There was an ocean, vast and everlasting as the word allowed it. A breeze tickled gently through loosely knitted locks. The smell of salt and deep ocean had been alien, yet so familiar.

There was no depression of foot prints in the sand, nothing that showed a trail. It was almost as if the boy was meant to be there; a boy with hair so blonde it glistened as gold in the rising sun.

It was a dream, Luhan knew that much. But the blonde male before him was a mystery; for he had never seen anyone with such brightly colored hair. Luhan wanted the male to turn around, just to garner a glimpse at who was behind the curious back.

All it took was a blink for the boy to disappear and replace itself with a dark and ominous figure. Luhan reached a hand out and tried to call out after the boy but there was no point, this figure had taken over. There was no definite shape to the mass of evil, only two red eyes that bore down on him. Two red eyes that seemed so utterly disgusted in everything Luhan stood for. The teen had not even known what he stood for, but he could feel all kinds of suffocation and negativity radiate from the beast. He flinched and crouched down into a ball, covering his head and shielding himself away from the monster. It was all he could do.

✴✧✴

The teen woke with a startle, his head lifting from the cold glass it was pressed against.

“You alright?” A familiar voice had sounded next to the teen as he began to understand his surroundings. He had been seated in a rental car and had been driving for almost three hours since the airport with his father.

“…Yeah.” The teen shifted and calmed his racing heart. He often had odd dreams like that, though, he never did understand them. He had figured it was his subconscious being strung about in its creative state and projecting images he might have seen earlier in that particular day. After all, he had seen many blonde haired people since arriving in America. And he had probably seen a movie poster with an evil creature lurking about.

“You seemed like you were having a bad dream..” His father pressed as he kept focus on the road.

“No.. It was nothing.” The teen had fixed his position and leaned his head back against the window.

The houses had started looking more and more alike. White with black shutters, Cape styled, two story and all very similar. There was something pleasing to the teen’s eye as he watched them pass by.

“How far are we from the house?”

“Just a few more minutes… Hey, you brought your acceptance letter with you right?”

“Yes, why?”

“Just making sure.”

Luhan had leaned down and grabbed the bag that rested in between his feet. The book bag held all the truly important documents and items that the family of two had been too afraid to send by mail. The teen reached down and pulled out a rather deep maroon colored folder. Inside held his acceptance letter to Yale University. On the top of one of the letters had been the red and white crest of the dorm he would be apart of during his stay at the Yale college.

Underneath all the formalities and titles of the school had been his name. It made him scrunch his nose up at the way it was arranged.

“Han Lu”

His name was Han, yes, but Lu Han had been his full name. It had been like that since he was born and it would be like that until the day he died. It was how everyone he had ever known had addressed him. He could not imagine a world where people would call him Han Lu over Lu Han. But that was just the kind of character Luhan was: he spoke when spoken to and behaved as the perfect ideal son; he studied hard and played little. He was like a study machine, studying and studying and studying... And studying. He had little friends and little social skills, but at least he knew to solve parenthesis first in a math equation at the young age of eight. A wonderfully hardworking little nut he was.

Mother had not been in the picture. She worked far away and never had time to visit Luhan; but she would send him small gifts from the places she would travel. They were postcards from the bright and colorful lands of the Earth that Luhan never really thought anything of; they kept him stimulated enough. They were beautifully alphabetized, down to every last character and letter in a fashion no one thought possible.

It is easy to tell a lot about a person by their room. For Luhan, it was beyond easy to read. His room was clean, neat and organized to the very last particle of dust. Nothing was out of place or in its wrong order. Clothes were ironed once, flawless, then twice with a swift spray of starch to keep it as such. Once they were ironed they were hung on thin plastic hangers in a color coded fashion in his closet (the hangers also had a specific color to a specific type of clothing.) The majority of Luhan’s clothes always seemed to have a great medium of dull and rather gray colors. Pitiful really. Even the hamper was full of dirty clothes that were worn once and folded neatly in place. The scary part about it was that his father was the exact same persnickety way. Both of them would wake up at six-thirty in the morning, turn their alarms off and find a bathroom. They would brush their teeth in synch, wash their face in synch and take turns using the toilet. It was a set rhythm that happened every morning. The teen’s father would make a quick nutritional breakfast, leave it on the table for Luhan and get ready for work in which he had to be in at eight-o’clock for. It was a nine to five office job, the greatest stimulus work could offer, really.

If Luhan was not on his way to school after breakfast then he would work out. After finishing he would then go to his room and study all that he could from books published by professors in Cambridge and Harvard, a true A plus student he was. Luhan was also fluent in four languages, Mandarin, Cantonese, English and Korean. He was in the process of learning Vietnamese, Spanish and Japanese.

At this point in Luhan’s systematic life you could say that he was robot, a machine, really. Taking in information, processing it, applying it to his life and repeat. It almost seemed like there was no real joy to the intake of knowledge, rather, it was a conditioned response. He had to do it, there was no breaking the habit.

However, the majority of that was about to change. At the ripe age of eighteen Luhan had found himself accepted into the University of Yale. No, he did not have the money for it, nor did he have the money for Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, or Princeton. Though there was one university willing to accept poor Luhan for the smart bean he was. Not only did he come from an elite high school in Beijing, but all his entrance exams scored with the highest ratings allotted. Yale saw potential and decided that Luhan would be one of their pity students; desperately hanging on scholarships and grants to get by the school’s funds and would probably drop out within the first year. Scholarships were no problem for Luhan though, in fact, scholarships were seeking him to apply rather than the other way around.

With the new addition of a school the teen’s father had also applied to a new job close by. That meant the two would be changing locations from the hectic city of Beijing to a suburban town outside of any major city in the United States. It was a change that Luhan was most definitely apprehensive about. It was one thing to spend school years abroad, but it was another thing to live in a new environment for the rest of one's life. It was a change he was not willing to take up, but there was nothing he could do. He would smile his for his father and let the man make preparations for their new home.

Time would not prove slow for the teen; each event fell like a domino, one by one fast and efficient. Before Luhan knew it he had graduated high school and was on a plane to his new home. Luhan had little friends, they were acquaintances really, so he was missed by little did little missing. What he would miss was the apartment he shared with his father, a home he knew for eighteen long years. But he knew change was a thing of life and he would have to learn to accept it (even if it did make him scrunch his nose in distaste.)

It was hardly summer yet, still the bright and middle months of spring. There had been so much green with trees starting their blooms and flowers budding. It was colorful and so green that Luhan had suddenly felt calm about the whole moving situation.

“Alright, here we are.” The teen’s father had announced as they pulled into a driveway that had a “For Sale” sign taped over with “sold”.

Luhan looked at the house with intense criticism as he removed his seat belt and left the car. He spoke no words, his eyes focusing on all the things he did not like.

The house seemed too big for just two people to live. The siding had specs of mold covering it and splashes of mud trailing up the concrete portion. The only thing that seemed nice about the house was that it was white with black shutters like the rest of the houses.

“One sixty-three, Epoch Drive. East Haven, 06523. Make sure you memorize that.” His father had slammed the door and stood with his hands upon his hips.

Luhan made a mental note of the address. He looked to his right, all the houses had been perfectly the same. Lawns mowed at the same height ended in the same length, the only thing that differed about one or two were the lawn ornaments. That made Luhan scrunch his nose up. Otherwise, everything was in perfect balance. The houses were white, Cape, and adorned with black shutters (occasionally, red or blue.) Small bushes separated driveways, and eventually thick, tall fences separated backyards—a little privacy was always nice. There were a few people walking the streets, two walking their dogs and another jogging his way to a victory Luhan hadn’t much cared for.

Luhan then looked to the left and frowned upon seeing a dark green and red Victorian styled house, he groaned internally. The house was large, too large to match the rest of the two story Cape’s in the neighborhood. It was an obnoxious array of dark putrid greens, mixed with cranberry siding—it stood out like a sore thumb. There were trees growing in the backyard that seemed much bigger than everyone else’s and bushes that poked out the very tip of the fence. The lawn was long, unkempt and in dire need of a weeding.

The house was down right and plainly wrong. So so so so wrong. It was so misshapen and unappealing to Luhan that all he could do was stiffen up and take a deep breath.

As Luhan stood there his father joined him, admiring the place and how wonderful it was to finally have an abode of his own.

“Well. This is it.” Luhan’s father said proudly.

“Yeah.” Luhan muttered, the wind picking up his silken voice.

“Our new lives begin.” Luhan’s father tried to brighten the mood, knowing full well Luhan had been a little down in the dumps lately.

“Yup..” The teen had been absent minded, he was too busy thinking about the house of disarray next door.

“Oh don’t worry about that house, Hannie. I’m sure it’s just abandoned and no one can take care of it. But that’s not our problem, so let’s just focus on making our house the best it possibly can. Hm?”

“Yeah, sure.” Luhan nodded as he turned back to his dad.

“Great.” His father smiled at him. The man stood just a foot taller, his face weathered by the amount of work and stress he had induced over the years. His face had been peppered in a light five o’clock shadow from the last few days of traveling. While he stared at his son he grimaced and took a hand and it. He fussed with the teen's black locks, trying to style it so that it was not in the boy’s eyes.

“Dad…” Luhan bemoaned and pushed his father’s hands away.

“What? You’ve had the same haircut for so many years now.. I want to see your pretty eyes.”

Luhan rolled his eyes. He quite liked his bowl shaped haircut.

The teen’s father sighed, “Alright, help me with the luggage.”

The two made their way back to the trunk of the rental car, taking out book bags and suitcases full of the items they could carry onto the plane.

“When will the rest of our stuff be here?”

“In exactly three days, twelve o’clock sharp. So we’ll just have to live off of what he have until then.”

The two sauntered into the vacant house, it had been void of all kinds of life. Hard wood floors just a bit scratched up from previous furniture. Nothing a little sanding couldn’t get rid of. He thought meticulously. Walls were white, a color he favored more than anything in his world, less the small prints of black that lined the ceiling closest to the vents. Even small handprints about the height of small human’s trailed the wall leading up the stairs. Just a bit of hot water, elbow grease and baking soda will get those all out. He added to his mental list once again. Spots of unfinished sweeping left crumbs and wrappers on the floor, cable wires poked out from the wall; all minute things that could have made this empty house an ideal living space.

To the left of the entrance were the stairs, and to the right was the living room. Just a path between the stairs and living room lead straight to the kitchen and a spare bathroom. The kitchen made Luhan happier than he anticipated with its steel plated refrigerator, oven and stove hat. The colors were uniform. However, it was also a feat of elbow grease and bleach that would make it perfect. Luhan nearly smirked with the pleasure of such thoughts.

The upstairs proved to be covered in the same lightly colored hardwood floors and specks of badly swept areas. Upstairs was a little warm and the air thicker with dusted mess. This was now first on Luhan’s list to fix. If he were to live up here then he needed to breathe!

He chose his room as the first room on the right, his father’s being the master bedroom all the way at the end of the hall. A full bathroom covered in tiles of purple and white had been across from Lu’s room—the pastel cleanliness made Luhan’s heart flutter with joy. Oh happy days were away. There were spare closets, a room for laundry (that came with a washer and dryer) and even a basement to store the unnecessary. The basement was musty, cold, damp and dreary. It smelt oddly of gasoline and had no unity whatsoever. He figured there would be no point to fixing it up since he couldn’t imagine a need to be down there, but it still did not stop the crawling his skin did upon the sight of a largely woven spider web. He ran as fast as his slender legs could take him and slammed the door tight, forgetting that his father was still down there.

It needed work, but the house was a big fat check mark in Luhan’s agenda.

With a smile strewn on his pink lips, he went to exit the house to finish taking in the rest of the luggage. Regrettably, as he stepped onto the front porch, three monsters ran out from under and into the thicket of bushes on his right. Luhan jumped back, arms flailing at the vile little creatures of filth that had disappeared into the shaking bushes. The stance may have made him feel protected, however, others would think of it as a bit silly. He released his arms and carefully eyed the garbage house to his right, a glare burning holes into the very siding.

Luhan scrunched his nose up one last time at the disoriented house, finally, then ignoring it and going about his duty of emptying the car.

The house of horror next door would take some getting used to.

✴✧✴

Dinner was a disappointment. Luhan was eating alone as his father was out to work. And to top it off the advertisement of “Best Chinese food east of The Wall” was nevertheless the greatest understatement he had ever encountered. The chicken was rubbery and coated in a thick layer of gooey breading. The flavor of the sauce was too sweet and could use a dash of something that he couldn’t quite figure out. It just wasn’t very appetizing on his taste buds. The rice was satisfying enough but what even was an egg roll? Was it supposed to be a spring roll? Because it sure did not hit the nail on the head. Its skin was flaccid and the inside tasted like someone threw up freezer burn. It was hardly the stuff he could call “the best” let alone Chinese food.

Despite the disappointment in dinner there was just another factor that poked at the back of his mind as he ate. The fact that he was eating alone again. It would have been nice to eat dinner with his father the first night in but that was out of the question. The man was working on his first day in the new country, who knew how long that would take? Luhan was definitely used to eating alone, but something in the deepest part of his chest would always tick with a flare of emotion that he ignored for the last decade. It was a feeling that he did not understand when he was little, so he buried it away and went on with his life.

As Luhan stared at the empty seat across from him he could have sworn he heard a child scream in the distance. He stopped chewing to listen, yet no noise sounded. He looked around the empty kitchen for whatever might have made the noise and scared himself with thoughts of dread. Was it a robbery? It was not uncommon to have a break-in the first week of a move in. When the sound never came again he shrugged and shoveled more rice into his mouth. Not a moment later did he think he heard the noise again, wistfully pulling him out of his dinner once more. The noise was slightly louder, clearer even, yet it frightened him as he looked beyond the darkness of the living room entrance. The noise sounded again, more prolonged than before. He sat up and turned around in the direction of the odd noise. It sounded like it came from the window at the other end of the kitchen. He waited for the noise again, only to hear the slight moan at the end. He stood up and walked to the window to see what it was. There, out the window, was a clear view of the ugly Victorian house; the tall wooden fence blocking the two yards. Virtually there was nothing in the dark except the lone sitting figure of a cat on the top of the fence. The cat’s body jerked as the noise sounded again signaling Luhan that the dying child sound was, in fact, just a cat. One of the vile creatures that scuttled past him earlier in the day.

Luhan snickered with a scrunch of his lip. “Gross.”

He brushed the horrid sounding feline off and walked back to the kitchen table to finish dinner. As he rummaged through the bag for any items he might have missed for dinner he found three fortune cookies and a slew of duck, soy and mustard sauces. He put the packets of sauces to the side and eyes a particular fortune cookie with interest. He picked the one up in the very middle and opened it. He sniffed it, letting the processed cookie and plastic engulf his senses. He snapped the item in half as he was not sure how to bite into the thing, but as he did he was surprised to find the white piece of a paper and lettering. He bit the cookie and slowly chewed, it wasn’t a horrible taste, but it still wasn’t great. He did not mind it all too much though. One side of the paper he pulled out had a few words printed, they read: The love of your life is stepping into your planet this summer. Luhan scrunched his nose up at this and turned the paper over.

Whatever that meant. He thought.

On the other side held a word in Mandarin and how to pronounce it. The word was ‘stars’. Underneath had been the “Lucky Numbers” portion. However, only a single number read for the numbers, it was the lone number three. Luhan crumpled the paper up and threw out the plastic and paper. Just a load of human enterprise to make money.

