Wrinkles on the pale mattress cover resembled a screaming face. She looked at it worriedly. But you have to pretend to be taciturn. Spelling fear into a heart filled with fear from the past An adult body that had grown up in a way that could not be called graceful had to endure it.

As a “mother,” the baby on the moldy mattress sleeping next to her is more important than anything else.

“Mom, why does dad go to work so early?” The little boy rubbed his eyes, hoping to shake off the sleepiness. Even though it was a school break, he still woke up early. The torn curtains were unable to block all the sunshine that was sneaking in through the window, which was the reason that a growing child couldn't get a good night's sleep.

“Today Dad went to work with Uncle Grandpa. By the time I get back, it will be cold. Are you hungry yet?” Manee left the cloth that was about to be hung up on the rack and turned to chat with the curious child. He didn't answer right away because he didn't want to eat yesterday's leftover rice porridge and salted fish. It was bland. He hated food that had no flavor. He loves sweets and treats, as a child his age should.

“I'm not hungry yet, Mom.” The difference between him and other kids the same age was academic performance. He never failed an exam. I've never had an grade lower than 3rd place, even though my mother always told me not to worry about numbers, no matter what box they were in. But the boss is happy every time he knows he has an advantage.

Because apart from studying The boy could no longer boast about anything in life.

Cold porridge lay in a chipped bowl. Next to it were pieces of fish that had gone through a preservation process, lying on a galvanized plate the same color as the sea near the industrial site. He was a little hungry, but watching this small-scale water tragedy, his appetite subsided. There was no sound of waves crashing on the beach.

Classmate Joey once told him during school lunch the time his family took him to a fancy restaurant to eat seafood. Joey said that the shrimp and fish screamed like the waves crashing on the beach. When you bite into the orange-white flesh, you'll smell the scent of the sea. Even though Joey is called a braggart. But Boss wants to hear the sound of waves passing through his mouth for once in his life.

His ears were accustomed to the sound of machinery. Large machinery such as a yellow backhoe. A cement truck with a back that resembles a snail rolls and spins. Dad used to say that if we didn't do that, the cement would dry out and become unusable. Workers shouting loudly to be careful of something weighing at least a ton flying overhead. The boy was more familiar with those sounds than loud cartoon characters or toy guns.

But he was happy every time his father was forced to take him to the construction site. He grew up with some tall buildings. Some long roads and some railway lines There were friends there who played in the sand. Tirelessly jumping over piles of broken cement in the hot weather. He didn't want to sit alone in a square room with dirty colored walls. It's dull and uncomfortable.

Sometimes there were shouts of hateful insults coming from the next room. Even though I was used to the loud noise, But those machines never once harbored any hatred or anger in their voices. different from people's voices Boss knows that every time people say something, it doesn't mean exactly what they say. He had to be careful about this if he didn't want to get himself into trouble.

A bigger problem than what people hide behind their words is poverty. He wondered why Mom and Dad thought that. But it's not that it's incomprehensible. His mother didn't graduate from school. Worse, my father didn't study. But even so, his father is still Superman and his mother is still a goddess.

Father lifted him up high as if he were weightless. Father's two hands become wings He flew freely amidst the noise and smoke of cars on the road. As for mother, she has healing powers. Every time he got a wound from being naughty, his mother just cast some kind of spell and gently blew on the wound, and all the pain would fade away.

But both his parents told him that the real superpower is knowledge and education. It was a subject that my father never had the opportunity to learn. It was a subject that my mother could not study because it was too difficult.

But he himself thought that if one day he was as strong as his father and could treat others like his mother, it would be good.

Lately, he has been going to construction sites less. It has some advantages in that when dad gets home, he rushes in to hug him and lift him up so high that sometimes his head almost hits the ceiling of the room. Give him wings temporarily Apart from this, there is nothing good at all. Even though my mother often told me that she didn't want me to go to the construction site because it was dangerous.

I don't know what day things will fall on me. Walking on nails or kicking against rebar. But the boss believes that Uncle Chai, who has driving skills that raise the level of the country, and Grandma Sai, who is better at handling cement debris than anyone else, will definitely not allow something like that to happen to him.

