Turbulent Seas – Ep 11 Ubatheehet

We are on a precarious voyage, our ship rocking against the wave. Most of the time it is a rough ride filled with misunderstandings. There is a patch of smooth sailing, but only to be swept by another big tide. That is how I feel about the relationship between Aroon and Whitney. Only this time, the stake is higher and a life is on the line, most specifically Whitney’s life. This is an intense episode- do brace yourselves.

A storm reaches the beach town where Aroon and Whitney are situated. The high wind and rain slashes against the windows. Aroon peers over at the hut in the yard, wondering how Whitney is faring. But he doesn’t succumb to his need to help her; he merely hopes that the storm gives her a taste of a life she is unsuited for. But the housekeepers, Chai and Pen, rescue Whitney from the wrath of the storm and wonders deep inside what Aroon’s heart is made of.

Whitney is glad to take refuge in the housekeepers home, even if she has to put her own mosquito netting together herself, something she hasn’t done before. Jan, the conniving maid, makes fun of her attempt to Aroon who had called to check in on Whitney. But not many things could best Whitney in life, if she put her mind to it. When she accomplishes the mosquito netting, she is ecstatic. Such little things please her.

The morning welcomes sunshine that reveals the damages to Whitney’s hut. As she makes her way to it, she discovers that Aroon is hard at work putting the pieces of her hut back together. She is hopeful that at least he might want her to stay now. A sweet moment occurs between the two as Whitney tries to prove to Aroon that she can use a nail and a hammer, which causes Aroon to shake his head at her comical attempt, and then he teaches her how it is done. Chai walks in on their intimate moment and he shyly walks away, going to his wife for his own “sweet” time. Heh.

In the bustling city of Bangkok, Nut remembers Dekcha warning her about having no evidence to determine that Khun Amnui and Yoting are on the same team. So she approaches Khun Amnui in his office, asking for a job he had promised upon Non’s death. She tells him that she would like to take his offer and he assigns her under Dekcha’s care. Dekcha could only look at Nut with suspicion but he learns that she has ulterior motives in working at Khun Amnui’s company. This new turn in events not only propels Nut closer to uncovering the truth behind Gusuma, but it also challenges Dekcha’s feelings for her. He starts seeing how the other male employees are pining after Nut and gets possessive. He hasn’t come to terms with the growing feelings that he has for her. He calls her his sister, but she has seen him naked before, and they have that easy going history between them that is developing into something more, due to their close proximity.

Khun Amnui on the other hand is getting sicker and sicker. Yoting’s hotel gets taken from under him, causing him to reach for the last olive branch, working at his future father in law’s company.

There is always something very simple, very small that can take Aroon over the edge when it comes to Whitney. This time it is a newspaper article that reaches the town’s eyes and ears. Jan was shopping at the market and decides to use this new tool to sever the ties between Aroon and Whitney. She approaches Aroon while Whitney is in the kitchen and hands him the newspaper article. The article doesn’t bother him that much but the lie does: Jan tells him that Whitney was with her at the market and she gave a different story to the vendor, in essence making herself look good by contorting the truth in the article. This just makes Aroon livid, taking him over the edge.

He storms into the kitchen and wrenches her back into the hut, where he tells her to pack her things. “You and I should never have met!”

“Khun Aroon, I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I didn’t commit any of those things you are thinking about!”

He tells her to get her things and leave, when she doesn’t, he starts packing for her. “I’ll take you the bus station but after that, you are on your own!”

“No! I’m not leaving,” she cries, “You can’t kick me out for something I didn’t do!”

“You have no right to refuse.”

“I don’t know what happened. Why did you change all of a sudden? Everything between us was ok earlier..”

Aroon sometimes couldn’t differentiate the things he sees and knows about her, versus the things he hears. Quite the moody leading man we have here.

“If I knew your game, I wouldn’t have done that (being nice to her.)”

They tug the bag from each other, she refusing to be sent away, he refusing for her to stay.

