Snippets of Time Outtake— Yoonsic’s first meeting

It had been about a month since Jessica moved back to Korea and had her life defined by a crazy mess of moving, dragging feet around the unfamiliar house and neighborhood along with semi-failed attempts at adapting to a new environment.

New school, new introduction and new classmates who were all two years younger. Everything was new.

New, new, new.

Jessica actually liked that. Out of the American air, breathing this new sort of life. But she couldn’t seem to leave her overseas life entirely behind. Every now and then, people picked up on her slightly accented pronunciation and eagerly dove into topics about America.

She had nothing much to say but at least the curiosity from nine-year-olds spanned short. School was considered peaceful; she had managed to make some acquaintances while carefully navigating her way through everyday school life.

But there was this persistent moodiness and emptiness that hung like storm clouds. Slowly, but surely, it ate away at her.

Jessica sighed.

Another day, another end to classes and another walk back home in this gradually familiar neighborhood. It was supposed to be the same old, but as Jessica shuffled along with heavy feet, something caught her attention.

Something resembling a panicky wail.

Jessica stopped in her tracks, ears pricked to the short seconds of undisturbed calm silence. She was about to brush it off as hallucination when she heard the wail again.

“Haaaaaaalp!”

It sounded terrified and definitely child-like.

Jessica shot toward the direction of the wails without second thought, panic building in her as various dramatic situations of horror ran through her head. A fallen tree, a screeching car, or maybe a teeth-gnashing hound attached to a tiny . She ran down the street, following the cries of help, and turned the corner to behold the source of the wails.

A tiny kid stuck in a rather deep drain.

Jessica gaped, not too sure how to process the scene.

“Haaaaalp!”

The kid flailed, an attempt to hoist herself up. Perhaps she was caught on something or maybe she just didn’t have enough strength; either way, the attempt ended in a failure.

Jessica jogged toward the drain, squatted down, and tapped on the young girl’s back.

“HAAAAAAL… Eh?”

The girl turned around, eyes lighting up the moment Jessica came into her view.

“Helppp meeee, unnieeee!” The young girl stretched out her hand, puppy eyes pleading and lips downturned. There were some scratches on her palms and Jessica’s heart winced at the sight.

Jessica took a look at the depth of the drain. It almost went up to the girl’s shoulder, and it seemed that one of her feet was stuck.

“Unnieeeee, save me!”

Innocent doe-eyes that were holding back tears and the pitiable tone struck Jessica hard. The helpless request pierced the tender area within her.

"Hold on," Jessica ignored the extended thin arms in favor of grabbing the