Good boy

Some are afraid to die, some find it peaceful. Some says that dying means another chapter of life but some says that death is the end game. Regardless of one's own opinion about death, I still wonder "why do people wept"

Final chapter…

"…bonds differ by atom and its ability, a good example are Hydroxide , Water and Hydrogen Peroxide. When written in chemical formula it will be HO, H2O and H2O2."

"Well done! Anchali"

"Thank you Teacher Khrap" Miko sat down, his classmates were fascinated and thought highly of him. He didn't thought that way though, he still thinks that he has a lot to learn and to work on.

Every time that a teacher asked a question , Miko already knew the answer. He passed every quizzes and tests but he was never on top. He was so humble that every time someone asked for his help, he entertains them.

He was also favored by the teachers when it comes to talking to his classmates for the upcoming events or programs. He even encouraged his classmates when they feel left behind or having a low self esteem.

Later on, the teacher gave the test result of midterm exam. She handed one by one to each students based on their surnames. When Miko's turn, he saw that he passed all of the subjects.

However, "Miko to be honest with you, I really do appreciate everything you do in the class but… Is this all you can do? I mean, you can give your best ok?"

"Khrap" Miko responded warmly in Dismayed face of his teacher.

Looking at his paper, he sighed deeply thinking how will his parents react. His scores weren't high nor low. It was between the two.

Comforting himself "How will I react to this scores?" he asked. He closed his eyes then remembered the hardships and the obstacles that he faced.

He also tried to remember his past laziness and irresponsible act. After that , he smiled and took another deep breathe.

"I'm actually feeling good with this grades, then what about my parents?" he close again his eyes while holding his paper on his desk.

He tried to visualized his parents individual's attitude. When he finally finalized what his parents' character or attitude, he then about to conceptualize a scenario on his head.

"Ok, so later at home during dinner…."

"Miko! Miko!" a girl voice called him out. Miko snapped out of his world and he opened his eyes. He looked and saw a girl on his back with her arm on Miko's shoulder, smiling at him.

The other girl was sitting beside him with her chair moved next to his. Lastly, a guy sitting in front of him facing backwards.

They looked like , they were having a meeting or small chit chat. Miko looked at his surrounding, he saw that the teacher was gone then he looked at them one by one. They were all staring at him.

"What?"

They looked at each other as Miko was confused. "Your head flew again" one of them said. "Where's Khru?" he asked.

"Aw~ she already left, haven't you heard the bell? It's lunch time" his guy friend explained. "let me all see your scores then." Miko enthusiast said

"Ohoi~ we know that you are smart ok" feeling shy to show their scores to Miko. He then handed his midterm result to his friends to build their trust. "HA! Finally I'm higher than you!" one girl said. They all shared their midterm reports. It turns out that Miko's score were not far from them.

"Woah! I'm so happy for you guys" Miko smiled and hugged them warmly. He was genuinely proud of his friends' achievements. "even though we got high score , we all know that you are smarter than us." One of his friend was pouting at him.

Miko just smiled and laughed at them. "Pha! let's have our lunch." He said. They all stood up , fixed their chairs and left their bags inside the classroom. They brought with them important things. For some reason , the girls brought their make up pouches.

Miko and his guy friend were feeling a bit stressed. "Here we go again." His friend nodded at him. "Sorry na , it was Daisy's fault , you know that." Miko glared at Daisy. "5555, I'll make it quick, I promise!" Miko rolled his eyes. Together, they went out to the cafeteria where the lady's room was near.

The boys ordered their foods and saved the seats for the girls. Not long, they joined in and kept their promise to Miko. "it's hard to be a dad huh" his guy friend asked.

"yeah, especially handling those two rascals." He pointed out to the girls. "oi! We kept our promise"

"alright , alright"

"by the way how are you and…" their guy friend asked. In their lunch break, Miko and his friend spent their time talking each other's life and their relationship.

After a stressful school hours , they finally separated to one another.

Miko went home at dusk. As he about to enter the house , a small pug came running with a small tail wiggling in excitement. "Hi, there Raiken" his dog barked and howled on him.

He squat down to pet his pur friend. His dog in excitement tried to show his belly but because of his weight, he rolled over instead. In cuteness, Miko giggled at his dog. "I knew , you should be on a diet. You are getting fat Raiken."

His dog was desperate to have a belly rub but he kept on rolling and rolling.

Miko stood up , "Come now, little sushi roll" he said. With his tongue sticked out and salivating mouth, he stood up and kept on wiggling his tail as he follow Miko inside. "I'm home!" Miko said

He took off his shoes and placed it on a rack. "Aw~ what dinner do you like?" a male deep voice asked.

