Flicking off the light switch, you were instantly plunged into darkness. You walked across your bedroom, pulled the curtains roughly apart before taking a deep breath and gently pushing the window open. Dragging your chair from your desk, you sat by the window and waited. You were not sure exactly what it is you were waiting for but you were convinced you would know once you saw it. Whatever was going on, you were determined to find out the truth.
                Your house resided on an inward corner of a street, which meant your house overlooked your neighbour’s back garden. Some of the back windows of your neighbour’s house could also be seen; to be more precise, you could quite easily see Minhyun’s bedroom window from your own bedroom window.

                One cold night a week beforehand, as you had pulled the curtains across, you had noticed how Minhyun’s bedroom window was wide open. The chilling air and freezing temperatures was what made this quite peculiar. To leave yourself exposed to the elements without fearing frostbite was rather strange, but this was something you did not ponder on for too long and soon forgot.
                Until the next day.
                Much to your disdain, your mother had decided to send you on an errand into town and in this cold weather, it was going to be anything but pleasant. Coat zipped up; gloves, hat and scarf on; layers of socks upon your feet; knee high boots pulled up; you stepped out of your house, bracing the weather bravely.
                Just as you had crossed the road, you looked up and saw a slim, tall figure in the distance walking towards you. His soft, dark hair gently swayed in the wind as his almond shaped eyes stared vacantly ahead. The expression upon his face was filled with concern, his lips pierced, almost as if he were deep in thought. You had never seen Minhyun look this way before. He was usually a very cheerful person without a worry in the world.
                Before you could stop yourself, you found the words, “Are you okay Minhyun?” slip out of your mouth as he neared you.
                Minhyun stopped, looking at you blankly, trying to process what you had just asked him.
                “Are you okay?” You repeated, not quite sure if he had heard you properly the first time.
                “I…yes!” a smile grew upon his face. “I’m fine, even though it is a bit cold, brrrr!” In an effort to fake a shiver and be cheerful, you instantly felt that he was overcompensating for some unknown reason.
                “It…is…It was really cold last night too, don’t you think?” You asked him, remembering his open window the previous night.
                “Absolutely! I was shivering all night long!” he replied, rubbing his hands together in an effort to generate warmth.
                “Huh…” you raised an eyebrow, debating questioning him further, that was until you noticed just how filthy his hands were.
                There was dirt under his fingernails, as well as dark smudges all across his cut and cracked knuckles and fingers. It looked very much like he had been undertaking some form of manual labour and that he had not washed his hands in days, which was very out of character for someone who was always pristine. Noticing your curious gaze, Minhyun tucked his hands back into his jacket pocket before pulling an excuse and quickly walking away.
                During that brief encounter, you had learnt two things; for one, Minhyun’s bedroom window being left ajar was indeed more peculiar than you had first thought and secondly, his hands were far too filthy for someone who was very conscious of cleanliness.
                That night, again, you noticed Minhyun’s bedroom window ajar, the curtains flapping in the wind haphazardly.
                The night after that, it snowed heavily and settled as a thick blanket across the town. This had not deterred Minhyun from having his bedroom window open once more.
                Two more night of snowfall and strong winds, the window remained open and you watched as much of the white powder poured itself through the opening.
                During the day, it was closed, but at night, it was open. Something unusual was definitely taking place.
                You were walking through the park the next day, homeward bound having just visited a friend. Your hands were deep in your coat pockets and your woolly scarf was up to your nose in an effort to keep the cold away. As you walked across the frozen field, the grass crunching under your feet, you looked up and saw Minhyun standing by a gathering of evergreen trees. Frowning, you resolved at once to talk to him. It was time you found out why he was behaving so oddly.
                “Hi Minhyun,” you casually waved as you walked up to him, instantly noticing how nervous he looked.
                “I…Hi…” he replied uneasily, with a half-hearted chuckle and a crooked smile.
                “How are things?” you asked.
                “Great, yes, fine,” he replied, looking very distracted. His eyes darted from you to the ground around him, almost as if he were searching for something.
                “Have you lost something?” you enquired.
                “No…I...urm…it’s fine.”
                “I can help you look-”
                “No really, it’s okay,” he edged away a little from you before returning his attention to the ground by the trees. Furrowing your eyebrows, you sighed heavily. You were not about to give up.
                “What is it you’re looking for?” When Minhyun did not reply, you decided to just hover awkwardly, in the hope that answers would be revealed. For a while, you debated asking him about his opened bedroom window every night that week so far, but you felt incredibly intrusive doing so.
                You were both there for but a few minutes before you noticed something strange resting in the snow. It was concealed amongst a few twigs but sure enough, it was an object that did not belong in this season; it was an acorn. Crouching down, you picked it up before calling out to Minhyun.
                “Since when do you find acorns in the Winter? Unless a squirrel dropped it?” You asked Minhyun rhetorically, before walking over to him and showing him the acorn. He looked down at it and for a moment you thought you saw relief cross his face.
                “Is this what you were looking for?” You asked him. When he did not answer, you held your hand out and he hesitated before taking it from you.
