Timor mortis conturbat me

The fear of death confounds me.

Daehyun was an excellent tea maker. Junhong learned that first hand.

The very moment he stepped foot into that small shack that Daehyun called his own, a feeling of tranquility washed over him. The shack itself was quite different than he had been expecting. Wallpaper was peeling from the walls, and on said walls hung different shelves which contained anything from strange concoctions to spellbooks written in that familiar, unreadable language that Yongguk had never got around to teaching him. Incense sat on a shelf right next to the door and gave off the calming scent of jasmine. Flowers spilled from the bottom most drawer of a medium-sized dresser and below it a half-made flower string lay on the floor. Various other herbs, spices, cooking supplies, and glass containers lay scattered around the the large carpet that adorned the centre of the room. Against the wall perched open spell books and notebooks and around it small pieces of paper with hasty writing were tacked to the wall. Different coloured prayer flags were strung across the top of the doorframe and parchment curse seals were taped to the wall in a pile below them. It was one room, yet it still held an air of spaciousness. If anything, it seemed to be uniquely Daehyun.

He was a really spiritual sort of person, like the Wiccans that the nuns told Junhong to watch out for because they were already condemned to Hell. There were all sorts of strange things that he kept within his little box for a shack. When Daehyun went out to do his round in the village, Junhong couldn’t help but do some snooping. There was a little deer-looking thing that trailed behind Daehyun wherever he went, but sometimes she wandered off alone. Junhong hoped to finish his searching before she stuck her little brown head through the dark curtains that covered the door.

With a hot cup of darjeeling tea in one hand and the other on the knob of the top drawer of the small dresser, Junhong slid open the wooden drawer and examined the contents of it. Countless pieces of yellowed notebook paper filled it to the brim. Some were crumpled up while others looked as if they had simply been ripped from the notebook itself. They were written on with ink that bled onto the back of the page and the Hindu script that littered the pages was messy, yet practiced. He looked behind him before he stuffed one of the pages into the pockets of his shorts. Then, he moved on to the next drawer down.

It was full of different teas. Some in plastic bags while others were in mesh tea bags. He was reminded to take a sip of his own tea, and the floral scent that took over his senses as he brought the small cup to his lips was divine. Junhong would really have to ask Yongguk to invest in some floral tea once he went back home.

There was no time to check out the other two drawers -- though the bottommost one seemed to just be perpetually open -- as Daehyun and his little deer strolled through the door the moment he closed the drawer he’d been examining.

“I hope I wasn’t too long, my friend,” Daehyun beamed. “Rani wanted to stop for more flowers.”

As Daehyun gestured to the overflowing basket of flowers in his arms, Rani -- the deer -- wiggled her large ears. There was a string of various coloured flowers around his neck. It was endearing to think of how Daehyun must spend a lot of time just to sew all of those flowers together and drape them around her neck like a decorative stuffed mink that would adorn the nape of a queen’s neck.

“You’re alright,” Junhong smiled back to him before heading to the middle of the room and sitting. “This tea you’ve made is really amazing.”

Daehyun sat next to him and put down his flower basket. Rani followed suit and laid down rather close to him. She seemed much less personable than Daisy. “That’s because it’s darjeeling. Darjeeling is my favourite, and it’s very relaxing. I believe that it’s the flowery smell that it has to it.”

He nodded, looking into the rose-coloured liquid that sat steaming in his cup. “Hey, how was it out there? In that village, I mean.”

“Ah,” Daehyun paused. “They’re quite rattled by the disease that’s being spread throughout here. The cold that Aarav’s father had has turned into something more, and now they fear for his passing.” He looked almost completely austere as he continued. “I just don’t understand why it’s not something that they… that they expect. Why are they so afraid of it?”

A heavy silence weighed down the ambience. Rani placed her head in Daehyun’s lap as Junhong attempted to formulate some sort of response. Finally, Daehyun laughed to himself and threw up his hands as if to wave away the tense atmosphere that had settled itself between the two. “I’m sorry, friend. I didn’t mean to get so serious with you.”

“You’re not afraid of death?”

The question stuck to the air. It was borderline intrusive and quite the prying queery. Yet it had to be asked. Daehyun had already piqued his interest, and now Junhong had to know. Such a sweet and loving man couldn’t possibly think of death as something that just… happens. Surely there would be people he missed and people that missed him.

“Not… Particularly, no.” He finally answered. “When you’re like me, you see everything for what could happen. I’ve seen so many die before my eyes. Sometimes it’s preventable, sometimes it isn’t. Preemptive visions would be a gift, wouldn’t you think? Alas, knowing the fate of all those around you isn’t something I’d think too positively about. I apologise for the uncomfortable subject, my friend.”

Junhong shook his head, trying to wrap his head around what the other had just said. Preemptive visions? So that would mean… Daehyun was some sort of oracle? That would make sense. Since they had met, he always seemed to know what Junhong was going to do or where he was going to be. That must’ve been the sort of magic that Daehyun had. Yongguk had gone over it briefly in his short lived “other magic” unit. Daehyun was a… what was the word again? It had something to do with Gods…

“Diviner.”

He blinked. “How did you…?”

“You were going to ask what kind of magic I use. I’m a diviner. We mainly focus on finding things that have long been forgotten; things that only the wind and the trees remember.”

The way he said it sounded mysterious and enigmatic. As if in his eyes he held all of the secrets to the world. Junhong remembered what Yongguk had said about diviners. “They’re dangerous if they’re against you, but if you befriend them then they can be the most genuine people you’ll ever meet.”

“What can you tell me about my book?” Junhong gestured to the book he’d been carrying around for over a year now. It always stayed close by him, as if it was a handler watching their pet. He didn’t like it very much.

“It’s attached itself to you.” Was all Daehyun said. Junhong wanted to shake him by the shoulders and just say ‘I know, I know!’ but resisted the urge. He promised himself he’d stop getting so worked up over the damn thing.

“It’s not going to let me open it, I know that much.” He had his eyes closed and seemed to be concentrating quite adamantly. “But I can delve deeper into it’s history if that’s what you wish.

Junhong stood and retrieved the book from it’s place on the floor by the door. As he opened it, it showed nothing but those blank yellowed pages. He closed it and opened it again, this time willing it to show at least something. As if it was giving in to his feeble wishes, the book wrote out the first chapter. It scribbled in that hasty cursive, and each page did the same as he flipped through it. Finally, he pushed the book towards Daehyun, surrendering control of it. Daehyun stared at it for a long while. Rani looked up at him as a look of fear crossed his features.

“This… This is not good.”