"Pa~ where are you, khrap ?"

"The kitchen"

Miko went to the kitchen and saw his father staring at random foods placed on the table. "What are you doing?" curiously looking at his father. "I don't know what to cook for dinner, so I was hoping to be creative using these ingredients."

"be creative and you know Mom won't be happy about it."

"yeah~ I forgot 5555 by the way your mom might be late for tonight. She texted me that her boss asked her to finish some documents."

"Khrap" Miko said. His dog stayed with his father. staring at him with his exotropia eyes. Miko left his midterm result to his father. Looking at it, his father wasn't feeling bad about it and at the same time wasn't feeling good about it too.

He went to his room passing his younger sister's , "Phi?" his sister said as she saw her brother passed by. Miko ignored his sister because he was so tired. When he reached his room, he threw his bag to the bed and took off his clothes immediately.

He went to shower with a cold water, he felt refreshed and it was his way of coping up stress. He washed himself thoroughly as he listen to the music on his phone. He was listening to every hopeless romantic songs played in soul genre. It somehow calms him down and feel as if it's something that he can move on.

As the song played on and on by different artists and different music, the rhythm hit him. He dances to the beat of the music as he scrub himself with soap and a towel. He sang the song , harmoniously to relieve his negative emotion. He rinsed himself , as bubbles disappeared and as dirt removed so his burden.

He wiped himself , feeling refreshed and new with a light burden. Suddenly his phone rang, he looked at his phone and saw some text messages.

"Miko can you asked your classmates for the music for the upcoming event?"

"Good day Miko, May we know your schedule?"

"Hi Miko, no one in your class willing to be the Moon and Star representative" and other more messages asking Miko to some activities and events or programs related in school.

Miko read the notification instead of reading to the actual application. "they'll think I'm busy , I'll respond to them tomorrow." He said. He was hoping that other people may answer their questions.

Miko wore his clothes comfortably then he lay on his bed. He took his phone and played a game. It was dog tag type of shooting game where 5 players will compete with other 5 players.

A few hours of playing gun games, her sister knocked on his door. "P' let's eat na!" he heard it but he choose to ignore. Her sister knocked loudly and change her voice to sounded like she was enthusiastic.

"PHI! PHI! LET'S EAT NA! NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA!!!!!" Miko was annoyed, he shouted at his sister and said "OHOI~ I'M COMING! LET ME FINISH THIS FIRST!"

"I LOVE YOU NA!" her sister said as she smiled. She knew that she successfully annoyed her brother so she went away feeling proud.

Pissed, Miko played his game with a few deaths needed so their team will win. As the game progress, there were bad comments and foul mouthed people on voice chat. He ignored them because he understood that these people were having a rough time.

Miko shot one of the players in the head with his shotgun. They won the match featuring him. The result was him being MVP of the team then he stood up and fixed himself to dine.

His father and sister were waiting at the dinner table, the dog was also sitting under their chair . "Here you go buddy" Miko's sister was trying to feed the dog.

"NO!" Miko stopped her, she halted and looked at Miko. "Raiken , enough, you are getting fat."

"but, he hasn't even started eating yet."

"I already fed him" his father replied. "so you're the culprit , why Raiken was getting fat huh!" his sister giggled.

They sat on the table with the foods already been cooked. They were eating while watching a movie on a television. In the middle of their dinner, a woman came wearing a suit in heels. "Hi hon"

They greeted their mother as she walked tired and low energy to the table. "let me prepare a tea for you." Their father stood up and fetch a tea. "today is a hustle day."

"then rest for a while hon, eat then I'll massage you."

Then their father handed their school report to their mother. The two was busy eating and watching the movie.

"Miko" she called out her son, Miko looked at him innocently "Khrap!"

"how old are you?" she asked, Miko snapped out and tried to remember his age. He counted from the year he was born till the recent year. He actually forgot his age. "I'm 18 na Khrap"

"then what is this?" she asked, she was annoyed. "my midterm result khrap?"

"I know that but why is it your grade like this?" his father was just rubbing his wife as he avoid eye contact between the two. "you are about to fail!"

"but I did not"

"then tell me what were you doing these past few weeks?" Miko tried to remember what he did but the only thing that he remember was the recent. "See! You can't say it to me because you were slacking off!..."

Miko wasn't angry at his mother nor feeling annoyed about it because he knew that her mother was telling the truth. He admitted to himself he was a little bit of carefree.