“Boss, Dad brought something for you.” The boy ran half-jumped towards his father, not paying any attention to the contents of the bag. A middle-aged man, smeared with oil and dust, supported his small, frail body with two rough hands before using the arm strength of a construction worker who had once told his son that he could lift three bags of cement at a time.

The baby's body was carried up to arm's length with the baby's body cackling as he laughed. His legs brushed the air freely.

“Here, let's play gently and be considerate of the room next to him!” The father made a cheeky face and the son put his hand over his mouth in a more cheeky manner than keeping his voice quiet, but not consenting. He hugged his wife from behind, causing her to flinch in shock. “What are you doing like a child?!” Manee scolded but was still embarrassed. She pulled away and went straight to the white bag he had brought home with him.

“Did you eat such expensive food today?” The wife squatted on the floor with her eyebrows furrowed together into a knot, making it evident that she was dissatisfied with the things her husband had bought arbitrarily. As for the son, who saw the contents of the bag, he ran and jumped with joy for escaping the blandness of the dinner for one meal.

“My grandfather gave me extra money. The contractor increased the money because we were able to close the job earlier than scheduled.” Manee narrowed her eyes, looking suspicious at what her husband said. Hidden with a hint of thoughtless spending. But in the end, I had to give in because it was something that couldn't be fixed.

“KFC KCF”

The little boy repeated. His eyes reflect happiness and shine like stars. He once dreamed of seeing Uncle Colonel in a white suit. Walking towards him with a staff in one hand In another hand was a paper bucket filled with bright red fried chicken. When he took out a piece of chicken, another piece of chicken suddenly appeared in its place. The paper bucket that had been in the dream was now sitting on a Japanese table with a fake cartoon pattern on it.

All that's missing is a kind-hearted uncle in a white suit. But even so, it didn't matter. Father, mother, and fried chicken gathered around an old, nearly broken table filled with a warm atmosphere were more than enough.

“Would you like to save some for tomorrow too?” Mother made to put the chicken on another plate. This is normal when a special meal is happening. She considered that people only eat enough to be full, and if there is any left over, they save it for another day in case there is none.

“No need, tomorrow I have to go to work with both parents and children.” He smiled, looking at his son's face with his lips smeared with delicious fried chicken grease. He knew his son would be happy to follow him to work. What I know better is that his wife will definitely not like this. But what you don't need to know is that his wife understands this very well.

Even though she doesn't want her son to risk being in a construction zone. But the fact that she was helping her husband with his work meant that her wages were double the normal amount. She doesn't mind hard work. The days and nights spent together with her husband had been so hard that she couldn't think of anything that could have made her more exhausted. Even so, there was never a day that she regretted running away with him to face life and create a family from absolute nothingness.

That day, the money in his and hers' pockets was put together and there was enough to buy food to eat for a week. There isn't enough to cover the cost of accommodation, no matter how cheap a hotel or motel is. Under a bridge near a canal in a community area, he had chosen to lay his head on the wet ground. Giving blood to the thousands of mosquitoes swarming like bloodthirsty patrol planes. They raid again and again to find food to survive and feed their families.

“Then you need to sleep quickly today, child. You have to get up early tomorrow.” Her talented husband, through his patience, took them both out of a humiliating street life in less than a year. I didn't choose a job but I was poor. Their lives didn't have many options. From that day until today, Manee thinks her husband has brought her a long way. Although it cannot be called a comfortable life

But every evening she was always happy. Happiness under an ordinary meal is nothing special. But how lively it is when a simple meal is joined by the joyful face of a person who loves with all their heart.

The shadows of the family lurk beneath the bright street lights. The boy didn't bring his toy bag today because the wheels on his favorite backhoe fell off two weeks ago when he shared them with friends in the living room. Mother didn't say anything to him at all. But he still couldn't help criticizing his friend in his heart. It was like right now he was mentally berating Uncle Grandpa for making them wait for nearly 20 minutes.

Dad also worriedly held Uncle Grandpa's old phone in his hand. It's been longer than usual But no sooner had a pickup truck carrying workers in the back than the law appeared at the end of the road. The three of them skillfully jumped into the back of the truck to greet the people sitting before them.

“Boss, he's gotten really big,” P'Saen bared his teeth. Saen is still a teenager and likes to play with children, so he is especially close to Boss. Boss himself talks about things that are true, some not, that Brother Saen likes to tell often.

