UNISTAR : Invisible Moon [English Version]

ลำดับตอนที่ #8 : Chapter 6 : The Fish Paper

Invisible Moon

Chapter 6

The Fish Paper

"It would seem like the fish could reach the moon,

when the reflection of the moon is casted on the water surface."

#WINisWIND

After I finished feeding the fish, I just went back for a nap in my dorm room for a couple of hours. Then, I woke up and got ready to join today's orientation session at 10 a.m.

There were a lot of activities lined up today and they were set up into multiple checkpoints, each one with a different style. All freshmen were arranged into small groups and moved from checkpoint to checkpoint until they completed all of them. At some checkpoints, the seniors would just arrange a free talk, some checkpoints were set up to get to know each other, while some other checkpoints had fun games. It seemed like the aim of the activities was to encourage the seniors and the freshmen to bond.

"This is Lady Maria Vongz, the founder of our business faculty."

The senior introduced the statue of a lady in front of the building. For now, this activity checkpoint was the easiest one — building tour.

"Hey, we've joined the sessions for two days but we haven't seen P'In yet."

One of the freshmen commented while following a senior for a tour around the faculty building.

"Right, it's not only us, even the seniors haven't seen him either."

"That's true. Anyway, there's a Unistar event today, will you go?"

"Of course! How can I miss it? I'm going to see P'In!"

This evening, P'In would be working as a Unistar member. I thought. By the way, did P'In come for the session today?

Oh, I just saw P'In.

He was sitting at the canteen table behind a pillar in the corner. P'In was doing something like folding and rolling paper, but he was too far, so I couldn't see it clearly.

However, I didn't have much time to observe him as I needed to participate in the activities. Some checkpoints would divide us into a few teams to compete, such as competing to remember friends' names — which was unfortunate for my team, because no one could remember my name. Also, in the flag race[1], my teammate forgot to pass me the flag.

I was trying my best, but..., anyway, being invisible was somehow useful — I could sneak out to rest without being noticed.

After finishing the last checkpoint, it was free time. The seniors brought us lunch boxes and drinks.

"Hi! Oh, what's your name? I forgot. What do you wanna eat? There are basil minced pork with rice and garlic chicken with rice."

P'Noey greeted me.

"My name is Win. I'll go for basil pork rice." I said, smiling.

Though P'Noey couldn't remember my name, at least she recognized me. I guess it was worth my effort today.

During the friend's name competition, I was always a forgotten person. So it became a funny gag that made a lot of seniors recognise me. As none of them could remember my name, I was regarded as 'the freshy whose name is forgotten'.

"Alright. N'Win. I'll try to remember." P'Noey smiled at me while passing the lunch box.

Then, I took a seat. I was eating with friends who were in the same activity group. Although I was a fading person, everyone already knew me - even though they still forgot my name.

"Hello, freshies! Do you still remember the signature collection book? Today all the 3rd year seniors are here. It's a good chance to collect our signatures. Please come after finishing your meal, we will be waiting."

P'Tong announced using a megaphone. Some freshmen straightaway went to the seniors.

But for me, who wasn't done eating, could only observe. When a freshman asked the seniors for a signature, some seniors would sign easily, some others only signed partially and told the freshmen to come back and get the rest on another day. Some seniors asked questions related to today's activity such as the name of the business faculty founder. Some seniors instructed the freshmen to do strange things like dancing or shouting a love confession or even help the seniors get a pretty girl's phone number.

"Did you know? Last year, there was a freshman who should be rewarded by the seniors because he managed to collect the most — 300 signatures!"

I heard some friends in the group talking.

"Oh! Was that the whole faculty?" A friend exclaimed.

"There were a total of 301 seniors from the second to fourth year at that time. He almost had everyone's. Extremely amazing!"

"Wait, he missed one senior's signature?"

"Guess whose."

"Don't tell me..."

"P'In?"

"That's right! The only missing signature was P'In's. Honestly, no one had ever gotten his signature."

"Oh my God! Even his postcard signatures from a fanmeet could be sold around thousands of baht."

"Yeah, his signature is rare. You can only get them at fanmeets, and his queue is always the longest."

"The point is, because it's hard to meet P'In, his signature is hard to come by."

"Yes! Even his photos are rare too."

I was listening while taking my empty lunch box to the trash bin. My friends left to join the senior signature activities once they finished eating, while I, with my unnoticeable character, was left alone without as much as an invite. But I was already used to it.

The popular third-year seniors who were surrounded by many freshmen were mostly P'Cheers, the leaders for the activities. So they grouped the freshmen and told them to sing, dance and all sorts of things to get the signatures.

"Grilled chicken was burned~...it will be skewered~..."

