Noom Rednon

 

I wrote this story when I was in the Bangkok Remand Prison. I was inspired by the story of a friend in prison, whose older brother had filed a complaint of a serious crime against him. This story fills out and clarifies another short story, “Incident on the Fourth Floor,” that I wrote and that was recently published on Prachatai. Let me reiterate that this is a work of fiction. Individuals in the story are fictional characters only. 

 

Special thanks to Khun Pla from Prachatai and “Nu Jib” Warangkhanang Ouynok for typing this story from my original handwritten version. 

 

 

 

This morning, like every other morning, Pong along with Pom, his older brother, rose before dawn to follow their mother who was already in the forest. It rained very hard last night and today it is chilly. “This morning there will be bunch of mushrooms to collect, for certain,” Pong quietly thought to himself.

 

Pong's mother only recently became a vendor. She did so out of necessity after her husband abandoned her when Pong was three years old. Pong barely remembers his father, because he was still very small when he left. The forest products she finds do not bring in a lot of income, but it is the only way she can get money to buy rice to feed her three children.

 

“Pong, I am not going today. I’m tired, I don’t feel like it. You go on alone," Pom said to his younger brother who was trying to get him up to go help their mother.

 

Pong sighed deeply. Again, huh?

 

"Eh, I can go alone, fine," he said. Pong picked up the fertilizer bag his mother left for him to use and rushed to catch up with her.

 

Pong asked his mother once why she had to search for things in the forest to sell. She only got a little bit of money and he didn’t know why she did it. Why not go fishing? Why not catch fish and sell them? She could probably get more money.  Mother said that she cannot fish, she could not catch fish at all. It’s men’s work. When Father was around, he supported the family by fishing. But he is not here and she cannot do it. "In truth, I’d like to do it," his mother told him.

 

Pong helped his mother gather a lot of mushrooms, large wild mushrooms. And they also got many bunches of kradon leaves and  balloon vines. Pong was filled with excitement. If they sold all of this, his mother might indulge him with an ice cream as a treat. Mother often gave him rewards, because she wanted to teach him how to make a living from when he was still young.

 

Pong happily walked home, filled with the tasty ice cream that his mother bought him. Pom watched him with envy. But he did not consider snatching his brother’s treat. He knew that if he had gone to help his mother, he too would have gotten ice cream. 

 

Pui, their sister and the oldest of the three, had already steamed rice and was getting the table ready to eat breakfast.  In addition to rice, which Mother got from bartering forest products, that day, there was money leftover to also buy eggs and a large mackerel. It had been a long time, indeed, since they could eat yummy food like this.

 

Mother was happy as she sat and watched her three children eat the delicious food. Though weary, she was content. The days she collects a lot, like today, her children eat well. But sometimes, she finds nothing at all.  This is the life of the impoverished, who still number many in this country.

 

Other than collecting forest products, Mother has another primary source of income. She brews and sells alcohol. Many people take up this profession because it is an easy, if illegal, way to earn money. It may be against the law, but what else can she do? She has no paddy land of her own. She has no assets of her own. She has no capital that she can do anything with at all. They even have to rent the house in which they life. Pong and Pom know this well. After school each day, they cannot go play with their friends. They have to go help their mother steam sticky rice to make rice whiskey. Sometimes they help start the fire to brew the whiskey. Pong was Mother’s primary helper. Sometimes Pom helped, sometimes he did not.

 

Her work brewing whiskey produced enough income to raise three children, buy them rice to eat and give them money to use. All three children studied until they were grown.  The police came to arrest her, but Mother simply had to pay a fine at the police station and then she returned home and continued. Mother told the children that it is not as if she was not scared. But if she gave it up, what would she do to earn a living? Pong listened and felt understanding and sympathy for his hard-working mother. So he did not loaf around like other kids. Most of the time, he was with her, working to help her earn money. Pom was different, he did not like to expend labor. Pom thought he was smarter than his younger brother, thought his ability and intelligence were greater. It seemed to many people that Pom took advantage of his younger brother. But Pom could not care less. Let them criticize him.

 

Mother had reprimanded Pom many times for being unwilling to help and letting his younger brother be her sole helper. But Pom replied with the outcry that she only thought of and only loved Pong. He missed Father. If Father was still around, he would understand him and take his side. Pom had the notion that Mother only loved his younger brother and did not love him. He wanted to be with Father. He had no desire to be with Mother.

 

 

 

After finishing primary school in the village, Pom and Pong went to study at the district school. They rode a bicycle to cover the approximately 13 kilometers there. Since they had only one old bicycle, the brothers took turns each pedaling half the distance to school.

 

They each received 5 baht per day as pocket money, enough for snacks each day at school. Pong, he was thrifty, and tended to have money leftover to return to Mother. He knew that she went to a lot of trouble to earn money. But she never wanted the money back. So Pong deposited the money in a piggy bank, and saved it to give to her when a real need arose. 

