The Beginning
A Deer? Luhan is a What?
Droplets from the sky ran down my face and drenched my velvety coat. There was no time to shake them off my eyelashes. The hunter killed my mother and sister, and their deaths couldn’t be in vain. It didn’t matter I couldn’t see as long as I was escaping the shots blasting from the end of his gun.
I leaped over swaying bushes and landed on a hard surface. A wave of relief washed over me-- this was the city, a place I was guaranteed to be safe from the hunter. Hunters never followed to the city for some reason. Although there were no hunters, more danger lived here. A car zoomed past me on the black surface near me. Mother always said one hit from that and instant death.
Carefully walking along the sidewalk, I kept an eye out for a better place to hide. My ears pricked. A voice drifted closer. Being the nosy me, I hid behind a nearby wall and listened in.
It was a girl. “Yeah, I just broke up with him. I think I did the right thing.” A pause. “He gets worse and worse everyday, I mean, he’s my boyfriend not my dad! He has no right to hit me!” She passed by me so I took a peek.
She didn’t have an umbrella which made her completely soaked. A frizzy halo hovered over her damp hair that traveled down to her mid-back. One hand pressed her cell phone to an ear, the other wiping her face. I couldn’t tell if she wiped away tears or rain. Maybe both. I couldn’t help but think how odd it was she didn’t even wear a raincoat, just a long blazer jacket and shorts. I felt compelled to follow to listen to the rest of her troubles.
“Kris must be very happy to hear the news,” she continued. “But I still love him very much. If Youngmin was still the Youngmin from before,” her voiced cracking, “everything would be better. Oh well, too late to go back now.”
My hoof clicked on the pavement louder than I intended. The girl turned around, her eyes reddened from crying. “I’ll give you a call later,” she rushed the other person off. I froze as she pocketed the phone and approached me. Some force made me stay put.
“What are you doing here in this big city?” She wiped her face again, this time I could see they were tears. “Where is your mother?” Her hand reached toward my head. I didn’t move as she patted my forehead.
“You must be hungry and cold,” she murmured. Without a moment’s hesitation, she peeled off her blazer jacket and hung it over my back. The jacket didn’t help much since it was dripping too, but the action made me feel warm and miss my mother.
“I guess I should give you a name,” she babbled. Our eyes met, her stare intense. “Luhan,” she decided. “Luhan sounds cute. You like that?” She smiled as I took a small step closer. I loved the name.
She wrapped her arms around my body. “Alright, Luhan. I guess I‘ll see you around… If you‘re still here.” She let go and stepped back, pulling her jacket off me.
I watched her walk to a house nearby. She turned around and waved. “Bye Luhan!” She disappeared through the front door.
I moved toward her house. The house next door had a sign stuck in the grass. Characters splashed across it in blue and white. After staring at it for ten minutes, I finally realized what it said: FOR SALE. The sky lightened and the rain with it. I blinked and made my way to trees behind the houses, looking for a place to sleep.
A moss patch looked comfortable enough. Warily, I laid down. My thoughts drifted to the girl from earlier. She needed someone to make her forget her ex-boyfriend. She made me happy and I felt a warm feeling in my chest thinking that I made her happy. I wish I could something for her, but being a deer, I couldn’t do anything.
I wish I was a human, I thought. With that, I trailed off to sleep.
“My baby Xiao Lu… Xiao Lu…”
Mother’s voice? Confused, I blinked. “Mother?” I couldn’t believe the sight in front of me. She stood tall only a few feet away.
“Yes, it’s me,” she said gently. “Your little sister is here too.” Just then my sister jumped out from behind mother and charged at me. I laughed and we pressed our face together.
Tears welled up in my eyes. “I thought you were dead.”
“That’s not as important as this, Xiao Lu. Now listen up.” Firm but motherly, just as always. “You must survive.”
I tried not to look as confused as I felt. “But how?”
“I heard your wish and I might be able to make it come true, but only for 365 days.”
“My wish?” I remembered the girl. “I can be a human?”
“For 365 days,” she repeated. “Are you ready to live your life as a human?”
“I am!” I closed my eyes. Her velvet nose touched mine. I quivered and something picked me up and spun me around faster and faster. It ended as quickly as it began. I dropped to the ground, a human boy.
A tingle ran through my body. I struggled to stand as I’d seen the girl do. I wobbled and grabbed onto my sister. She led me to mother. “Thank you mom,” I said, throwing my new human arms around her neck.
“Take these.” She nodded to a bag I was sure hadn’t been there earlier. “These are things humans use. Take them with you and figure out what they are.” I stumbled closer to the bag and grabbed it.
“Good bye, Xiao Lu. Remember, you only have 365 days to be human. Be safe, my baby.” Mother slowly disappeared with my sister.
“Wait!” I cried, but it was too late.
I woke up with blurry vision. My hand touched them and it cleared up. My fingertips were wet.
It was still dark now, but I was a boy now. Before anyone could notice me, I fumbled putting on some clothes from the bag at my side. I took one step out of the forest and tripped. This walking on two legs would need some practice.
A woman walked toward the house for sale. I ran toward her, realizing that when running, I didn’t feel like I was going to trip. It felt so natural. The woman’s eyes widened. “Wow, why are you running so fast?”
“Excuse me, what’s today?” I asked.
“June 14th, 2012,” she said, looking at me weird.
“Um…” I stood on the patio trying to think of what else to say. The woman put the key in the door.
“May I help you?” Her voice was slightly irritated.
“Yeah, I want to buy this house!” I pointed to the house and smiled.
“Oh really?” She raised an eyebrow. “Well, come on in.”
She led me through the house. It wasn’t too big, I noticed, which didn’t bother me because it would be just me anyway. I thought of my mother and sister and instantly felt lonely.
“I’m Mrs. Lee, and you are?”
I bowed. “I’m Luhan, nice to meet you.“ She shook my hand and proceeded to give me a tour of the house. Two bedrooms, each having its own bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. Besides the fact it was next door to the girl’s house, I really liked the place.
“So what do you think?” she asked once were back in the hallway in front of the door.
“I love it!”
“Well how much money do you have?”
Money. I forgot humans pay things with money. I dug around in the bag my mother gave me. I found a wad of bills.
“I have one million won, is that okay?”
She looked surprised. “That’s way more than enough. If you like this house that much, I’ll give it to you for 200 thousand won.”
I nodded and counted out the money and handed it to her. I was surprised I could count, but I suppose it’s a human thing.
She placed the money in an envelope. “When do you want to move in?” she asked.
“Now!” Her face made me rethink that. “Is that okay? I kind of need a place to stay in,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck shyly.
“Oh, I see…” She thought for a moment. “Sure, the house is yours now, I’ll bring over paperwork tomorrow. Have a good life, Luhan.” As she left the house, I bowed and locked the door.
“Yes! I’m a human now! I can be with her!” I jumped on the couch triumphantly. “I will make you happy,” I said, “I promise!”
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