 It was not until later that the noise would disrupt him into a seething mess. He had been diligently studying for the first week of class assignments when the hellish cat kept singing its dissonant tune. Luhan stood to his feet and stormed to the window to look for the cat, it was exactly where he last saw it. He stormed through the kitchen to the sliding glass doors that lead to a concrete patio. He hesitated only for a moment as to whether or not he should walk out outside in his inside slippers, but quickly made his mind up. The concrete ended just a ways before the fence, leaving a patch of grass between Lu and the cat. He utilized every bit of what he could and stood at the very edge to shoo the cat away—not daring to step in the green substance. He did so by flinging his arms in and out toward the cat, yet the feline simply stared, its curious tail waving back and forth behind the fence.

“Shoo, go away. Scram!” He whisper yelled at the gray tabby.

The cat simply stared. It mostly found amusement from the teen’s flailing limbs. But after a moment, the cat turned around and hopped off the fence into the Victorian yard. It was a weird notion considering Luhan had stopped shooing before the cat actually decided to leave. He smiled to himself in a small victory nonetheless. He could now study in peace. But as he was settling back down at the kitchen table, he heard the faint raucous mews of two cats. It made him fill with irate. This time he went out in his slippers and held tightly at the end of a broom.

“You went ahead and got a friend.” Luhan shook his head, the cat had some nerve. He took his broom and faced the bristle side toward the cats, poking at them on his very tippy toes—so not to touch his slippers on the grass. One cat basked in the full moon’s light as the brush poked its chest, the other swatted at the bristles. Luhan could not whack them, but with the way his patience was wearing thin he might have.

“Alright, I’m going to push you very hard off this ledge if you don’t quiet down.” Ironically enough, the cats had been quiet since Luhan had stepped outside. The two cats stared Lu down, an interested sort of gaze fixed on their faces as they did so. After a moment of staring, the two cats turned around smoothly and jumped back into the neighbor’s yard.

“Huh…” Luhan harrumphed as he stood there, thinking about all the fuss he was going through with those darn cats. He would have to have a talk with the neighbor tomorrow about the future ruckus the cats would create. But for the time being he had to straighten himself out and focus only on his studying. There was no time to idly skulk about cats, he needed to get these assignments done!

The teen marched right back into the house and sat at the kitchen table. Oh how he studied, not even remembering to welcome the beautiful silence the cats were now providing. He was on a roll, he could probably dish out ten pages worth of notes for the rest of the chapter and get to bed on time. After all, bedtime was essential, he had a routine he needed to stick to. However, just as he was hitting the last few pages, an annoying and ear splitting chorus interrupted his blissful studying. His hand went off and started writing down all the angry things going through his head. By the time he realized he had been messing up his notes he was half way through a sentence. He stared at the paper in utter shock.

Raging with discomfort and the inability to get work done, Luhan stood up and stormed after the broom. Now he was beyond irate, he would have to really push those cats away just to get some peace and quiet.

As he marched through the doors and patio the three cats immediately shushed. All three of them were watching with great intent as Luhan stormed over but he was too blinded to realize that the cats found him to be the most interesting.

“That’s enough out of you. I’m trying to study and you keep interrupting.” Luhan stood on his very tippy toes again as he used more force to push the cats off; this time not caring he was in the grass.

Before the teen could move any further his head had felt the slight pang of a sharp object.

“What the…” Luhan grabbed the top of his head and looked up. “Hey!”

“Hi yourself!” A voice yelled. It was hoarse and low, like that of a monster.

The voice scared Luhan into paralysis. The moonlight had been shining just behind the house, leaving a dark shadow to hinder the teen’s sight.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Luhan’s head snapped over to an open window where he caught the sight of an old man leaning his head out. The man’s head was large, old and saggy like that of cellophane. Luhan did not know what to say or do, so he stared while retracting his body and broom.

“Well?” The man instigated, he was a bit intimidating with the way his voice thundered about.

“I-I uh.. Um..” Luhan finally managed out. It was a feat he managed to say anything at all.

“Goodness child, I don’t want to be here all night! It’s going to rain!”

And in that moment, Luhan looked to the sky and furrowed his brows in utter confusion. There was not a cloud in sight. Only miles and miles of night sky and the millions of stars it possessed. Luhan’s eyes glimmered upon the sight of the stars, never before had he seen so many. Once when he was very little he saw stars; it was while hiking mountains with his family. But the city of Beijing never offered a view quite like this. Beautiful and everlasting. It made a warmth surge through him as he gazed upon the delicate creatures of the sky.

But his attention was taken to the window of the old man when a loud crash emitted and startled him. However, the old man was nowhere in sight of the window. The cats watched Luhan intently, their tails swaying in constant stupor behind the fence.

“Ah-ha!” A voice sounded from within the window, it was distant but excited nonetheless.

“Here.” The old man had returned, holding a small round object in hand as if meaning to throw it.

Luhan’s eyes grew bigger when he realized that the man meant to throw it in his direction. There was no other further warning and the object was thrown. Luhan scrambled about and caught the object before it touched the ground.

When he caught the small thing, he stared at it for a good moment in disbelief. It was a foam ball of the sort with an x carved on one side.

“That should keep the rain from getting ya.”

“Wha—”

“Also, I wouldn’t step so much out there in our nice shoes or barefoot. The cats like to use it as their litter box.”

Luhan stepped back and looked down quickly, making sure there was no poop around. Low and behold, the tip of his white slipper had been adorned with a freshly made stain. He lifted it up and caught the sight of a pressed mud pie. When he looked down he saw the small brown rounds and vocally addressed his disgust.

“Well, goodnight then.” The man proceeded to walk away from the window and left the blackness of his window open for all the world to see.

“But sir! You left your window open!” Luhan tried to yell but there was no answer. As he looked down to the fence, the three cats had also since long gone. When on Earth did they disappear anyways?

Luhan shook his head and took a deep breath in, there was just a bit too much going on for him and too much that he could really process. He eventually looked back down to his hand, noticing that he was still clutching onto the red ball. He squeezed it once and noted its relative hollowness. He squeezed it twice and let the rough exterior graze the palm of his hand.

What on earth could this possibly do to keep from the rain? He questioned fervently. But quickly shook his head when he realized that there was still not a cloud in sight. It would not be raining anytime soon, that much Luhan could deduce.

Lu then put his finger through the x in the back of ball. It sat perfectly at the tip of his finger, like a miniature tomato. It was odd, so very odd. He wiggled his finger and watched as the red object bobbed. He grimaced in response and desperately hoped that the old man next door was not all too insane.

As Luhan wondered his way back to studying, his father pulled into the driveway. The headlights seeped into the house, lighting cracks and crevices that once used to be dark in the newly occupied home. It made the teen’s heart race with glee, simply because it meant father was home. He scrambled from his books and raced to the door, waiting patiently for the man to enter.

Lu would never admit to it, but he waited at the very edge of the staircase in excitement. His hand holding tightly onto the railing and his limbs tense with every second he waited for the jingle of keys to open the door. It was always like this, ever since he was little. He would wait for his parents to open the door and greet them just before bed. But as time grew on and work got later, Luhan spent many a night disappointed when his parents did not walk through the door. But he was glad when the jingling of keys alerted him to straighten his back.

“Welcome home.” Luhan smiled as his father opened the door.

“Oh, Lu.” The man smiled just as brightly back after the initial shock. “I’m home.” There was a softness to his old features upon the sight of his son. “How was your day? Everything was okay while I was gone?”

“Yup. I cleaned upstairs and made our beds. Then I studied, ordered dinner and finished—” Luhan caught himself when he realized that he, in fact, did not finish studying. He still had three pages more to read in the chapter.

“Finished…?” His father asked as he removed his shoes and hung his tan business coat up.

“I-I almost finished my studying.”

His father grimaced, “Well that’s fine then. Did you order pizza?”

“No, from the Chinese place. It’s pretty awful. I’ll heat you up a plate.”

“Thank you.” His father chuckled as the two maneuvered through the house. The shorter of the two bustling about and making his father a heaping plate of the greasy food.

As Luhan’s father placed his suitcase on the dinner table he noticed the red foam ball next to the pile of study books.

“Hannie? What’s this?” He picked the round item up and inspected it.

Luhan turned around and tensed once he realized what was in his father’s hands.

“Oh uh… Um..” He wasn’t so sure of what to do. Should he tell the truth or fib? This had been a first in a very long time for poor Luhan. He was always the type to give straight facts, never beating around the bush. Yet there was something he just did not want to share with his father about the man next door.

“I-I found it.”

His father raised a brow, “Found it where?”

“Upstairs. While I was cleaning.” He let the words slide from his mouth smoothly, as the lie slithered through his bones and settled in an unwanted and uncomfortable fashion.

“Wow, that’s weird. I guess the previous owners must have been clowns?” He flung the red ball up and caught it with a swipe.

“…Clowns?”

“This is a clown nose. See?” He quickly walked over to Lu and popped the red ball on his nose. It was uncomfortable and it felt as if it would fall off in seconds, it made him scrunch his nose up.

His brows were knit, his mind fuddled with all kinds of questions, however, there was just one standing out the most; How the hell would this protect me from the rain?

✴✧✴

Cold crept its way up Luhan’s legs through the sheets. The room had little insulation and made the rather chilly nights break through and rattle his young bones. Money was tight at the moment so turning the heat on was least desirable if they wanted to keep the house. The wooden floor made no better substitute for a sleeping spot. He was beyond restless, his back arching and tense, never finding its way to the ground. He just wanted his soft bed back home. Lu had half a mind to leave his room and slip into the covers with his father just down the hall but he was just a little too cold to gather energy to leave. Instead, he stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, waiting for the desire of slumber to overcome him.

As he laid there, he could have sworn he felt the weight of his sheets shift at the very bottom of his feet. The feeling stopped almost just as soon as his body could perceive it. He brushed the movement off and deducted it as the sheets simply settling against his legs differently. But the movement started again in a slow pace and crawled its way just in between his ankles. Luhan jolted with the sudden feeling and snapped upright.

There at the bottom of his feet was a cat; more specifically, the gray tabby that was beyond persistent in interrupting his studying time. Luhan’s heart had been gently thrumming against his chest, a pulse quick enough to show he was agitated. His mouth was parted just slightly, out of breath from the initial shock. Its tail swayed in that mesmerizing tune, a look of intrigue flashing across the feline’s eyes as it closely watched the teen. Luhan could have sworn he saw the creature’s lips turning up into a smirk.

“Wh-Wha—”

“Han? Are you alright?” Luhan’s father suddenly asked as he stood in the doorway of the teen’s room.

Luhan whipped his head toward his father, he had not even heard the man walk down the hall. Luhan looked back at his feet expecting to see the cat boring down at him. The cat was not there. This shocked Luhan once more so he searched the room quickly for any signs of the feline.

“Hannie?” His father pressed once more, a tired look of concern on his features.

“Y-Yeah. I’m fine.” Luhan nodded, throwing a meek smile to comfort the groggy man.

“Alright…” He trudged on into the bathroom across the way.

Lu’s gaze lingered on the bathroom door just a little longer than intended as he listened to the heavy stream emit from it.

I imagined it. Yeah. I’m fine. Stress. Just stress from a new place. And jet lag, that is also a factor. Lu thought to himself as his father flushed and turned the light off in the bathroom. A light “g’night” was mumbled somewhere along the way. It comforted Luhan to the point that he settled on his back and stared at the ceiling. But as soon as he did so a flash of dark had caught his eye. He snapped his head back toward his open door and there he saw the cat again.

It was in the same crouched position, nearly touching all of the ground like it had on his feet. This time, Luhan was sure of a smile. A smile mischievous in nature and tail mesmerizing all the same. The sight of the cat had startled Luhan again, his body frozen upon the sight of the cat once more.

Before he could make a sound, the cat pounced. It sprinted for him in the moonlit room, the two windows behind the teen providing him with so. Luhan instinctively covered his face in his sheets as the cat charged for him.

But all he could hear was the thumping of the cat’s weight against the wooden floor before a deep sleep overcame the best of him.

✴✧✴

Boozt boozt boozt boozt.

The 8AM alarms resounded throughout the small suburban house. Luhan shot his eyes wide open to the sound of his own. He was tucked neatly into his comforter, a soft and peaceful feeling resonating throughout his body as he tried to mentally wake it up. There was slight hesitation as he contemplated turning off his alarm. Which was odd. Luhan always shot a hand out to turn his phone off when the alarm went off. When his mind stopped fuzzing he did just that, sat up and turned the rather annoying item off.

“Good morning.” His father suddenly grumbled out of nowhere in his sleep deprived voice.

“Morning.” Luhan grumbled back.

“Jet lag is really getting me today.”

“Mm.” Luhan agreed curtly as he watched his father slink into the bathroom. That must have been it—that was why he felt so sluggish that particular morning. Yeah, of course that was it.

He rubbed his eyes, yawning as he did so. However, that was when the sudden memories of the cat from last night flashed by. He jumped and removed the comforter, looking desperately for the cat. He could not remember at all what happened after the cat had charged at him, it was blank in his memory. But as he looked around there was no sight of a cat. He looked around the room, yet there was still nothing. No animal, no shadow, no cat. The sun, instead, was rising in the sky and left a beautiful, crystal-clear blue. Even though it was just a peek through the window that Luhan could see it still looked wonderful. The teen finally got out of his bed and went on his merry way of folding his sheets and heading down the stairs to start breakfast. The only available food had been the Chinese leftovers, Luhan wasn’t so sure his stomach could handle all the grease so early in the morning. So he heated up a plate filled mostly of rice for him and his father.

“Okay, I’ll hopefully be back around six, but they’re still training me so who knows how that will go.” His father said as he paced around the kitchen looking for something to drink.

“That’s fine. I’ll be home, studying and cleaning.”

“Don’t just stay cooped up in the house, go take a walk or something. Exercise! Visit the neighborhood, see if there’s a convenience store nearby. I know there’s a beach not too far from here, check it out will you?”

“But, dad, I have to study.” Luhan slightly whined.

“You have a whole summer break to study. I’m sure it would be fine if you missed a few days.”

Luhan quieted and internally grimaced. He had a set schedule he needed to follow if he ever wanted to get his work done in time, and that required three hours a day of studying for each class he had summer work for. The majority of them were honors classes that required a heavy amount of prior class work so he needed to get them done.

“Oh, I guess it rained.” Luhan’s father suddenly said as he drank a cup of tap water, he had been gazing out the sink window.

Luhan swallowed the very same time he gasped at his father’s statement and chocked on his food for a good few seconds.

“It what?” He got up and stood next to his father.

“Yeah, see? The patio is all wet.”

It was not a lie, there on the patio had been receding puddles and the dark color wet concrete often possessed.

Luhan furrowed his brows together. “But there aren’t any clouds. And there weren’t any last night.”

“Well, it is spring. Flash showers I’m sure. Must have happened while we were sleeping. Funny…The weather didn’t say anything.”

“Right…”

But how could that old man tell if it was going to rain?

…

Later that afternoon Luhan had found himself outside of the house, sweeping and picking up all the little obscurities that bothered him. Like the way weeds protruded over the concrete path that lead to the porch. Or the way the white paint on the house was covered in dirt or black. The house would be perfect for the official move in tomorrow.