"…you kept on playing those stupid games, and your teachers knew about it…" Miko was suddenly confused, he knew that he was playing games but only when he was free. "…you kept on fighting against your teacher again do you?..."

Miko suddenly reflected to himself, he knew that he wasn't hold any grudges to anyone. So why would he fight? he did not talk back to his mother because he understood that she was just tired.

" …do you know my sacrifice Miko?"

"Khrap" he said

"then what? Tell me…"

"that you work day by day to sustain this family. you worked hard just so we can study."

"you really don't know huh"

"huh?!" Miko was confused. He tried to looked at the other way as possible but Miko knew that his mother won't stop nagging.

So he choose to be quiet and listen to his mother's rant. "… to be honest with you Miko, those are my blood and sweat. You may know what I've been doing but you don't know the value of it… what's wrong with you?"

"I know you, I know who you are. You were born from my womb so I Know what kind of person you are…" Miko was rebelling against his mother but on his head only. He was afraid to be called disrespectful for talking back to his parents.

"if you knew me then you shouldn't asked 'what's your problem' you should atleadt understand my situation then."

"…cause if you truly knew the value then you'll work hard." Then their mother looked at their father.

"well for me , as long as he'll have a bright future then it's ok for me." Their mother looked at his father. Both of them talked at each other.

Later on, Miko finished his food and went to his room. He wasn't really mad about his parents but he was having a debate with his parents in his head.

Minutes later, Miko studied alone in a quiet environment. Everyone was asleep except for him. He were more focused and determined, he was so eager to pass the expectation of his parents because he loves them. Pressured may it seemed but Miko will do anything for his love ones.

The next day, he woke up from his desk with his hair messy, eyes squinting. He slowly reached out to his noisy phone and clicked the alarm.

"I slept for 4 hours" he whispered. He stood up and went to the shower , walking like a slug , he managed to reach the bathroom with ease. He went in naked and slowly turned the water.

"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH" he shouted, his voice echoed in the room. He jumped and jumped as he shivers. He took a cold bathe to wake himself up. less sluggish, he cleaned his teeth and wore his uniform. He went to breakfast with his whole family ready for school.

After eating their breakfast, they were drop off by their mother who was going to work using their car. "Do your best always"

"Khrap"

"Kha"

They kissed their mother in the cheeks then they did their farewell. After that his sister went ahead of him, Miko noticed something on their school. There were stalls and decorations around. "What's up Miko?" his friend showed up. "what's the event?"

"you've forgotten already? It's time for clubs"

"yeah my bad , sorry na"

"what makes your head pre occupied?"

"oh I was studying last night 5555"

"WAIT! Do we have a QUIZ!?"

"5555 no silly, I just want to study that's all"

"you made me nervous you know 555 anyway, have you considered joining at a club? I mean it's good for the upcoming college entrance exam"

"I don't know, what about you?"

"might be part of a book club"

"why? You don't seem to read a lot of books…"

"well, free printing services when you are member of the book club"

"looks like favorable for you, especially when you are in a hurry doing our activities eh"

"pha! Let's take a look for the other clubs" Miko and his friend saw different types of clubs and their activities however Miko didn't find it suitable for him.

In their classroom, the boys were talking about the clubs that they saw. "what a bummer, you haven't been with any of the clubs."

"I mean their clubs are good and awesome however I don't think I fit on them."

"you could at least try photography"

"I'm interested however, I don't have a device"

"swimming?"

"they want their athletes in trunks and I feel uncomfortable with it"

"cooking?"

"too hot"

"instrument?"

"can't play"

"dancing?"

"stiff body"

"singing?"

"Hoarse"

"poem?"

"vocabulary limited"

"acting?"

"can't cry"

"art?"

"stickman"

"chess?"

"not smart"

"basketball"

"sweaty"

"almost all of the clubs I already mentioned and you were being picky about it!"

"Meh, it's ok not to be part of a club. I just have to pass the entrance exam then that's it."

When his friend was losing hope, a guy peek to their classroom. The guy greeted and entered the room, he announces about the Student Council election. His friend looking so high hope however Miko was not in the mood.

"… for those who were interested please approach our adviser thank you na Khrap" and then the guy left. Miko's friend looked at him with glistering eyes. "This is it Miko!"

"you want me to enter student council?"

"yeah, you have the leadership skills"

"then what position should I joined? I'm not good looking for an escort, ugly hand writing for a secretary. Worst at money"

"Vice president?"

"I mean VP is nice but let's be President then"

"Woah~ your way head of yourself"

"I mean if you want me to join student council for the very least we can go all out, like a game. Bet it all or lose that's all"

"your right, you have my full support."

