Chapter 1
Giraffe
The shadows of the green mountains seemed to swallow the car as Sohee babbled incoherent things in her little car seat and Soyeon looked at the landscapes in delight. The girls' mother complained about the time it would take to get to Beijing while the father tried to calm her wife, without success. After all it was him who decided to take the whole family on a trip to China, taking advantage of a business meeting.
A strange noise coming from the car engine made the family stop abruptly . Byeong-hwa opened the hood and the smoke that went up indicated that they were in trouble. His wife approached him and they both started discussing what to do, Soyeon still on her seat, her curious eyes noticing an immensity of colors through the stones and mountains. Her mother opened the car door and took her sister on her lap.
- Come on, Soyeon darling. It looks like there's a house not far from here, let's look for shelter, ok?
The family headed for what looked like a cottage almost hidden in the middle of the mountains, surrounded by flowers of all colors. A picturesque scene that filled Soyeon's curious eyes. A gentleman of a certain age appeared at the rustic door and Byeong-hwa introduced himself to him, explaining the situation. While the adults talked, Soyeon distanced herself towards the flowers. She had never seen so many different ones and passed through them, stretching her little fingers on the petals. The garden didn't seem to have an end and the smell that emanated from it was delicious. Soyeon was distracted looking at a big rose bush when she felt she was being observed. The little girl looked around and didn't see anyone, so she continued walking among the flowers. But the sensation of being observed continued until she hid among some plants and waited. From behind a thicket, two yellow antennae appeared and the most expressive pair of eyes she had ever seen looked at her.
- Hello?
The girl got startled when Soyeon spoke and ended up disappearing among the flowers.
- SOYEON, WHERE ARE YOU?
Soyeon's mother called her from the inside of the house. She ran towards it, always looking back to try and see the girl again.
- Where have you been, Soyeon? You know you can't go around like this.
- Sorry, mom, I saw a giraffe.
She spoke with her high pitched little voice.
- A giraffe!?
Her parents looked confused.
- Yes, mommy, a cute giraffe.
Her mother put her hand on her forehead in concern, while her father laughed at the situation
Comments