Son Seungwan didn’t expect anyone to hear her crying and begging. She didn’t expect a sign or a response. After days and nights of visiting the secluded garden, she had given up on the gods. They didn’t listen. They never did. They were completely silent as she shouted, sobbed, and screamed at them. No matter how much she tried, they had refused to listen. But despite it all, she could never bring herself to stop asking. It was the only way she knew how to cope with her miserable reality.  So even if she spoke and prayed, she didn’t expect anything at all. She simply allowed herself to release all her frustrations by crying it away.

Which was why, as her tears rolled down her cheek and dropped into the pond, she didn’t expect the pond to suddenly start glowing. She looked at it in shock, unsure of what to do next. The last time she had seen it glowed was when they had told her of the prophecy of the songbird. As soon as she came to her senses, she quickly got a hold of herself and stood up. Vapor from the pond began to rise and form the figure of a person. She braced herself for the appearance of one of the gods or goddesses.

Instead, she found herself looking at a very familiar figure. The image hadn’t completely taken form yet but Seungwan knew that silhouette anywhere.

“Seulgi?’

The figure turned towards her and as it became clearer and clearer, Seungwan could make out the face of her best friend. Without thinking, Seungwan rushed into the pond in hopes of getting closer to the figure.

“Seungwan?” the figure called out. There was a brief moment of clarity where Seungwan looked at the figure and found the face of her best friend who she had missed dearly. As she found herself staring at Seulgi, she didn’t realize that she had started sobbing until Seulgi was crying as well.

They collided against each other as they wrapped each other in a tight embrace. To Seungwan’s surprise, Seulgi didn’t evaporate into thin air as she thought would happen upon contact with the vapor her figure was made of. But that was all the better for her, she supposed. She could pretend that for a moment, everything was back to normal.

“I missed you,” Seulgi whispered in her ears. Seungwan could hear the sadness in her voice as it cracked when she spoke. “More than you know.”

Seungwan couldn’t bring herself to reply and simply hugged her friend tighter, in an attempt to soothe her and comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be okay now.

When they finally pulled away, Seulgi took a good look at her and gasped.

“You look horrible,” she exclaimed. There was a moment of silence before Seungwan burst out laughing. She took a look at her reflection in the water. Seulgi was right. She hadn’t noticed how much of a toll everything had taken on her. Her cheeks were hollow, her eyebags terribly noticeable, and although her hair was wet, it was easy to see that it was all tangled up.

“You’re right,” Seungwan said. “I guess that I sort of lost track of time. I haven’t really...taken care of my self lately.”

Seulgi gave her a look before she spoke. “How long have you been there?”

“Several months, at most. Why?”

Seungwan watched as Seulgi’s expression changed from shock to realization to concern. There was a sadness that gleamed from her eyes, one that was unrecognizable to Seungwan. It wasn’t surprising, given that her friend had undergone things she probably would never be able to understand.

“How are they?” Seulgi said as she broke through the silence. “Wonwoo, my parents, Yoongi, Hoseok, the kingdom...How are they?”

“It’s been a while since I last saw them,” Seungwan admitted sheepishly. “I’ve been pretty concentrated on Oracle responsibilities ever since you left. But if it brings you any comfort, things have been going well. Wonwoo’s engaged to Sohye and your parents are beyond ecstatic. I don’t know when the wedding is but I suppose it’s soon.”

And just like that, with every word that escaped Seungwan’s mouth, the seconds went by and the night soon became day. Seulgi didn’t notice, however, as she was too engrossed by all the stories Seungwan would tell. The visions of each story were so vivid in her mind. She could almost feel and see Wonwoo and Sohye, happily walking through the gardens. Or Hoseok and Yoongi, who were ferociously fighting the war. She was hooked on every moment, every memory that escaped through words from Seungwan’s mouth. And if she could, she would live in that time forever and ever.

But time is a fickle thing, and the moon, as it always did, said goodbye and the sun, as it always did, said hello. As the sun appeared, Seungwan’s figure in the pond began to waver and Seulgi realized that like the moon, it was her time to say goodbye.

Seungwan had simply given her a small smile, and Seulgi knew that she knew their time was up too. They hugged one last time, neither strong or brave enough to utter the word goodbye. However, as they pulled away from each other, Seulgi found it in her to say some words that might’ve well as been a farewell.

“Take care of yourself. Be happy, for me.”

And as she spoke the words she knew would