 

A famous boxing camp was located behind Pom and Pong’s new school. Anyone could study there. Pong and Pom already had a background in boxing, from boxing in various temple fairs. They saw boxing as an opportunity to make their own pocket money. After getting out of school, the pair would go train at the camp. They had the chance to box at various events. The earnings became substantial. From getting a fee of 200-300 baht, it increased to 600-700 baht, and then 1000 baht each time.

 

Though the pair started boxing at the same time, Pom had greater finesse. But his heart was not in it and so he was not as successful as he ought to be. In contrast, Pong’s skill was inferior but he was aggressive and his heart was in the fight, so he commanded a higher fee.  Pom was embarrassed that he could not compete with his younger brother, so he decided to stop boxing. He shifted his life to play music and sing instead, which only he could do well.

 

Pong’s earnings from boxing were considerable and he shared them with his mother to put towards expenses. He was a first-rate boxer and as time passed, one of the most talented at the boxing camp. The year that Pong finished Grade 9 and was about to enter Grade 10,  Pong began to feel as though he could not box. Even though it was something he loved, it did not matter. This left him vulnerable to injury, too. Plus, he started to be a bigger deal. The training became intense.  Pong skipped practice often. In boxing language, this is called “decamping.” In the end, he decided to stop boxing, and to quit school at Grade 10. Full of determination, he decided he would follow his sister’s path and go to work in Bangkok. She had gone many years earlier.  As for Pom, he thought himself to be superior. He was smarter, he thought, and decided to continue studying through Grade 12. At this point, the two parted company for a short period.

 

 

 

When he arrived in Bangkok, Pong worked at a well-known milk company on the advice of a friend from the village. Pong worked as a milk delivery clerk and took the milk to different shops. The work was not difficult and he made ends meet comfortably on the monthly wage. After Pong had been working for two years, Pom finished school and joined him.

 

On Pong’s recommendation, Pom began working at the same company.  He secured a better position because his qualifications were better, having finished Grade 12. His job -- arranging milk in an air-conditioned room -- was a more comfortable one than Pong’s. They lived together and shared the rent on one room. Each worked and earned money to support himself. Pong chose to send a portion of his earnings each month to his mother in the provinces. As for Pom, he chose to use his money to study for a bachelor’s degree. He dreamed of a beautiful life as an artist and his goal was to become a luk thung singer. A small record label signed him and until his album was finished, he worked relentlessly on it.

 

Pong continued to work at the milk company. He met a woman who became his girlfriend there and they saved money in order to get married and start a family. When they could, they bought a small pick-up truck of their own, which in turn, placed a heavier burden on them. They had the idea to find something to do in order to generate enough income for their increased expenses. But what would be good?

 

 

 

Many months passed before Pong figured out what he should do. The answer was to make car-washing solution. A friend had given him the formula for the solution, minimal capital was needed and the potential for risk was low.  This was the chance for him to be free from tedious, boring, routine work. Nid, his wife, agreed. Pong resigned from his job to start the car-washing solution business.

 

Pong moved out of the rented room he had once shared with Pom and into a house with space in which to manufacture the products. Pong did everything himself. He made the solution himself. He sold it himself. He collected the money himself. He sold enough in the first month to make it and sales increased by the by. With his hard work and patience, his business expanded quickly. From first being solely car-washing solution, he expanded to make car wax and window-washing solution. This brought in substantial earnings, until he nearly could not keep up with the demand because he was working alone. Nid was not ready to leave her current job, so Pong asked Nod, her younger brother, to come work with him. 

 

Even with Nod to lighten the load, it did not seem to be enough. Pong then considered what he should do to make it possible to produce the solutions to meet his customers’ demand. He decided it was time to find another person to help with other duties, and he thought of a person who was close to him. His older brother. Pong knew that Pom’s singing did not provide a particularly satisfying salary.  There was money to travel to go up on stage and promote the music, but there was no compensation. It was not really a living. Pong had the thought that Pom could join his business and help with the accounting and computing work, and the drawing up different kinds of documents. What was important was that Pong could trust Pom, because he was his own actual older brother. 

 

Pong got in touch with Pom, and he agreed immediately. With his older brother now on board, Pong took the opportunity to take the business to another level. He invited a friend and former coworker from the milk company, Bird, to join as an investor. Bird was hard-working, and like Pong, he liked to sell. When everything was in place, it was time for three of them to work together to bring their small business to success.

 

 

 

Pom and his wife moved in with Pong. Pong and Bird produced the solutions and went out to sell them and Pom collected the money and did the accounting. Each person had his own duties and responsibilities. Every product sold well and the sales volume doubled with the addition of Bird. Pong’s business succeeded in line with the goals he had set. He quickly took care of his debts, car payment, and the costs of various equipment. Pong noticed that since Pom did not have a car, whenever he went anywhere, it was inconvenient. So Pong offered to take care of the expense for him. Pom wanted a car, and so was very happy. He only asked Pong for the down payment, and would pay off what was leftover in installments. Pong agreed immediately, because even though it was going to be his brother’s car, it would also be like a back-up vehicle for the business. Now there was nothing to stop Pong’s success.

