Orange sea at sunset

Talay has been found. He was never lost, just... no one knew...

Prompt

Lodestar: something lost has been found. Talay has been found; but, he was never lost.

The DNA test was conclusive. He was family, 20 years old and living in Chiang Mai. His name was Talay — the sea — far from any sea, as far as could be. Yes, family — but how? Erik needed to find out before he told Anders.

He found a picture on line. Not tall, not blond, a bit stocky, light eyes. He looked Euro-Chinese-something, not Thai. But... he obvious was. Just average in many ways. Anders didn't keep pictures of his family. Too painful, he said. He had memories of family fights and laughter. He smiled as he said that, no need for pictures. Anders could see them when he closed his eyes. He murmured their names in his dreams.

Erik told Anders he was flying to Chiang Mai for a day. He left out why.

...

Talay stood in front of him, rigid as his aunt at her husband's funeral, speechless as a waterfall in April1.

"He had an uncle? In Thailand? Someone who knew his father? Family?"

Erik sat silent. Better to wait and let Talay process the moment.

The fragrance of plumeria surrounded them, begging them to stay; the aroma of grilled chicken interrupted.

"Have you eaten yet?" Erik used a phrase more common than hello or goodbye, hoping to break through.

"Yes."

Silence is golden they say. Talay sat as solid as iron pyrite; false gold by any other name is still shiny but useless...

"Could I have a cold coffee, please. What would you like Talay?'

At least he was polite enough to accept a cold drink.

A young woman wearing a smile approached and light touched Erik's arm. He smiled and softly said, "I have a jealous boyfriend." She turned her smile on Talay but he didn't smile back, shrinking into himself.

"I'm thinking about becoming a monk."

Erik nodded.

"I like the green silence of the forest."

The silence broken, Erik had hope.

"Let's walk to a quieter place. I know a juice bar near here."

...

"I'm so glad to have found you."

Talay didn't smile. "I was never lost."

"I meant..."

"What was my father like?"

"I wish I knew. I only met him once, briefly. Everyone in his family loved the sea. They grew up by the sea."

"I grew up in the mountains. I've never been to the sea."

Surrounded by green mountains and white temples, they sat with their silence in Khun Kae's Juice Bar, both in their own thoughts.

Erik tried to remember his time in the temple during Phansa2. How the rains drowned out the laments of the soaked chicken vendors, the joy of the ever-thirsty rice fields, the low of a buffalo. He missed his family in Khon Kaen3.

Some tourists walked by. Loud, a bit too giddy, in a hurry. They were ignored by the locals. "This too shall pass" was one of the lessons Erik had to learn as a child. It wasn't always necessary to respond. It wasn't always necessary to be offended. He'd learned to let go of other people's disrespect and misbehaviour. Mostly. His year living with his father's cousin in Norway tending to bleating goats had taught him other lessons. Talay might be shocked at his father's Swedish roots.

"Your father was Swedish. His family lived by the sea. They learned to swim before they went to school, learned to fish and row a boat as a child, learned to sail before they were ten. Your uncle has no clue how to grow a potato, cook soup, tend a garden. My grandfather's family grew potatoes and carrots and made cheese so they wouldn't starve. My father left as soon as he could. My mother's family lived in rice fields before moving to the city for jobs. They knew how to survive by eating anything that didn't run fast enough. When my father ran away to find a warm place and met my mother... well, here I am." Erik motioned for another drink. "Your father's family was more privileged. They ate sild4, a type of fish, went to a bakery for bread, a market for meat and vegetables. They all loved pizza but never knew how to make one. Your great-grandparents were never poor, never rich, always had enough. Anders never complains. His family never did. I doubt your father ever did."

"Is my uncle loud like those tourists?"

"Only when he was younger... and drunk. He doesn't drink much any more. He's almost as quiet as a monk these days. Learned from me." Erik had to smile at that. Neither of them would make good monks but Anders had calmed down, and was basically content except on anniversaries; he missed his siblings. Erik had two sisters he kept in touch with and three nephews he saw now and then, but he didn't miss them. He had Anders, Gung who lived with them, and her children A-ngoon and Faifa. He'd never felt lonely, never been alone. Would Talay want to be a part of that?

...

Talay mentioned how he had an aunt and two cousins that lived outside of town. He had a group of friends growing up but they had gone to university. When his mother died everyone helped but he only had one friend left and they both had to work. Talay delivered food on his motorcycle.

...

"I've lost my kwan5".

Erik nodded waiting for Talay to continue. He sipped on his second red apple, carrot, passion fruit smoothie. Paradise, they called it. Talay looked past his glass... at nothing.

"I thought about going to the forest to find it."

...

Erik asked Talay to show him around the Old City. He'd been here many years ago but wanted to see it through the eyes of someone conceived by a tsunami.

20 years...

They walked 70 meters to Wat Lam Chang.

"The elephants remind me that I'm not chained. And the nagas6 make me feel safe."

The found a quiet spot to sit.

"Do you always wear orange on Thursdays?"

Talay finally smiled. "Yes. It's also my favorite color."

"My grandmother would say 'the traditional colors help keep time'. She was fond of pink though as she was born on on Tuesday."

"My mother was born on a Wednesday and given the name Khajee7.

Talay paused.

"She was hit by a car two years ago. I come here to make merit for her on my birthday, the day before Mother's Day.8"

A cat approached them asking for a rub. It jumped up to sit between them.

They sat there for awhile in the shade until it began to rain.

Talay chose a restaurant known for its khao yam9. He avoided fish and flesh. Erik loved som tum10, extra spicy, but decided to try the khao yam.

ข้าวยำสองจานครับ (Two plates of khao yam, please).

Talay wasn't skinny but he had that look of 'starving teenager' that Erik knew so well. Oh, to be skinny again. Anders didn't mind. Erik jogged every evening though...

They slowly walked from one temple to another stopping at 7-Elevens for juice, chatting about this and that. The clouds played with the sun. Erik carried his umbrella for both sun and rain. Talay seemed oblivious.

"Would you like to see the sea? You could visit us in Hua Hin.11"

"When can we go?"

"There are no flights today but we can go tomorrow or Sunday."

"What time?"

"3 in the afternoon."

It was hard to read the emotions crossing Talay's face. He stiffened, hands clenched, unclenched.

"Yes. I can be ready by noon."

...

Night set on the temples as they had for hundreds of years. Nice that the clouds parted to reveal the sunset. The sun set behind the mountains here, like in Hua Hin. In Phuket one could sit on the beach, watching the orange sun setting in the Andaman Sea to the west. An orange sea at sunset was magical.

Would there be stars to wish on tonight? The Southern Cross? One could see the Southern Cross in winter in Phuket. Chiang Mai was too far north. Tomorrow?

Tomorrow Anders would find out that he still had family.


© Kåre Enga (August 2025)

WC ~1417

Footnotes
1  Dry season
2  "Buddhist Lent" during rainy season.
3  City in Isaan
4  a type of herring
5  spirit
6  divine powerful serpent, protector of the Dharma, teachings
7  ขจี สีเขียวขจี 'lush green'
8  The Queen's Birthday, Mother's Day, is August 12th, therefore August 11th
9  'rainbow rice salad' made with rice and vegetables
10  spicy green papaya salad
11  City south-southwest of Bangkok on the Bay of Bangkok