Earth

            Oh Sehun was eleven years old when the darkness came. It crept up on him like a shadow at dusk. Only this one didn’t leave. It turned his sky, his ground, and all his world into a murky grey. As he grew older, Sehun forgot what colors looked like. He forgot about sunshine, and moonshine, and star shine. And he knew, that one day, he’d forget about himself too. That would be the day he’d be swallowed up in darkness.

Aether

            It was always bright up in the clouds, and that was mostly Baekhyun’s doing. Even at night, he’d allow the moon and the stars to shine like diamonds. Every morning he’d sprinkle sunshine over the tops of clouds, he’d lace the sun’s rays in gold and he’d allow them to wash the newly awakened earth in delicate light. Then he’d make his way down from the sun back to the council room on Aether, where every day the guardians would hold a meeting. Some days the meetings were nothing more than an excuse for Junmyeon, keeper of the seas and rain, to nag Baekhyun for making the moon too bright some nights. You have to stick to the moon cycle, Baekhyun. We made it for a reason, he’d say. And Baekhyun would just nod and promise to do better next time. Other days, the meetings were urgent. There would be a problem that needed to be fixed, and Junmyeon would appoint those capable to fix it. Today was one of those days. When Baekhyun entered the grand council room, everyone else was silent and seated. Baekhyun was usually the last to arrive due to his job of changing out the moon and sun, and on normal days when he would enter the room, everyone would be talking. Chanyeol would be arguing with Minseok about how he could make a fire so ruthless it would melt every single one of Minseok’s frost storms before they even left the clouds. Junmyeon, and Jongdae would be working on the next thunderstorm. Lightning and rain always fit so well together. The room would be bursting with magic. Today though, there was no talking. No fire and ice, no brewing storms. Just silence. And as Baekhyun made his way to his seat, everyone’s eyes followed. Before he could inquire about the day’s meeting to Jongin, Junmyeon made his way into the room. His face was full of concern as he stood in front of the group of guardians, and when he parted his lips to speak, his eyes met Baekhyun’s, “There’s a problem on earth.”

Earth

            Sehun’s Monday was like every other Monday in the history of Mondays. He got up at 7:30 sharp, brushed his teeth, made a hearty breakfast of Frosted Flakes, and left for school. Only, today, he didn’t go to class. He rode the train longer than usual, passed his usual stop, and got off at the stop right across from the city’s Botanical Garden. The day was rainy and grey, not very different from all the days Sehun had been living recently, and the garden was empty. The emptiness was fine with him. It was the reason he came here. This was the place he could run to when he needed to think or, at times, to not think at all. Here he didn’t have to answer to anyone. He didn’t have to keep up reputations or expectations. He didn’t have to wish to be someone else or be somewhere else. In the garden time stopped, and that’s all Sehun really wanted.

            The truth was, Sehun wasn’t happy with himself. He lived in a great apartment, went to a great school in a great city, had great friends and a family that supported it all, so why wasn’t he happy with it? He had no reason not to be. But instead of studying and learning and experiencing, here he was, sitting in a garden letting time pass him by. Letting the world go on around him and not even attempting to join it.  It had been like this for as long as he could remember. When he was a child he excelled in everything he did. His parents praised him endlessly and offered him more opportunities to succeed. But after every time he did, he was never happy with himself. Something was missing. Something left him a long time ago, he just didn’t know what and he didn’t know why. It left him with a hole that kept getting bigger and bigger as he grew and he didn’t know how to stop it. There was always just too much. Too much he had to be, too much he had to do, too much he knew he wouldn’t be able to reach but had to try anyway. The only thing that gave him any sort of solace was slipping away for a bit. So that’s what he did. A couple Mondays a month, Sehun would slip away to the garden and wish he could disappear for real.  Here in the garden, he didn’t have to be anything, and that’s all Sehun really wanted.

Aether

            “You all know very well that we can’t let things on earth get off balanced,” Junmyeon walked around the table of guardians as he spoke. “And if something threatens to throw off that balance, it is our job to fix it.” He was clearly very worried, and his nervousness was starting to rub off on everyone else. Everyone’s eyes were looking down at the table, and from the corner of his eye, Baekhyun could see Jongin nervously rubbing his hands together.

