Kyungsoo cupped the tiny bird in his hands gently, its yellow head poking out of the top of his clenched fists. It had stopped singing. But Kyungsoo paid no attention to the forgotten song, instead thought of how he would prepare the cage for the bird. It was barely the size of his fists, and he was worried that the fragile little body would break along the way back to the house. 

The bird struggled to be free once in a while, as Kyungsoo could feel its feet clawing madly to be set free. That only made Kyungsoo close his hands tighter around it. Seeing a bird in his hands had gotten him incredibly in awe. It could be the way the head of the bird was speckled with small brown feathers amongst the sea of yellow, or the mere fact that it was a bird.

As the bus rumbled on the route back to his house, Kyungsoo kept his eyes fixed on the small frame in his palms. It felt as if a new window had opened in his mind. There was life in his hands. So fragile, so small, so vulnerable...

It seemed like a second had just passed when the bus halted at the bus stop in front of his house. Kyungsoo nearly forgot about alighting and dashed out from his seat in a hurry, much to the annoyance of other passengers. He didn't care though. The tiny bird in his hands ruffled its feathers as if feeling some sort of impatience.

Kyungsoo instinctively tightened the grip around the creature. 

Taking light footsteps, he then made his way towards his apartment building. Looking at the yellow bird,  a fresh inspiration popped into his mind for his new commission artwork. Renewed energy filled his veins and Kyungsoo quickened his pace.

As usual, his parents weren't at home. They were both busy at work, which was just as well. Kyungsoo didn't want them poking their noses into his new found interest. 

He slung his backpack onto the clothes stand in the studio bedroom before shutting the door behind him. His latest art pieces lay strewn across the tables, and different kinds of paints adorned the work table. Carelessly, he stubbed a toe against an empty canvas lying on the cold tiled floor, making him winced. "Damn it," Kyungsoo cursed under his breath.

Still aware of the bird in his hand, he swiftly hopped his way to his storage cupboard and flung the doors open. Within moments, he got out an old cage he had made for a high school exhibition. Just yesterday, he had been contemplating whether to discard the metal cage for it took up too much space. Then he reminded himself of the countless nights working on it and decided to not throw it away. He was more than glad that he didn't throw it away now.

After hefting it out of the countless other sentimental junk in the cupboard, Kyungsoo set the cage on the surprisingly empty corner of his work table before opening the ledge and placing the tiny bird gently inside it. "There you go," he told the bird kindly.

The yellow creature didn't so much as give a chirp or any reaction but instead looked directly into Kyungsoo's eyes with a judgemental light. "I'll get you food and water later," Kyungsoo added, hoping for a reply from the bird. It then cocked its head and Kyungsoo swore he could feel the creature continue its judgment.

All of a sudden, Kyungsoo felt immensely stupid. Why was he talking to something that wouldn't reply him? 

He sighed and ruffled his hair as he dragged out the chair in front of the table and sat down. He gave the yellow bird one last somewhat hopeful look before picking up a brush and dipped it into a magenta shade paint, continuing his painting of a hibiscus flower.

Time ticked by slowly as the sun dipped down on the horizon. Kyungsoo's eyelids grew heavier and he placed the brush back into its holder, then folding his arms on the table. I'll sleep, for a while, he thought drowsily.

It was blank white. 

Kyungsoo couldn't help but be blinded by the stark brightness of his surroundings. Suddenly, a familiar tune reached his ears and he quickly turned around. "Bird?"

A teenage boy with dappled hazelnut brown hair sat cross-legged on the floor and stopped singing when he noticed Kyungsoo. The boy opened his eyelids to their full width, revealing the ebony black irises behind them. He said rather calmly, "You."

"Me?" Kyungsoo asked in a dumb trance. The teenage boy nodded his head and replied, "Yes you." He then looked around at the white empty space with a smile, "Beautiful isn't it?" Kyungsoo shook himself out of his second world and pointed out incredulously, the whiteness beginning to blind him again, "Excuse me?"