 

 

 

Pom was thrilled with his new car. On his day off nearly every week, he took his wife, her parents, and grandmother on trips far out of the city. The ocean, the mountains, waterfalls. Whenever there was a concert, he always drove there. You could say that he was unwilling to be separated from his trusty partner, the car. He never let anyone else touch it. Even Pong, who put out the money for the car, was not allowed to touch it. Pong stayed out of any mess over the car, because he knew Pom’s nature well.

 

After finishing work each day, Pom, Pong, and Bird often hung out together at home. Sometimes they went out, the way young men do. There was the issue of women paying attention to them, but these three never did anything to cause repercussions for their families. Each of them understood well that they already had families. When the night was over, everything was over, no matter how fun it had been. Knowledge of what happened stayed inside the group. 

 

But then there was one day. Pom had spent many days outside of Bangkok at a singing engagement, and did not take his car with him. It was the period before Songkran and there were a lot of product orders. They only had one delivery truck in use, and each day, Pong and Bird could barely make all of the deliveries. Pong decided to use Pom’s car temporarily. He didn’t tell Pom, because he didn’t think he would mind and he used it for only a few deliveries. But it happened that Pom called home to check on his car, because he was worried about her.  He learned from his mother-in-law that Pong used his car for deliveries without telling him. Pom was very displeased that Pong used his car, but Pong had no idea that he felt this way.

That night, after finishing deliveries for the day, Pong and Bird were sitting relaxing and drinking beer together. When Nid, Pong’s wife, came home from work, she had a heated quarrel with Pong. She accused him of being unfaithful, of having other women here and there. What is her name, he asked. Nid knew. Everything she said was correct. Pong asked how she knew, but she refused to say. Nid cried and cried, and it took a lot for them to reconcile.  When they got together to drink the next day, Pong complained to his friends. How could this happen? He was very angry, angry to the degree that he threatened to cut off friendship, to completely stop being friends. One friend confessed that he saw the whole incident. Someone called Pong’s wife. That someone was Pom, Pong’s own older brother. The reason was the issue of the car, that issue. Now Pong was furious. He did not think that Pom would dare go this far. But he also thought of his growing business and did not want there to be any problems.  Pong then decided to count from one to ten. To put up with it without making an issue. He kept his pain in heart and acted as though nothing had happened. Pom himself knew that Pong knew already, because their friends had come to reproach him. This was the first rift that caused the two brothers to stop speaking to one another. And Pong never touched Pom’s car again. Ever. 

 

 

 

“I cannot take care of them, son, I cannot.” An elderly woman and her son led a buffalo down from a pristine vehicle. “But see, Mother, please take care of them. Look, Mother, they are beautiful. This species is easy to raise. You won’t have to do anything. Look after them for a few months and then they will be ready to sell. I won’t leave them with you for too long, Mother.”  And with that, Pom’s entreaties were successful. His mother was reluctant to take on five small, young buffalos. But what could she do? Even though she was unwilling, he had already brought them to her.  

 

 

Two weeks before, Pom’s wife had pleaded with him to help her deal with her parents, who were facing a drug-related case. But when he went to the house to ascertain the details, no one was there except for the five buffalo calves. There was no one to look after them and they were tied up behind the house, starving. Pom decided to pile the five calves into his car and take them to his mother’s house, which was not too far. He looked at the buffalos and saw an opportunity for a big lump of cash. No matter how you thought about it, the profit was clear.  His mother was just sitting at home. She could take care of them. They eat all sorts of things and there was a lot of grass at his mother’s house.  After only a few months, they could be sold. 

 

Once he deposited the buffalo with his mother, Pom immediately rushed back to the car and returned to Bangkok. His mother and older sister, Pui, were left in confusion about the buffalos for many days. He did not leave any money with them for expenses, none at all. Since his sister had to go to work at the sub-district office every day, the burden of looking after the buffalos fell to his mother, his elderly 70-year-old mother. Every morning she went out with a cart to find and cut grass for the buffalo calves to eat. Her body was covered in scratches from the blades of grass and tree branches. She went out everyday, until she fell sick. Pui tried to persuade Pom to sell the buffalos. But he attempted to put her off, because he thought that if he rushed to sell them, they would not fetch a good price. His mother and older sister then had to keep putting up with the routine of taking care of the buffalos. Finally, Mother said that she could not take it anymore and Pui decided to sell them immediately, without telling Pom. If she told Pom, then perhaps they would not be able to sell the buffalos, and Mother would have to suffer more. A buyer purchased them for the price of 21,000 baht. Pui gave Mother 5,000 of this amount for looking after the buffalo for nearly a year. She called Pom to come pick up the remainder. 

