My parents and I walked through the street and saw many shops similar to one near my house, but there was no one in sight, almost as if it was abandoned. I wonder where they all went. At first I  thought that kids weren't out because it was cold and getting late, but the shops, they looked deserted. Why wasn't anyone watching over them?

"I don't think we should be here." I told my mother but she ignored me. My pace slowed down and I looked around. Something was off. "Can we please go back." I shouted at them and looked up but they were gone.

I started to panic, now that I didn't see them in sight. I called out for them but I got no answer. I began to continue down the path we were walking on before. Maybe they continued walking ahead. My breathing was no longer stable and I began taking deep breaths every now and then.

When I reached the end of the road I saw a bridge and across the bridge was a big and exquisite building. It looked like an old traditional building. Maybe my parents are inside. I walked towards the bridge and saw that underneath the bridge was train tracks. 

"Daddy? Mom?" I called out to them. I was scared, making my voice shaky and I honestly wanted to cry. Even though it seemed childish I still wanted to.

"What are you doing here?" I heard an unfamiliar voice from behind me. I turned around and saw a male about my age. He had a piece of cloth tied around his head as a headband and was wearing old traditional looking clothes but it wasn't a hanbok. "You have to go back." He tells me.

"What?" He grabbed my arm and began tugging on my arm and my feet gave in. Soon enough, we started running. "Do you know where my parents are? Did they leave already?" I ask him, remembering that I was on the search for my parents.

He stopped running and looked at me before sighing. "You go back the same path you came from. I’ll go look for your parents."

Before I can say anything the boy ran off the opposite direction of where he has told me to go. I decided to listen to what he told me since I didn't have a choice. The sun was setting and it was getting cold.

Without hesitation I sprinted back to the trail we came from but it was getting darker by the second. I took my phone out and the flashlight. I stood there in shock when I finally saw what was in front of me. “A river?” I spoke to myself. Did I take the wrong way? I didn’t know what to do anymore and I began to panic. I’m pretty sure I took the correct path. All I did was follow the main road.

I sat down with my knees to my chest and buried my face between my legs. I didn’t know what was going on but I hated it. I wanted to go home. I want to be with my parents. I kept shaking my head hoping that this was just a dream and that I wake up from it soon. I looked up again and everything was the same. I closed my eyes hard as I felt my tears coming in. I was scared being left alone in places I wasn’t familiar with. As if I was abandoned.

“Are you okay?” I heard a familiar voice. I looked up and saw the same boy from before. “I found your parents,” he sighs, “but it’s too late to return home now.” My eyes widen at his statement. What does he mean, it’s too late? “You have to come with me. Here eat this.” He handed me a small fruit about the size of a grape. I took it from him and ate it without a thought. It tasted like a passionfruit. 

After eating that the boy helped me up and he grabbed my arm leading me somewhere else. “Where are my parents?” I asked but he didn’t reply. “Are you taking me to them?” I asked again, still no reply. At this rate he’s probably never going to answer me.

We were walking in the alleys instead of the main roads from before. It was scarier in the alley so i held onto this boy’s arm even tighter. I didn’t know who he was but if he’s willing to help me, I might as well stay with him. I’m practically helpless right now. He opened the door to a building and walked inside, but I stood right outside the door. I didn’t know if I wanted to go in there or not. 

What if this boy was a bad person? But he’s been helping me so far. But what if he really hasn’t? What if this boy took my parents from me and is trying to keep hostage? My mind continued to think of the worse case scenario and I slowly moved back, feeling more cautious than I did before.

“Don’t worry. It’s safe in here.” He spoke softly in a whisper like voice. “We won’t harm you.” He put his hand out, waiting for me to take it. Did I really have much of a choice? Despite all those crazy thoughts I just had, all I had right now was him. Whether he’s a good or bad person, he’s the only person I have right now. I took his hand and he smiled before guiding me in.

Everything inside this building looked wooden besides the outside. It looked like a traditional house. Actually all the buildings here looked traditional. There were a lot of people in the building. Boys and girls. 

"Jeonjeon! There you are!" A girl yelled towards us. "Who's that?" She asked when she paused in front of me.

"This is Mijoo. She got lost with her parents." My eyes widen in realization. I don't recall introducing myself to him at all. How does he know my name? "Can she stay with you in your room until she can return home?"

"Sure. She can come with me. Let's change your clothes." The boy, who's name I think is Jeonjeon, handed me to the girl and I followed her. I kept looking back him but he gave a reassuring nod.

I followed her to get dressed. While walking around, I noticed that the building looked like a dorm, to be honest. There were boys and girls, all wearing similar clothing and seemed to know one another.

“I’m Hikari by the way.” The girl finally introduces herself to me as we arrived to the room.

“I’m Mijoo.” I introduced myself back to her and followed her inside. There were no beds in the room. She slid open one of the closets and looked for a pair of new clothes for me. “Hikari how come that boy from before knows my name?” I couldn’t help but ask this dumb question.

“You mean Jeonjeon?” She asked me and I nodded my head. “I don’t know. I thought you guys knew each other already.” 

“No this is my first time meeting him.”

“You sure? Maybe you met him a long time ago or something.” I looked down at my feet and try to think of a time where I have seen him, but nothing came to mind. “Here you go! This should fit you perfectly.” She held up shirt and then handed it to me. “I’ll wait for you to get changed.”

She left me alone in the room and I sat in silence before taking off my clothes to change. It seemed like there was so much going on in my mind, but at the same time, I felt empty. I took off my sweater first and I felt my phone in one of the pockets. I took it out and saw that I had no service here and that there was a cracked on my screen. When did my phone crack? I stared at my home screen and there was a picture of my friends and I together when we went to an amusement park. We all looked so happy and close. Now it seemed like I’ve grown distant with them.

author's comments

I finally have a poster and background for my story. I am so obsessed with it because it looks so amazing, Can't stop looking at it. The credits are in the foreward section. Let me know what you guys think of the story so far. Feel free to leave some feedbacks and remember to subscribe, commrnent, and/or upvote if you like my story. Thanks so much!