Waking up in a quiet house was unusual. Mornings were busy. His mother running around, yelling at Sehun to get him out of bed, dogs begging for food and his father yelling at them, Sehun complaining about everything he was given of work to do and their two youngest sisters yelling at everyone for being too noisy. It was good to be home, but also a relief to know it wasn’t a permanent thing.

When Chanyeol had blinked his eyes open enough to check the time, he almost jumped up from his pillow. It was mid-day already. He listened for any sounds, but it was completely quiet. Everyone were out working, he supposed. Maybe Sehun had told about last night? Of course he had. Chanyeol sighed. What could they be thinking of this?

With a frustrated grunt, he fell back down on his bed. Even if he was an adult, his mother was going to scold him for running in the forest at night. Besides, he had ruined clothes and made a mess at the kitchen. They were probably waiting for him to wake up from the intoxicated state he had been in the night before.

Right now everything felt like a swirl of memories mixing together with facts from his books and stories told when he was a kid. It was hard to make out what was real and what was not. Everything was blurry, except from sore muscles and stinging cuts. They were very much real feelings and testified how he indeed had been out running.

Being yelled at was not on his list for today though. Instead of waiting around for his parents, he packed a backpack, filled it with blankets, a lamp, drinks and food. He watched his books in the shelf for a good minute, but then grabbed as many as he could fit in his bag. He was going to stick to his plan. One last visit to the pond, and then the books would be gone. His final closure of this case. He had to move on, to grow up.

Carefully so that no one would notice him, he slid out the kitchen door and disappeared between buildings and trees. On the top of a hill, hid by shadows of large pine trees along the forest edge, he had his first stop. From his spot Chanyeol had a perfect view over the Byun-farm, and like expected, people were out working on the fields.

Soon his eyes fell on a familiar shape, a girl with golden wavy hair and fluttering skirts. Boys surrounded her and he spotted his brother as well. Chanyeol had a vague feeling of a promise given during the night. A lie told to get him to shut up and go to bed.

Even though Astrid seemed quite normal in daylight, something itched at the thought of her name. He didn’t trust her, and if she had been out there for real, if she was the hulder people told about, then she was dangerous.

No one would believe him, he knew. A hulder never showed her tail to humans, not unless her intentions were to lure him under and bring him back to her cave. That part scared him even more than Sehun meeting up with her in daylight. The more Chanyeol thought about it, the more he felt sure about having seen a tail in the moonlight the night before.

That’s why a last time decision had been to tuck a bible into the backpack as well. People of the underworld didn’t go to church and maybe it could protect him in any way, the way garlic protected you against vampires. Chanyeol rubbed his temple with his fingers, annoyed by his own stupid behaviour. He wasn’t supposed to believe in these stories, but at this point he didn’t trust anything or anyone.

When bored of watching working people out on the fields, he grabbed his stuff and let the forest swallow his silhouette, ducked under low branches, stayed out of the main path to avoid walking into anyone.

The rest of this nice summer’s day, he spent in the grass by the pond. Chanyeol felt prepared this time, had his books, a small lantern to light up the darkness and a blanket to keep him warm. He was here for the very last time and he was going to say goodbye. No one was going to scare him away, no running, no hallucinating or what the hell had been going on.

On the sky patterns made by white clouds changed as the sun travelled from south to west. Memories of a happy childhood flooded his mind and he welcomed it. Tonight he wasn’t going to push aside a single memory.

When he felt ready, he was going to throw away his books. Watch them float on the surface until soaked in muddy water and heavy enough to sink to the bottom and out of his life. When summer was over he was starting his career as a lawyer, he couldn’t bring this past with him. Tonight was the end, and the new beginning.

“You came back”

Chanyeol had drifted off to sleep for a moment and a melodious voice softly tickled his ears and made him open his eyes. Her smile was blinding as the lilies, her voice dancing over the water. His heart race doubled. It hadn’t been a dream after all.

On reflex he grabbed his lamp and his hands tightened around the handle. He still had no proof, he had to let her explain some more.

A white dress was floating around her bare feet and she didn’t even try to hide it, Chanyeol’s eyes drawn to the golden bundle of hair sticking out under her skirt.  As she sat down, facing Chanyeol, she draped her tail over her thighs.

For a while they sat like that, Astrid threading her fingers through the soft hair in her lap, a beautiful and unfamiliar melody filling the air around them.

“You’re not getting to me! I won’t let you spellbind me with your voice and lies about him”

Chanyeol couldn’t take his eyes of her. Partly because she clearly was trying to pull him under her spell with her song, partly because he didn’t dare take his eyes off her. He was going to watch out for that tail, not giving her the chance to touch him.

“Have you made up your mind? Do you want to meet him again?”

Her voice was like feathers tickling his brain. He had to stay strong, keep focused. To have something to do he pulled out a book and threw it into the water.

“I’m leaving soon. I just had to finish this chapter”

With his eyes glued on the fury thing resting on her white skirt, he pulled out another book and let it follow the first one with a loud splash. Without looking, he knew it made rings spread on the surface.

“I was afraid you’d run again, that you didn’t believe me” Her voice just as soft, but with a sadness to it too.

“What is it to believe? I know what you are. I know what you do. Don’t use his name to lure me under” Anger started to simmer. She wasn’t giving up and either was he.

Astrid slowly stood up and sighed quietly. “That’s why I let him come along tonight anyway. Remind him he owes me”. With those words she turned around and dissolved in the fog between the trees.

Sounds of dry twigs breaking behind his back made him jump to his feet, still clutching the light in his hands, eyes trying to make sense of the shadow he could barely see between the old birches.