They had few classes after that then Miko went to sign up accompanied by his friend. The adviser of the student council gave Miko a paper to fill. "do you have pen?"

"I got you" his friend handed his pen. He find it unusual for Miko to forget his pen knowing that there would be a sign up.

While Miko was answering the paper , he encountered a question. "what was my birthyear?"

"you forgot your birth year?555"

"wait let me remember" after a while Miko remembered his birth year. "almost done…. And~ finish!" he handed the paper to the adviser and was instructed for their campaign speech on the election day.

Him and his friend went back to their classroom feeling relief. Miko took out a book and went silent, he studied advance and did not worry about the campaign speech meanwhile his friend was talking about Miko running for presidency in student council. he bragged it to their circle of friends.

Miko went home and studied, his friends were busy making a campaign speech suggestion for him. Miko thinking about his speech and his study, he worked hard and double. He took down notes and tried to memorized some of it. He wrote down some in a sticky notes and pasted it in his wall, he even watched some videos.

This became his daily routine for about a month, he even forgot to be in their get together with his friends. He woke up early in the morning with 2-3 hours of sleep.

He stayed up at night till morning to study. He was looking more pale and eyes looked so darken. He was also getting slimmer though he eats a lot.

No one noticed his changes because he looks so lively. "Miko come down! It's time for breakfast!" his Mom shouted. "Coming!"

He immediately went down , wearing his school uniform with his collar untidy and his hair a mess. Miko saw foods on their table which are unusual amount and inappropriate for a breakfast. "what's with all of these?" he asked.

"it's your birthday! You silly" his father said as he rubbed Miko's head. "oh!" Miko reacted , forgetting about his birthday.

"did you like your surprise?" his mother asked. "Yeah, I liked it. Thank you"

"are you sure? You don't sound compelling"

"it's really good" he replied. Around the table was pizza, some raw salmon , potato crisps, garlic breads, mushroom soup and buttered shrimp. "you know your sister is a picky eater so we prepared some friend rice too." His father explained.

After eating, they were dropped off by their mother in front of their school. His sister went out. When Miko's turn , his mother called him out. "Miko! You forgot your bag!" He looked at his mother then quickly ran towards the car.

As he was getting his bag , his mother was a bit worried. "you know, you are too young to have lapses." He sighed and replied to his mother. "you're over reacting"

His mother wasn't feeling good about his reply , she rebutted him "I don't! oh! by the way, what are your plans for your birthday?" Miko closed the car door and gazed to his mother. "well, you know spend time with my friends then go home" he chuckled.

"you should treat them" she suggested. "meh, they're good and all"

"don't be like that, how about invite them in our place for dinner?"

"yeah sure , I'll tell them"

"great! Have fun!"

"thanks" Miko walked away from his mother. The car started then she left the school. In their school corridor, his guy friend came. "hey Miko, good luck for your campaign speech this afternoon." His friends didn't knew of his birthday.

Suddenly a person approached them "Hey Miko! Have you decided for the music yet?" a student asked. "What music?" He looked at his friend oblivious. "the one they asked you about the upcoming event?!"

"oh~ right… about that, uhm~ I'll chat you later because today we are going to discuss about it during lunch break with my classmates but I'll update you within this day. I promise" He smile in a compelling way. The student nodded and left the boys hanging. "what do you mean you forget?"

His friend asked in surprise. "I don't know" he shrug to his friend not knowing why. "you are Miko Anchali, the smart, organized and un-forgetful president of Class 2."

"Look, can you at least helped me out here?"

"yeah sure but I won't help you next time."

His friend dashed to their classroom to conduct a meeting about the upcoming event, a few minutes Miko's daughters came. "here Miks" Daisy handed a piece of paper to Miko. It was the school campaign speech that he should memorize. "thanks guys"

3pm , Miko and the girls were hanging out together at the cafeteria. They were all sitting in silent.

They weren't eating or talking to each other. They were just sitting. Their guy friend came and asked "what happened? How was the election?"

Daisy look at him " it was a close call, the opponent had a 1 voter's point which makes her win."

"it's ok Miko, you'll get it next time." Miko looked at him and said "that's not the point" one of their friend told him that " Miko is upset because the campaign speech of those people were all about bragging of their achievements.

And he thinks that it's absurd and boastful. Miko might have a lot of achievements but he still thinks that boasting achievements doesn't validate a person's capability.

The three of us here are disappointed at our selves because the campaign speech that we made was a waste. Miko forgot the speech so he add lip some. It was really, really good that's why it's quite disappointing ."