However, as he had been kneeled over in the path of the front yard he caught the glimpse of a wishing tail from under the hedge. Something clicked in Luhan’s brain that told him to go after the cat, so he stood to his feet. He wiped his hands on his sweatpants and quietly tip toed his way to the hedge, hoping not to scare the naturally skittish creature away. The closer he approached the less he was aware of what was going on on the other side of the brush. Luhan paused just as he was close enough to bend down and grab the feline by its tail. However, the moment he bent over was the moment the cat disappeared fully under the hedge. Luhan his teeth and got on the ground to look for the animal. When he was on the ground he could see the movement of the crouching tabby walk along the length of the hedge. Luhan followed instinctively.

“Stop right there. Hey! You—” He mumbled here and there as he crawled and tried to reach a hand out to grab the cat.

However, before he knew it, his hand was reaching out at the very end of the hedge, the end closest to the main street. As he reached out, his hand grabbed onto something solid and rough to the touch. The more he spread his hand out on the object the more he could feel the odd outline of a person’s foot and shoe laces.

Luhan shot his head up and pulled his hand away. He crawled over to the other side of hedge while keeping low to the ground, trying to look for the source of whatever it was he was touching. But the further he crossed around the hedge the more he realized he was crossing into his neighbor’s yard. And there was a man standing tall and hunched. His arms crossed and a stern face upon his features as he bore his eyes down on the male. Luhan could just barely see the man’s face, as the sun was shining behind and causing a great glare on the Lu’s straining eyes.

“You again.” The man said in a deep a raspy voice. It was so utterly familiar, like the old man from last night.

Luhan blinked a couple times before he shifted to get a good look at the man’s face. It was, indeed, the man from last night. The man who had given him the clown nose.

“First you try pushing my cats off the fence, now you try to assault me. This already doesn’t seem like the start of a neighborly acquainted relationship.”

Luhan stood to his feet and bowed his head slightly to the old man. Upon closer inspection, Luhan could see just how old this man really was. The distance and darkness from last night really did play a trick on his eyes. The man looked to be in his seventies, old and hunched in every way. Yet there was a regalness to him that tried to keep itself noticed, as if he was once taller than he already is. As if he was hard worker at some point in his life. His hair was crazy and whiter than snow, the stubble on his face had been more peppered in color but nonetheless aged. His face sagged in wrinkles, his eye bags protruding and laugh lines prominent. He was very old.

“I-I , I-I-I—”

“Out with it kid! Don’t beat around the bush!”

Luhan paused for a moment, he had never heard of the expression before. “I-I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.” Luhan bowed his head even further.

“Whoa, you have a pretty intense accent there. Where you from kid? Sounds Asian.” The old man sounded amused even.

“Ch-China, sir.”

“Sir!” The man scoffed. “Sir was my old Lieutenant, please call me Seth.”

“Seth…?” Luhan let the name fall from his tongue, the pronunciation was off, he was sure. But he liked how smooth the word flowed from the top of his mouth to the front.

“No no, Zzzzzeeh-thhhhhh,” The old man let his mouth shape the words in exaggeration.

“Zzzaahhh-tt’hh.”

“Ah close enough… Mr. Park is fine. China you say, though?”

Luhan nodded.

“What the hell you come all the way out here for?” The old man leaned in, he seemed curious about Luhan.

“U-Uh.. School.”

“School?! Well I’ll be damned, where you going?”

“Yale…” Luhan muttered.

“Ya—?! I thought you were a high school student! You look so young, nearly thought you were a girl last night until you said a few words just now.”

Luhan scrunched his nose up.

“Unless, you are a girl… You aren’t one of those men that looks like a girl but are girls but is actually a guy? Or one of those girls that looks like a guy but is a guy when they’re actually a girl?”

Luhan stared for a moment, trying to process whatever it was the man was trying to say.

“I am a male...” Luhan finalized.

“Ah. Very nice.” The old man’s face turned to mild shock before relaxing and moving on. “Little dull..” He mumbled, more of grumbled to a point that Luhan could not hear. “Well. I live next door as you can see. I don’t believe I caught your name.” The man held out a hand, a rugged and calloused old hand.

“Han, Han Lu.”

“Han Lu? What kinda name is that?”

Luhan thought the question over but answered when the man beckoned a face. “I-It’s my name..”

He leaned back from the teen’s face, an eyebrow raised high on his swollen old face. “Well isn’t it like Lu Han or something? Since you people say the last name first or something?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Well I’d go change your name when you get the chance. People gonna be chewing you alive once they find out you’re a foreigner.”

Luhan was taken aback by the sudden words.

“But my name is my name.”

“Yes. And people are rude. Besides, it’s just something to think about.”

Something struck across Luhan’s heart. It was a feeling he wasn’t all too familiar with, but he knew it to be something of pain. Something of hurt for what this man had to offer.

“Anyways I have—” Before the man could finish, the distinct noise of wood creaking and cracking and eventually crashing distorted their attention. Before either of them knew it, one of the large trees in the old man’s backyard had fallen over and gone crashing into the fence in Luhan’s backyard.

“Well. .” The old man announced quite boldly.

Luhan’s mouth sat agape as he watched the tree ricochet against the ground. A slight pang of guilt washed over the old man’s eyes.

“I was wondering when the tree was going to finally die.”

Luhan looked at the old man in mild horror.

“I can fix that.” The man covered quickly, he could tell Luhan was not a happy person.

“We don’t have insurance yet..” The teen mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?”

“I said we don’t have insurance yet… My dad’s papers haven’t been settled yet.” Luhan sighed.

“Don’t worry about that. Nothing a little good ole fashion elbow grease can’t fix.” The man lifted an arm and pulled his sleeve back to show a strong arm. It was comical the way the arm possessed very little muscle.

The man began to walk toward the back yard, his clothes only slight in sagging. They seemed to be a size just too big. He had been decked in overalls that were worn with time, hand-patched and torn. Underneath laid a dirty looking yellow dress shirt. It was quite the combination all in all.

As the two walked the length of the fence on to the Victorian house lawn, Luhan couldn’t help but notice how very wild the place seemed. The walls were covered in ivies and molds while the grass seemed just a tad too over grown. But as they neared the tree Luhan could feel his heart sink into the bottom of his chest. The tree had completely crushed the fence, splintered every which way and warped. It looked like there would be no possible way to get the place looking like new.

“Damn, that’s a shame.” The man observed.

“How did this happen?”

The old man paused and thought to himself. “Must have been the Beavers.”

Luhan froze and watched as the man left to go look for something unbeknownst to him.

“Wh-What are beavers?” Luhan dared to ask. He had never heard of the name before in the English language.

“You don’t know—?” The man questioned as he tried lifting a heavy and rather rusty looking chainsaw.

Luhan slowly shook his head. How was he supposed to know what a beaver was?

The man coughed, almost as if hiding a smirk. “Beavers are these aquatic beasts. They only come out twice a year and when they do? It’s to eat everything in sight. Who knows, your house might be next.”

Luhan gulped and leaned over his shoulder to check the yard on the other side of the fence. Surely this man was lying…? But what would he know? He had never lived in America before yesterday, these creatures called Beavers could be real and dangerous.

“How do you know it was Beaver?” Luhan asked cautiously as the man dragged the rusty item over, he seemed to be having a rather difficult time bending over.

“Well.” The man stood up with a hand on his lower back, slowly and creaky. “You see the way the tree is scraping at the ends, where it snapped? Those are teeth marks. Teeth marks that are significant to the Beaver.”

Luhan turned pale.

The man watched Luhan for a moment, watching as the teen lost all feeling. He quickly laughed, airy and almost forced. The corners of his eyes lifting far into wrinkles that nearly surrounded all of his eyes. “I’m just messin’ with ya kid. Beavers don’t live in the suburbs. Only near the woods and rivers. They’re just oversized rodents that use sticks and wood to damn up rivers for living. This tree was just old and I guess its roots weren’t strong enough to stay footed… Lighten up kid. Use your imagination.”

The man’s words rang obnoxiously like sirens in the teen’s head.

“…Also, here. Can you lift this for me?”

“S-Sure.” Luhan nodded his head to hide his bright red cheeks. He then bent over and found it fairly easy to lift the rusty and old object, but his hands felt tough and uncomfortable against the decaying object.

The old man asked for the chainsaw and took over. “Hm. Now let’s see if this thing still works. Been awhile since I had used it. Probably old gasoline and water in it. Welp!” He began to pull hard on the rope. “Only one way to find out.” He pulled hard, a total of three times before the saw made any actual noise. But as it did, a cloud of black smoke puffed and the saw made a few noises that sounded as if a truck was being bulldozed by a fog horn. The old man coughed and cough as he tried to wave the smoke away. “Blast darn it. Damn thing.” He nearly wheezed out.

Luhan stood there with an awkward air, watching and not knowing of what to do.

The old man seemed scary with his tall height and a rusty death machine laden in his hands as he walked out of the black and toward the tree. He quickly got to work and got comfortable in a position to cut the tree. It reminded Luhan of a certain African animal with the way his legs spread out to bend over. It was almost humorous that the man had reminded him of a giraffe. As the man lowered the saw into the tree Luhan couldn’t help but cover his ears from the obnoxious loud sound it produced.

Luhan just kind of stood off to the side as he watched the old man sear away at the bark, shavings flying every which way. It wasn’t until the third cut did the man turn the contraption off and turn to Luhan.

“These pieces should be light enough for you to carry on your own. Take them over to the pile over there by the other tree. Ya know teach them a lesson for being old.”

Luhan grimaced. To this the old man said, “Hey, it may be old and dead. But it’s not useless.”

Lu decided not to question that and did just what the man told him. The tree wasn’t so large that the smaller pieces would be difficult to carry, but it was large enough to take down an entire fence. The individual pieces he carried were heavy, but it wasn’t anything terribly strenuous. Instead, it was the addition of creepy crawly’s and other little things that freaked him out. The teen shrieked and flung the piece of wood from his hands.

“What the hell..” The old man placed the saw down on top of the fallen tree and hustled himself over in a silly gait. “What’s the matter, kid?!”

“B-Bugs…” Luhan said with a rather distraught tone.

“Bu—” The man went to repeat the teen but found a breathless chortle coming out. “Bugs?! Are you kidding me?” The old man bent over and picked up the piece of wood. “These are just carpenter ants. Huge ones at that..” The old man placed his hand on the bark and let one of them crawl on him. “These guys are hardly dangerous. They’re not gonna hurt you don’t worry. They’re more afraid of you than you are of them, remember that will ya? If they hurt you it’s because they’re scared, ya know? But these guys won’t.” The old man turned the piece of wood over, inspecting it closely as he let the ant off. “Except this guy.” The old man took the wood piece away from his face. “These guys will hurt you if you bother them.”

Luhan tilted his head to see what the old man was talking about. As the old man turned the piece of wood over to Luhan, the teen caught a glimpse of a red and yellow looking bug. This made the teen grimace and scrunch his nose in an all too familiar sense of disgust.

“Hornets. These guys are nasty. Watch out for them.”

✴✧✴​​​​​​​

The sun had risen even higher into the sky by the time the two finished. It wasn’t long hours of labor but enough to prove Luhan was tired and the old man was getting achy. It had not helped any further with the facts that Luhan would scream every three seconds on a grub or some kind of creepy crawly.

“Alright.” The man turned the saw off and held it against his lap. “Well that’s enough of that. Not sure my body can handle that much more. We’ll fix up the fence tomorrow.”

Luhan nodded.

“Can you put this down for me? I do believe I’ll break my back if I place it down.”

“Sure.” The teen eased his way over and s his hands through the handle of the saw but as he tried to tighten his grip his hands stung in every which way. Pin-needle like sharp pains struck his hands and it startled him. He let the saw go and watched as the contraption fell to the floor. The old man having let go as he thought Lu had the thing.

“What the..” He looked at the teen quizzically. “Are you alright?” He asked as he inched his way over.

“Um. I don’t know, they hurt.”

“Lemme see.” He took the teen’s hands (rather roughly, mind you) and inspected them. “Well would you look at that. You’re full of splinters!”

Luhan furrowed his brows. What were splinters?

“You’ve got a bunch of pieces of wood stuck in you.” The old man sighed, as if it was such a hassle that Luhan had splinters. “I suppose I owe you lemonade anyways for forcing you to help me out. Come on in, I’ll help you out and provide refreshments.” The man waved his lanky arm and beckoned the teen to follow him around the backyard and through to the back door.

The house was, if not, just as gross to look at as it was outside. Maybe worse. There was clutter in every which way, piles of clothes over here, open books and maps strewn about over there. Papers upon papers, knickknacks of all kinds littered every corner, all in their brightly old fashioned colors. Two kites hung from the ceiling, one of a dragon and the other what looked like a turtled. Brightly colored folded paper on lines of string decorated the already intricate molding of the house. It was eccentric on the inside, busy and not quite as dull as the appearance it gave outside. Albeit, it was still darkly lit.

Luhan scrunched his nose up at just about every little thing he saw in the house. He was bombarded with all kinds of smells of musty old house, to potpourri that went bad over a year ago. It was hard to breathe and not the least bit to his taste. He just wanted to clean, clean and clean it all.

“Take a seat over there, I’ll get ya some lemonade and we’ll start pluckin’ the bad boys, huh?”

Luhan simply nodded and turned every which way looking for the chair as Mr. Park wondered into his kitchen. Noises of pots and pans crashing about grated against Luhan’s ears. The sound of a medicine bottle shaking was also prominent amongst the various sounds. There was a quick sound of a faucet having been , but it wasn’t long until there was groaning and a cabinet slamming shut.

“.” Luhan had heard the swear word and felt his cheeks flare up. He was definitely not one for swears, and he most definitely knew what meant. Many of the students in his old high school used to throw the English swears around—it made them feel rebellious. Luhan would sit at his desk and listen to all that was going on around him; all while studying furiously for the next subject to start.

It truly made Luhan wonder, however, what could be happening in such a short period of time. As he craned his neck around for a seat the old man had passed by one of the open doorways and sunk into darkness. Luhan could not find a place to sit. He was almost more afraid to sit than anything, considering that the place seemed as if it had not been cleaned in at least a decade. When he decided that standing was the best choice he noticed two cats perched at the top of a bookcase on the other side of the room. It was at least a good fifteen feet high, how on earth did those cats make their way so high up? How did they even manage to get down? These were all important questions, mind you.

“Alright, here we are.” The old man suddenly bustled into the room with a tray of two tall glasses full of murky liquid and a bunch of small utensils. “This is for you.” He held one of the glasses out for Luhan, the ice cubes clunking about as the cup shifted. “And these are for your hands.” He more of mumbled the last part to himself.

Luhan gratuitously took the lemonade and took a small, ever so cautious sip. It was bitter. Much too bitter to be anything considered remotely close to drinkable. It was as if the lemon rind itself had been liquefied. But Luhan drank it anyways—not wanting to be rude to his host. He looked over to the cats for a moment, looking for the only other living object that could understand the awful taste. It was only a brief moment.

“Alright now—well what are you doing standing? Sit, sit! Right here. Mind the mess.” He offered the couch that had been covered completely in clothes and books behind Luhan. The teen’s cheeks burned slightly, feeling as if he had made a fool of himself and sat on the edge of the couch.

“Now, let’s see those hands.” The old man pulled a small stool over; Luhan, having failed to see just where the heck it came from, furrowed his brows. He reached into his pocket (which resided under the overalls) and retrieved a small cylinder object. It was a bronze color, chipped and dented all over from years of service. As old bony fingers held onto the object they seemed to move in a way that only knew one way. They were involuntary movements: clicking a button in the middle of the device and snapping it open to show a pair of spectacles dirtied in greasy finger prints.

