Chapter 7: Answer

 

They say that the night sky is a dark blanket poked with holes so the light from beyond could seep through. Beyond that huge blanket is the place of the gods and souls. During the day however, the blue perfection we see above is just the underside of their domain. What more could their actual place look like if their underside looks as marvelous as this? During the night they cover it so that we, mortals won’t see the gods and souls when they come out. I think of this as I look up, unable to sleep because of certain thoughts. The dreams that I used to have are no more. That girl who has that long dark hair doesn’t visit me in my dreams anymore. I don’t know if I should be happy or what. It’s been a week since I saw that girl, Krystal. Something about what she said the last time made my world freeze. Why did her Korean name sound so familiar? Like that name has escaped my lips countless of times. I stretch out my hand and connect stars as I go. If the legends were real, could the gods answer the riddle of my dreams?

I hear the bed creak behind me and I hear Jackie grumble something about flying Alpacas while asleep. I chuckle and look back to the sky. Should I go see Krystal tomorrow?

“I bet she wouldn’t even remember me.” I think.

“But you want to go, don’t you?” Another side of me fights.

“Wouldn’t she find it weird?” I answer back.

“What’s more weird is you not sleeping because of some girl you just met.” It replies.

“She’s not just some girl!” I thought loudly.

“See? There’s your answer.” Then the other side stops.

To Krystal it is then.

 

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“Where do you think you’re going?” I hear my mom say while sitting at the dining table, about to eat her breakfast.

“I’m going to the beach.” I reply, drinking my orange juice in a hurry.

“You won’t even sit down and grab a bite?” She says.

“I’ll just grab something to eat on the way there. Bye, love you!” I say as I jog towards the front door.

I grab my skateboard and rush out. I can’t remember what direction Krystal’s house is at. So I decide to try both ways and first go right. I ride my skateboard and let the sidewalk take me to Krystal’s house but as I go on further, the scenery changes and I begin to regret turning right. I arrive at this place in town where I could no longer hear the sea and the seagulls; I decide to turn back where I came from. I just ended up touring this side of the town rather than searching for her house. Ugh, why am I putting such an effort like this in the first place? I ruffle my hair in frustration. Busy with my brooding while on the board, suddenly I land flat on my back. What just happened? I was just on my board a second ago, so why am I lying on the pavement?

“Ow…” I hear someone not far from me moan in pain.

I sit up and see a girl sitting in front of me, rubbing her shoulder with a pained expression on her face.

“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” I say as I go check if she’s okay.

“Damn right you weren’t loo-” She says and stops when she looks at me.

“I mean… It’s fine. I wasn’t looking where I was going either…” She says as I hold her up to stand.

“I’m sorry again. Here, your bag.” I say, dusting off her bag that fell off the sidewalk.

“Yeah…” She just says.

“Uh… Okay, gotta go. I’m really sorry.” I hurriedly say , grabbing my skateboard then push off.

“Wait!” The girl says so suddenly.

“What?’ I stop.

“I’m Suzy! What’s yours?” She says loudly for we are at a distance from each other.

“Amber.” I reply without looking at her.

Then I’m off leaving the odd girl named Suzy behind. I pass by my house and into the right direction this time. Then after a short period of time I see this flower garden from afar. This time I’m in the right place. I stop in front of her house and find someone tending the garden, humming the same melody I heard as before. I just stand there, looking at her and not being able to move or say something. Then suddenly I lost grip on my skateboard and down it goes, falling against the fence. The girl stops humming and looks at me. I look at her wide eyed then back to my fallen skateboard.

“I… Uh… I’m sorry… My skateboard…” I say, tongue tied.

She doesn’t say anything, she just looks at me.

“You probably don’t remember me. I’ll jus-” I stammer while scratching the back of my head, and then she cut me off.

“What took you so long?” She asks.

That question catches me off guard. What took me long?

“I went the other way and I got lost.” I reply, fiddling my fingers. Why am I acting like this, like I owe her a big explanation?

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” She says, raising an eyebrow.