 

As soon as Pom heard the news about the sale of the buffalos, he was incensed and dissatisfied that they had been sold for an amount less than what he had in mind. He told his mother and older sister that they should have gotten no less than 5000 baht per buffalo. Pom had checked the price on the internet, and he should have gotten at least 25,000 baht. He would not accept less. Pui tried to explain the reasons, but Pom would not listen. He insisted on the full amount. They argued for nearly half a day, but in the end, Pui gave in. By taking back the 5,000 baht she had given to Mother for raising the buffalos and borrowing another 4,000 baht from a neighbor, she gave 25,000 baht to Pom. Then he was satisfied, and returned to Bangkok at once.

 

After the matter of the buffalos, everyone in the family agreed that Pom had changed a lot. He was a more selfish person and would take advantage of anyone, even his own mother. Pong himself had nothing to say. He only felt a greater sorrow in his heart about his relationship with his older brother.  From that day forward, he distanced himself from Pom in everything.

 

 

 

Pong and Bird sat and drank beer in front of the house every night. They heard Pom park his car, and then saw him go into the house carrying a box. He went to find his wife, who was eating, and then once she saw the box, exclaimed, “Where did you get this from? Oh it’s so cute. Is it a foreign dog?”

 

“I think so. A wrinkled face and fluffy fur like this, it must have some foreign parentage. I bought it from a construction site, three small streets away from our house. I happened to pass by chance, and it seemed like the Burmese construction workers were going to catch it and eat it. I felt sorry for it and bought its life with a case of beer. I made merit too,” Pom said. Pong overheard the conversation. Looking at the dog from afar, it was adorable. Fuzzy brown fur and mischievous. 

 

Pom named the dog “Tan.” Tan was a truly adorable dog. Clever and bright. Everyone in the house loved her. Pong often secretly gave her food. But Pom and his wife were the people who actually looked after her. At first, Pom carried Tan upstairs to sleep in their room every night. They bathed her every day, so she was clean. Everyone who saw her was envious, because she was looked after with so much care.

 

But not long after that, as Tan grew up, the crinkles in her face disappeared. Her long fluffy hair became shorter. She was not cute in the same way she had once been. The love that Pom had for Tan began to dissipate until he was almost no longer interested in her at all. It was as if he was disappointed, because he wanted a foreign dog, but ended up with a Thai dog. He was obsessed with raising dogs, so he tried to find a new, replacement dog. In the end, he got a real foreign dog. A white dog that he bought at Chatuchak Market and named “Fai.”

 

One evening, Pong woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and happened to see Tan sleeping under the car. Her face and body were teeming with mosquitos. He felt sorry for her, and so picked her up, carried her into the house, and turned a fan on for her. In the morning, Pong complained to Pom’s wife and asked her why they took Fai to sleep upstairs, but not Tan. Pom overheard the conversation and replied that he was no longer taking care of Tan. Whoever wanted her could go ahead and take her. Eh, Pong said, then I will take care of her. After that, Pong was Tan’s new official owner. She also got a new name, because Pong did not like her original name. Tan’s new name was “Cherry.”

 

Pom and Pong then each had a dog and each raised his dog separately. No problems should have arisen. But who knew that soon there would a problem with the dogs between the two brothers? A problem that affected the relationships between those who shared the same blood, a problem that made it difficult to return to how things used to be. 

 

 

 

The business was on its way to success. But feelings cannot be used as the metric for success, you have to look at the numbers. Pong always thought that his business was going along well, because he sold a lot.  In truth, the returns did not match up. Pom, who looked after the accounts, said that the business was losing money and might not make it. This was in serious conflict with the views of Pong and Bird, their third partner. They were suspicious, why were they losing money? They zeroed in on Pom, since he was the sole bookkeeper. But Pong’s thinking was at the level of suspicion only,  and he tried to put his all into the business. 

 

One day, when Pom went out to pay tax at the district revenue office, Nid took Pong’s hand and led him over to Pom’s work table. She pointed to Pom’s ATM slip, which seemed to have been left out on purpose to be seen. Pong was shocked by what he saw. He and Nid talked it over. How was it possible that Pom had many hundreds of thousands of baht in his account? He began to believe that his brother had to be dishonest. But Pong still did not reveal anything, because he wanted to catch Pom red-handed. It looked as if it was too late. Bird, as a partner, could not accept that the company was losing money, because he had been sure that there would be a profit. Therefore, he pulled his capital out. This made Pong’s business immediately less liquid. Once again, Pong fell onto hard times. 

 

Pong sat down and opened his heart to Pom. In all this time, Pom never invested any money in the business, but he always benefitted. Now the business needed revolving capital, but lacked liquidity because a share had been pulled out. So Pong asked Pom to help find some money to put into the business. Pong told Pom directly that he thought he was not transparent and above-board. But Pom brushed him off, and was noncommittal about finding capital. Even when Pong asked if he could borrow money, Pom always refused. Pong then faced a lot of difficulties. His head was full of questions about his older brother.  He stored his frustration in his heart, gritted his teeth, and concentrated solely on the business.

