Immortal Affair (I)
By: k0wannabe

Taeyeon twists and turns, writhing breathlessly on her small bed. She bolts up from her position gasping desperately, exhaling broken breathes of air just to find her blanket had wrapped itself around her body like a cocoon due to her extreme tossing previously. Peering in the darkness trying to locate herself, she releases all muscle tensions after confirming that she is in her bedroom. Unwrapping herself from her blanket, she got up to find some refreshment for her scorching throat. Arriving at her kitchen shortly afterwards Taeyeon quickly shots straight to the refrigerator; she didn’t need any lighting. Hastily she gulps down more than half a bottle of water. Now that’s she no longer overheating, her brain resumes working again.

‘She still looks exactly the same…That’s not possible!’
 

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Taeyeon is extra conscious of her surroundings this morning. Looking left and right every few seconds, however her chances are lower today than yesterday. It was no longer a full moon. Also she didn’t have that feeling of being watched today like she did yesterday.

She’s taking the bus to work this morning since she didn’t feel like driving, plus she can be more alert on her look out if she didn’t have to focus her eyes on the road instead. As she stares blankly out the window, images of people walking and roadside shops quickly disappear and were replaced by images of her brainwork from the past…
 

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It was a full moon that night. A little girl around nine or ten was found crumbling up at her usual hideout between the large bushes near the animal barn. Her small frame had allowed her all way access in and out of the bushes without being detected by the farmer and his family. Plus she had built up quite a lot of experience in sneaking around unnoticeably during the recent years.

It was unusually cold that night. The little girl had managed to save her last stolen steamed bun all afternoon in case she gets hungry at night. She wasn’t all that hungry though but the blowing freeze felt like hundreds of little icy blades cutting at the skin on her raggedy clothed body making her nearly empty stomach more notable than usual. She knew eating the steamed bun would bring some warmth to her, even if only a little bit, but that meant she would have to go ‘hunting’ extra early the next morning if she wanted breakfast.

Contemplating for only a while longer she decided warmth was more alluring. As she removed the plastic around the bun she heard the animals inside the barn started moving to where she was on the other side of the wooden planks of their house. Maybe the steamed bun had triggered something in their sense of smell? Suddenly some more weird noises came out from inside the barn. Movements and rustlings became louder and louder until the animals started to verbally protest. Even the old hound from the farmer’s house was making a fuss.

The little girl couldn’t understand why the animals were all acting up. It was only one steamed bun. It can’t possibly cause all this commotion can it?

“WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON?!?”

‘Uh oh, the old farmer is coming over.’ The little girl crouched down even lower between the bushes. She caught a glimpse of the farmer charging inside the barn with his shot gun. He looked really angry having been woken up in the middle of the night.

“WHAT IS GOING ON YOU ANIMALS!?!”

The sheer volume of his voice made the little girl’s whole body tremble. Her cold and shaky fingers lost control and the steamed bun rolled out of her grasp.

“My bun!” quickly realized what she had done; the little girl clamped both hands over her open mouth, cursing her fast tongue in her mind.

“Who’s there?” the farmer sounded like he was moving closer to where she was hiding.

“Show yourself!” She can see him now. He was only about five feet away from her bush.

The little girl hid her eyes under her forearms. Even when she knew too well that just because she can’t see him doesn’t mean he can’t see her, she couldn’t help herself. If he saw her then her life might be over right then and there. When she drops her gaze to hide her eyes she saw the steamed bun that had rolled out her hands had also rolled out of the coverage the bushes had provided her. If the farmer saw it then he would be able to track her location soon enough. She clasps her palms together, praying that the night and his olden vision would prevent her from the unwanted discovery.

“What the hell is that?”

She wasn’t that lucky, she never was.

As the farmer made his way closer and closer to where she was desperately hiding, she knew this was the end of her freedom and maybe even her life. There’s no escape now. Tears started to travel up to her troubled eyes. One drop fell down as she closes her eyes. The farmer was right in front of the bushes now.

Not too far away from where the famer and the hidden girl were, a hair raising howl vibrates through the shearing air interrupting the echoing wind from the nearby mountain and successfully gained the old farmer’s attention.

“What the-” he jumped at the sound.

The mountain wolfs were on hunt that night. The farmer didn’t want to be outside when there were wolves lurking around near his farm house. Quick to ignore the unidentified white thing near the bush, he locked the door to the barn, securing his livestock before he too disappeared inside his cozy house, securing himself and his family.

The little girl let out the burdened breath of air she had been holding for the last few minutes. However, relief left her just as soon as it washed over her. She didn’t have to deal with being discovered by the farmer any more but now she had to deal with the mountain wolves. She’s rather die in the farmer’s hands than give away her body to the wolves on hunt.

“Will you come out of there? I want to talk to you.”

‘What?’ The little girl lifts her head off from her forearms, trying to locate the unknown voice.

There was another girl with a flowy knee-length spaghetti strap white dress staring straight into the bush where the little girl was hiding. She looked like she’s in her late teens or early twenties.

‘C-Can she see me?’

“I’m sorry if my friend had startled you but don’t worry, she won’t hurt you.”

‘Who?’

When there was no response, the girl in the white dress takes a few more steps closer to the bush to pick up the steamed bun from the ground; her eyes lingered on the bush where she knew the little girl was hiding. She spared a glance at the steamed bun in her hand before smiling angelically at the bush, her eyes changed into two turned downed crescent moons.

‘She…Is she glowing?’ The girl in the dress seemed to have a strange blue light around her entire body, or maybe it was her tears or the moon light playing with the little girl’s eyes.

The girl in the white dress kneeled down in front of the bush, her smile never left her pretty face, her movements graceful.

“You know if you come out of there, I promise to give you better food than these things.” She held up the dirtied steam bun as reference before dropping it back down to the ground.

“Will you take my hand?” She extends her other hand into the bush with her palm up, waiting for the small girl to entrust herself to her.

It took a few seconds before she felt the smaller hand clasped together with her silky skinned one. With a clutching of the hand full of gentleness, the older girl pulled out from the bush a shaggy looking ten year-old. Her face covered in dirt here and there, her clothes ripped and tattered extremely. Her eyes, however, filled with potentials and brilliance. She would have been quite an amazing kid if only she wasn’t an orphan. The sympathetic girl subconsciously raised her palms to the little girl’s cheeks, their eyes met and the innocence in the little girl’s round eyes nearly mesmerized her.

“Just look at how much more unkempt you’ve gotten you poor little thing.” She circled the little girl’s cheeks with her thumbs.

Her angelic voice and silky touch made the little girl lost all the anxiety and fear she felt just minutes before. It was weird how a complete stranger was talking to her like she had known her all her life yet she wasn’t even a bit intimidated.

“How did you- I mean- who are- I mean- do you know me?” She started out a bit shyly.

“I’ve known you ever since you were born. It’s you who don’t know who I am.” Her smile shone brighter than the full moon that night.

The little girl couldn’t help but smile back as a reply. She didn’t know what else to say, looking at the older girl smiling face makes her wanted to smile too. The weight of the world seemed to have detached from her small shoulders without her knowing.



 

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Taeyeon couldn’t remember how that night went after that. All she could reminisce was that she was at a new orphanage belonged to a church much further away from where she was previously the next morning. She didn’t have any memory of how she even got there or where the girl in the white dress went off to.

Taeyeon grew up in at the new orphanage after that night. The people there really took genuine care of her unlike the last one which she ran away from. What she can remember is that she missed that girl in the white dress greatly soon after she woke up that morning.