"You seem to have a hearing problems and vision problems," the teenage boy answered serenely. Kyungsoo frowned at him and asked, "Excuse you?" The teenage boy then lay down on the floor and sighed in content, as if he were lying on a field of flowers instead of a blank white space. Kyungsoo stood rooted to the ground, not really sure what he was supposed to do.

After a few moments, the boy turned his head and gestured towards Kyungsoo, "Come. Lie down."

Kyungsoo wasn't sure what to make of the request, and the boy.  The boy looked barely his age and Kyungsoo didn't know anyone younger than him. He slowly cast a hesitant look at the teenage boy, wondering again if he should follow through the instructions or simply ignore him. After all, he knew he was just in a dream.

"I wouldn't wake myself up if I were you," the boy said admidst the silence, still lying down but now with his eyes closed, "Dreams usually reflect your life. Tell me, what do you see?" Kyungsoo stared hard at the boy and wondered who the boy was really. Despite his resistance to say anything, he still replied while keeping his eyes on the floor, "All white. Just white. And you."

The boy smiled serenely once again, leaving Kyungsoo to wonder if he knew things he didn't know about. Curiosity got the better of Kyungsoo and he strode over to the boy. Standing beside him, he asked with a twinge of suspicion, "I'm trusting that this isn't a trap." "Oh it's a trap all right," the younger boy replied with a hearty laugh.

He then patted the empty space beside himself and continued, "Trap of human ignorance. I'll let you see how I see this place, come." At his words. Kyungsoo felt somehow hurt and furious. Human ignorance? What does a kid like him know? The boy sighed in exasperation and opened his eyelids before looking straight at Kyungsoo.

"Don't tell me you like the whiteness. Aren't you a painter? An artist?" he questioned, his soft yet piercing look then pulling the words right out of Kyungsoo's mouth. Kyungsoo bit his lower lip and replied, "Yes." The dark eyes of the boy drew Kyungsoo's attention. They were playful, yet they gave off a sorrowful aura. Kyungsoo felt his mouth dry as he wondered how a boy younger than him would seem so much more mature.

The boy closed his eyes after making a few moment of silent eye contact with Kyungsoo. He said softly, "You have questions. The answers lie in colors you see. Firstly, you have to see through my eyes." Not able to bear the strange words of the boy any longer, Kyungsoo sat down beside the boy.

Without warning, the boy swiftly reached out and touched Kyungsoo's arm gently. The scene around Kyungsoo changed, now a scenery filled with colors.  He was standing in a clearing grown with lush grass while the boy lay on it and butterflies danced around them. The sound of waterfalls reached his ears and Kyungsoo took in the air as if he was breathing for the first time. Trees towered majestically all around and over them as sunlight filtered through the canopies hypnotically.

"Where..." Kyungsoo gaped in wonder, taking the beauty of the forest. The boy answered behind, "This is my home."

It was the boy's home.

It was paradise.

"This is so beautiful. Where's your house?" Kyungsoo asked, now sitting down beside the boy eagerly. The boy didn't say anything for a while but he said finally, "It's very easy to find it. Look carefully." Kyungsoo couldn't help but notice the quiet sadness in his voice. Then Kyungsoo noticed something wrong with the forest.

It was perfectly fine around them, but there was a hidden sense of abandonment and death which lingered in the air. As Kyungsoo peered out further through the tree trunks, he realised that the grass was brown and withered, and the soil turned red from erosion. The trees outside were mere ghosts of what seemed to be their past, bare and dead.

He realised with a start that there were no sounds of animals ever since he had been in the forest clearing.

There was no house. A sour lump formed in his throat as he tried to say, "Your family. T-they're dea-" The boy pulled his hand away from Kyungsoo's arm abruptly and Kyungsoo immediately felt the cold of the vast white space, his eyes feeling like they had been burned with fire.

Nevertheless, Kyungsoo returned his gaze to the boy's face. His expression was unreadable.