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what I did wrong!”

He glares at her, “You really need an explanation?!” He decides his next step without so much as a thought to its consequences. “Fine! I’ll give you want you need, so you’ll leave.”

He pulls her face close and forces his mouth on hers.

She’s crying harder now, trying to tear away.

“Isn’t this what you want?” he asks rhetorically and pulls her in for another searing (one-way) kiss.

He tears his shirt off of his body and throws it to the ground. Uh oh.

She’s on the floor, scared. “What are you doing?”

“You wanted me that much right? You followed me here and no matter how hard I push you away, you won’t go. I should have known it from the beginning.”

Omg. The terror reaches her eyes.

“It’s not like that!” she screeches, “Don’t do this!”

“I hope you are satisfied now,” and he attempts the unthinkable. He covers her body with his and kisses her everywhere.

She’s sobbing and finally she screams, “Just kill me instead! Don’t do this to me!”

The bystanders out on the beach can overhear the commotion. Pen is in a state of anxiety, not sure what is happening inside, and what Aroon is doing. When her husband catches up with her, they go in to inspect.

Whitney’s screams to kill her instead reaches the recess of Aroon’s mind. He pulls away in shock and with remorse. The housekeepers reach the hut in time to see Aroon shirtless, and Whitney sobbing. She immediately dashes out of the hut, Aroon following her steps. Everyone horrified of what might have happened.

He finds her standing atop the cliff.

She looks over at him, “There’s no need to follow me. I am about to rid myself from your presence.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, hesitatingly.

“Do you know why I followed you here?” (She’s referring to the beach town.)

Tears roll down her face. “Because I feel ashamed for what I’ve done. The more the law dictates that I was not wrong, the more ashamed I feel. I know that everything that has transpired was my fault. So I followed you here to pay for it. Not because I’m a shameless woman with nowhere else to go.”

He looks terrified of the prospect.

“But right now, I know what I should do,” she says, her eyes filled with sorrow. “I know what will make you happy and untroubled the most. And I know what is best for me.” She looks at him, “You can leave now.. before anyone misunderstands you.”

“What are you going to do, Whitney?” he asks, panicking.

“Do what I should have done a long time ago. Which is to pay with my life,” her nose is red from crying but the tears don’t stop falling. She glances at him again, “Goodbye.”

He utters something and shakes his head, but Whitney is slowly leaning her body back and back, until her body plummets into the water.

They say that before you die, your life flashes before you. Whitney sees her life in an assortment of trouble and pain. The troubles and pains she has caused others and inevitably herself. The death of Non, her father’s anger, Aroon’s almost rape attempt. A life filled with unhappiness. She let it all go as she too, drowns into the depth of the sea.

Aroon hollers at her from the top of the cliff. Without further thought, he jumps into the depth after her. He finally finds her deep in the sea and hauls her body out of the water. He tries CPR then mouth to mouth resuscitation, all the while, calling her name. Whitney comes out of her oblivion and sputters water from her mouth.

When she gains consciousness again, she finds herself in bed, clean and cared for.

“You’re up,” Aroon’s voice greets her.

“How did I get here?”

“I took you out of the water,” he says and takes a seat on the bed.

She immediately scoots away. “Who changed my clothes?”

He teased her for being a prude when he has seen everything already. He reminds her of the time in the hospital where he toweled wash her body.

She glares at him.

He feels her forehead, searching for a fever. His change in attentiveness is shocking, but pleasant.

She tries to get up but falters back on the bed, her feet hurting. Probably when she was jumping from the cliff. Aroon says as much.

“I’m hungry,” she says. But she can’t walk so Aroon scoops her into his arms and walks her to the dining table.

She’s looking at him as if he grew two heads. Who could blame her?

When they sit behind the table, Jan appears with two bowls of porridge. Whitney looks warily at her bowl, thinking maybe it’s been tampered with again. So she stirs it around, unable to eat.