 

Pong continued to make headway as he had before. Pom and his family still lived with Pong, and Pom still helped out with Pong’s business. Only now Pong took greater precautions about financial matters. This created a fair amount of dissatisfaction on Pom’s part. 

 

There was one evening. While everyone was sitting down around the table eating dinner together, Pong received a phone call. He answered, spoke a few words, and then hung up. As he did so, he said, “The thugs who call and harass me, they called again. Why do the thugs in this area call so often? I bet they are competitors, and that’s why they are doing this.” Pong complained for everyone to hear, and his tone suggested that he was resigned to it. What can be done, he wondered. Pom then offered that he had knowledge about these things. These thugs could be caught, for certain, because technology is now very advanced. Pong himself believed that they could be identified with technology, but this was only a small matter. What police would come and do anything, wouldn’t it be a waste of their time? Pom then retorted that even in small cases like this, the police have to do something about it. He knew the law well, the police have to do it. He offered many different reasons. Pong listened until he was annoyed. Then he cut Pom off and said, “Fine. If he can really be caught, go ahead. Go ahead, do it.” Pom stood up and shook his finger at Pong and said, “You don’t believe me. But I am not surprised, because you are stupid. You cannot compete with me in terms of knowledge. You can compete with me, and yet still you boast.” That was it. Pong was angry, too. He picked up a glass from the dinner table and smashed it on the ground. And walked out of the room in disgust.

 

The next morning, Pom and his wife’s family, including Fai, his beloved dog, moved out of Pong’s house without uttering one word. 

 

 

 

In truth, Pom’s abrupt exodus from the house was no surprise to Pong. He had been waiting to do so. Pong knew that Pom would take his experience in their shared business and used it on his own. He tried to poach Pong’s employees who mixed the solutions, but in the end, they did not go. Pom took the formula for the solution, but Pong did not say a word. He knew that the formula was not the heart of the business. The heart of the business was also in the sales, not only the excellent product. Pom cannot sell. Pong is a better salesperson. What made Pong the angriest was not that Pom took the formula, but that he took the list of customers as well. Nothing was left on the computer, nothing at all. It was as if Pong had to start from scratch all over again. But he was not afraid. He had made it through difficulties before, when he first went into business for himself. Pong would prove it to himself. His business could recover its former success. 

 

But this time, he had no partners. He was the sole proprietor. He did the sales himself and collected the money himself. Everything, he did himself. He earned enough to buy a new vehicle to use conveniently for work and to save money, too.  He regained his stance once again.

 

As for Pom, he made all the same products and shared the same customers as Pong. But two years after he went off on his own, his returns were not as good as they should be, they were not as good as Pong’s. In the end, his business did not survive and he was bankrupt, penniless. Things were such that he thought that he would ask Pong if he could work with him again. His wife got in touch with Nid, Pong’s wife. Pom apologized and asked for a chance for things to go back to the way they were. Nid gave in and she persuaded Pong until his heart softened as well. They agreed to allow Pom’s family to live under the same room with them once again. Pong paid for the moving expenses, for everything. Pong forgave his older brother, who had once betrayed him and left him down-and-out. But Pom came back without any seeming awareness. He did not apologize or say anything that reflected regret at his actions. On the contrary, he came back ashamed and as if he had lost face, because he had to swallow his pride and rely on his younger brother, who he thought knew less than him.

 

Pong’s decision to allow Pom to return brought with it a lot of unforeseen problems. Letting him come back was an egregious error that Pong will not forget until he dies.

 

 

11. A return to how it was, but nothing is the same

Pong did not object to Pom’s return, but he stipulated conditions. Pom had to help out with the rent, the water bill, the electrical bill, and other household expenses. Each person would do his own work. Pom agreed to follow the conditions that Pong outlined, so there would be no problems living together. But it seemed like there would definitely be problems. What was clearly evident is that it would not be an issue of the humans, but one of the dogs.

As soon as all the dogs were together in one house, the contest over power began. On Pom’s side, there was fluffy Fai, a female foreign dog. After Pom moved out, he bought another dog, another white foreign dog, to be a companion for Fai. His name was “Snow White.

On Pong’s side, there was the original Cherry, a Thai female dog. Nid’s younger brother brought another dog, a male street dog, to keep Cherry company. The dog’s name was “Hack’s,” because he was the same black color as Hack’s candy.

Once the four grown dogs lived together, they barked and bit each other nearly every day. The fighting among the dogs became a problem between the humans. When he went to stop Fai and Cherry from biting each other, Cherry bit Pom on the arm and left a deep, gaping wound. He was furious with Cherry. He called her ungrateful, because he helped save her life, but then she turned around and bit him. So when Pong went out to go to work, Pom regularly bullied Cherry. He prodded her with a stick until she barked. He teased her by raising a stick as if he were going to hit her to make her afraid. He did this daily until Cherry was always on edge. She trusted no one and was suspicious of everyone who came close to her, especially Pom. She only had to see him in the distance and she would stand up and bark as if it was the end of her life.