It took a few minutes before the boy lifted his head to look at Kyungsoo. It was only for a moment, but Kyungsoo saw the pain and fear flashing behind the boy's eyes. Pain and fear of anything more being taken away from him. These weren't the eyes of any ordinary kid. Then the familiar confident and cynical look returned to the dark orbs.

"Everyone sees their dreams differently, Kyungsoo. But some people live their whole life not even seeing one bit of their true dream, putting hope and happiness in the wrong places, or even searching for it relentlessly with no result."

Kyungsoo found himself leaning forward, wanting to hear more.

"My dream is where I was born and bred. My home is also the same place. I painted my dream as my home, even though it is half gone. My family is no longer here."

"I... Don't really get it."

"You paint your dreams with life, Kyungsoo, not like brushes on canvas. Small things matter."

"Why can't I see anything except white here?"

"Small things matter. They always do. When you see small things, you see color. I'll leave you at that."

Kyungsoo woke up abruptly to the bird's chirping on the table. Staring blankly at the bird, he recollected the dream. Slowly as time passed, Kyungsoo realised that he had a lot of questions. Who was the boy? What was he doing in his dream? Why was he having that dream for the first time? How was he supposed to get colors?

The more he thought, the more frustrated he felt. Why did the boy have to be so vague? The yellow bird then hopped in the cage towards Kyungsoo and tried to poke its head between the bars. That action made Kyungsoo crack a little smile but it soon faded away and he rested his head down on the deak again.

Colors... Colors... This is stupid. I've used colors all my life I should know this!

But he didn't. 

A moment later, Kyungsoo heard the lock in the front door turning open. "Kyungsoo! We're home!" his mother called from outside. Kyungsoo made no attempt to reply as usual. Then he heard an angry chitter come from the bird. He lifted his head and stared dumbly at the bird, but it seemed quite mad, pecking at the cage with its beak and chirping loudly. If it were a human, Kyungsoo could have sworn it was swearing.

"What's up with you?" he asked, feeling a little annoyed. He was in no mood for further disturbance after the dream.

"We bought you favourite dukbokki. When you're done with your painting, you can come out and take it," his father said in his gruff voice, outside the door of the studio. Kyungsoo didn't budge from his seat. However, a foreign emotion came over him and he continued listening. 

"Tell him to take a bathe and sleep early."

"Why don't you tell him yourself dear?"

"He won't listen. Besides, he always liked you better."

"Why me- Okay okay fine."

Kyungsoo smiled unknowingly while hearing their hushed conversation. A set of footsteps moved away from the door and his father cleared his throat, "Um, I don't know if you're listening or not, but your Mum wants to bathe and rest early. It's good for you." Kyungsoo thought it would end there, but his father continued in a slightly nervous voice, "And Mum's birthday is coming up. I was just wondering if you could help me plan something for her. You know..."

He could literally hear the hope deflating from his father's voice as he continued, "But if you're busy, I understand." It's just you've never celebrated birthdays together since you were sixteen. Those were the unspoken words Kyungsoo heard ever so loudly in his head, and sharp pang of guilt shot up his chest. 

My family is no longer here. 
Small things matter.

Like a puzzle piece, Kyungsoo slowly fitted the pieces together in his mind, although he was not sure of his movements on the board. A smile crept its way across his lips slowly but surely. When he looked at the small bird, it almost looked like it was smiling at him, but it was impossible to tell with animals. 

He pushed back the chair and stood up shakily. "Are you sure about this?" Kyungsoo asked the bird. The bird fell into a silence, but it looked at him in the eyes with a curious wonder. "I'll take that as a yes." 

As Kyungsoo made his way towards the door, a familiar feeling of amused enlightenment wrapped around his heart, as if the boy were there, looking at him. A surge of pure curiosity came over him and Kyungsoo once again wondered who he was. The boy with light brown hair and dark eyes.

everything happens for a reason