“Brother Saen came to pick me up so late. The mosquito bites are all red.”

“Go blame the campaign sign on the street corner over there...Tie him in any position so he's leaning down. His grandfather crashed into him. There are still scratches on the front of the car.” He pointed at the scratched paint on the front of the car. “What party is this with an orange sign? I have to go down and tie it up for him again. There is a slit on the label as well. But someone brought tape to fix it. There are people who love it and people who hate it. This is politics.”

He laughed because he really didn't understand what he was saying. Most of them listened to the old man again. Boss himself could only laugh dryly because he didn't understand what P'Saen was saying at all. He saw more campaign signs all over the city than billboards. He was 8 years old and could read. Things that you can't read or need to take some time to think about are difficult words.

But the boy stopped paying attention to reading the message on the sign because he realized that even if he could read it, he wouldn't understand what the sign said. Besides, it probably wasn't such a big deal. Because some signs say that 'Don't think too much, just choose...' He was used to exam questions that got a lot of marks. He had to think a lot before answering.

That way, choosing an answer when going to the polls probably isn't important or the question that gets a lot of votes. Because the sign says 'Don't think too much'

Uncle Ta had driven so far that he could almost cross the province. Even so, no one was late for work. The sun was just above the horizon, casting a soft glow. The boss especially liked this work site. It is a railway construction zone along the entire length of the road. They had already set up some poles and rails in the construction zone, so the shadow of the enormous concrete block cast a shadow over the sun. Even though we live near a road that is dusty, smoky, and noisy all the time, staying out of the sun during this season is probably a basic thing that will help us survive each day.

But Manee doesn't like this place much. She believes that this road is magical. In the past, when we started building roads because of the expansion of the city. Construction workers found a king cobra's nest. The mother snake fought to protect her little one's life but was unable to fight against steel and greed. She was defeated and died, but her sorrowful spirit continued to curse the evil things that humans praise as progress.

Unforeseen circumstances have occurred that make it impossible for this road to be completed. Until the villagers and contractors at that time had to work together to build a shrine for beasts who were more motherly than those who had legs like gods.

After finishing arranging everything Before the ceremony began, Manee would walk across the road and bring red water and whatever snacks she could find to offer to the shrine. Pray for my husband and son to stay safe at work every time. She hopes that the mother snake will understand and sympathize with her because they are both mothers with children. There are things more important than life itself. There are also days and nights of striving for the light of tomorrow.

Lucas walked behind his father out of the sun. A man near retirement age who looked like a pale-skinned vampire from a movie Boss had seen. The Count wears a helmet. A pair of brand-name jeans and a polo shirt looked up at the giant T-shaped cement blocks that lined the entire road. He pointed his hand this way and that in a gesture of command.

The man following him nodded earnestly. It was all in the eyes of another child sitting on the dusty sand. He looked expectantly at the boy who was dressed differently than him. Soon Lucas turned around. The two looked at each other with friendly smiles. Lucas tugged on his father's arm a few times before the master mechanic nodded.

A rich boy ran up to the sand making boy. He couldn't run very fast but he didn't need to be careful. The path ahead was smooth and free of obstacles. There is no pile of dirt and cement waiting to prevent your legs from falling.

“What did the boss make today?” He examined the shapeless pile of sand in front of him. You can imagine what the creator intended it to be. It had an outline, but it wasn't even noticeable.

“Today we will make a horse.” Last night he dreamed about a movie he had seen. That day, the temple near the rental room held an annual event and hired an outdoor movie to show it. It's about the war of the gold-headed foreigners. Those men rode horses and held swords, fighting relentlessly for the city and the princess. Another story is about a rabbit who invites a young girl to go down a strange hole.

He prefers stories with horses. Lucas just sat down on the sand next to him, scooped up a handful of murky-colored sand in one hand and poured in the other water from the bottle that Boss had prepared, and began to act. He completely forgot the housekeeper's lengthy complaints. At this moment, he had expensive pants covered in sand. Claws filled with dirt and fun alongside close friends, regardless of how differently they dress.