Then what is she talking about? I don’t remember another time that I went here. Other than the time we met at the beach last week, this was only the time I came to her afterwards.

“Pardon?” I say, hearing her mumble something.

“Nothing.” She says while walking towards me. She opens the gate of the fence and then gestures me to come in.

I step in her garden and then it’s like I’m into a different world… A world that I once knew… I walk behind her as she proceeds back to where she was working before I interrupted her. She sits down and continues to tend those white roses. Come to think of it there are more white roses than the other flowers combined.

“You love white roses…” I say as I sit next to her.

“How did you know?” She says without looking at me, continuing to cut dead petals off her white roses.

“There are more white roses here than any of the other flowers.” I say.

“Oh….” She sounds disappointed.

I keep silent and watch her care for her garden. I decide to help her so I get a pair of scissors and proceed on cutting on what’s left of the dead petals of her roses.

“Hey! What are you doing?” She says, patting my hand.

“Helping you.” I say while cutting off dead petals.

“You’re surprisingly skilled. Have you ever done this before?” She asks.

I stop working. Have I ever done this before? No… Then why am I cutting away dead petals and helping her around the garden like I’ve been doing this for years? I look at Krystal and she just gives me a smirk then proceeds on tending her garden. I work in silence, thinking of how I am used to this set up. Questions pile up like the dead petals I’ve cut. This feeling, I’ve felt this before and this set up happened to me already. But then again, I don’t know where or when. My heart keeps giving me déjà vu. I look at Krystal, there she is taking care of her precious garden. Butterflies keep on landing on her arms. She smiles bright… It feels like time slowed down. I watch her laugh as she feels the butterflies walk across her arms. I could do this forever if I could…

A memory suddenly flashes before my eyes, replacing the scene before me. There now stands a toddler where Krystal was sitting. The little girl looks at me...

“Am!”  She calls out, smiling.

I can’t move… Why do you know my name, little one?

“You’re beautiful, princess…” A voice inside me says.

“Who are you?!” A voice booms out.

I snap out of my trance. Krystal and I look at the source of the voice. It’s a man with greying hair, old but still well built and he’s looking right at me. I look at Krystal and her face painted with fear. Isn’t that her father?

“You, boy! Get out of my property!” He says as he strides up to me.

I stand up but still rooted on my spot.

“And you! You little ! You let this stranger into our yard without my permission?!” He says as he goes to Krystal and pushes her down.

I instinctively run to her and help her up but she gently puts my hand away.

“Go home, Amber. I can handle this. I’m just up the Oak tree.”  She whispers.

Up the Oak tree? What does she mean by that? But I don’t have the time to think about that now. Krystal’s raging father is a few meters away from us.

“What are you waiting for?! Scram!” He yells at me.

I help Krystal up and jog to the gate where my skateboard is. I look back and see Krystal smile at me. That made my day. I opt to walk home, thinking about Krystal. Was that Krystal’s father who just pushed his own daughter? The memory of Krystal falling down and getting hurt makes my blood boil. I mean yeah, I should feel this way because what her father did was something a father shouldn’t really do. Also… What was that vision I just had? A little girl replaced Krystal and she even looked like a younger version of her. The little girl also had cat-like eyes and silky dark hair that reached her lower back. And the way she called out to me… Sweet yet commanding. It made me want to go to her and tend to whatever she wants. But the big question is… Where did I see that little girl before?

 

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Night falls and I still can’t sleep. Here I am again out at the balcony, looking at the stars. The questions and riddles keep on bugging me. Krystal and her spontaneous words that come from nothing. But is it really from nothing? Those eyes she had… They’ve seen things and she wants me to recognize them. It’s like she was expecting me to remember something. But no matter how hard I try… I just can’t. Does she know something that I don’t? Up the Oak tree…  Then it hit me. While I was at Krystal’s, I saw an old Oak tree behind their house. It’s so big, it’s impossible to miss it. I look back at Jackie who’s covered in sheets. I quietly cross the room and down the stairs. Careful not to make any noise, I open the front door and go out without a soul knowing. I run to Krystal’s direction. I don’t know why I am doing this. All I know is that I wanted to… I needed to.