                “Thank you…” he replied before looking up, your eyes meeting.
                It is strange, how the people you most frequently encounter you take for granted the most. Their features, their expressions, the sound of their laughter, their body language, their movements-could you describe these things clearly without them standing before you? Because it was in this moment that you felt like you were looking into Minhyun’s eyes for the first time and it astounded you. He was such a quiet and well-mannered person but his eyes told a different story altogether. Minhyun’s eyes were like those of a child’s. They were an open book of energetic youth, unbridled excitement, curious innocence and hidden just behind it all, a deep yearning…
                “I…I have to go…” he turned and ran. You remained standing there feeling very much stunned. Instead of receiving answers, you were filled with more questions.
                That night, Minhyun’s window was open again. In that moment, you promised yourself you would get to the bottom of this mystery.

                And here you were now, seven nights later, sitting in your bedroom, shrouded in darkness as you waited for the boy next door to reveal his secret. It felt like madness and perhaps it was, but you were confident that something was being concealed and perhaps it was boredom, perhaps it was the excitement of adventure, but something was pulling you towards this mystery, like gravity pulling you towards the Earth; you could not stop yourself, even if you wanted to.
                You heard a faint creak and saw the window slowly open itself, the way it had every night that week. A small smile played upon your mouth. Moving to the edge of your chair you leant forward and watched eagerly as Minhyun’s hand grasped the edge of the frame, his feet carefully being placed on the ledge as he precariously perched between his bedroom and the outside world.
                “What is he doing?” you whispered out loud to yourself, furrowing your brows as you rose from the chair. You watched as he swayed back and forth, bracing himself-for what? To throw himself out of the window?
                Then, it happened. One moment he was on the window ledge and the next he had pushed himself away from the safety of his bedroom and had spread his arms out either side of his body. Your eyes widened. He had not fallen. He was floating. No, not floating…he was…flying! But how was this possible? Your mind could not comprehend it, yet there he was, defying the impossible. He dipped down into the garden a few times before flying back up to where his bedroom window was. A gasp escaped you and your hands immediately covered your mouth. It was too late. Minhyun turned his head and looked in your direction. His eyes widened and before he could stop himself, he was plummeting towards the ground.
                “No…” you stepped backwards and before you even knew what you were doing, you had raced out of your house, pushed open the side gate to the back garden of Minhyun’s house, run alongside the house until you had reached the garden. There you stood breathless, staring at his unmoving form, which was lying face down in the snow.
                “Minhyun?” You took a step tentatively towards him, your hand reaching out to him before throwing caution to the wind and hurrying to his side. “Minhyun?” You gently shook his body. “Minhyun!”
                You heard an inaudible groan before the form in front of you stirred.
                “Oh thank goodness,” you let out the breath you had unknowingly been holding in and helped Minhyun up to his feet.
                “What were you doing? Were you trying to kill yourself? I mean-no, you didn’t throw yourself out of the window…I mean you did, you definitely weren’t on solid ground anymore but-,” you pointed towards his open window, “The window and you-you stepped off and…then you were,” you spread your arms out, imitating the soaring movements you had witnessed earlier. “Normal people don’t just throw themselves out of windows and you know-do that! I don’t know what it was I just saw but-” You sighed, turning towards him but instead of an explanation, your outburst was met with laughter. “This isn’t funny-you were flying! How did you do that? Was it a trick? Was it an optical illusion? Am I actually going crazy because right now I feel like I am and-”
                Minhyun doubled back, unable to control himself anymore and fell back to the ground from laughing so hard. Twitching your mouth to one side, you folded your arms and waited for him to finish before demanding an explanation. On reflection though, perhaps you had sounded rather hysterical…
                “Can I ask you a question?” Minhyun asked, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. “Do you believe in fairies?” He looked directly at you, his expression serious now. Was it your turn to laugh? You were not sure.
                “Fairies?”
                “Yes, fairies. Do you believe in fairies?” You looked at him in puzzlement, wondering if this was a joke.
                “I…maybe?” You decided that an indefinite answer was better than a definite one in this situation.
                “Maybe?” Minhyun repeated. “Maybe…I suppose that’s good enough!” Minhyun shrugged before looking up towards his bedroom window and whistling.
                “What are you doing?” You asked, knowing fully well that you were just about to be met with even more questions rather than answers. “Wait-why did you ask me if I believe in fairies? Minhyun, what’s going on?”
                “You know, girls talk too much,” Minhyun smirked, looking over towards you with those child-like eyes you had witnessed the other day. “Someone I know once told me that.”
                “Well that’s just rude,” you flippantly replied.
                “I guess it is, but he also told me that one girl is worth twenty boys,” Minhyun’s expression softened to a gentle smile and for a moment, you felt your heart flutter. “He’s also the same person who taught me how to fly.”
                “Oh really? And who exactly was that? Peter Pan?” you joked, chuckling to yourself. Then you saw the guilty look upon Minhyun’s face and instantly stopped.
                “Minhyun…” your eyes widened. “Are you telling me that Peter Pan is real?”
                “Not only is he real but…he’s missing.”