"oh!~ but bright side, Miko I already told them about the music choice so you don't have to worry anything about the event." He said.

"why don't we celebrate then?" he added. Miko remembered that his mother asked him to invite his friend to celebrate his birthday. " Guys speaking of celebrate, my mother asked me to invite you guys tonight at our place to celebrate?"

"celebrate what?" they asked. They were all looking at Miko curiously. "well, it's my birthday and they want to meet you guys" immediately , they looked on their phones and searched for Miko's account. There were no indication about his birthday.

"you deactivated your account , didn't you?" they said. "no…. ok yeah maybe!" "found it!" Daisy was looking at a post. "your mother posted something about you." They all greeted Miko a happy birthday after confirming that it wasn't a prank.

They all decided to go together. They rode a Grab and went to Miko's place. It was 5pm already when they went out from school.What welcomed them was a small agitated Pug sensing different strange scents. "What a cute dog! what his name?" adored by Miko's pet, the pug kept on barking at them.

"his name is Raiken" Miko carried the pug like a baby and they all petted him. Raiken familiarizing the people around him, he slowly calming down.

They entered the house and greeted Miko's parents. "what a lovely home" they complimented. "don't be shy, come in." his father welcomed his friends.

The night was long but they had fun. There were singing , dancing and even games. They were all having fun till Miko accidentally slipped from Raiken's pee. "are you ok?" his mother asked. Miko thumbs up and stood. His friends were at him looking worried.

"I'll go get change"he said. His father mopped the floor and sprayed it with chlorine. Meanwhile , Miko was changing his clothes. He lied when he said that he was feeling good.

He was feeling dizzy and his head was feeling heavy. He laid on the bed , resting his body. "probably, this is just from exhaustion." Deniably whisper.

"Miko! Miko!" someone was calling him. He opened his eyes and went down stairs. "we'll go home now" they said. "let me accompany you guys"

They went out and fixed themselves before they go home on their respective places. "Text me guys if you are already home ok?" Miko's father said.

It was getting dark and one by one , he send off his friends on their public transportation , ensuring their safety going home. When Miko finally going back , he texted his mother that he'll be on his way.

He was feeling uneasy while walking. A bit of wobbly. He shook his head and slapped his checking to wake him up.

On their home, his father received all the text saying that they already reached home. His mother and father was fixing the house and cleaning the area. His sister was already asleep.

11pm and he hasn't come yet. His mother got worried as they waited for him. His father kept on texting Miko but there were no reply. Feeling trippy, his father fell asleep as he waited for his son to come. His mother was fully awake and yet worried face was all over her.

1 am and there were no sign of him.

She woke up her husband feeling stressed. "you go to sleep, I'll wait for him" she took a deep sighed knowing that her husband is a sloth.

She fell asleep while her husband was awake. Not long, he fought the bait of tiredness. His eyes begin to drop and his body relaxes.

8 am they were woken by their daughter. The first thing that she thought of is "Miko already home?" she immediately went up towards Miko's room. When she opens it, there wasn't anyone.

That's the time they all panicked and went to seek help.

They even asked Miko's friend if they happened to know. Sadly, they don't. Miko knew how to go to their school, temple and their house.

5 days have passed and the family was having high hope. They did everything to seek help just to find Miko. His mother was getting lonely so she went to Miko's room out of longingness.

There she stare at the ceiling of the room, from corner to corner. She saw a bottle drug placed in Miko's table. Out of curiosity, she went to look , thinking it was misplaced. All of the their drugs are stored at the kitchen which includes vitamins and other supplements.

"Mom!Mom! Phi is in the TV!" she hurried down holding the bottle. After that there was silence in the house. After few minutes, the bottle fell from her hand followed by a great wailing.

Miko was found dead surrounded by tall leafy grass. They autopsied the body and they found out that the brain was deteriorating. The hippocampus found damaged. They suspected that the body died 2 days before it was found.

They added that deterioration started 5 days ago. The body seemed to struggle during those times that he became unconsciously walking somewhere rather than going home. The body shut down after the brain gets deteriorated.

His family and his friends was in deep despair. The body did not heal the bruise from Miko's accident during his birthday. The cold body that was warm in welcoming people and encouraging one another. Who put pressure on himself just to reach the expectation of many.

~END of Chapter

In reality, he really does exist...

Some of us fear him and some of us thinks that he is the escape...

No one is excuse...

Everyone will meet him...

Maybe not today, or tomorrow...

But, some day...

Do you now recognize him?

_End of the book_