Pom always provoked Cherry in view of others in the house. One time, Pom teased Cherry right in front of Pong, who commented, “ “Are you sick in the head? You even like to bully dogs. If you are bitten again, don’t come complaining.” Pom retorted, “She bit me once, but there will no second time.” Then he threw a stick at  Cherry, who was barking, and walked off.

12. A deep crack in the sibling relationship

Given Pom’s attitude towards Cherry, Pong was worried from day to day that his dog was going to bullied. So he was always careful and avoided creating additional problems. The two brothers each had two dogs, and each avoided encountering the other’s dogs. When Pong went out to work, he put Cherry in his bedroom. She ate and slept in the bedroom. When he finished work, he would let her down to go to the bathroom. Pom did likewise. It seemed like no problems should arise.

Mistakes were sometimes made. When all four dogs encountered each other,  total chaos ensued and they bit one another.  What was odd is that every time this happened, Pom’s dogs were on the losing side, even though his large dog was bigger than both of Pong’s dogs. This displeased Pom.

There was one day. Pong was off work already and sat sipping beer and relaxing in the parking area in front of the house as was his norm. A loud snarl came from Pom’s room. It was Fai, for certain, the enemy dog. Cherry, who was downstairs with Pong, immediately ran up the stairs following the sound of Fai. Pong foresaw a problem and ran closely behind. He picked Cherry up and held her. All this while, Cherry was barking in response to Fai. She was desperate to go through the door into Pom’s room. Pom opened the door and came out in a lather, brandishing a fruit paring knife. Cherry ran downstairs. Pom chased them until Pong almost fell down the stairs.  Pong ran to protect her. Pom was in a state of extreme anger. He cursed at Pong that he instigated the dogs to bite each other and provoked the dogs to fight each other. Pong retorted that he did not instigate anything, she ran up on her own and he followed to restrain her. Pom had seen him. But he refused to accept it and only blamed Pong. Pong was annoyed and responded, “Why are you in a lather? It’s only an issue of the dogs fighting. Is there another point to your being in a lather? Are you looking for another issue? This time I will not accept it. No matter what.” He ended with that. Pong took Cherry in the car and filed the incident at the police station. It was entered into the daily report, so if anything else happened, there would be a record. Pong no longer trusted Pom.

A few days later, while the old issue still smoldered, a new issue came up. It was still an issue of the dogs. When Pong walked into the house just after getting off work, he heard the sound of dogs biting each other upstairs. He followed the sound and ran up quickly. Cherry was gripping Fai’s throat and they were covered in blood. Pom stood holding a stick, away from them. When Cherry saw Pong, she was happy and  ran up to see him. When Cherry turned her back to Pom, he hit hard from behind. She yelped in pain. It did not look like Pom was going to stop hitting her and so. Pong ran in-between and blocked him. Once again, the pair argued violently.

Pong lay awake thinking about the fighting all night. The next morning, he called Pom to come talk in order to put an end to future problems. Pong said to Pom, “You asked to come live here. I let you in spite of your lack of honesty. I tried to trust you, and I am still trying. You continue to operate a business that competes with my business, and snatched my customers.  I forgave everything and gave you another chance. Why did you come and create problems once again? Why did you come to live with me and continue to make a competing product? You use my equipment and I do not say a word. You promised to help pay the water and electrical bills, but you treat them with indifference. Why are you like this?” Pong told him that he might not be able to restrain his anger any longer.  He said, “If you have something to say, out with it, don’t say it  behind my back.” Pom was so embarrassed and angry that he could not speak.  Nid, Pong’s wife, noticed that things did not look good and pulled Pong away in order to calm him down. Once Pong released the feelings that were bottled in his heart, it was as if a mountain was lifted from his chest. He was a stoic and tolerant person. Pong loved his older brother and loved his family.  So he decided to let it go, and to not be preoccupied by it any longer..

The next day, before Pong went out to deliver goods to customers as he did every day, Pom was smiling brightly. He walked in as if nothing had happened, greeted Pong, and said that he wished to discuss business matters. Pom proposed combining the businesses, as they had done before. He would do the accounting and clerical work, as before, and they would divide the profits in half. What was Pong going to say? Ever since the problems during the previous time, he vowed that in this life, he would not have another partner. But he relented. He proposed to that his brother could return to work as before, it was okay, he would welcome it. But Pom must find an equal amount of money to invest. They will share the responsibilities. If there is a profit, they will divide it in half. If they lose money, they have to share equal responsibility for the debt, too. As far as Pom doing the accounting and collecting the money, Pong did not object. But he had to keep an accounting ledger. The receipts must be clear. If he simply agrees to this, then it is okay.

Pom listened to the proposal. It seemed as if he did not accept it. He stood up from the chair without saying anything. Pong called after him, “Think about it. If it’s okay, then you can come back,  completely.”

Early the next morning, Pom left the house. He cancelled the commercial business license that he had registered for Pong and registered it under his name. He cancelled the internet and the satellite dish. In one day, he cancelled everything that he could in Pong’s name and transferred it into his.  His hope was to cause Pong to have business problems and move out of the fully-equipped and well-located house.