Luhan put his cup down on the floor and offered his right hand to the old man. Mr. Park had grabbed the hand with his rough and long fingers, cold to the touch.

“Yup, these are nasty little s..” He paused and looked up at Luhan. “Don’t mind my language.”

“It’s fine.” Luhan awkwardly smiled, he wanted desperately to turn his face because there was a particular odor that the old man carried that was not on his list of desirables. His breath smelt of old coffee and peanut butter covered onions.

The man watched Luhan just for a moment longer—Lu was getting just a bit irked by the fact the man kept doing this. The man smiled widely all of the sudden, baring all of his perfect teeth. Luhan just wanted to leave, this man and his home were giving him a headache.

As the man looked back down he started moving his hand in swift movements. Plucking slivers of the wood in smooth movements. You could tell he had done this many times before.

“What does beating around the bush mean?” Luhan suddenly asked.

“Huh?” The old man looked up with beady eyes behind the glasses. “Oh it’s an idiom. It means to not avoid the matter at hand. Getting straight to the point.”

Luhan grimaced, it was a weird expression to say if you wanted to tell someone that. But the teen questioned it no further. Before he knew it his right hand had been plucked of all five medium sized splinters. His left hand had more of the smaller pieces that seemed almost impossible to see. Luhan watched in awe.

“There. All done. Now try moving those books around, make sure there’s nothing left in your hands.”

Luhan looked to his right and gathered the pile of books by his side and placed them on the ground.

“They feel fine.” He said with a slight smile.

“Good.” The old man leaned over to the tray he had placed on the ground and went to take a sip of his lemonade. “Cheese and crackers!” He spit the substance out of his mouth and all over Luhan’s shirt and lap. “This is awful! Why didn’t you tell me?!” The man exclaimed as he wiped his mouth.

Luhan just sat there with arms raised and eyes wide in shock.

“Oh.. Ohhhhh!” The man vocalized as the realization settled in; he had spit all over the boy. A heavy sigh emitted from his mouth. “I suppose I owe you clean clothes now.” The man hung his head and slumped his shoulders.

Why is he so upset? Luhan thought with a flash of anger going through his heart.

The man got up and left Luhan in the room alone. Luhan was just so shocked that he didn’t have a moment to notice where the man went. As his senses started to actually come to two cats had sauntered their way over. One rubbing their side along Luhan’s shins and the other inspecting the teen from the back of the couch clutter. The third cat had been the gray tabby from the night prior, it walked with all of its weight shifting on the teen’s thighs.

Luhan felt his body freeze upon the sudden attack of felines. He had half a heart to throw them off had it not been for the old man who owned them. Instead, he gently pushed the orange and white cat rubbing his shins. The tabby in his lap had laid down and swished its tail ever so mesmerizingly. There was smug content about the cat that Luhan did not quite like.

“Ah, yes my children.” Suddenly came the deep voice of the old man. He had appeared from the entrance with a handful of clothes.

Luhan jolted with his sudden unannounced arrival.

The old man hobbled his way over to the teen and placed the clothes next to him.

“I’m sorry, your children?”

“Yup.” He sat down on the stool again. “That’s Storm.” He pointed to the gray tabby in Lu’s lap. “Found him when he was a kitten in a storm. He also likes to cause messes equivalent to storms.” The old man snickered. “The one behind is Socks. Mainly because I’m unoriginal and his white paws against his black fur look like socks.” Luhan turned his head to meet face with bright orange eyes against stark black fur. “And this one’s Peaches.” The white and orange cat had jumped upon the old man’s lap. “He’s the baby… Found him in a dumpster crying in a pile of rotten peaches.”

Luhan looked down at the cat in his lap and could have sworn a smirk was reaching across the feline’s face.

“Those clothes should be small enough to fit. Don’t worry they’re clean… Bathroom’s second door on the left.”

✴✧✴​​​​​​​

“Thank you, again. I appreciate it.”

“Oh nonsense. You helped me out too. I can wash it for you if you’d like.”

“No that’s alright.” Luhan smiled as he walked back into the room.

The clothes were only just slightly too big for Luhan’s figure, but they were interesting. They were made with a substance that he had never quite felt before. A long black turtle neck that was silky soft and yet also warm to the touch, Luhan was almost sure that he was imagining things. It felt good though, not over bearing and uncomfortable, but instead there was a nostalgic feeling that it held that made him calm. The pants were baggy, almost balloon like in the way they tied off at the ankles and bore a red and yellow design at the bottoms.

“Where did you get these clothes? They’re different.” Lu said with his growing inquiry. The clothes were indeed just a bit odd. He had wondered if the old man had anymore lying around like it.

The man stared at the black shirt, not daring to meet the teen’s gaze. “Ah, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you anyways.” He shrugged the teen off.

“I guess as long as it didn’t used to belong to a dead body, then it was rude of me to ask.”

The old man stared at Luhan, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Before Lu or the cats knew it, the man had burst out into a fit of laughs.

“That’s the most ridiculous thing you have said this entire time.” He had been laughing so hard that he could barely manage the words out.

“Wh-What do you mean?” Luhan’s cheeks turned bright red, another feat of embarrassment for the day.

“What I mean is that you’re so uptight and serious that I didn’t even think it was possible for you to say something like that.”

“But that’s not crazy! I thought it plausible for our given circumstance.”

“Given circumstance? And what might that be?”

“That… That we’re strangers! And the fact you’re an elderly person who lives alone and doesn’t take good care of his place.”

“So what? You’re gonna base all that off of the fact that you just met me and that I have a dirty house? Well you seem to forget that I also trusted you to be in my house. You’re a teenager aren’t you? Aren’t you going to steal my money or something?”

Luhan was taken aback. “What? I would never do such a thing.”

“That’s just it isn’t it? How would I know? You could be a compulsive liar for all I know—”

“But I’m no—”

“—After all, you did try to push my cats off my fence.” The man wore a smug expression.

Luhan could feel his face tighten with frustration. He was excited to point that he thought he might explode if one wrong move was made. So he stood up and gave a curt nod of the head.

“I must be going now. Thank you.”

He hadn’t even spared the old man a glance and made his way through the thicket mess of a house and to the front door.

Luhan spent the next couple of hours cleaning the house. It was good for him because he easily forgot all about the old man. But when he finished cleaning he started his studying and that was a mistake on his end. Luhan was left to his thoughts and suddenly could not stop thinking about the old man and how he left things bitter between the two.

The old coot was right. He was justified for discriminating Luhan like that, after all, he had done the same. But it still did not deter the fact that Luhan was upset with the man and he very much would appreciate not having to see the darn man again. But it would be a loooooong spring into summer until move in day as a first year. It was about five more months until then, he could wait that out, right? He could avoid the old man for that long, right?

Apparently not. So Lu decided that first thing tomorrow he would wash the clothes the man let him borrow and return them.

✴✧✴​​​​​​​

“Be a good boy Han. Mommy will see you soon.” Luhan could feel the distinct tousling of his hair as his mother’s hand. Her hands were large on his small head, yet they burned with each rub. A burn that yearned for more, for a mother who was never there.

“When will you be back?” The small voice of a younger Lu let out. Despite all these being pictures of the past Luhan the eighteen year old stood just away from the smaller him and his mother; watching the scene with a sad smile upon his lips.

It was not the first time he had this dream.

“…Soon.” The woman finally let out and her fingers trailed away from the fluff of hair. Her voice haunting and unforgiving to little Luhan.

There was no face, just bright red lips that showed the saddest and unkind of smiles. A smile that Luhan knew more than by heart. A smile that spoke the truth in the loudest of ways.

The woman’s business suited figure retreated, moving further and further toward the metal door. Luhan could feel the apprehension well up inside him, the fear of never seeing his mother again, the loneliness he had long since become accustomed to. The door opened and behind was not the hallway of his old apartment complex but of stars and galaxies. Luhan panicked at this and ran after his mother. She was going to fall if she took another step.

Luhan ran and ran, but the more he did the further she became and stepped out into the endless abyss. There she floated away, her lips still burned into his brain as she glided into the freezing chill of the universe.

✴✧✴​​​​​​​

Luhan woke with a jolt, his forehead covered in a layer of sweat and heart beating against his chest. He always hated that dream. No matter how many times he had it he could never get used to it.

“Han?”

Lu shot his head to the doorway and found his father standing there in his pajamas.

“Dad…”

“I was calling you for a little while, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a dream.” Luhan smiled for the man and let him know that everything was okay.

“Alright, if you have a hard time just come over, okay?”

“Mhm.” Luhan responded and rubbed his eye, waiting for his father to leave down the hall.

The teen rose from his sheets and maneuvered into the bathroom, he was in need of a cool down. Unconsciously he closed the door, not all the way, though. Just enough so that a crack could still be seen. He turned the faucet on and splashed his face full of the cold water. It trickled down his features, each individual droplet gliding into the sink before he had just enough. He dried his face, gave it one last look before saying “don’t think about it” and headed for the door once more. This time, however, as he grabbed the door handle and pulled, he was suddenly before an image of the backyard. Lu stared with eyes larger than any one person could imagine. He had to be dreaming. It was the only logical explanation as to why he was gazing through to his backyard and facing the broken fence the tree had fallen upon. Luhan quickly closed the door, allowing it to click before opening it back up. As he opened it, the gust of fresh grass and moist earth hit his nose, once again, there was his backyard. The only thing different was the gray tabby, Storm. He was lying just a few feet away from Lu in the grass, his face turned up in a way so that it seemed like he was smiling again. The tail of the feline was swaying back and forth, that mesmerizing rhythm it deviously possessed nearly enthralled Luhan. Instead, the teen slammed the door shut on more time and opened it just as quickly. This time Luhan had to see if it was real. He stuck a hand out, trying to reach out and grab the air to make sure it was real. There was nothing, just like air would have been. The only thing that felt different was the change in temperature—the cool air had sent a shiver up his spine. He dipped a toe out into the grass letting the chilling cold dew send another wave of shivers. As soon as that happened Luhan shrunk back and closed the door.

No. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not possible. He repeated over and over in his head before opening the door back up. This time there was no backyard, instead it was the hallway and room he had known for the last two nights. Luhan took that as his opportunity and pranced across the wooden floors and into his room. The safety of his sheets provided a security of realism he wanted to make sure he still possessed.

✴✧✴​​​​​​​

That morning he was determined. Determined for what? Well even Luhan wasn’t so sure of the answer. He was determined, however, that he would get his morning schedule done. He would wash the borrowed clothes and then spend precisely ten minutes giving them back. Hopefully that could all get done within the time period that the movers truck would arrive.

The sound of the dryer finishing made Luhan perk his head up. He had been sitting at the kitchen table, studying his books furiously until the buzz of the machine went off. That was when the teen shot up from his seat and got to work. A couple minutes later and he found himself standing outside the front door of his neighbor’s elaborate house. He knocked three times, the doorbell did not ring when he tried.

“Just a minute!” He heard a loud voice yell from somewhere deep in the house.

Luhan felt that prick of annoyance as he listened to all kinds of crashes come from within the house. As he went to look away, he noticed the black and white footed cat sitting idly upon the fence that separated their lawns. As Lu was turned to look at the cat that was watching him so intently he couldn’t help but notice the people who were watching him. There was a woman walking her white dog, rather slowly, and a couple that appeared to be doing yard work.

As Lu took note of these people the door opened with great effort.

“Oh, it’s you… I’m surprised to see you back here.” The man for a second looked past Luhan and saw the people as they walked by. “Howdy neighbors!” He grew a smile ten times too big with cheeks rosy as can be.

Each individual picked up their pace and pretended not to notice the man genuinely greeting them. Luhan watched as the people ignored him.

“Ahh, the neighbors tend to not like me. As you’ve already guessed it, I’m not the best of people to be around…”

Luhan chose his silence as answer enough. There was not much he could say without being offensive.

“Come in, I’m sure you’re hungry.”

Luhan shook his head, holding his hand out with the folded clothes he had borrowed.

The man looked at them, his expression difficult to read. “I suppose you would like your clothes back as well?”

“I…”

“You left them after you stormed out.”

“Oh.. Yes… I would like them back…”

“Come in, I’m making cookies.”

Luhan thought nothing of the phrase and followed the man into his house. There was an indefinite soft spot in Luhan’s heart for cookies, regrettably. No matter how horrible and sugar filled they were, he could never find himself resisting the delights they were.

There was something off about the air. It did not possess the right smell. To Luhan it smelled oddly like the way a rotting animal would.

“Wh-What is that smell?” He nearly gagged as he pinched his nose.

“The smell of adventure.” Mr. Park said with a puffed chest and low voice.

“I didn’t think adventure would smell so awful.” Luhan giggled, which he found odd. He never would have imaged himself to giggle at such a repulsive reality.

“Yeah, well, you never expect things to be as they are. Besides, you gotta think outside the box and ask yourself: what would adventure smell like? To me? That’s going to be something that smells like an obstacle, for example, something that smells awful.” The man chortled.

Luhan had followed the old man into the kitchen, wondering just what the hell it was he was saying. For some reason his brain could not fathom the thought. As Luhan thought about the phrase he couldn’t help but notice how the old man whipped his head back after throwing a few things into his mouth. It looked as if he tried to make the action discrete but Luhan couldn’t help but take note of it.

“You looked confused.” Mr. Park announced as he bent over to check on the cookies in the oven. Luhan had stumbled into the open kitchen and nearly wanted to faint at the atrocious sight of the place.

“I just… What do you mean..?” Luhan choked back a gag as the old man put a rather flamboyant, pink apron on. The straps were ruffled as the cloth had been a light pastel pink with white polka dots. The bottom of it also wore a couple layers of ruffles. Luhan was just a bit confused by the use of something so typical of feminine wear for a male.

“I mean, you can’t expect things to be a certain way just by the way it is.”

“But what do you mean by ‘it is’?”

“I mean, by looks, by smells, by touch.. Anything.”

Luhan stayed silent as he watched the old man retrieve a tray of the cookies.

“You still look lost.. Alright. So you can’t tell what a person is like just by looking at them. You have to get to get deeper into them. Ever heard of ‘never judge a book by its cover’?”

“Of course I have. But that’s saying don’t base appearance so heavy on opinions. What you said made no sense.”

“Yes it quite did… But at least you’ve heard of the expression and know what it means. The real question is whether or not you use it in your daily routine. Now I don’t want you to get all offended on me or anything and walk on out of here. Just listen to what I have to say. Just because someone is rude and mean doesn’t’ necessarily mean that they’re a complete . Maybe they just had a bad day, or maybe something happened to them in their past that made them like that. Like one of their parents beat them.” Mr. Park easily guided the tray of cookies on to the counter. They looked like round balls of piping hot fecal matter. Luhan was embarrassed to think something so childish but they truly looked like the equivalent of the cat poop he had encountered a few days prior.

Luhan could feel his cheeks get red other than thinking about the cookies. He was beyond embarrassed to say that he had never thought of something so trivial. The old man had a point that made him mad at himself for not taking a moment to actually think about.

“…It’d be nice if everyone was up front about themselves all the time…” Luhan mumbled under his breath.

“What? No, no, where’s the fun in that?! That would be one of the dullest things in the world! Could you even imagine that…” The old man thought to himself, his face so serious and humorous as he thought upon the idea. “I mean, how would that even work? It would be awful if everyone just said the most important things about them. It would take a whole day to talk to someone!” He swung his spatula around, he was feeling particularly heated about the topic all of a sudden.

“Then why not the first three most important things about a person?”

