2026-04-08, 07:46 AM - Word count:
”And you know, all good stories must have a beginning,” Joe tried, probably in as much of an attempt to convince himself as his father, to whom he outwardly seemed to be talking.
“I know, but I just…” Tok paused for a moment, before finishing. “Could you not have found someplace closer?”
“With an offer like that? You know it’s what I need to do to grow. Plus, I’ll get to see the world!”
“Yeah, you have to go for the sake of your dreams. I just wish you could have stayed here, at least in a nearby country,” his father sighed.
“It’s not like I want to leave you guys behind either.. but I’ll be back to visit whenever I can. And hey, maybe you can move into one of those big apartments up in Sukhumvit or something!” He tried to lift the mood a little, suspecting that his father was only holding back words of discouragement out of a desire not to block his son’s pursuit of his dreams. This also caused him to feel sort of guilty, for might it not mean taking away a good chunk of what remained yet of his father’s dreams – the simpler dreams of just having a normal life, with your kids around you. “Pim can go to a good university, too.”
“She can anyway. You know I’d make sure of it. But I get it, so you don’t need to keep trying to convince me. You need to go where your dreams are, Joe.” Tok had no desire to prolong the conversation; it was hardly pleasant. Although he wished his son could stay with him in the little house on the outskirts of Bangkok forever, a part of him also hoped he would just disperse in an instant and reappear in pixelated format on his phone as he would call from wherever this new football academy club or whatever he’d called it was.
The pair soon started heading out of the house, and down the road. A lengthy bus-ride awaited them, before they would reach the location of the fruit stall owned by one of Joe’s aunts, but which his father Tok had been in charge of operating most days for the past several years. They would cross the bridge over the river, and sit through what Joe each morning imagined might possibly be the world’s worst traffic jam, before reaching their destination somewhere between Sathorn and Silom, from where they would walk the final stretch before the heat really set in. This was always a good place for a business like this. There were all the rich people living in the big apartment buildings around, all the tourists who came to see the Indian temple, or perhaps to get a suit made, or were on their way to Chinatown, or whatever those people got up to, and then there were all the workers in Sathorn, all of whom offered a sizeable clientele for the stall. Even the masseuses and the people tending to the shops in the nearby malls might pop by to pick up a snack on the way to or from work. The fruit was delivered in the morning, courtesy of one of the aunt’s siblings up in the countryside, and they had to be there to set up shop by the time it arrived, so they would always get up early. After setting up the stall, they would wait for the delivery to be made, throw a proper base of ice inside of the glass box that made up the majority of the stall, and place the fruits in there. Joe would then head off to school, and Tok would start slicing fruit to have a few small plastic bags prepared for the morning rush.
From the moment the two had left home, this had been a day much like any other, but once Joe was approaching school, it did start to feel rather different. Most of his classmates knew by now, his friends must have made sure of that, and it made him feel a little strange. Some sort of concoction of butterflies, nostalgia or even melancholy, and impatience at the knowledge that someone would sooner or later ask him about his coming adventures. Running the possible answers to all sorts of questions that he might be asked through his head, Joe was also trying to figure out whether he was eager to chat about his move overseas, or if he just wanted to get it over with so he could have a normal day at school. One to imprint in his brain to savour at a later time, once the excitement had settled in his new home.
Unsurprisingly, Joe made it no further than the entrance to the school grounds before someone came over and clapped him on the shoulder, congratulating him on something they didn't quite define. He felt a little shy as he shrugged it off and said thanks back to the guy he only lightly knew from some mutual afterschool activity or other. Entering the stairwell of a building, he was once again congratulated, this time by a couple of classmates who happened to be entering at the same time as him. At this point it was pretty much confirmed that everybody knew, and Joe decided to go with the flow and let everybody know about his first proper academy contract and his impending move abroad, as soon as anybody were to ask. After all, he would soon be joining Victoria Falls Eagles.
“I know, but I just…” Tok paused for a moment, before finishing. “Could you not have found someplace closer?”
“With an offer like that? You know it’s what I need to do to grow. Plus, I’ll get to see the world!”
“Yeah, you have to go for the sake of your dreams. I just wish you could have stayed here, at least in a nearby country,” his father sighed.
“It’s not like I want to leave you guys behind either.. but I’ll be back to visit whenever I can. And hey, maybe you can move into one of those big apartments up in Sukhumvit or something!” He tried to lift the mood a little, suspecting that his father was only holding back words of discouragement out of a desire not to block his son’s pursuit of his dreams. This also caused him to feel sort of guilty, for might it not mean taking away a good chunk of what remained yet of his father’s dreams – the simpler dreams of just having a normal life, with your kids around you. “Pim can go to a good university, too.”
“She can anyway. You know I’d make sure of it. But I get it, so you don’t need to keep trying to convince me. You need to go where your dreams are, Joe.” Tok had no desire to prolong the conversation; it was hardly pleasant. Although he wished his son could stay with him in the little house on the outskirts of Bangkok forever, a part of him also hoped he would just disperse in an instant and reappear in pixelated format on his phone as he would call from wherever this new football academy club or whatever he’d called it was.
The pair soon started heading out of the house, and down the road. A lengthy bus-ride awaited them, before they would reach the location of the fruit stall owned by one of Joe’s aunts, but which his father Tok had been in charge of operating most days for the past several years. They would cross the bridge over the river, and sit through what Joe each morning imagined might possibly be the world’s worst traffic jam, before reaching their destination somewhere between Sathorn and Silom, from where they would walk the final stretch before the heat really set in. This was always a good place for a business like this. There were all the rich people living in the big apartment buildings around, all the tourists who came to see the Indian temple, or perhaps to get a suit made, or were on their way to Chinatown, or whatever those people got up to, and then there were all the workers in Sathorn, all of whom offered a sizeable clientele for the stall. Even the masseuses and the people tending to the shops in the nearby malls might pop by to pick up a snack on the way to or from work. The fruit was delivered in the morning, courtesy of one of the aunt’s siblings up in the countryside, and they had to be there to set up shop by the time it arrived, so they would always get up early. After setting up the stall, they would wait for the delivery to be made, throw a proper base of ice inside of the glass box that made up the majority of the stall, and place the fruits in there. Joe would then head off to school, and Tok would start slicing fruit to have a few small plastic bags prepared for the morning rush.
From the moment the two had left home, this had been a day much like any other, but once Joe was approaching school, it did start to feel rather different. Most of his classmates knew by now, his friends must have made sure of that, and it made him feel a little strange. Some sort of concoction of butterflies, nostalgia or even melancholy, and impatience at the knowledge that someone would sooner or later ask him about his coming adventures. Running the possible answers to all sorts of questions that he might be asked through his head, Joe was also trying to figure out whether he was eager to chat about his move overseas, or if he just wanted to get it over with so he could have a normal day at school. One to imprint in his brain to savour at a later time, once the excitement had settled in his new home.
Unsurprisingly, Joe made it no further than the entrance to the school grounds before someone came over and clapped him on the shoulder, congratulating him on something they didn't quite define. He felt a little shy as he shrugged it off and said thanks back to the guy he only lightly knew from some mutual afterschool activity or other. Entering the stairwell of a building, he was once again congratulated, this time by a couple of classmates who happened to be entering at the same time as him. At this point it was pretty much confirmed that everybody knew, and Joe decided to go with the flow and let everybody know about his first proper academy contract and his impending move abroad, as soon as anybody were to ask. After all, he would soon be joining Victoria Falls Eagles.
![[Image: lisfor-3.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/sDzJYqYM/lisfor-3.png)