Aroon catches her meaning and gives her his bowl, heh. And then she is able to eat merrily.

Another sweet moment passes when Whitney wants to do the dishes, and Aroon assists her with it because he thinks they will finish it faster.

As the sunset and the night draws near, Whitney takes a walk in the yard, looking towards her hut. Aroon spots her and asks, “Where are you going?”

She doesn’t answer.

“You’re a really stubborn person, you know?” he comments.

“It’s getting dark now, I think I should head back to the hut.”

“Do you miss it that much?”

He scoops her into his arms again and carries her back to his house, depositing her in bed.

“Stay here tonight. Until your wound heals then you can leave.”

“Why are you doing this?” she asks, after he commands her to stay. “Why did you help me? I really don’t get you. First you act like you hate me, you wanted me gone. Now you act like you don’t want me to go.”

He turns his back to her. “It’s not all that confusing. I don’t want you to die in the hut; it will be a bigger burden.” Then he walks away.

She wonders quietly to herself, “What exactly do you want from me, Khun Aroon?”

After a quiet night sleep, Whitney meanders on the beach, admiring the sunrise. She sees a tshirt sitting on the rocks and is about to take it when she hears his voice. “That’s mine.” Aroon walks from the tepid morning water, shirtless.

She could only stare at him and changes the subject. “Do you look at it every morning?” (She’s referring to the beautiful sunrise.)

“Yes, it gives me the inspiration to start a new life,” he replies. “It makes me realize that no matter how dark life can be, a new day always awaits me.” There will always be a new day. How poetic.

“The darkness you mention, am I the root of it?” she asks.

He doesn’t answer and says he’s going for a run instead.

Whitney tries to make herself useful to the housekeepers. She goes on a market run with Chai and Jan, and that’s where the conniving girl decides to play another card against Whitney. First she reminds the vendors who Whitney is and they all throw vegetables at her and hurdle insults (calling her a murderer.) Chai came to her protection and tells them they will be shopping elsewhere. Secondly, when they were shopping around the jarred goods, Jan sees shrimp paste and recalls that Aroon is severely allergic to shrimp. She plays nice to Whitney and tells her that she will help Whitney cook. With the shrimp paste in tow, Whitney decides to conjure up yummy food.

As everyone seats themselves for a meal, Chai and Pen compliments Whitney with her cooking. After the first bite, Aroon says it’s edible (but does so with a smile.) After a few more bites, the reaction to shrimp kicks in and he hauls himself to the edge of the porch, chucking out food from his mouth. Everyone immediately rushes to his side. Jan turns her conniving eyes on Whitney and says loudly that she has tried to warn Whitney not to use it- and she uses too many scoops of the shrimp paste. Whitney is trying to get to his side but he refuses her. He says that she meant to make him sick and kill him. Ouch.

She gets dismissed again and makes her way back to her hut. Jan appears and throws the mosquito netting and blankets roughly to the ground, warning Whitney to stay in the hut. Whitney is shocked because she was planning on staying in the house until she completely heals. Jan tells her that she looks fine now and that Aroon doesn’t want her around him in case she tries to make him sick again. (So not true!)

Jan’s nastiness was the last straw and Whitney wants to get to the bottom of her poor behavior. Whitney grasps Jan’s arms before she could walk away, she tells Jan that she knows Jan was setting her up. “You knew Aroon is allergic to shrimp! Why did you do this?”

Jan snarls at Whitney. “I hate your face. Right now there’s me and Aroon who hates you. If you continue to be shameless, I can make the other two people hate you too!” She explains gruffly that one doesn’t have to know another before one hates the other. There are some people that you just hate. This last comment leaves Whitney seething in the dark.

Furthermore that night, Jan continues to blow Aroon’s ears, she tells him that Whitney no longer wants to stay in the house.

Aroon looks towards the hut with anger.

Oh boy, can they overcome the many more rough seas ahead of them?