“Hell, my name is Seth Park and I like maps, adventures and I make a mean cookie. That just sounds awful! That doesn’t even get all the complexities of me out!”

“Then you need to figure out the most important things about yourself.” Luhan raised his voice a bit. His head was racing all kinds of weird thoughts.

“But those are the most important thoughts about me!”

“Those can’t be.” Luhan was taken aback, he shook his head in disagreement.

“How can you even say that?” Mr. Park had looked back down to the tray of cookies to place them evenly on the cooling rack. “How can you suggest we say things about ourselves like that and then go ahead and say those aren’t my real qualities?”

“I-I… I—”

“You give it a try.” The old man paused and stared Luhan dead in the eyes.

“My name is Lu Han… And-And I like non-fiction books.. Hard solid facts… And crisp organization.” After he had gotten those words out of great struggling, Luhan felt rather satisfied with his answer. He felt like those really put together what he was all about. “Yes. I like things that are given to me straight. No beating around the bush.”

“Aw come on now. Where’s the fun in that though? What fun is it if you got to know everything about a person in the first glace or greeting? The best part about meeting people is figuring them out. Putting them together piece by piece, detail by detail. What makes them tick, what makes them as they are? That’s when you really learn to love them.” Mr. Park had started placing new scoops of cookie clumps on the baking sheet. “I mean could you imagine a world where if the first thing you said to someone were all the things you like in this world? Nobody would be interesting then. Yeah, sure, it might solve later conflicts, you can decide right then and there if you like them or not. But that’s not how life works. You have to figure those things out on your own. You have to know what you like and don’t like… It sure would certainly make for an interesting world if we just now started doing that, introduce ourselves with the three most important items about ourselves. However, it would be bland if we had been doing it from the start of mankind.”

Luhan had found himself pressed against the wall at some point as he took in the man’s words. His arms cross on his chest and brows so taut on his features that they would surely stay there if he thought any harder. As the old man watched the teen think for himself, he could have sworn he saw a glisten of life stir in his eyes. It was rather adorable.

Luhan couldn’t stop thinking though, what made this man so correct? Was he right, or not? Certainly that couldn’t be the definite answer.

“But… If we had been doing that from the start… Then wouldn’t it just be normal? Like the way we greet everyone now, it’s normal because it has been taught from the start.”

Mr. Park smiled, the lines on his face crinkling up in all his glorious years of laughing and smiling. Teeth all baring pearly white, such a sight hardly seem fake.

“Now you’re starting to get it.” He took a round mound of cookie and held it out for Luhan. “Here, try it.”

Luhan was apprehensive, most definitely unsure if he should take the cookie or not.

“It’s fine, you won’t die.” The old man scoffed.

Luhan took the cookie, sniffed it before deeming it eatable. He placed it into his mouth and took a cautious bite, preparing for the absolute worst. What came was a pleasant surprise of stupor that Luhan could feel welling inside. It was delicious, just down right and utterly delicious. They were sweet with a salty after math, not too much but just enough. The bursts of warm and melted chocolate made him salivate in pure bliss, especially as the center of the cookie had a hot and soft interior. They meshed so wonderfully against his teeth, chewy and perfect in every aspect. He hated to admit it, but this foul smelling and retched looking thing was so delectable.

“Good huh?”

Luhan nodded slowly. Yet as he swallowed his first bite he could feel a distinct memory float around in him. It was a memory of when he was young and he would eat cookies after dinner with his parents. They would watch a movie and eat cookies and milk, laughing or crying together in a way he had long forgotten. When was the last time he had even cried like that? When was even the last time he watched a fiction movie?

Overcome by the sudden emotions the cookie had instilled, tears began to trickle from his eyes.

“Wh-What you cryin’ for?” The old man suddenly asked, he did feel a little uncomfortable seeing the boy cry.

“I-I’m sorry. I uh…” He quickly went to wipe his tears, trying to show no sign of any sadness having gone through him. “I don’t know what suddenly came over me.”

“…It was the cookie wasn’t it?” Mr. Park asked as he watched the teen for a moment.

“What?”

“The cookie reminded you of something forgotten huh?”

“K-Kind of..”

“That’s called nostalgia. Yeah.” He bent over with a huff and placed his new tray of cookies into the oven. “They tend to do that to ya.”

The old man stood back up and smiled.

Luhan wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t help but smile just as tenderly back at the man.

...

The evening had rolled around, the sunset just upon the land.

Luhan had forgotten all about the movers, all about his studies, and all about the clothes that still needed to be washed. It wasn’t until the slam of a truck that brought Luhan to his senses. He had been outside, helping the old man organize the wood and putting up a new set of 1x4 unstained lumber in the fence.

“Oh no.” Luhan shot up from the fence. “The movers.” He sprinted from the backyard and to the front to see what had happened.

Just as he reached the front yard, he caught the end of the truck retreating down the street. Luhan could feel his heart sink to its pits.

“What’s the matter?” The old man had managed to hobble his tall way over.

“I forgot to be present with the movers.” Luhan sighed and walked into his yard and into the house. He was not expecting to see all the boxes and furniture to be placed in his living room though. It was nice that they ended up placing everything inside, it was just a little upsetting that he wasn’t around to tell them where each item went. He would have to wait for his father to get home to move things around.

“Alright, well, we’re just wasting daylight here. Why don’t we get to work?” The old man had rolled up his plaid sleeves and prepared himself for the labor.

“What?”

“Come on, let’s go start putting things away.”

“N-No! That’s alright.” Luhan reached a hand out to stop the man from entering the house as he pushed past. “I can do it with my father. It would be impolite to have you help.”

“Listen, I may be old, but I ain’t disabled. Not yet at least. So just let me help ya okay? I did take your time up after all.” The man ripped himself away and headed into the house, scoping out what need to be done.

Luhan sighed, his shoulders slumping with a tad of apprehension. He stepped into the house and let the man have his way; it was most likely best to let the man do as he pleased. The man was hardheaded so he would do what he wanted anyways.

As Luhan surveyed the mess of boxes he noticed the gray tabby sitting upon a box in the highest spot of the living room watching them.

“What the… How did you get there?”

“Ah don’t mind him. They just appear wherever, whenever.” The man said idly. “Alright, start directing me.”

And Luhan had done just that. The two worked well into the night, much of the supplies had been moved to their respective rooms. By the time Luhan’s father had come home it was already late, about ten when the two had finally realized how much time had gone by. A voice rang through the house and alerted them to this.

“Hannie?”

“Dad?” Luhan called back from the kitchen where he had been arranging pots and pans while Mr. Park was setting up appliances.

Luhan shot up from his spot and ran through the house to greet his father. The two had been amidst an interesting conversation about the liveliness of an empty room. It was conversation that had taken a great portion of their time while they worked. Luhan found an empty room to be nothing but what it was, empty. Mr. Park refuted that it was everything that made it perfect. From the particles of dust to the stains on the walls to the crawling little bugs to the creaking floor boards. It was a perspective Luhan found ridiculous and could never find joy in such imperfections.

However, as Luhan ran to his father he greeted the man who had been holding a couple bags of McDonald’s.

“Welcome home.” The teen greeted.

“You didn’t have the movers put things away in their rooms?”

“No… I kind of wasn’t here when they arrived.”

“What do you mean—”

“Hello.” Mr. Park cleared his throat and made himself announced.

“Who’s this?” Luhan’s father quickly switched to English.

“This is Mr. Park. He lives next door. I was returning his clothes when I got distracted and forgot to be here for the movers.” Luhan’s voice slowly diminished as he realized his wrong doing.

“Returning his clothes?” Luhan’s father became stern. There was something harsh in his weathered features that displayed defense.

“Yeah. Um yesterday..”

“You didn’t tell your father…?” Mr. Park questioned.

“Well, I kind of forgot.. And you came home late last night, I thought you would want some quiet time. And then you left early this morning so I didn’t get a chance to tell you…”

“Tell me what?” His father snapped suddenly. Luhan had never seen his father like this before. It made him a little uncomfortable.

“The tree in my backyard was dying, so it fell over and hit the fence and broke it.” Mr. Park suddenly interjected.

“What?”

“Yes, and I was helping him clean it up and then I got splinters on my hands,” he held his hands out for his father. “And then he spit on me and I needed new clothes—”

“He spit on you?!”

“By accident—”

“I’m sorry what’s your name again?”

“Park, Seth Park. Now, I’d like to apologize for my—”

“I’m sorry Mr. Park but I think it’s time for you to leave.”

Mr. Park went to speak but his mouth closed quickly as he stared at the two. He felt as if his stay was more than over welcome.

Mr. Park bowed his head curtly and went on his way through the front door. Luhan felt bad for some odd reason. He understood all too perfectly why his father was mad, but a part of his heart felt wrong for the way Mr. Park was leaving.

Luhan watched as two cats followed in suit. He was shocked that his father hadn’t acknowledged them, like he didn’t even mind. But there was still a missing cat, the tabby. Storm was around somewhere. Luhan looked for him quickly and caught his tail as he jumped from a box that Luhan was sure he was not just a second ago. The cat trotted gingerly, just in time to not get stuck in between the door as Lu’s father closed it.

“You let a stranger in the house?”

“He kind of let himself in.. But he’s not really a stranger.”

His father turned around. “He is to me, I’d feel better knowing that you weren’t inviting people I did not know into the house. Also, what the hell is this about the fence? You got splinters and he spit on you? What is that?” His father walked past him and to the kitchen, placing the food on the table and making his way to the sliding doors leading to the back.

“It was just an accident father—”

His dad paused and stood frozen as he looked at the significantly shorter and discolored fence. It was obvious to tell, even in the dark lighting.

“You should have seen it yesterday. If we didn’t clean it up we would have had to call the insurance—”

“We don’t have insurance, Han. You know that. We barely have Visa’s yet. And you think we can afford anything right now? If you guys didn’t patch that up, then what? We would be scrounging to get by. That’s one more thing to add to my list… What if you got seriously hurt? I don’t know if that guy is some sort of creep.”

“It’s really okay dad, I mean he just doesn’t really get along with the neighbors so he comes off as.. Harsh.. But never judge a book its cover—!”

“What the hell are you saying?” He turned around and went back into the house. “Han, I’m tired. I just want to eat and go to bed. Can you please, just for now, wait until I have a day off so I can properly meet our neighbors?” His father sighed in exasperation.

Luhan felt uncomfortable, his father next to never swore. Yet he had been dropping a few tonight.

“Yes, father.” The teen hung his head.

Luhan’s father felt a pang of guilt as he watched his son hang his head. “I’m off this weekend. I’ll be around to help you, okay? We’ll move the bed stuff then. Okay?”

“Okay.” Luhan nodded again.

“Alright… You can start eating without me, I’m going to go change first.”

Luhan nodded again and made his way to the table to start eating. After dinner, Luhan’s father had stayed up for just a little longer to look over documents at the kitchen table until his eyes could no longer stay open. He went to bed not long after Luhan had suggested he put the work down and slept for the night. Lu on the other hand, kept unpacking. He really did not mind so much doing it on his own. If anything he loved it because that meant he got to organize everything. It wasn’t until he came upon a particular box that he noticed a folded piece of paper on it. It had been the box that Storm had jumped down from just a little while ago. He took the paper and unfolded it cautiously.

On it had been scribbled a sketch of a landscape. It was messy and smudged, as if someone had done it in charcoal and was not careful of their hand. There were trees and a few birds scribbled. It looked serene, even if it was just a small and quick doodle. Like it was a place so beautiful yet melancholic. Something was off by the a few scribbles the cracked in the middle of the paper. To the normal eye it looked as if someone messed up and tried scribbling it out but the mass of lines looked almost purposeful.

Luhan folded the paper back up quickly when he heard his father shift around upstairs and shoved it into his pocket. He would have to ask Mr. Park about it tomorrow.

✴✧✴​​​​​​​

“You wouldn’t happen to have experience anything out of the ordinary since you’ve lived here, have you?” Luhan scrunched his pert little nose. “Actually…” He thought. “How long have you lived here?”

“Too long.” The old man said curtly as he searched through cases of old and dusted items.

The two had been situated in the old man’s living room, a bit of spring cleaning was in order.

“But that’s not a definite answer…” Luhan mumbled.

“It’s answer enough. You’re too nosy.” Mr. Park grumbled.

“…Is something bothering you?”

“No nothing at all.” There was a definite sarcasm to his voice that signaled the opposite of what his words were.

“What is it?”

“I offered cookies this morning to your father, and he threw them out!”

“He what?!” Luhan gasped at the sudden information. How could his father do such an atrocious thing? “He would never be so blatantly rude like that! Why did he do that?”

“Well… He didn’t do it to my face… I put a plate on his car and hoped he would get my apology.”

“Did you say anything?”

“No… But I tried to! I was poking my head around the bushes and I watched him throw the cookies out!”

“Well, did you leave a note saying they were from you?”

“No…”

“You should have left a note.” Luhan shook his head.

Mr. Park scoffed, “What makes you so smart? Here, make yourself useful. Put these somewhere where you’ll remember them.” He had thrown Luhan’s previous clothes at him. “You left them here, again.”

“Oh.. Sorry about that.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.” He had gone back to digging through the old boxes. “Keep the small clothes too. I have no use them, they won’t fit me.”

“No I couldn’t—”

“I insist.”

Luhan waited around a little awkwardly for the man to say something. He was also still waiting for him to answer his last question. But when the question never came he cleared his throat. “So, did you ever experience anything weird?”

“Define weird.”

“An adjective: something suggested to be supernatural; unearthly.”

Mr. Park scoffed once again. “No, what’s your definition of weird. Because you being yourself could be weird to me. Elaborate please.”

Luhan feigned a gasp, “I’m not unearthly!”

“You’d be surprised.”

“I mean, other worldly weird.. Like have you ever experienced a moment where you’re in two places at once?”

“Oh yes, I quite often do.” Mr. Park laughed at himself, as if he had an inside joke with himself.

“Well… What’s it like?”

“Well… It’s otherworldly, that’s for damn sure.” Mr. Park finally pulled out a large black chest. He patted his hands on his thighs as he looked over the old dusted item.

“So if I said my house is magical, you would believe me right?”

Mr. Park snorted and looked over his shoulder back to Luhan. “It’s not your house, kid.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s you.”

Luhan pulled back, those words had been strange to his ears. How could it be him? He wasn’t magical at all.

“That’s impossible.”

“Nothing’s impossible.” Mr. Park turned back around and began unlocking the chest through a slew of combinations that Luhan could barely keep up with. “Just gotta use your imagination.”

After opening the big chest, there was another smaller one inside. This one was red, a deep cranberry at best. Mr. Park pulled it out and began to unlock that one as well.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Luhan dared to ask as he knelt next to the old man.

“It’s a surprise.” The old coot smiled, he was being mischievous.

Luhan grimaced with a slight roll of his eyes, but as he did so, he caught the three cats looking down upon them from up top the bookshelf they were under.  Luhan was starting to become used to the cats and their random appearances.

After unlocking the red chest there had been a bright green shoe box inside it. Mr. Park gently removed it from the box and set it in his lap as he laid back into a crisscross fashion. Luhan watched with wide eyes as to what was so heavily guarded in the shoe box.

Luhan chose to stay silent, knowing he would not get a direct answer if he asked now. But as the old man removed the top, he was disappointed to find a dried up blade of grass.

“…That’s it? A piece of grass?”

“Not just any piece of grass! It’s a four leaf clover! Those are hard to come by!” Mr. Park feigned.

“But why is it so heavily guarded?”