The sun continued to slide across the sky as usual until it almost disappeared behind the horizon. Too quick for the mischievous children, unbearably long for the sweaty laborers. Manee looked like he might be able to return late today because there was still a lot of work left. Uncle Ta's team, who were beginning to lose their strength, moved lazily under the pillar named '

P22’

Someone must have given it a name and spray-painted it on the base of the pole. She crossed the road carefully because it was the busiest time of the day. No matter how much you want to use the overpass, you can't if you're in the middle of the road. The safety of those above provides only occasional shade to those at risk below.

She was careful because she couldn't imagine how she would survive without her mother. How will my husband survive without her? She stood in front of the shrine of the mother snake and child. Raising her hands together, she prayed and thanked her for keeping her, her husband, and their children safe.

“!!!” A loud noise sounded as if the sky was being split apart. All that was left was the humming sound of hundreds of cars, big and small, stopping on the road. Dust particles fluttered in the air before returning to the ground as part of the earth. Manee ran across the road without any concern for her life. I didn't hear any cursing words behind me. In the foreground is the sky train tracks.

The concrete blocks weighed more than 2 tonnes at the pole.

P22

It should be supported 12 meters above the ground and the people piled in front of it, solid and without breaking point. Proudly proclaiming his strength and firmness. The bad thing is that Manee knows everyone in that area very well. What's even worse is that out of these two people she could have died instead. She could only run and pray that there was no one under the pile of train tracks.

But the mother snake was so cruel to her...

She hugged and pulled the man's body under a cement block as heavy as the sky. Stand up and force yourself to lift unconsciously. But no matter how hard he used it, his arms were nearly torn from his body. Carrying the sky on his shoulders, only a giant who had been punished could do it. Mani couldn't hear anything except his own asthmatic breathing and broken heart. No blood came out.

The person beneath must still be alive...

From now on forever only in the memory of you and the baby...

“You come out first!!! It's dangerous!!!” Saen grabbed her and dragged her out. In just the second that Manee ran in, she turned into a ghost that no one could see. No one was able to stop him in time. She regained consciousness and frantically scanned the pair for hope for the future. He sat trembling with his knees hugged next to a pile of sand about 30 meters away.

He buried his face in his knees and sobbed silently, all alone. She rushed over and hugged the petite body faster than before. She pressed her head into his shaking chest and let out a scream that shook the sky.

“Daddy must be fine, son!!!” The boss was smart and perceptive enough to know what must have happened to Dad. But he believed his mother because his father was Superman who could carry 3 sacks of cement. Just one light stick of cement couldn't harm his father. Even if you can do it, it's probably just a scrape. That way, Mom just recites a mantra and blows air on Dad and his pain will go away. But every word was stuck in his throat, blocking his breathing until he became sobs.

Time moves by as usual. The sun sets and many lives are extinguished. The police asked Uncle Ta to find out what happened just a moment ago. Viewed from any angle, it is just a father's misfortune, a normal part of a world without God's love. A father without a wound on his palm Sides and ankles must be sacrificed to nothingness.

Manee couldn't bear to watch as the machine lifted out the cement block. She didn't even look at him because she knew that her body would never move again. Tears streamed down his cheeks until they dried up again and again. She leaves Boss with Saen with instructions to take good care of him while she takes care of her husband's affairs.

She realized that there was nothing he had left for her. All he had left was a true memory and now it was a beautiful memory that would grow into pain. He left her and the child alone to face a cruel world. An angel dies and becomes a giant devil named Habit. What suffering is equal to the happiness that is gone?

“Has he got any insurance?” Uncle Ta asked about things he already knew. Manee only shook her head in response. No amount of money can be spared to pay for future risks if every night hangs in the balance of survival. “Uncle himself didn't do anything for him. He is a daily worker.

But I'll find a way to help you.” The old man showed friendship and sympathy. However, it probably isn't a large sum of money big enough to support the little one until he finishes his degree.

“Have you told the principal yet?”

“The big boss hasn't told you anything yet. Just tell the police that it was an accident.” She felt a sense of indifference. Every time someone dies but no one asks about the dead person, the story quietens down to the bottom of the hole, leaving only the scars of pain of those who are still breathing, remembered as the guilt of not being able to fight for anything. Stories flow across the news pages like pieces of rock that first surface for others to see before eventually sinking to the bottom of the river.

