Arthit heads home after a grueling long day at the office. He looked at the clock as he stepped inside his apartment. It was already past 9 pm. He dreaded the hours to come. In the office, at least he can keep his mind occupied. At home, not so much. Actually, his home doesn't have much other than the four bare walls of each room.

He hasn't had time or interest in decorating it. Kongpob had offered to help him spruce it up, but he rejected the idea as he thinks it's a waste of time and money. He reasoned that he only slept here with his eyes shut, so who cares what's on the walls.

Arthit takes his takeaway rice box out of it's bag, and starts eating at his little dining table. It's the fourth day in a row that he has had this same fried rice from the same little restaurant downstairs. Maybe tomorrow he will order his other usual from across the street.

Arthit pulls out his phone to check for messages. He had avoided doing so for the whole day already since seeing his boyfriend this afternoon. Holding his breath, he tapped on the screen, and voila....

Nothing.

There was absolutely nothing. There wasn't even work messages, but that's probably because he was working the whole time. Arthit restarted his phone to make sure it was up to date, and working properly.

Shouldn't his boyfriend at least give him more details about Chiang Mai if he really wanted him to go. Surely, just tossing a ticket to someone's face doesn't mean you really want them to go. Fine. He didn't toss it in his face, but it was just as insincere.

Seeing that there really wasn't any messages, he was about to put his phone down, but then he noticed the corner notifications on his Facebook app. He hasn't been on social media for so long that all of the apps had over a hundred notifications on them. He clicked on Facebook, and the first thing he sees is a memory post of Kongpob in a Santa hat five years ago today. He looked so young and happy.

He looked at a few more memory posts, and they were all the same. These were all posts Kongpob tagged him in, but he wasn't actually there. He never did accompany Kongpob to any of his company's Christmas parties. He was never interested in the awkward introductions that would ensue if he had gone. These people had no business in their relationship, so why bother to complicate things. And that is still true as of today. People would only gossip and judge them, so why give them more to talk about.

Why can't Kongpob just focus on work more? Why can't they just be the way they are? They are adults now. They don't need others approval, and others don't need to know. They don't live at home anymore, so it's not like their parents can force them to do anything either.

Arthit is convinced that this is all ridiculous. He shouldn't be dwelling on all of this. It's like a broken record. Every once in a while Kongpob would be like this. Kongpob would ask if he still loved him?  When can they come out? What about their future? They would usually get in an argument, and then after a few days Kongpob's senses would come back, and they would be okay again. This time is no different. Albeit, Kongpob has never returned his gear before, but it's the same more or less. If Kongpob's grandmother is really dying, it's not like he would be the miracle that could save her.

Arthit tosses the rest of his rice box out. That's what's good about takeout. Nothing to clean afterwards. He gets up, and takes some clothes to go shower.

While Arthit was in the shower with his eyes closed lathering shampoo on his head, the lights started to flicker. One time, two times, and then it was out. Arthit was left in the dark with soap running down his body. He quickly rinsed off the soap, and switched off the water.

"Hey, Kongpob! Are you here?"

No one replied. Arthit didn't hear anyone come in either. So, did a fuse blowout? He can't see in the dark, but from memory, he managed to get out of the bathroom unscathed. He stepped out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He was eager to find out if it was a complete blackout.

"Arthit!"

Arthit fell on his ass, and tossed his clothes in the air from the sudden shock.

A blueish cloud hovered over him. Arthit trembled, and scooted back on the floor.

"Ahhhhh! Don't come near me!" Arthit screamed. He continued to scoot back until he was up against a wall with nowhere to go.

"Arthit, don't you recognize me?"

Arthit covered his face with his hands. "No, I don't know any blue clouds."

"Oh, I'm sorry. How about now? Look."

Arthit slowly peeked through the cracks of his fingers. He saw a blue face real up close.

"Ahhhhh! Get away from me. Who are you? What do you want?"

"It's me, John. Come on. I'm still handsome. I have checked in your mirror. I know I'm a little blue, but I've still got it." John smirked.

"John, why are you here? You were ran over by a bus. I didn't do anything to you."

John sighed. "Yeah, I know. I should have paid attention crossing the road instead of looking down on my phone checking emails."

"Yeah, so why are you haunting me?" Arthit asks with a shaky voice.

"I'm here to help you. You were an obedient one when I was alive, so I've chosen to save your soul." John says as he looked at his nails.

"Help me? How? What is wrong with my soul?" Arthit is now frowning behind his hands that were only half covering his face.

John was no longer a cloud, he was in his full human form, but just blue floating next to Arthit.

"Your soul is getting cold. Do you know why my spirit color is blue? It's because I was cold and selfish when I was alive. If you don't change your ways, you will be the same as me or worse."

"What's so bad about being blue? What are the other colors?" Arthit asked curiously.

Suddenly, John was shrieking with pain and shivered like he was in ice water.

"Do you want to spend eternity feeling so cold that your bones ache, and so empty like you are free falling into a bottomless pit?"

"No, of course not. So you are telling me that I'm turning blue? How am I being cold and selfish?"

"This is why you haven't gotten promoted to my position yet. You are so dense." John returns to look at his nails while shaking his head.

"Hey, Dan said it's a year end budget issue. I'm shoo-in for the job." Arthit retorted.

"So naive. You have a lot to learn. Anyway, that's a lesson for another day. My time is limited."

"Okay, what do you want me to do?"

John squats down in front of Arthit, and hovers close to his face. Arthit immediately shields himself with his hands again.

"Three spirits will come to visit you tonight. The first will be the Spirit of the Past. He will be here when the clock strikes 1 am. The second one will be the Spirit of the Present, and he will be here at 6 am., and the last is...."

"Let me guess, it's the Spirit of the Future. At this rate, I won't get any sleep." Arthit rolled his eyes.

"If I weren't on a mission to save your ass, I would kick it right now. Now, remember what I said, and put on some damn clothes. I have to go." John turned back into a blue cloud, and slowly disappeared.

~~~~~~
AN: I took the day off today. Let's see how much I can crank out. I really should be gift wrapping though. 😜

Hope you guys are enjoying this story. ❤️