enjoy the generosity." “Fine, fine, but don’t blame me when you end up with a hefty bill,” he quips, joining the laughter that follows, but deep down he felt something when he actually gave a thought about how big the bill would get. laughter with a mist of a young adult’s pain.

Robin looks at Nchum, and as he is about to ask something, Sofia suddenly enters from the door right beside them. Robin looks at her and responds, “Ah, I was just about to ask Nchum where his girl is. It’s his birthday party after all." Sofia gives a small smile as she tucks her phone inside her pocket. “I had to call my parents to let them know I was going to be a little late tonight because of the party,” she replies as she pulls the chair near Nchum and sits down. “Well, that makes sense. Is there anything special for him tonight?” Robin replies with such a look on his face that it sends the message across to everyone, even Lichan. Sofia blushes a little bit and quickly retorts, “We are not doing anything like that! Also, he already got his gift from me.” Nchum didn’t expect anything, but he still managed to get a little bit disappointed with how the reply went. Robin laughed while making amends for his question, Crystal and Moa with their cheerful giggle, and Lichan finished another glass of beer. The bar owner interrupted the small world they had just created in the midst of the loud and battle-hardened miners with their orders. They all made a toss for Nchum’s long life, and the party went on.

The party ended right at midnight, a full moon night. Electricity seemed to have been gone or the street light just didn’t work; nobody knew, but the roads were still manageable to walk without any external lights thanks to the sliver light of the full moon above them. The group got out of the bar, all a little bit tipsy from all the beer they drank except for Lichan, who was just straight-on drunk and needed a shoulder to just walk straight, or else he just walked in circles. Sofia gets a phone call from her parents asking her to make it quick and to reach home quickly. Robin and Crystal give an understandable nod to Nchum and take Lichan with them as they also start making their way back home. Lichan, still finding it hard to maintain his balance, leans on Robin’s shoulder as he takes him back to his house. Robin had both his arms taken over, one by Lichan and the other by Crystal, as the alcohol started to hit her too. Nchum and Sofia giggle as they watch Robin walk around in the middle of the night with two people around his arms. “He looks like a dad," Sofia remarks as she tries to hold her giggle. “He sure does," Nchum replies as Sofia holds around his arms, and they start walking towards his bike near the entrance of the university. The bar didn’t have any parking spaces, so he had to park it near the university. As they walked together in the moonlit night, arm in arm, both in silence, the cool breeze played with their hair. A peace in solitude reached both of them. Maybe the alcohol was playing the dice for this silent walk, but it was perfect for the moment. Time just went by, and they reached the university gate. As they reached the place where Nchum had parked his bike, Sofia suddenly looked at Nchum and pointed towards his bike. Electricity was still out, and the moon was not enough. A silhouette they see near his bike.