When Pom first learned of this matter, he was surprised. But he was unconcerned. He worked as usual. This was not going to affect his business at all.  Pom’s plan to cut off his younger brother’s arms and legs failed to create losses for Pong. Pom stored up his anger and waited for another chance to attack him. This would definitely not end easily. Pong was no longer Pom’s younger brother, but an enemy against whom he would use all means to destroy. An evil scheme would follow in short order.

13. Evil Plot No. 1: Deploy a friend to take out the younger brother

Once when Pom traveled to the provinces to promote his music a close friend of he and Pom came to stay at house. The friend absentmindedly played with Cherry and she bit him and broke the skin.  Pong took him to be treated and apologized fully.  The friend did not think he would make an issue of it because he should not have played rough with Cherry.

As it turned out, when Pom learned of this, he urged the friend to go file a complaint against Pong and recommended that he demand compensation. Pom proposed that he would take him to the police station himself. But the friend told Pom to let him think about it first.  After that, he called Pong to find out if the two were fighting. The friend thought that Pom was behaving strangely, given that he was trying to orchestrate the arrest of his younger brother. Once his friend knew the truth, he said, “Big Pong, I am not going to report a complaint, no way.  Especially knowing how it is, I sympathize even more. I just wondered.”

Pong hung up the phone after talking to his friend and complained to Nid that,  “Fuck, how many times will he come after me? He can’t do this. This time, fuck, he used a friend to torment me. I really, really pity him.”

14. Evil Plot No. 2: Deploy the dog to take out the younger brother

Now, Pong took greater precautions to avoid Pom. He knew that if he erred, he would not make it.  This time, no matter what tricks he played,  Pong was completely uninterested. He did not speak to Pom, and urged Nid and the employees to be careful also. When Pom could not create a problem with Pong, he then used the method of getting to him through the dogs. Pom knew that Pong loved and was bonded with Cherry.  And the second evil scheme began ...

Pom made Cherry angry and provoked her into barking. Pom did this a little bit every day when Pong went out to work, so Pong did not know. But others in the house knew. Pom aggravated Cherry to the degree that all she had to do was see him, and she would jump up and bark wildly. Her behavior changed and it was odd. When Pong asked the others, it seems like this time his older brother was using the dog to play tricks on him. So he had to be prepared to deal with him at all times.

And so the second evil plot had begun. Pom picked a day when Pong was drinking for special treatment, in order to limit his awareness of distress. While Pong was playing with Cherry, Pom teased her by walking by carrying a stick. He poked her with the stick. That was it. Cherry nearly lost it. She got up and would not stop barking. Pom tormented her by raising the stick as if he was going to bring it down on her. Pong then picked a kitchen knife from the side of the table and threatened Pom. “Okay. If you hit my dog, I will cut you, for real.” That was it. Everything succeeded according to the plan. Pom walked in front of the house and immediately called the police to file a complaint. He called right in front of Pong. Since the station was not far from the house, two policemen arrived in short order.

When the police arrived, they invited Pong to come to the station. He said wait, I have something to show you. He showed them the daily report record from his prior report at the station and then the police understood. Their advice was that the two brother could not continue to live together, because issues would continue to arise. In order to eliminate the problems, one person ought to move out. Pong then said, if that is how it is, he would definitely go then. At the end of the year, when the lease is up, he would move out at once. The police were satisfied. Pom heard and was therefore pleased. His plan had met its goal already.

15. Cannot, will not take it anymore

In truth, looking at Pong’s outside appearance, you would think he was easily angered. He is unsmiling and his words are harsh. Perhaps this is true. He is a serious and sincere person.  He survived hardship and was well-seasoned. But he has a weakness: family. Pong will do and put up with everything for family. Ever since his father left when he was a child, Pong has performed the role of head of the family, not his older brother. 

Given the events that had unfolded between he and his older brother, it was hard to communicate. When Pom played rough to this degree, it did not seem that they were brothers. And why should Pong continue to put up with it? When he was able to think about, he told himself that from now on, he would take it anymore. He would no longer call Pom “older brother.”

Pong reconsidered his decision to move out of the house he had lived in for almost ten years. Why did he have to be the one to move out? It was a good location, one that made a pile of money for him. Customers had long known the location of the shop. Instruments and tools that he set up for the business were in the house. Why, then, should he accept to sacrifice this for one terrible person? Once he saw it in these terms, Pong changed his mind. He would not move, no way. When the lease was up, he would ask the aunty who owned the house to decide.

The next morning, Pong and Nid went to return everything to as it had been. They  went to request a new telephone line and internet service. They re-registered the commercial license again. They had a new black satellite dish installed. They did it all in one day.

Pom grew anxious when he saw his younger brother’s changed demeanor and it seemed like he might not move out like he had promised the police. Pong himself was ready to deal with every kind of situation. He was no longer afraid of offending anyone anymore. Pong could now see clearly. .