“Because it’s special, that’s why.”

“No it’s not. It’s just a piece of weed. You can get them anywhere.”

“Nope. Not this one. This one is special because I say it is. There may be hundreds like it but this my lucky four leaf clover and I love it just the same. There are no other clovers like it.”

“But why did you have to love that one?”

“I don’t know… I closed my eyes, pick this one out and there it was. I looked for it with my heart.”

Luhan raised a brow.

“’It is only with the heart that one can see rightly’.” The old man recited.

“What?”

“Ah..” The man cleared his throat. “A-A friend had taught me that. Whenever he was feeling homesick, he would close his eyes and search for the warmth in his heart that reminded him of home.”

Luhan sat back and watched as Mr. Park admired the odd item. This old man truly did baffle him to a great extent.

“…Do you know where this picture came from?” Luhan held the folded piece of paper out.

Mr. Park silently looked at the thing, then grabbed it and opened it up. Luhan watched for a reaction; to see what he would do, to see if there was any kind of recognition. But the elder had a strong poker face, at least strong enough for Luhan to not be able to read.

“I do know this drawing. But how did you get it?”

“It was on one of my boxes, I wasn’t sure if it was yours or not.” Luhan kept his watch on the old man. “…So is it yours?”

“Yes and no.”

Luhan’s body clenched with the annoyance and rolled his eyes.

“It’s mine in the sense that I keep it and it was drawn for me. However, I did not make it.”

“Who made it then?”

Mr. Park was silent again. Luhan knew that there was an answer he wanted to give, but it just wasn’t coming out.

“Come here.” Mr. Park suddenly said with a solemn look to his face.

He got up from the spot after placing the clover back in its box and covered the black chest in a heap of mess in the bookshelf. It was quite awful how he hadn’t cared for organization. But as he maneuvered to a new side of the room he began rummaging for another box. The box had been much smaller than the last, the size of a butter cookie tin. As he opened it up, Luhan watched with intent. There was a slew of parchment paper all full of scribbles and notes that made Luhan want to erase them just so that they seemed a little neat. Instead, he waited as the old man poured the sketches on the table.

“Wh… What are all these?” Luhan asked as he let a hand run through the papers. They all seemed to be yellowed with age, it made him feel like he was not supposed to touch them.

“They were my translations.”

Luhan looked up at the old man and furrowed his brows.

How could such abstract looking pictures be translations? One of them looked like the mouth of a demonic worm and it’s hundreds of teeth were about to eat a small figure that stood lone on a rock.

“How can these be translations?” Luhan had picked up a particular picture, one of a lone figure in the color of the tan paper while the rest of it was dark—filled in with the dark charcoal.

“They are translations because they helped me understand the world he…” The old man trailed off. Luhan quickly looked over to the man, wanting to see what expression he bore. His eyes were glassed over lost in a thought so distant that Lu was sure he could never grab hold of it.

“Who’s world?” Luhan inched just a bit closer.

The man was silent, not wishing to tell the story.

However, Storm, Peaches and Socks had all garnered themselves around the two of them. Their eyes all slit with a purpose that only Mr. Park could seem to read.

“Alright… Let me tell you the story of a boy. Who changed my life forever...” Mr. Park turned around in his spot and leaned up against the bookcase. “…Well, don’t just sit there get comfy!” He said with a bit of an outburst, it frightened Lu just a tad.

The teen did as he was told and found a spot next to the old man, his knees up and arms holding them close. The old man took a moment and watched Lu as he did this. A smile grew upon his old features.

“You’re eyes are so big right now.” The old man blurted.

Luhan tilted his head in question.

“Like a new born, full to the brim with curiosity. It’s a different look for you. I like it.”

Luhan simply smiled once the words sunk in to his brain. It sure sounded like a compliment, so it probably was.

“Now, you’re going to have to bear with me, my memory isn’t quite what it used to be. So these pictures sure are going to help… Let’s start with this one.” He pointed to the one in Luhan’s hands. “He was a young prince. The prince of Erixo to be exact—”

“Where is Erixo? I’ve never heard of it.”

“To be exact, what is Erixo?” Mr. Park’s voice flared with a hint of playfulness. “It’s an asteroid. Asteroid 288—”

“An asteroid? What? That’s impossible, there are no scientific studies showing life forms thriving anywhere outside of our solar system. How can that be?”

“Well it’s possible. Because that’s where the Prince lives. He and his people… The asteroid is large enough to sustain life as it orbits around the sun Betelgeuse.”

“O-Oh… Well… I never really learned a lot about Betelgeuse..” Luhan admitted with a small voice. Peaches had found his way silently into Lu’s lap, purring as he did so.

“It is very hot and desert like on their asteroid, however, there are some spots that sustain oasis’s and provide food and water for the people.” The old man pulled out a drawing, it was a rough sketch of a small looking oasis, a single palm tree looking over a small pond of the sort. Around it were a few tents and a single well. Just looking at the picture made Lu parched. “The Prince’s father was the ruler of the land, however, he was very sick at the time the prince met me.. It is the absolute and most trusted duty of the king to take care of the asteroid and groom the waters. Those with royal blood only possess this power. They, and only they, have the ability to rake the waters and allow life to thrive for their people and animals. However, before the Prince could be taught this power his father had fallen ill. A poison had entered his blood stream and rendered him in a deep sleep. Now, the Prince had some ability to take care of his people; however, being the only one of royal blood he needed to find a way to help his people and fast. So he set off on a journey, a journey to find the cure to his father’s illness and to keep his land alive. He did this by jumping through wormholes and landing on planets and asteroids of similar nature.” Mr. Park picked up a picture that at first glance looked like a series of scribbled lines. “This was his father. The King of Erixo.”

Upon this new information Luhan’s brain clicked and was able to put together what the picture was. “…I don’t understand… What this has to do with anything?”

“Well.. The Prince went on his journey. Looking for the answer to his problems. And in that journey he came crashing through my roof.”

“…So let me get this right… This prince.. He made all these drawings?”

“He quite did. He is the best drawer on his home. He also could not speak English. So he drew these to tell me his story. I taught him English during his time here. He learned very quickly. Fluent in three days.”

“This is ridiculous. I feel like you’re telling me a story.” Luhan grimaced and scrunched his nose, his heart waned heavy toward disbelief but part of him wanted so badly to believe the story.

“It is most certainly a true story! Nonfiction if you had to ask me. I can make a biography with all the things I have of his. Promise!”

“Promise?”

“Yup! And when I make a promise, I keep it.” The old man had sworn with a seriousness that made the small teen freeze. “Remember those weird clothes I let you borrow?”

“…Yes.”

“Those were his.”

“No they weren’t…”

“I told you, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you… They were strangely warm weren’t they?”

Lu nodded his head.

“That’s because they’re built for space travel. It is quite cold out there so it changes according to body and temperature of space or world.”

“…Then… Then why did he come to you specifically? It doesn’t make sense for him to choose you so suddenly.”

“He didn’t choose me. It was an accident really. He hadn’t meant to find me, but rather, he wanted to see what Earth was like and landed through my roof.”

Luhan looked away, his face so red with thought and frustration. The drawings all matched—the clothes were indeed warm, there was a patch of roofing on his ceiling that hadn’t matched the colors of the other singles. The signs were all there but it was ridiculous. This man was not telling a true story, it was a fib and an extensive one at that. This frustration caused Lu to ruffle his hair and stand.

“You know… I think… I’m going to go for now. I just remembered I had some unpacking and studying I needed to do.” And with that, Luhan receded from the house and ran into his own. There he was sure he would be safe from the insanity that the old man so addictingly brought.

✴✧✴​​​​​​​

The next day, Luhan was dressed in his everyday clothes. He had gotten ready when his father woke up and went through the normal routine, albeit, the two were silent. Once Luhan’s father had left for the day he tried to finish the unpacking that needed to get done. It was rather dull this time around, so much to the point that he did not want to continue unpacking the living room. His mind, instead, was full of thoughts of the prince. He went to bed thinking so hard about whether the boy was real or not that he hadn’t even noticed he fell asleep. His dreams were lost as he slumbered but now that he was awake his mind was busy. It was quite vexing that he could not stop thinking about the Prince. He, despite not wanting to admit to it, wanted to know more about the story of the boy.

Luhan shoved the box he had been working on to the side, sighing in exasperation as he did so. He needed a break. Even if he did have one just ten minutes ago.

What’s wrong with me? He thought to himself. He had never felt so unmotivated to work before. So instead he got up and decided to raid the kitchen for a small snack. Something not saturated in fats and grease, but quick and healthy. Upon the kitchen table he spotted the green apples his father had brought home the night prior. One of the elder’s colleagues owned an apple tree and was giving them away at the office.

Luhan smiled and washed one of the apples before taking a bite. Sour and tart, yet crisp and delicious with the sweetness of a green apple. He then moved to the fridge, looking for something that he could get a drink from. He leaned over the fridge door, as the top was the freezer and bottom the fridge. He looked idly as there was not much to choose from—just a few water bottles and a carton of tea. He then leaned toward his hand to take a bite of the apple but was surprised when he bit into nothing. The apple was not in his hand.

He checked the other hand.

Still no apple.

“What..” He mutter involuntarily as he looked around for the apple. He turned back toward the kitchen table and there in the bowl of apples had been the one he grabbed. He knew it was his because there was a small red patch on the apple where the others were not covered in any. Luhan went over to the table and retrieved the apple, trying to see if his mouth was filled with the taste of the apple. But he could not tell! He began doubting if whether or not he had even grabbed the apple... Yet he remembered so distinctly puckering up at the sour taste.

He took another bite. It was the same as before. It was all an experience that had definitely happened before. He looked at the apple for moment, then to the fridge. He walked over and opened the door but as soon as he looked back at his hand he noticed the apple was gone again.

“WHAT.” Luhan suddenly blurted as he looked at the table and saw how the apple was placed in the same spot as before.

He marched for the apple and held it firmly in his hand, not taking his eye off it as he marched back to the fridge to open it. But this time, as he opened the fridge and kept his eyes on the object, it stayed in his hand.

“What?!?” He said in that exasperated tone again. He took a furious bite from the apple and waited for something to happen. He closed and opened the fridge again, still the apple remained. “What the hell..” He said much to his dismay and put the apple on the edge of the table. He turned for the sink and looked outside, pulling his hair every which way as he did so.

When he turned back around, the apple was no longer on the table and back in its bowl. Luhan just stared, expressionless.

The boy suddenly ran, his long thin legs taking him through the house like the speed of light and all the way to his neighbor’s yard. He jumped onto the man’s front porch, banging furiously on the door for him to answer.

“What, what?!” Mr. Park answered the door after a stalled moment, it was not a pleasant greeting.

“Tell me about the prince. I want to know more!” Luhan blurted suddenly so out of breath.

Mr. Park stared at the teen, confused by the outburst and why he was so out of breath.

“Come in, and take a breather. Goodness. I’ll make you some tea and cookies.”

Luhan froze for a moment at the mention of cookies and smiled like a fool. He nodded and followed the man into the house.

“So what did you want to know about the prince?”

“Everything. All the way from what he looks like to when he left.” Luhan said still out of breath as he followed Mr. Park into the kitchen.

There on the counter had been Storm and Peaches, tails swaying their normal tick but watching ever so fervently.

“Well…” Mr. Park dug into his refrigerator and took out a bottle of apple juice. “He was a young boy at the time. Most likely your age when I met him. He was tall, and very slim. Like that of a fox. Handsome too! The most handsome of all men on his home. All the ladies and boys alike swooned at his grace. His hair was made of pure gold, each strand flowing with the essence of beauty. Like tiny lights sparkling in each translucent strand. It was quite remarkable. His blood was also purple. Well, at least it was purple when he bled here, it bled green on his home.”

“No way..” Luhan muttered.

“Yes way. It’s very true. He was quite remarkable too. He could summon wormholes on command. It was a trait that only the royal bloodline possessed. But sometimes… Traveling never went quite as planned.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean by the fact that wormholes are very unpredictable. Like they have a mind of their own. Only very trained people have good control of wormholes, but even then it can go wrong. Sometimes the Prince would accidentally time travel; then he would end up in all kinds of places when he really shouldn’t have been.” Mr. Park had handed Luhan a glass of apple juice. “Why the sudden interest? You didn’t seem too keen about it yesterday.”

“Ah… Well.. I don’t know…” Luhan tried to cover himself up, he wasn’t sure if he should bring up the weird occurrences to Mr. Park yet. He wanted to find out a little more first.

“Well, come look at this.”

Mr. Park had brought along a container full of the cookies he made the other day and lead Luhan around the kitchen and through to another door way. All the same, Luhan watched as the old man took down a few pills while they walked. They had then entered a study, it was full to the brim with odd trinkets and hanging lights. Bookcases still lined the place, clothes and books strewn about like the main living room. It was a mess just like the rest of the house. Luhan followed carefully, making sure to not to break anything as he maneuvered around.

“Watch this.” Mr. Park had stopped next to a tall structure that was being covered by a white sheet. He removed it quickly and revealed a contraption that looked oddly similar to a Ferris wheel. He snuck a finger into a small opening and flipped a lever. Immediately the contraption started to spin, creating a chain effect of items to fall and roll and spin. It was like watching magic happen before his very eyes, the teen was enthralled. A small marbled rolled around the room; the trinkets that had lung to the wall all came to life when the marble passed by. Each useless object had a reason to keep the machine moving. One event led to another, a chain reaction that made Luhan’s heart race with anticipation.

But as the marble rose higher, lights had one by one—fairy lights in gold and purple colors of the like. With each light turning, the window curtains had shut with a snap. Immediately darkening the room yet brightening it with the lights that .

Before Luhan could process everything at once, the room had been lit up in way so that it was like a celestial scape. The very breath had been drawn from his lungs as he gazed upon the ceiling. It felt like he had been floating in space, close enough to reach his fingertips out and graze against the very stars.

Suddenly, as Luhan was about to reach his curious arms out, did three cats come barreling into the room. In that moment, Mr. Park had done something that was unseen by the teen. He had pressed a button and the room was suddenly electrified with dimension. Luhan was too busy watching the cats as they scurried to see the room sparkle with the specs of stars. When he looked up his nose had hit a small light, it shattered into even smaller specs. This had frightened Luhan, making him stumble back and watch the light form back into itself.

“Wh-What is this?” He spun around quickly, watching as the room danced with the lights and constellations.

“This is an acrascope.”

“A what?” Luhan spun to face the old man, his heart fluttering with wonder. As he spun, his hands made sure to run through the various stars, watching them disburse and reform. He felt so giddy in the room; small and just a bit childish.

“An acrascope. It projects the universe into a readable map.” He had held up an object small and gold and in the shape of a cylindrical tube.

“No…” Luhan breathed out. “It’s just your glasses case.”

“Look closer.” The old man smiled with ease as he held out the item for the teen.

Luhan walked over slowly, anticipating the moment to look at the item up close. It looked like the same dented golden item from before. Still weathered with life. Yet a new perspective was opened once the teen could lift in his own petite hands. Along the side had been a slew of buttons, one in the shape of a circle, one in the shape of a triangle and another in the shape of a trapezoid. He clicked the trapezoid and watched as the projection that spilled out of the object shifted and honed in on a more concentrated section of the map.

“Watch of this.” The old man walked over to a rather large and red looking star. He poked his boney finger in the center of the star and the map zoomed in even closer. “That button allows you to manipulate the map. The world is so vast that it’s near impossible to project it all in one go.” He pressed the center of another round object and watched as the map singled it out. “This is Erixo. The Prince’s home planet. Just south of Orion’s belt.”

