Coming out of the bathroom, I could tell things were definitely awkward now. It was obvious, Mir had told Dongwoon what he saw. So now, they’re both wanting to ask, but are afraid. Or maybe, I’m just paranoid. 

They were both sitting in the kitchen at the table. Dongwoon was staring off into space with a journal in front of him. Mir was flipping through a photography book. It’s funny how similar they are despite their personalities. They’re both artsy. Artsy. That’s what you’d call them. Dongwoon the writer and Mir the photographer. I’m not much like them though. All I do is read books. Lots of them.

I can’t ever remember a time I couldn’t read or wasn’t interested in reading. Although, there is a considerable amount of time in my life that I can’t remember, but you already know about that. Anyway, I was always the kid that would be reading farther than anyone else in the class and then would get called on to read. The teacher would yell at me for not knowing what part we were at. I never said anything though. All I did was get a perfect score on every single test. That showed her. 

Seeing that neither of them were going to make a move to talk to me, I decided to just go to bed. It was getting late anyway. After flicking off all the lights, except for the ones the ones they were using, I curled up on the couch and fell asleep.

“MOMMY! MOMMY! HELP!”

It was somewhere new. Somewhere she’d never been before. It was all strange to the little girl. She didn’t know where she was, or where her parents were. No matter how loud she yelled, no one answered. It was as if she was isolated. Maybe she was. 

There was a loud clank. Something metal. Metal on metal. Almost like a cage being shut. A really big cage. For all the little girl knew, she could be in some giant cage somewhere. It was so dark, she couldn’t see a thing. Being as young as she was, she was afraid of the dark, like every other little kid. There could be something creeping out there just waiting to get her once she made a move. So, she stayed put. 

The silence was unheard of. Never in her life had she ever experienced such complete silence and solitude. In our lives, we tend to get so involved in things that we don’t have time to take a break and just stop. Stop and listen. Listen and experience pure silence. I think any of us would be terribly afraid of such a silence. 

There was another clank. Followed by footsteps. Footsteps that sounded as if whoever this person was just didn’t care. They were lazy and didn’t pick up their feet. Not wanting to waste precious energy on something as menial as picking up their feet. As the footsteps got louder, the little girl started to whimper. She was like a puppy who had just soiled another carpet and was being scolded. 

The footsteps stopped and the girl could sense someone’s presence. She could even smell them. They were close. Very close. Maybe if she had reached out her hand, she could touch their feet or the hem of their pants. Suddenly, there was a scraping noise followed by a blood curdling scream.

* * *

A shrill scream echoed through the house. I sat up straight in bed. What on earth? I jumped out of bed and ran to living room. Hae Mi was squirming violently on the couch. Mir trailed behind me. I placed my hand on Hae Mi’s shoulder. 

“Shh, Hae Mi. It’s okay, it’s just a dream.”

Her eyes fluttered open. She let out a shaky breath. Mir went to grab a glass of water for her. She sat up and ran a shaky hand through her hair. Her breath came out ragged. It sounded like she was talking to herself under her breath. Something like, “You’re okay, it’s over now. Just a dream...”

“Hae Mi, are you okay?” Mir asked, giving her the glass of water.

She nodded, gulping the entire glass down. The three of us just sat there for a little while. I don’t know what they were thinking, but I wanted to know what made her so upset in her dream. After a little while, Hae Mi said, “Sorry about that. I’m sure you’re both wondering what happened, huh?”

We nodded simultaneously. I was honestly intrigued. It all reminded me of something out of a novel. A girl who has horrible nightmares, and...well, I haven’t got past the first couple of pages yet. 

“I always have these really intense nightmares. They always end right before something bad happens though. Although, almost every one ends with a blood curling scream. It’s just downright creepy. It’s not even me either. It’s this little girl in every dream. I don’t even know who she is, but she can never find her parents. Actually, she can’t ever find anyone. She’s all alone and she’s in trouble. Something happened to her and I sure bet something happened to her parents too.”

I furrowed my brow, “Hm. Well, dreams deal with things that have happened, are happening, and your emotions and feelings. So, considering what I know about dreams, I’d say you’re feeling inadequate because usually, when you dream of being left behind, you’re feeling inadequate for whatever reason. Also, do you remember anything like this ever happening before? Honestly, I don’t know what would trigger such an intense bunch of nightmares other than something that’s happened before.”

I could tell she was trying to figure out what to say. She’s debating on whether she wants to tell us something or not. We’ll find out in all good time. Maybe.

“I don’t think so. Not that I can remember.”

“Hm. Oh, well then.”

We sat in silence for a moment, left to our own thoughts. Mir finally broke the silence. “I’ve been wondering, where did those scars come from on your back, Hae Mi?” 

She blinked a couple times, wondering if she had heard him right. The question had caught her off guard. I elbowed Mir for that.

* * *

You were right, Hae Mi. They do know. Although, I never really thought they’d bring it up. I don’t know what to tell them, honestly. I don’t know how they got there myself. Now how’s that going to look? Okay, I have these crazy dreams about a little girl who can’t find her parents. Ironically, I don’t know what happened to my own parents. I have these weird scars all over my back, that I don’t even know how they got there. I can’t remember anything before I was nine years old yet, I have an eidetic memory. I’ve been in and out of hospitals. Lived in foster homes and an orphanage. I mean, come on, how does that look? I’ll tell you how it looks, it makes me look even crazier than I am. 

At the same time, I feel somewhat comfortable with Dongwoon and Mir. I want to trust them. I really do. I want to tell them everything. The only problem is I’m afraid of how they’ll react. I’ll tell them, but what do I tell them? I don’t even know anything. Then I’ll just tell it to them how it is. If they freak out and think I’m insane, well, I’m screwed. If they don’t, then I guess I have two friends. 

I had made up my mind. They were probably growing impatient by now. They’re curious. Although, I guess I would be too. I looked over at the two of them sitting there. I exhaled...