I arrive in front of her house. Under the cold moonlit night, the scent of roses fills the air. The house is quiet and no light within could be seen. Without a sound, I cross the side of their yard and into the back of their house. I could be sued for trespassing if I’m caught. But still, here I am risking it just to get to her. There it is, the huge Oak tree. I look up and see a light in a room is left on. I walk back, taking a good look at the balcony of the said room. Not being careful enough, I step on a stick and it makes a sound enough for anyone awake to hear. I stop dead on my tracks, I look down at my foot then back up to the balcony. To my horror, the balcony door opens and there comes out….

“Krystal…” I whisper.

“I knew you would figure it out.” She says, smiling at me.

“Can you come up?” She asks.

I look at the tree, yeah I’ve climbed a couple of times in the past but I don’t know if I still could.

“Uh… I think so.” I reply and start to climb.

I’m like Romeo coming up to see his Juliet. Good enough, I’m still sure-footed and in no time I’m up at Krystal’s balcony.

“Careful.” She says, giving me her hand.

I take it and she pulls me up to her. I stumble but she catches me before I could hurt myself. She gestured me to be quiet. I look inside her room, it’s so... her. I can't describe it properly. It has a double bed at the middle, an easel at one corner, a piano and white roses. It’s like a room for a princess.

“So… Welcome to my quarters.” She says, chuckling.

“Really. You keep on giving me riddles.” I say.

“Yeah, but you figure them out eventually.” She says.

“Not all of them.” I look at her.

She just smiles and looks up the night sky. The cold wind blowing past us, the scent of flowers and the stars looking down at us… Another familiar set up along with an all too familiar feeling.

“Hey look! A shooting star! Come on, Amber let’s make a wish.” She says, grinning as she tugs my shirt.

I look up and there is one. I close my eyes and wish that everything would be clear. I want answers. Answers why I’m drawn to Krystal. Why the first day I met her, I felt like I’ve known her for the longest time.

“What did you wish for?” She asks, snapping me out.

“I wished for answers.” I reply.

“Answers? Answers for what? Exams?” She laughs.

“No… No. I’ve been having these dreams and visions. I hope I’m not going crazy. But certain things that happened to me felt like it already happened before and I know it too well. Even that time when I helped you at the garden, I didn’t know where my gardening skills came from.” I say, putting my head against my palms.

“Don’t worry you’re not going crazy.” She says, taking my hands off my face.

“How do you know?” I ask her, my face full of questions.

Then again, she just gives me a smile as an answer. But hidden in that smile, I could see pain and longing. Like she wanted to say something so badly but she can’t.

“I think you have to go home. It’s getting late. If my step-father finds out you’re here, he’ll hang you.” She says, looking down.

“Step-father? What happened to your real dad?” I ask.

“He’s gone.” She says.

“Oh… I’m sorry. Okay, I better go.” I say with unconscious sorrow.

I look at her and find that she is looking at me too. Those cat-like eyes the little girl had, it’s definitely hers. She looks so vulnerable. I want to protect her. Protect her all my life…

“Oh, Amber. When are you going back to Korea?” She asks.

“A week from now.” I reply.

She just nods and looks away. I helplessly look at her and proceed to cling onto the tree. Then I feel her hugging me from behind. I can’t move. All my mind could process is her.  Her presence alone clams my being. It’s like my soul is reaching out for her. Once again, time seems to slow down and there is only us.

 “Krystal…” I say, feeling something warm in my heart.

“It’s Soojung.” She says, burying her face onto my back.

“Am… Don’t forget about me. Come find me again.” She tightens her hug then there was no more.

I look back only to find her door locked and lights off.

“I will… Princess. I love you.” I say.

There’s my answer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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There we go! Chapter 7 down. The god of inspiration finally granted my wish! Hahaha. I hope you guys like this chapter. I wrote this while at work, I'm currently having my intenrship so... I'll be having a bit of a hard time to update. Sorry, dear readers. You know I love you guys. :3

Comments, suggestions and violent reacitons are welcome!