Luhan’s face had been so focused on the magnificent sight that the old man could hardly take his eyes off the teen. The boy’s eye’s sparkled brightly with the twinkle of lights.

“It’s so misshapen…”

“Yup. Just like Earth. It may not look like it but the Earth is all bumpy and distorted, just like the dusty tops of this asteroid.”

Luhan looked down at the object in his hands again. “How do you even put your glasses in here?”

“The acrascope it relatively hollow. That way I can keep the device on me at all times because I know I need my glasses often. However, there is a very small compartment—” The old man had made his way over to the teen and retrieved the cylindrical item. “—That possesses a small card.” He pressed a button that had been off the side of object and Luhan watched in awe as the projections disappeared into the trinket. “This card.” The old man held up a small luminous chip, barely the size of thumbnail that had been transparent and glowing in a light blue color. “Holds the map of the universe. It is constantly growing along with the universe. The acrascope is an item that simply projects anything put into this compartment.”

“There’s no way something so small can hold the entire universe… While growing!”

“There is! I promise you.” The old man smiled knowingly. This had put to rest to the agitation in the teen’s heart. “You must remember to look at things from a new perspective if you want answers. Not everything is as it seems.” The old man tapped his long nose. “Think.”

Luhan hung his head for a moment as the old man placed the chip back inside the golden item and clicked the top of the trinket.

“…Did the Prince give that to you?”

“Mhm. This was a gift from him. He thought our world could use it for space travel. But—” Mr. Park stopped himself from continuing.

“But what?” Luhan asked as he approached the man.

“But I didn’t exactly agree with what he thought. I thought the world was not ready for such technology. And because of our views, he left on bad terms… To this day I regret the way I acted.”

“What happened?”

“Well, as we were fighting… The beast that had been chasing him had found him. It appeared and he fought back with all his might. But it was like lightening. One moment he was there… And the next.. Gone.”

“He died?!” Luhan exclaimed.

“I don’t know… I think he is.. The answer should be yes.. But I want to believe he’s still out there. Riding on the currents of time trying to find the cure for his father and the ability to save his people.”

Luhan silently hung his head. “Then.. What beast came?”

“It was a morphia.”

“A… morphi-what?”

“A morphia. Morphia’s are these giant creatures that roam the universe, and destroy anything in their path. They’re like termites, eating everything they get their hands on. But this particular morphia, the King of all Morphia, was after the Prince’s home. The King of Erixo had always done such a wonderful job protecting them so the King of Morphia was furious and poisoned the Prince’s father. But the Prince left a spell on his home, protecting it from the King of Morphia. And as the Prince left on a journey to find his answer, the King of Morphia chased him. It was here on Earth that the king had found him. I don’t know if he was successful in defeating him…”

“…That’s awful…”

“It is… So I’ve spent the rest of my life looking for the Prince.” Mr. Park pressed a button and the projections were gone again. He flipped another switch and all the curtains opened and lights turned off. Luhan’s heart sunk with the diminishing of the room. “I spend every night in my tower watching the stars. Hoping that one day the Prince will appear and keep his promise.”

“What promise?”

“To take me with him.”

“To where?”

“To his home. To be amongst the stars where he lives.”

A silence grew amongst the two, Luhan really was not sure of what to say in that moment.

“…Would you mind if I stayed and watched the stars with you tonight?”

Mr. Park stared at Lu for a moment, he was confused of the question. But a smile spread upon his cheeks when he found his answer. “Be my guest.”

That evening, the two had climbed to the top of the tower, opening the roof much like an observatory and setting up a rather industrial sized telescope. It faced right toward the sky despite the heavy layer of clouds that hid the sunset.

“Isn’t it a little cloudy to want to see the stars?”

“Nope. It’s perfect the way it is. You see wormholes appear wherever they please. I just like to look at the stars for signs of movement. To see if something is actually happening out there… To see if the Prince is still out there…” He trailed off.

“You keep calling him the Prince… But… What was his real name?”

“His real name?”

Luhan nodded.

“Prince Oh Sehun.”

✴✧✴​​​​​​​

A summer was not enough to keep Luhan so enthralled. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed so hard, or what it was even like to have fun. It was mid-June and the odd pair had become thick as thieves. Luhan spent every day at the old man’s house; forgetting about his studies and abandoning house work. He was too busy going on adventures around Mr. Park’s house. Each day they had done a new task and had been told a new story about the prince. The golden haired prince in which Luhan had found himself so captivated with.

Mr. Park had told him so much about the prince. Every little detail pertaining to the sword he carried all the way to how many languages he could speak. It apparently took the Prince fifty Earth years to cross the universe in search of his answer. In his journey he had met all kinds of people. On one planet he met a tall and handsome boy named Kaidou. He was dressed in his Sunday best, which was very similar to that of a Japanese kimono. He was an eccentric boy, both strict yet encouraging and often spoke in riddles. Mr. Park explained him as “tough love”. The Prince also met another king, he was King of Universe. He had owned his own planet; it was large and full of people who loved him.  He was regal and refined, rich and beautiful. He was ideal to be the king of the universe. King Jay was his name. There was also mention of a particularly tall man named Sirk. He was constantly changing what he wore and how he looked. But the most peculiar thing about him was the fact that he lived alone. His asteroid was so small that it could only support him. Now, those were only just a few people that the prince had come across and the ones that stuck out in Luhan’s young mind. Each of these people the Prince had asked for a cure to help his home, but none of which had a direct answer for him. Kaidou had given him the answer of: “The answer you seek will come, in due time.” The King of the Universe had said: “I could have the cure of what you seek, however, you will have to give me something of yours. Like this home you so tenderly care.” The Prince could not accept his terms and moved on. Sirk had told him one too many answers that he could hardly keep up with. The Prince only wished he would choose one.

He had met at least a dozen people in his travels, each all unique. Especially a trio of friendly prophets. They were curious beings in that they were not related yet somehow understood everything the other had to say. They could finish each other sentences, as if scripted or said a hundred times over. Gond, To and Xim were their names. These were the three who helped the Prince the most—they led him to Earth, where his answer was so patiently waiting for him. They led the way and made sure he arrived safely but that was all they offered. It was luck that he would need if he were to ever find the answer. The three beings had left him on Earth alone, to crash into Mr. Park’s house and fend for himself in such foreign lands. It was after then that the Prince had disappeared after allegedly promising Mr. Park that he would take him to his home one day.

Luhan could not stop thinking about it. His mind rolled over and over on the Prince.

Part of him told him to not believe in such childish stories, but there were so many unanswered questions that seemed out of place. The acrascrope was the most amazing thing, the same with the clothes that the Prince had left behind. They were amazing items that he was almost sure did not exist anywhere else besides Mr. Park’s home. There were no articles, no other pieces of information available about these items. The drawings were filled with items so out of this world that it seemed only reasonable that someone from the place could really create it.

Lu felt like he needed more. Like he wasn’t satisfied with the information he was given. But no matter how much his technical brain thought, he could not fight it when sleep finally overtook. He was then whisked away into a spiral of repeated dreams. It was the same one he had experienced before. The dream of watching himself as a young child watching his mother leave through the front door for the last time. The suffocating feelings of missing his mother the moment she turns around. The cold that swarms him when he can only see the red lips she bore and nothing else. Nose and eyes blurred with the decay of memory. But matter how much he tried, his voice was never enough to stop her. Instead, his body fell through the floor. His body flung into the celestial world instead of his mothers. It was torture, never knowing when he would stop falling. When something would wake him from the wretched nightmare.

All at once, he was engulfed in thick, warm water. This caused Luhan to wake up in shock. He had been submerged in a tub full of water. The tub in his home to be exact.

“What the…” He mumbled as he laid in the tub, looking around to see just how he had gotten there.

“Dad?” He called out. “Dad?” He called out just a little louder.

“What?” His father responded with a groggy voice from down the hall, the door had been ajar.

“D-.. Did you leave water in the tub again?”

“…Oh.. Did I? Sorry. Drain it for me.” The man went silent, which probably meant he had gone back to bed.

Luhan rose from the tub, soaked to the bone, his pajamas no longer wearable.

“Did I just…” Sleepwalk? He finished in his head. There was no way his father put him there, and no way anyone else could have done so. He wasn’t a heavy sleeper so he would have noticed if someone tried lifting him.

The teen trudged to the closet for a towel and began removing his clothes. He was annoyed that his perfectly clean pajamas were now ruined, but he was even more annoyed by the fact that he had no idea how he had gotten there. He wrapped himself in the towel and opened the door to enter his room for clothes. However, as soon as he opened the door, there before him was an ocean. Luhan stared. His mouth slightly agape at the sight before him. The moon was shining high over the water, the waves brushing against the shore ever so gently. For one of the first times in a while Luhan’s mind was silent. He could not even fathom the fact he had opened his bathroom door to the ocean, let alone whilst in a towel.

To this, the teen stepped a foot out into the sand. Beneath his feat was the cool sink of grains against his soft feet. A slight addition of moisture pressed against the pads of his feet as he trotted against the sand. A light breeze tousled his hair, brushing against his bare skin and making him shiver with delightful little goose bumps. He took in a deep breath; the ocean salt reminded him of a time of when he was younger. One of the only times he had ever visited the ocean with his family. He felt calm—at peace with the wind and ocean engulfing his senses.

“Hey! You!” A voice shouted at Luhan.

Luhan turned and squinted when the bright light of a searchlight had shone upon his face. It was a cop still in his car scoping out the area with his beam. Lu took that as his chance to get out of there. He was after all. The teen was sure he had never run so fast before, escaping in the nick-of-time.

The door shut tight, his back pressed against it and his heart thumping against his rib cage. It felt like his heart would jump out and lay itself on the ground if it could. He turned around and pressed his ear against the door, listening for any sign of someone coming near the door. When the coast seemed clear he opened the door slowly. Of course, he was brought to face his hallway. Luhan poked his head out and looked side to side, there was definitely no ocean. And he was definitely not dreaming.

…

The following night, after having spent the day once more with Mr. Park he had come home to a rather upset parent. His father had been seated at the kitchen table waiting with papers in front of him and his hands crossed at his mouth. Luhan trudged through the small hall and to the kitchen.

“It’s late.” His father announced.

Luhan flinched at the tone.

“Ten forty three to be exact.”

Luhan had never been home so late, but this particular night he was caught up trying to catch fireflies in Mr. Park’s backyard.

“You know, when I was your age I was doing all kinds of rebellious things against my parents. I would say coming this late would be normal. But you’re not a rebellious child, Han… You were with Mr. Park weren’t you?”

“Dad, before you get upset let me explain—”

Luhan’s father had simply pushed the pile of papers on the table toward him.

“What’s this?” He asked as he picked one up. It was a newspaper article that had been cut out and laminated.

His father was silent, waiting for his son to read the title.

“’Man miscalculates, kills three astronauts’.” Luhan furrows his brows. “Where did you get this?”

“My co-workers. Everyone in the town knows about it.”

Luhan began to read the article:

32 year old NASA employee, Seth Park had made the mistake of a century. One of the youngest members of the NASA team had showed great quality at the age of 28. His love for numbers and space went well together. He was a graduate of Brown University with a bachelors in Geophysics and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate with an engineer’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics. His dream job was to one day be an astronaut, even if being a part of the scientific team was the closest he could get. He had applied to the astronaut program but rejected, as he had failed the psychological portion of the test. Distraught by the outcome, he had been placed in a state of mind not suitable for work. Since the day he had been working on the preparations of flight operation Orion B36, his calculations had been off. The design of the engine was not built properly, it was not ready for takeoff when it had done so. This had caused the ship to implode in the engine, killing the three astronauts ready for takeoff. Investigations regarding the case had suggested that out of spite, Park called the okay. Park denied all allegations saying it was not on purpose, but an accident. However, as further investigations looked into his records, it proved that his psychological portion of the astronaut testing was off. He had shown signs of unbalanced readings which could lead to future schizophr—

Luhan couldn’t even finish reading. He could hear the shattering of his heart fall into pieces. There had been other articles on the table, those of which were printed from the internet. Each of them with similar headlines, all stating how a man had caused the death of three astronauts. Lu had clenched the newspaper article and ran out the kitchen, out the front door and toward the old man’s house. He waited for the man to answer but he had no idea of what he would do when he finally confronted him.

The door unlocked and opened like normal.

“Lu… I thought you were going to bed?” He asked innocently.

“What is this?” Luhan suddenly blurted out. He felt tense. A ball of emotion welling up in his throat.

“What is—” He caught his words as soon as he noticed the headline.

“Is it true?” Lu pressed. He could feel the weight of tears begin to form.

It helped no better when the old man chose silence. His face solemn.

“Answer me!”

The outburst shocked Mr. Park for a moment.

“It was all a lie, wasn’t it? There is no prince.”

“Lu—”

“How could I be so stupid? Of course there’s no prince.”

“Lu, I never lied to you I promise—”

Luhan stepped back, trying to make his way down the porch.

“Schizophrenia, it said schizophrenia.”

“No Lu, you have to understand—”

“A long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation.” The teen recited.

“Han?” Luhan’s father had called from the other side of the hedge.

The teen turned his head toward the voice of his father.

“I.. I have to go..” He tried to convince himself. “I… I can’t come over here anymore. I have school soon and I need to study. I don’t want to be distracted by you anymore.” Luhan stepped off the porch and made his way back toward his house. Where the comfort of his room made him feel safe. He sat in his room, back against the door and face buried into his knees.

He felt so useless. The world he had spent an entire summer learning about was a lie. A complete and utter lie.

There was no prince.

He sat there and cried. Crying feelings he had kept balled inside for more than just a summers worth. Tears that had dried up over a decade ago. They were all letting loose, falling almost uncontrollably.

“Hannie?” Lu’s father called out from behind the door in a soft voice.

Luhan refused to respond. He sat in his spot and tried to hide his hyperventilating, hiccupping as he did so.

“Hannie… I just..” His father sighed. Eventually he gave up and walked away. He knew there wasn’t much he could do.

Luhan fell over, sobbing there once he heard his father walk away. Oh how he wanted to crawl under a rock and stay there. To make up for that he stayed on the floor for almost two hours before falling asleep.

The next morning he woke up sore and swollen. He missed his alarm and woke up with the sound of his father getting breakfast ready. At this Luhan got up and sluggishly moved to the bathroom to wash his face.

“I’m heading out in a bit, I left breakfast on the table for you.” Luhan’s father had appeared in the door, it startled the teen just a bit.

“Okay. Thank you.” He continued to rinse his face.

His father lingered for a moment later, wanting to say something to his son. He knew he had to but he just wasn’t sure of what. He ended up leaving the door ajar and headed down the stairs.

As soon as his father was gone Luhan sighed. He let his hands rest on the sides of the sink and stared at the running water. He felt awful, like a void had dug itself in the midst of his chest. It was a dreadful overbearing feelings. He wished it would go away because he hated the way it confused the majority of his energy.

He stood up and stared at the droplets of water on his face. The cool air of the bathroom brushed against his skin, leaving it chilled against the swollenness of his features. He reached for a hand towel, patting his skin dry.

“I’m heading out in a bit, I left breakfast on the table for you.” Luhan’s father had poked his head into the bathroom again.

Luhan turned to his father, a brow quirked at the sudden appearance.

“Y-Yeah.. You said that already.”

“…No I didn’t. This is my first time seeing you all morning.”