That night, the widow and her son walked over the threshold into the dilapidated old room, still unable to figure out how they would find the meager sum to pay the month's rent. There is no warm sound. The smell of her father's and husband's sweat was as usual. There was only mother and child, child and mother, the blue sky and floating clouds without the sun. It exists but is empty. Sad that I'm still breathing

From the triangle, only smooth, shapeless lines remain. Both of them came back. No one went to the doctor because no one had anything wrong. But Manee knew in her heart that this was not the case. She and her child died along with her husband and the setting sun.

She sat staring at her son, who was asleep in the dark. Boss insisted with his body language that he would not go anywhere, no matter how she chased him to bed, the little boy responded with silence and indifference. He didn't move out of the corner of the room where his father used to sit. She stared at the child who had drifted off to sleep, hoping he would have sweet dreams.

I thought it might be good if he stuck to that dream forever. She has a coil of rope. Empty eyes watched the figure of a child with a bright future flashing in front of him but with no way to lead.

What should I do? No one answered the question in the dark widow's heart. She has never been a leader and thinks she never will be. All she had left was her 8-year-old son and less than 20,000 baht in her savings account. She knew fully that that money was not enough. Not enough to pay for food, tuition, housing, not enough for 2 lives in a big city, even for 1 life is not enough.

She is willing to sacrifice everything, even her breath. To the point that I thought about it all the way home.

But even her life was not worth the price in installments enough.

Manee recalls the day she had an argument with her family before deciding to run away to be with the man she loved most in her life. Mother shouted loudly at her.

“You will be in trouble, your life will be ruined if you live with him.” She never once believed her mother. All the time, with him by her side, their lives wandered along difficult paths, but there was never a day when she felt that the end was woeful. He always made her hope shine until the day his life faded away.

Before long, a coil of rope passed through the vent above the door.

The chair is ready, but it belongs to you, not the child...

“Boss...Come to Mom, please,” Mom called out to her child in the dark...Holding a rope with one hand and hiding the other half coiled. The boy opened his eyes and searched for the TARDIS. She heard breathing in the corner of the room. He moved closer easily. The boy kept walking closer to her without standing up. Soon a warmth spread in the center of his chest.

A young child rests in the middle of a widow's heart, but she is still a mother. A tired hand gently caressed one side of his head. One hand gripped the coil of rope tightly, as if it would flee and disappear back into the dream if the force was relaxed.

“Do you want to go live with Dad?” the little boy asked softly, exerting the last strength from the fire of his life. "If Mom goes to live with Dad, I will go too...I don't want to be alone." She always knew that he was smart and smart. But I didn't know that he could also examine her thoughts. His hand gripped the rope even more tightly with grief.

“But I won't play with the toys...I won't eat.

KFC

too"

"nevermind I'm happier if we're together.” Manee twitched in her chest. Heart overflowing with sorrow Pictures of her family and the face she was willing to trade for everything in her life. At the moment she thought over and over how bad things had happened to her. Saen said it was because of the pillar.

P22

who cannot bear the responsibilities assigned to them He shouted curses and took a bent iron rod and hit it at the cement pillar in anger. But Manee thinks it's because she and her husband chose this path in the first place. A path that betrays tradition and morality. It was all her sin that caused her parents to grieve to the point of death. A wrong that could not be adequately compensated with just her and her husband's life. The couple's sin was similar to a debt that charged interest as expensive as the life of her child.

In that case, it must be ended right here...

A delicate noose around his neck like a congratulatory garland. This life of a little child was freed by a tight rope woven from hardship and poverty, connecting two lives not far from each other in every lifetime.

“Daddy's back, son,” the little boy heard a warm, familiar voice knocking. Startled, he walked towards the door, not realizing that this was just a dream. No matter when or where, his father's voice was always real, even in his memories.

But there was a large black shadow hanging from a shackle. The solid-colored shadow slowly rotated with the force of something that Boss himself couldn't figure out.

“Mom?” He tried calling the person who loved him and whom he loved with all his heart. I just noticed that there was a rope hanging around my neck... The light outside shone through and hit the dark shadow of a figure. His pale face, which stood taller than usual, glowed in the moonlight. In his heart, he thought that his mother was using magic to levitate him and soar high into his father's embrace in the heavens.

Until finally, he learned that his father was Superman and his mother was a goddess.

But he is just a normal human being who is very fragile and in pain...