Chapter Twenty-Four: In Every Scene, Big and Small

                                    

                                          
A/N: GUYS OMG HIII! How are you!? I'm slowly becoming much more content and happy these days and I took soooo long to get this chapter done because I wanted it to be perfect, but I really really wanted it to be perfect! I'm so happy about how it turned out and I hope you are too! I love when things finally begin to get happy again, just like my heart right now. I really hope these new opportunities I am seeing in my life keep going, and I hope the very best for all of you too. Please enjoy this chapter, and I cannot wait to hear from you all again! 
~Mimi
Songs Used:
You Are the Reason - Calum Scott
Days and Years - SHINee (also title reference)
TW: swearing, mild alcohol consumption, explicit sexual material
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Kanok exhales gently, her hard plastic suitcase rolling behind her as she exits one of the elevators of the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. After her fight with Phawin, she readily made up her mind to take an early flight for her research-based trip to Sri Lanka. She needed to get away from everything, especially those damned boys. 
All her years of knowing them, she had buried frustration, hurt, and grief that she never acknowledged before. When she was there, she learned to meditate in the beautiful temples. She's unsure if she's taken up Buddhism, but still. Many of the practices she brought back from the remarkable island continue to heal her sullen heart. 
Malai and Manow await the petite young plant scientist, her elder cousin opening her arms for a much-needed embrace. "Oh, Nong, your hair has grown. You look so pretty and grown-up na kah." She cups the petite woman's round cheeks, resting their foreheads together. "Everyone missed you so much! How was the trip?"
Kanok kisses her cousin's cheek before hugging Manow briefly, arms around the taller-woman's neck. "Oh—sawadee-kah, Manow.", she giggles. "Well, it was one of the most miraculous experiences I've ever had. I'm grateful to have done something like this before I'm twenty-five. I'm very lucky. The vegetation was some of the prettiest I've ever seen—the soil is rich and abundant; the animals and beaches are bright and beautiful... And the temples na kah! I have so many photos and so many notes documented in my journals.", she explains. "Manow—oh, thank you..." She smiles warmly at her cousin's girlfriend for taking her luggage for her, almost like a gentleman. 
Malai links a slender arm with Kanok's, her cheeks aching from her grin. All she's wanted for a long time now is for her cousin—sister, truly—to be happy and find her calling. "You know, Nong, I'm happy that you experienced this. I know you needed to get away for a long time, but... I'm even happier you're back! We will take you out for a meal na." She tucks a piece of hair behind Kanok's pierced ear, gently pinching her cheek with pink-manicured fingers. 
Manow narrows her eyes, stopping her pace for a moment. "I know that look, Kanok na. Spill." She's stayed quiet (for once in her life) to analyze the distinct rosy glow of her friend's face. It radiates from within her. "Come on, what's his name na kah?" Kanok whines, gently slapping her cousin-in-law's shoulder.
"Manow, you are so nosy na! Can we at least sit for food first? Pssssh."
The petite young woman bashfully clasps her hands behind her back, the rosy blush never leaving her cheeks. She hasn't been in love since her formative collage years, with the boy she knew deep down she could never really have. She deserves to feel something deep and real once again. For once in her life, happiness is so close she can reach out and touch it.