“But you just..” Lu trailed off as he watched his father raised a brow as well.

“Deja vu, huh?”

“Deja what?”

“Deja vu. It’s an expression! When you feel like you experienced something already while it’s happening.”

“Oh…”

“Alright… I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.”

His father lingered for a second, still fighting with if he should say anything more to his son. Lu felt uncomfortable with this situation once more. It had happened once already, why was it happening again?

When his father finally left, he left the door slightly ajar. Luhan ran for the door before it could close anymore and he whipped it open. There on the other side was his hallway and room. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

For the rest of the day Luhan stayed cooped up in his room, door closed and window open. He studied and studied, not thinking about the prince nor the old man next door. He stayed like that for two weeks—focusing purely on housework and getting his summer assignments done. Which he had done with ease. His mind was laid to rest, nothing out of the ordinary. No accidental bathroom portals, no repeating dad’s and no cats. He felt like he had done a good job of getting back into the habit of his normal life. The life he knew best. Familiar and safe. Even if his heart missed running his hand through the tiny lights of the acrascope. Even if he missed running around the Victorian house playing hide and seek with the cats. Even if he did miss the stories of a golden haired boy that had the power to jump through wormholes.

But he ignored it, he ignored the adventurous feeling running through his cold heart. A heart two sizes too small since being broken.

As the day grew darker, Lu had only left his room once to use the bathroom. He decided it was a good time to go downstairs and cook dinner. So he left his laptop neatly on his desk and notebooks piled on top of each other on his bed. What he hadn’t realized as he left was how close he had left it to the edge of his bed as he left for the bathroom. The notebooks fell and disappeared in a rippled illusion of the floor. The notebooks landed on top of his desk, papers flying about and creating a disarray of things. Luhan returned to a few papers still floating down and stood in his doorway shocked by the sudden flare. He was sure he had placed the notebooks on his bed, neatly at that.

He walked slowly over to his desk, wondering if one of the cats had appeared and decided to destroy his desk area. When there was nothing he cleaned up the mess and placed it on his desk this time. However, as he did so, he had knocked off the pencil holder by accident. Luhan expected it to crash and create an even bigger mess than it had done before. But a crash never came, instead there was a sound similar to something dunking into water.

Luhan watched as it happened, the floor had entirely consumed the pencil holder. His jaw fell upon the sight. He stood there, hunched over his desk and stared at the floor for a moment longer. There was no way the ground had just eaten his pencils, correct?

He looked back up on his desk, there was no red pencil holder.

He looked back at the ground and gingerly stepped a foot out, pressing to see if it would sink in as well. His foot, however, did not sink in. It touched solid ground. He quickly looked around his desk for another object to drop, there was a lone silver pen next to his silver laptop that he quickly picked up and dropped. He watched as it disappeared in the ground once again.

This time Luhan laughed with the new discovery. He touched his foot out once more, but again, it touched solid ground. He reached a hand out hoping to see if he could feel anything. But as he did so his hand had right into the rippled illusion. As soon as he felt his hand sink in he ripped it back, it felt cold and wet like when dipping a hand into water for the first time in a while. But there was nothing wet about his hand. He carefully slid his hand back toward the ground again, hoping something would happen. However, he was surprised when nothing did. He took his hand back and let it rush down into the ground; the ground him in. He pulled out quickly once more, still not fully understanding what was going on.

He stood to his feet and walked around the space between his bed and his desk, wondering how big the invisible object was. He shoved his hand down and watched as it disappeared just as the foot of his bed. The teen harrumphed and stood at the edge of the object. He had half a heart to stick his head in and see where it led. He knelt down trying to get ready; but what if he didn’t get enough momentum and smacked his head into the ground? He stood back up and had half a heart to just jump into it. That would be safe right? But what if it still wasn’t enough? He climbed on to the top of his bed and looked down at the area in front of him. He was ready to take the dive, to let his feet fall first but he chickened out the last second.

“This is ridiculous. I can’t do this.” He shook his head and climbed off the bed and left his room. It was just about time he made dinner anyways.

“Chicken sounds good tonight.” He mumbled to himself as he walked down the stairs. As soon as he reached the bottom step he paused. He stared at the front door, a hand gripping the baluster as he thought about what he should do.

Within a split second the teen had turned around and raced back up the stairs. He gave it no second thought and jumped onto his bed and into the ground.

All at once he had been whisked away into a world heavy like water, yet dryer than any kind of land. It was both light and dark, a darkness so bright that he could barely keep his eyes open. It was happening all so fast that he barely caught glimpses of other circular openings. Each of them glassed over with views of everyday life. There was a particular one that had caught his attention as he fell through the space, one with a flash of red. But just as soon as he could see them, the sooner he had fell right through. The cold air of the inertia made his hair fly every which way, his belly cold with the bareness that slipped past.

Luhan fell through the space and tumbled onto solid ground. As he summersaulted down, something grazed his back and caused him to groan in pain when he found himself upright on his behind. He took a moment for his brain to stop spinning. He tried to make an understanding of his surroundings but the initial shock was just a little too much on his brain.

As the dizziness left, he found himself looking at a rather familiar fence.

He turned around with great strain, it was his house. The patio grazed in a soft pink as the sunset painted it. A red object had caught his attention as he turned around—it was his pencil holder, his pens and highlighters of the sort were strewn about in the grass. He must have grazed over it as he fell.

“What the…” He turned back around and looked upon the tall fence. The sun had set beyond the horizon, however, the sky was still lit with the beauty of pastels.

Luhan tried to stand on his feet, they felt like jello for some reason. He gathered all his pens and pencils and made his way into the house. It was quite the feat but he managed to make his way back up the stairs and to his room.

Before putting the pencil holder on his desk, he held it above the invisible portal and dropped it. Lu was disappointed when the pencil holder bounced and crashed. He knelt down and shoved his hand into the ground only to flinch back when his hand crashed into it as well.

The portal was gone.

✴✧✴​​​​​​​

Luhan still had so many questions. He had doubted his thoughts against Mr. Park and often wondered if it was at all possible for the story to be true. The clothes, the acrascope, and the bathroom. They were all things that he had experienced. He was sure there was no way an acrascope existed outside of Mr. Park’s house. There were no records that he knew about the clothes that warmed its host based upon body temperature. There was no way technology like that existed in his world yet.

It was a few days after Luhan had magically transported into his backyard that he decided he needed to talk to Mr. Park about everything. He needed to talk to him and see if it was at all possible his home was magical. And possibly apologize for his rude behavior.

It was a particularly cloudy day, the weather had suggested thunderstorms in the late July evening. The teen rapped on the old man’s front door, his heart beating with anticipation of their meeting. He felt ashamed for showing his face so late, like he almost didn’t have the right to do so.

However, the old man never answered the door. Lu waited a good five minutes after ringing the doorbell and knocking loudly. He knew the old man had a hard time hearing but he almost always answered the door.

“Mr. Park?” Lu called out. He knew the man didn’t have a job and often stayed in his house. He looked into the glass of the front door after opening the screen door—looking for any sign of life. There were no cats about the lawn, no lights inside.

As Luhan looked into the house, rain began to trickle from the sky.

“Mr. Park?” Luhan placed a hand on the door knob of the front door and turned it. The crazy old fool almost never locked his door. Luhan had let himself into the home. “Mr. Park are you home?”

The teen walked throughout the messy house. It felt like it had been forever since he last set foot in the place. It was almost like a second home at that point. But something wasn’t quite right. Where was Mr. Park? Surely he had to be around. As Lu walked into the kitchen he saw two socked feet poking out from around the counter. Luhan could feel his heart sink upon the sight of the feet resting up.

“Mr. Park?” Luhan called out, hoping he would answer him before he ran over.

When there was no answer, Luhan raced around the corner. Mr. Park had been laid on the ground, eyes closed and chest just barely showing any sign of breathing.

“Mr. Park!” Luhan let out breathlessly as he knelt beside the old man. “What happened?!” The man looked pale, almost gray, his face had been thick with a peppered stubble. He wanted to lift the man’s head into his lap but he was so afraid to touch him that he anxiously got up and looked for the telephone.

 

 

An ambulance had arrived within a reasonable time; the paramedics took the frail man away.

Lu was reduced to tears as the paramedics took the man’s vitals.

It had happened so fast. Luhan barely had a moment to catch the man’s gaze as he opened his eyes for the first time in all that time.

Luhan had muttered “you have to be okay, you have to go with the Prince” as the ambulance drove away. It was haunting as the neighbors gathered around the ambulance in the pouring rain.

Luhan stood on the sidewalk long after the people had disbursed.

“This isn’t right…” He mumbled to himself. His fists balled at his sides. Just behind him were three cats. Their whiskers drooped and ears held back. As Luhan turned around he was met with the sight of the three rather sad looking felines. “This isn’t right.” He repeated for the trio. “This isn’t fair.” The teen bit his lip. “…He’s real, isn’t he?”

Peaches and Socks laid on the ground, their ears still held back. Storm’s ears had perked up despite his body being rather low to the ground.

“The prince is real. You know him, don’t you?” Luhan inched closer to the felines. Socks and Peaches had wrapped their tails around themselves, refusing to look at Luhan. Storm had stood up, his tail ticking with agitation.

As Luhan stared the felines down, a car had begun to pull into his driveway.

“Hannie? What are you doing in the rain? Get inside, you’ll get sick.” His father said as he ran for the house.

“He was taken to the hospital.” Luhan muttered as he stared down at the ground.

“What?” His father called from the porch.

“Mr. Park fell a couple days ago and he’s been in his house alone and dying on the ground. The ambulance just took him away and I want to see him.”

Luhan’s father stared at his son, his face expressing a guilt he felt awful about. The teen’s father walked down the porch and to the car, starting it up and waiting for him to get in. Luhan gathered himself into the car, still wet from standing in the rain for so long. He told his father the hospital and the two drove off. Lu watched the three cats as they drove by they had been keeping a keen eye on him. Storm trotted after the car for just a bit, as if he was confused why the teen would be leaving.

Within fifteen long minutes the two had arrived at the hospital. With two hours waiting in the waiting room a doctor had finally come out and gave the father and son a rundown of Mr. Park’s stability. There was a slim chance he would survive the night. He had been left alone for two days after hitting his head on the counter, concussed and too weak to heal on his own. The doctor told them to prepare for the worst. To top off the onset of news, the two were not allowed to visit the man; he was in no condition for it.

Luhan could only mutter three words before slipping away and running out of the hospital.

His father called out after him but Luhan just ran. He ran and ran through the halls and down the stairs to the busy outside world. Cars and traffic of people had paraded the hospital, everyone in their own state of urgency.

Luhan’s father had finally caught up, standing just a ways behind his son as he caught his breath. He had no idea of what to do. His son was going through so much pain and he had no idea of how to make it better.

The car ride was silent. Lu sat in the back, his head pressed against the cold window. Lu’s father glanced every so often at the teen through the mirror; just to see how he was doing.

“Just think…” His father cleared his throat. “You’ll be starting school in a couple weeks. You won’t have to worry so much about anything then. School will keep you busy.”

Lu gave no response and stared out the window.

When the two had arrived at the house it was dark. The sun had set long ago and the clouds covered any last hint of light. Lu ran into the house and refused to talk any more than he had to.

Dinner had been forgotten. Neither male was hungry enough after the evening’s events.

Luhan had locked himself in his room; crying his heart out once more. It was awful. The feeling of uselessness overtaking him once again. He just wanted everything to be okay. So he laid in his bed for a good long while, thinking to himself about what he could do—what he should have done.

“It’s still not fair…” He mumbled as he sat up. The sudden surge of needing to do something blaring through his veins.

Luhan had no idea how much time he spent lying in bed until he looked down the hall and noticed his father’s door closed. It must have been late if his father was asleep. The teen then tiptoed to the bathroom and noticed how muggy it was. His father must have recently just finished taking a bath as there was still water in the tub.

Luhan stood in front of the mirror, taking a good long look at himself—repeatedly asking himself of what he should do. It was in that moment that a light went off in his head. He looked at the door that he had left just ajar. He was determined to figure this out. He closed the door and hoped that opening it would take him to a new a place, but nothing came. It was the normal hallway he spent all summer opening the door to. He closed and opened the door again, yet there was nothing.

He decided he would try a different approach. He left the door wide open and walked as far from it as possible. His long slim legs ran for the door and jumped just before stepping through the doorway—hoping that he would land in another place. But he was disappointed when he found himself bumped and bruised from a hard wooden floor.

He tried again; this time biting his lip from the immediate frustration and focusing on the door before running. The jump did nothing once again. He was able to keep his balance this time, but he was still in the hallway. So he tried one last time before his father became suspicious. This time, he thought about the prince. He thought about what his golden hair was like. How tall he actually stood. And how wondrous his eyes truly spoke. As he ran this time he felt odd; like his feet were not actually touching the ground. Yet somehow they got him to the door. He ran and jumped again, tumbling through the door and somehow managing to not land. He closed his eyes as he was into the quick suffocating feeling of water without being submerged in the physical substance. Before he knew it he was staring at a white wall and falling fast into the ground. It was all so sudden that the submergence of lukewarm water caught him completely off guard. He had miraculously managed to get himself in his tub once more.

Luhan stayed silent; he listened for his father to wake up or for something to happen. He waited but nothing ever came. Rather, he found himself soaked in the tub water. However, this time he was coherent and knew exactly what it was that happened. Well, not exactly, but at least he knew enough that he was jumping from place to place. The teen removed himself from the tub and found himself trying to ring out the water from his clothes. He grabbed a towel from the closet and wrapped it around himself to keep the air from making him cold. But he stopped when he caught the bright sight of something in the mirror. His hair had been half wet by the impact but there was something completely off about it. It was completely and utterly platinum blonde! Luhan shrieked upon the sight and stumbled back a bit; nearly tripping back into the tub. When he gained his balance he got closer to the mirror and admired the change in color. A stark contrast from his once pitch black hair.

In the time that he played with the locks of hair on his head he heard a sound thunder from across the hall. He froze, listening as it sounded like an entire wall was being ripped from the other side the bathroom door. When the sound subsided he paused.

“Dad?” Luhan called out as he inched closer to the door.

The teen cautiously opened it, only to see the wooden hall of his home and the open door of his room. However, his room was filing out dust and smoke.

“What the…” He mumbled as he tiptoed across the floor boards.

A gaping hole had emerged in his ceiling, the moonlight seeping in to the rubble behind his bed. Luhan stared with devastation; his bed had been covered in dust and wood chips, wall insulation and sheet rock. But what confounded him the most was the movement of a person lifting themselves out of the rubble.

As the dust cleared, Luhan could make out the back of the figure rising. It wore pitch black, its broad shoulders sleek in the moonlight. A glisten shined over the shirt as the figure straightened itself.

Luhan stood in his doorway, mouth agape and hands held tightly at the towel covering his soaked body.

The figure stood silently for a moment—trying to make sense of where it was. It turned over its shoulder and bestowed a beautiful profile to the teen standing on the other side. Luhan whimpered upon the magnificent sight of a long slim nose and skin so clear that the moonlight could hardly compete.

“Wh-Who are you?” Luhan tried to say.

The figure simply turned around and stepped through the crashed rubble of the roof. A sword had been holstered on his hip. Luhan swallowed hard upon the information his brain was receiving.

Could this be Prince Sehun? Luhan thought fervently.

There was only one odd thing. Prince Sehun had hair made of gold. This boy’s hair was made of rainbows.

 

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