16. Evil Plot No.3: Dangerous chemicals

After everything seemed tranquil for a long stretch, Pong again saw stirrings of movement in his older brother. Pom ordered the employees to move his office equipment and tools to his bedroom. Then Pong learned that Pom had rented a room not far from the house. He moved the heavy equipment -- the various chemicals, solutions, and equipment (since Pom had copied Pong’s business, he had the same tools as Pong) -- into the rented room. When the move was complete and all was in order, Pom called Nid’s wife and told her that he moved everything out quickly because the area office was coming to inspect. They would arrest people who did dangerous chemical businesses at home in Bangkok and send them to prison.

When Pong heard this, he thought, here it is again. Pom brought out the prison, the cell, again. Pom’s warning surprised many in the house. Especially Nid, who could barely do anything. In truth, Pong was afraid also. But then he thought, why should be afraid? He did business honestly and paid taxes properly. If he had done nothing wrong, who was going to come crack down on him? So he was not interested in the threat and challenged Pom on the telephone by saying, “Bring it on, they can arrest me if they want. People work at home like this all over the city. Even you make a living like me. If they arrest me, they will have to arrest you too.” In the end, the district office never came. This time, the evil plot failed. Pom had to pay rent on the room he used to store his things.  Pom moved back, despite how it looked. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to continue, in order to find another way to interfere in Pong’s work ...

17. The final evil plot ...

Now, Pom was at an impasse. He had demonstrated clearly that he was his younger brother’s enemy. Neither was interested in being the other’s sibling. So Pom could not likely continue to be in the same home with Pong for any longer. Also, Pom knew that the aunty who owned the house would pick Pong to stay on in the house. Pom had gone to meet with her and accused Pong of being an uneducated drunk. But she criticized Pom, and asked what kind of older brother would come make accusations against his younger brother. The aunty knew that all along that the person who helped Pom was none other than his younger brother. In the end, the aunty told Pom that yes, people who do not consume alcohol are very good. But if she had to choose between a drunk and a cheat, the drunk is a better choice. Her response left Pom’s face smarting.

Pom packed his clothes and belongings into bags. He was compelled to leave home in agony and spite. Instead of going to say goodbye to the aunty, the aunty who was older than him and who he respected, in addition to living side-by-side, he cursed her. In front of the house, he screamed that she took the side of wicked people and one day would suffer. Pom left and from that day forward, Pong did not hear any news of him.

It’s over, right? All of the disorder that passed and entered the life of these two brothers. Nothing further would come. Nothing else would cause him to have to sit and worry that someone would come find fault him. No one would come and bully him and make him anxious. His mother was happy and relieved that the two brothers were separated from one another. She knew her son’s temperaments well. Perhaps the next period would be a happy one for Pong, since he and his family would no longer have to worry about the issue of his older brother.

But no, not at all. That’s not how it turned out. Pong surmised incorrectly.  People like Pom do not accept defeat easily. That period was the one in which the political situation of the country grew chaotic.  There were large demonstrations of people wearing shirts of one color that were accused by the opposite side of being disloyal. There were people who were arrested and put in prison for cases involving the institution of the  monarchy. In 2010, there was sensational news of a “plan to topple the monarchy” that was used as evidence to bring charges of wrongdoing against people in this group.

Pong himself followed the news and the movement of this group, too. He and his family liked the political party of the former prime minister, who was unfairly removed by the soldiers who seized power in 2006. After the dispersal of the protests in 2010, Pong learned that many of those who were arrested for demonstrating were accused of not loving the monarchy. He only knew about this from this news, but he felt sorry for and sympathized with those people. He had no idea that he would also be stricken with the same problem.

At the end of 2010, Pong received a summons to report himself to the Crime Suppression Division. He was confused about what it was about, but he kept the appointment. He thought that he could not have done anything wrong. When he went, the police accused him of a serious crime, the same crime that the demonstrators were accused of committing. He was accused of a crime involving disloyalty. But what surprised him the most is that the person who filed the complaint was none other than his actual older brother.

Right. Pom still had not stopped. He still had not come to his senses. This time, he was brilliant. He used a law under which anyone could make an accusation, and the police and the judicial process could not easily refuse to follow up. He used it with his number one enemy, the one he had never  once beaten in his life.

Pom succeeded the day he put his younger brother behind bars. Even though all he got was satisfaction. He did it without any concern for being brothers. Whatever problems and suffering his younger brother had to face were not his concern. If he had to be in a cell in the worst prison, that was not his concern. The evidence that he brought against his brother was minimal. But it seemed like everything pointed in the direction that Pong would have to be found guilty, no matter how weak the evidence.

The first day that Pong was sent to the prison, he asked his mother, “Mother, is Pom really my older brother? Why would he do this to me? Aren’t we blood relations? Tell me, Mother.”

The elderly mother did not answer. She could only weep and watch as her son walked away in handcuffs.

The End.
 

 

Sources:

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