"Mudmee grated coconut, cooking in the kitchen~..."

Many folk songs were sung accompanied by on beat claps, along with the loud cheering voices of the audience. At first, other seniors gave the signatures easily, but after seeing this, they too set up missions in exchange for signatures.

The problem is, for a fading person like me, the more noisy and outstanding others are around me, the less noticeable my existence becomes.

"Senior...please sign for me..."

I tried to ask a senior, who was only surrounded by a few people, but that senior was busy watching others and didn't even hear me.

"Senior..." I called louder, but my voice was completely drowned by the atmosphere.

"Grilled chicken was burned~..."

I even joined the 'Grilled Chicken' dance, but when everyone was in the queue for signatures, the seniors forgot me.

"Hi! New group, are you ready for the Mudmee dance?"

"You haven't signed for me yet." I waved my book, but they still didn't notice.

"Answer me, what is our faculty colour? I'll sign for the one who can answer."

"Chartreuse colour!"

I was the first one who answered, but they still didn't hear me.

As expected, my fading characteristic was like a curse.

I sighed, I couldn't do anything except sit and rest.

I was tired from attempting to get those signatures. Others might feel tired as well, but at least they still got the signatures. Unlike me, who also tried, but got nothing.

I finally realised that I still couldn't do something as simple as getting a signature. As for my dream of becoming the Moon, I probably would need to die and be reborned. That's the only way it might come true.

I could only sit and accept my miserable fate while using my signature book as a fan — cooling myself from the hot weather.

"Can I borrow?"

The familiar voice made me turn around.

I widened my eyes when I saw that P'In was sitting at the opposite side of the table. His hand was reaching out towards me with an emotionless expression.

What did he say?

"Borrow? Borrow what?" I blinked.

When I saw his eyes staring at the black book — my temporary fan — I realised that he meant this signature collection book.

"Oh," I quickly handed it to him.

"Will you sign it for me?"

If I could get his signature...wow...a UNISTAR signature! I would be very grateful.

However...

"Paper ran out." P'In said while opening my book.

"Huh?" I was confused and immediately gasped when P'In ripped off a page of the book.

Nooo! I cried in my head. No, no! My signature collection book! Getting one signature was already hard, now one page was torn out, gone.

What did he do?!

P'In's face was still calm, he tore the paper into small strips, then weaved them neatly until the paper became a thumb-sized carp fish[2]. After he finished folding, he put it in a plastic bag, which already had approximately more than hundreds of paper carp fish, mostly made from recycled paper.

"Are you folding carp fish?" I asked.

P'In didn't answer. He only looked at the paper in his hand. His fingers were folding the paper delicately, tearing it into strips and gently curling and weaving the strips. Although he was male, his fingers were slender.

"Why are you folding the carp fish?" I still asked.

He was still concentrating on the paper fish in his hand, not even turning to me. As I looked at him, I wholeheartedly concurred with everyone who said that P'In was a strange Moon.

"Freshies, wanna get my signature? Just lineup here. Today, I'll sign for free. Next time, I'll ask for something in exchange."

I heard P'Noey announced. When I looked over in that direction, I saw a group of first-year students waiting for her signature.

Just queueing up and nothing else. Should be fine for a fading person like me. Hoping no one would jump in my queue.

So I turned to take back my signature book from P'In, but he was gone.

I was stunned. I was only distracted for a short while, and now there was no sign of P'In at all. Undoubtedly, he was indeed the Invisible Moon. He even amazed an invisible person like me.

"Where is my signature book?!" I exclaimed. I initially thought P'In might have taken it, but it was still on the table.

"What a relief!" I picked up and checked how many pages P'In had torn off.

However, when I turned to the first page, I was shocked. I almost dropped the book.

On that page, there was a beautiful handwriting:

Intrakorn Dechapraphas

Faculty of Business Administration, XU, 3rd year.

"This is..." my eyes widened, astonished.

P'In's signature!

Extraordinarily rare — no student in the business faculty had ever gotten it!

The signature that could be sold for thousands of baht!

There was also a small note written below.

'Thanks for paper.'

☽------------☽

Footnote

[1] Flag Race is the folk running sport for Thai people. Players are divided into 2 teams and 2 sides, each side will set up a post and each team needs to run into the competitor side while holding a fabric flag. Whenever they return to the post, they must pass the flag to the next player on the team. Any player who can bring the flag to touch the opponent's player first will become the winner.

[2] Folded/Weaved carp fish is Thai wisdom art. Originally made from natural palm leaves. The leaves are usually cut into long and thin strips, dried in the sun, then weaved into the shape of a carp fish. The carp is a symbol of abundance for Thai people.