            “What’s happened?” Kyungsoo was the first to speak. As the guardian of strength and land, he always faced problems upfront and with a clear head. Kyungsoo was practical and dependable, just like the ground that nations were built upon.

            “Someone on earth is losing their light.” Junmyeon’s eyes were on Baekhyun again, and the moment the words left his lips, so were everyone else’s. “Baekhyun, we can speak about this matter after the meeting.”

            This was a first for Baekhyun. Problems on earth were usually elemental. Not enough rain, too many forest fires, ice caps melting, tropical storms. Problems that the elemental guardians could fix. Chanyeol, Minseok, Kyungsoo and Junmyeon were accustomed with restoring balance. Baekhyun, not so much. As the guardian of light, Baekhyun’s only real worry was raising the moon and sun at the proper times each day. When the world was new, before humanity grew, this was Baekhyun’s only duty. But as the world developed, as things evolved, as humanity thrived, his duties got more and more complex. Light wasn’t just celestial anymore. It had become anthropic too.

            After discussing other tiny things gone amiss on earth, Junmyeon ended the meeting and let everyone go about their daily tasks. Everyone except Baekhyun, that is. Before getting out of his seat to meet with Junmyeon, Baekhyun looked over at Jongin who gave him a small smile and a thumbs up. Jongin, the guardian of travel, always needed to be somewhere watching over something or someone. He was Baekhyun’s best friend and although their realms of rule never really intertwined, Jongin was always the first person to help Baekhyun with anything, “Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle. You are a god after all.”

            After the council room was cleared, Junmyeon sat at the head of the table, and motioned for Baekhyun to take the seat next to him. He placed a file on the table and slid it over to Baekhyun, “This is everything you need to know about the person you’ll be helping.”

            Baekhyun opened up the folder and flipped through it’s contents. From what he read, the person in question is named Oh Sehun, he’s 23 years old, and he’s a university student. The file contained every piece of Sehun’s life. From birth up until now, and as he grew the file would too. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to Baekhyun. He was born as every other human was, and he grew as every other child did. The only thing that stuck out to him were the color of the pages. From birth Sehun’s pages were a brilliant white, crisp and new, and full of opportunities for color to emerge. But once Sehun hit eleven years old, something changed. Where other humans had greens for health, reds for love, and yellows for happiness splashed across their pages, Sehun only had one color. Grey. From eleven years old onwards, Sehun’s pages were inked with grey, each page getting darker and darker as the years continued. Confused, Baekhyun looked at Junmyeon, waiting for any answer the leader could give him.

            “Soon, his pages will be so dark the words on them won’t be visible.” Junmyeon slid the file back from Baekhyun and tucked it away. “He’s losing his light, Baekhyun.”

            “He seems very sick.” Baekhyun’s voice was weary. He was still very much confused. “Shouldn’t this be a job for Yixing?”

            “Yixing can heal war-torn countries and regrow forests after a fire, but this is different. Yixing can heal physical things. He can bring health to material things. Sickness of the heart and mind, that’s all you Baekhyun.”

            Baekhyun’s stomach rolled. This was something he never expected to happen. Something he didn’t even know could happen, “I – I don’t understand. How am I supposed to help him?”

            “Happiness, sadness, good, and evil, there is light and dark within everyone Baekhyun. Humans are usually good at keeping this balance themselves with things like support systems of families and friends or things like art and music and literature, but sometimes there are people who, no matter how hard they try, can’t get better. Their darkness is too strong and that’s when problems occur. Problems we have to fix.”

            Baekhyun nods and Junmyeon continues, “I’m trying to stop it before it gets too big. I’m trying to help him before he becomes unreachable. Darkness brings one of two things, Baekhyun. Pain to others or pain to oneself.”

            “I understand what you’re saying,” Baekhyun feels uneasy. This is all so sudden. “But I still don’t know how I’m supposed to help him.”

            Junmyeon stood from his seat now, and handed the file back to Baekhyun, “You have to help him find light again. Help him restore the balance within himself. Show him that there is still good within him. Bring that light out.”

            Baekhyun nodded. This was bigger than he ever imagined. Raising the sun and moon seemed so simple compared to this.

            Placing a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, Junmyeon assigned him with a mission, “I’m sending you to earth to restore the balance of light and dark within Oh Sehun.”