Let's all clap for Cori who actually posted on the right day this week. 

Moon ByulYi - 7. Byul let her finger trace the rough surface of the grey brick where her name was engraved. To the right of her name was her candle holder, caked with wax from the previous memorial ceremonies. Song JiHye - 28. Her mother’s name was crafted beautifully above hers. The names were laid out in columns, it went alphabetically by last name, but each family was grouped together, so they could be laid to rest beside each other. Moon DaeJin - 32. It had been too long since she even thought about her father’s name, both of their names had remained hidden with in her mind, buried there with her thoughts of this place. 

Byul’s eyes could not focus through the tears that lined her eyes, she was glad she was facing the wall, and that she was clearly not the only person crying. Sobs echoed off the grand brick wall from too many people, as if they had just lost their loved ones days ago not years. Byul knew YongSun was beside her, pretending not to notice as she cried. Krystal was also nearby, but further than YongSun because Byul asked her to give her some space to mourn her family. The moment YongSun tried to step away, Byul stopped her and told her it was okay to stay close, earning a sour look from Krystal. 

Byul’s mind kept wanting to flash back to the memories of her parents she had, so many happy memories, but everything was being clouded by her last memory of her mother. Over and over again she watched the man grab her mother, fight with her, and kill her. A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped, her own hand going for their throat. When she recognized the eyes of the person, her hand faltered and she managed to stop herself before she hurt YongSun. “Sorry,” She said, voice husky. She took a few breaths.

YongSun hesitated. “I’m sorry, I was calling you.” 

Byul nodded her head. “Yeah I was thinking about my mother.” YongSun’s eyes clouded, Byul kept forgetting that YongSun had seen the memory she was thinking of. Byul still wasn’t sure what to think about that, but at least it was another person who knew what was going through her mind. “I think I need to go for a walk.” She rubbed her hands over her face. 

YongSun touched her shoulder lightly. “Would you like some company?” Byul hesitated for a moment.

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to be alone, her first choice for company would be TaeOh because they had been together that day, meaning there would really be nothing for them to say they could just walk in silence. But YongSun had seen her memories, there should be nothing to explain to her, and yet she felt the urge to explain everything to her. Byul finally shook her own mind clean. “I’d love some company.” YongSun gave her a nit of a smile as they began walking side by side. 

Byul’s eye caught a flash of TaeOh standing with his mother at his family’s section of the wall. She tried to catch his eye to let him know she was going for a walk but like how she just was, he was standing there looking at the wall. She decided to leave him to mourn his father and just take a walk with YongSun.

Byul knew where she was going, obviously, she had grown up in the village, but she had a very specific place in mind to walk to and now that everyone was busy staring at the wall, no one noticed her and YongSun walk out. Well, almost no one. A few feet from the edge of the woods, Byul heard footsteps shuffle behind them as they walked, she didn’t have to turn to know it was Krystal. Byul held out a hand to stop YongSun from walking. “Krystal,” The footsteps halted as if shocked they were caught. “I know it is your job, but can you please just go find something else to do for like fifteen minutes?” She turned to look at the girl. “I really do not want an audience.” 

She saw Krystal’s eyes shift to YongSun and harden, but when she saw the look in Byul’s eyes, they softened again. “Fifteen minutes, I can’t give you more or I will get in trouble.” 

Byul gave a hard nod. “Thank you, we will be quick and meet you back here.” She started off again, this time Krystal did not follow them. 

The woods had not changed at all since she had seen them last. Of course, they had grown since the last time she had seen them, but so had she. She could not resist running her hands over the grooves of the bark of a nearby tree, feeling the familiarity of home, she grew up in these woods, she learned so much about nature from these trees. Byul took a large breath in, she was on a time limit. She walked away from the tree. YongSun remained silent the entire time they walked through the forest, as if she was being there for Byul but knowing to let her work through her thoughts and feelings on her own, she appreciated it but felt bad that she asked her along to do nothing but follow her through the woods. 

Through the next trees she found what she was looking for. Over the years it had reverted back to something of the forest. Three wooden planks made up the sides of her and TaeOh’s old hide out, one of the walls had fallen a bit, it had been engulfed by moss and vines but other than that remained untouched. Byul stepped up to it, she kneeled down to the entrance to it, just a small piece of cloth, which was worn away from the years. She pulled it back to look inside, it looked like animals had made it their home, there was no way she could fit in it now, it barely fit the two small children who used to play in it. “It looked bigger in the memory.” YongSun’s voice broke the silence, startling Byul a little bit. She was standing a foot behind Byul. “But I suppose that is because you were seven the last time you were here.” 

Byul cast her a look, she stood there looking awkward, as if she wasn’t even sure why Byul asked her along, something Byul wasn’t sure of herself, she just really didn’t want to be alone. “We built it ourselves, we used to pretend we were nomads who lived off the land.” She laughed a little bit. “And then that actually happened.” She stood again, allowing the curtain to close on her past. “I always felt more at home in the forest, we used to sleep out here all the time under the stars. Even all those years we lived out in the woods, I always felt at home.” She looked around the trees. “I never wanted to remember this home.” She heard her voice crack over her words, the hot feeling of tears rising behind her eyes. “I used to pretend it wasn’t real, that it was a dream.”

 She felt her body shaking. “Even when TaeOh and I used to play Remember Remember, it used to feel like we were trying to remember an old dream, because that is what it was to us, a dream.” She knew she was crying now, she had been holding the wave back since she stepped foot in the village, not wanting it to be a real thing, wanting to keep it a dream. “It was as if like was a magically dream that turned into a nightmare that day, and the warm cloud of safety vanished from our eyes and we were forced to see the world for what it really was.” 

Byul wasn’t prepared for YongSun to step forward and fold her into her arms. She pressed Byul’s head onto her shoulder, Byul felt her whole body erupt in hard sobs, so hard it was hard for her to breathe. YongSun just held her as she allowed all the feelings she had been bottling up for the last fifteen years pour out of her. 

When the well of tears seemed to run dry YongSun continued to hold her, she swayed a little bit, arms wrapped tightly around her as she began to in breath between dry sobs. “It is okay to be sad Byul, it is okay to miss your old life, it is okay to not be strong.” Byul felt tears rise again. “If you ever need somewhere to be you, I will always be there.” Byul felt YongSun’s hands start to warm on her back, she wondered if YongSun was close to shooting off her powers into the nearest tree, setting it ablaze. Instead the warmth spread through Byul’s body, like the warmth of a fire on a cold night, spreading into every inch of her veins, like it was healing her soul. 

Byul took one last long shuddering breath before she pulled herself out of YongSun’s warm embrace. She looked into the girl’s soft eyes and managed to smile at her. “Thank you YongSun-Ah, I could not have made it through all of this without you.” 

YongSun lifted her hand to wipe a stray tear from Byul’s eye. “Nor I without you, not after the death of my father, the journey to the Knight, all of the Solarious stuff, none of it. If I didn’t have you I would have given up so long ago, you give me a strength I never knew I had.” 

Byul’s heart picked up pace, her face started heating at the words. Her eyes softened and she felt her body lean in closer to YongSun, she was sure she was doing the same. A sharp whistle cut through the air, both girls jumped apart. Byul’s warmth turned to annoyance fast. “That would be Krystal telling us our time is running out.” Her eyes shot a glare in the direction of the sound, hoping Krystal could feel it. “I need to do one more thing before we go.” Byul reluctantly stepped another few feet from YongSun, but she was right behind her as she moved to a nearby tree. 

It was an old oak tree, one of the reasons she picked it was because it was the biggest one around so it would be easy to find, but also because oak was her mother’s favourite type of tree, she used to