Chanyeol backed away from the shadow until he realized the pond was a step away. A young man with blonde hair blocked the way in front of him.

“Chanyeol?”

The voice gave him chills. Every single hair on his body stood up, made him shiver bodily.

“Please don’t run” The boy was begging, his voice soft but sad.

Chanyeol grabbed his backpack, let his hand search for the bible while he held his eyes on the boy. “Don’t come near me!” He waved the small book in front of him, a weapon not useful for anything besides killing a couple of mosquitos.

“It’s okay, I’ll sit over here.” The boy slowly sat down, chin pushed against his chest and gaze on the ground.

“Who are you? Are you her?” Chanyeol’s first instinct had been to run, but he felt frozen in his spot, eyes glued on the small boy seated in front of him.

“You know who I am”

The blonde boy lifted his head and opened his eyes, let the taller see his ice blue gaze and warm smile. Chanyeol swallowed. It couldn’t be… Not a chance.

“Are you… are you his ghost?”

A familiar laughter filled the air, sneaked into his bones and made his blood bubble. It was the most beautiful laughter he knew, a laughter he hadn’t heard in ten years.

“Sit down, Chanyeol. Please. I just want to talk. I’ve missed you so much”

“Where have you been? Why are you here?” Making sure there were enough space between them, he lowered the lamp and sat down on his blanket. He felt his heart racing too fast, but he wasn’t going to run.

“Aaah… It’s not that easy. Well, I’m here to see you. And ten years is already too long.” A sad, yet familiar, pout on his face almost made Chanyeol believe him, almost. “I’m so sorry I left like I did. It wasn’t my choice. I was going to wait until autumn, but then they just grabbed me and brought me over. I guess I had avoided them for too long already.” He laughed a little at his own words.

“Who are /they/?”

“My people”

Sure, that made everything clear. Now everything made sense. No, it didn’t. Nothing in the entire world made sense anymore. Not Astrid, not this Baekhyun-like guy, not the past, not today, nothing. Nevertheless, he still couldn’t move away.

I felt like this guy, looking a bit too much like Baekhyun, was waiting for further questions. There were something calmly seen in his eyes, no hurry, Chanyeol took his time studying the other from top to toe. He was dressed like a normal human being, nothing smelled of magic or fairy tales. He really looked a lot like you could guess a 25-year old Baekhyun would look like.

Chanyeol searched for answers, an unknown number of questions rolled on his tongue, almost reaching the tip of it. They rolled back, one after another. One part of him wanted nothing more than to scoop closer and give the boy a hug. Another part, probably his brain, made him curl up on the blanket, arms closed tightly around his knees.

In one way it was a comfortable silence, gave him time to take in and proceed what was going on. Little by little, he felt his body relax more too. The blond boy seemed unfazed by the wall Chanyeol had put up in front of him, and calmly hummed to a melody. Chanyeol knew that voice. He had listened to it so many times. It was a bit darker, more mature, but he couldn’t be that wrong.

“Do you mind if I ask you something?” Chanyeol cleared his voice and waited. The boy looked up with the brightest smile on his face. “I never thought you were going to ask. Go on, ask me anything.”

“I guess I’m having a hard time believing you are…. You know….him?” It came out like a question, Chanyeol not yet ready to use his name. The questions he wanted to ask were questions only Baekhyun could know the answer too. About school, his cat, Sehun’s first kiss, moles on his back, favourite food and many, many more.

The boy, the one who started to feel more and more like his best friend, patiently answered every one of them. Some of them made them roll over from laugher, some of them left them quiet for minutes.

At one point their roles had been reversed. Suddenly it was Chanyeol who answered questions. Him who told about his parents, about staying in the city, about law school. They were being two friends catching up on the past, getting to know each other again.

“Okay, I have one final question” Chanyeol looked down on the hands that played with his. Elegant, soft fingers drawing patterns on his skin, the small mole on the left thumb.

“Mhm, go on”

“How did I get my first kiss?”

This was a question only Baekhyun would know the answer to. No one, not even Sehun, knew about that kiss. Tentatively he lifted his head to try read the others face. The spark of silver in the other’s eyes made him shiver. He had seen that spark before.

“Like this”

Baekhyun pushed Chanyeol over, hoovered over him with one hand on each side of his head and pushed their lips together. It was everything Chanyeol ever needed. It answered every question he had ever tried to answer over the years. It was impossible not to kiss back.

Taking advantage of his bigger body, he rolled them around in the grass, trapped Baekhyun under him, let his hands travel to the soft skin on his neck and cheeks. Lost in the moment he never noticed the soft tail curling around his waist, holding him close.

When they parted and sat up next to each other, Chanyeol knew he had found what he had been searching. He had finally found his best friend, the one he loved the most. He was here, he was alive, all flesh and blood and beautiful laughter. He didn’t know what their relationship would be like, but he was never letting go of his friend, ever again.

“Astrid told me you was leaving soon. It’s late. Where are you going to?” The smaller boy was looking up into the talker’s dark eyes, his delicate hands wrapped around Chanyeol’s larger fingers.

“I’m not going anywhere without you. I Can’t lose you again!”

“Then don’t. Come with me.”

Baekhyun stood up, let the fluffy end of his tail brush over Chanyeol’s bare skin on his arm as he took a step backwards.

“People think you are dead, have been for 10 years. How to explain?”

“You don’t.”

Baekhyun smiled his biggest blinding smile, the one brighter than the moon. Then he slowly turned around facing the pond. He held his hand out for Chanyeol to take.

“Come” With one word he dived into the pond.

A primal scream left Chanyeol’s throat, Baekhyun’s name echoing between the trees. He watched the rings in the water grow bigger for a moment. No! This was not history repeating itself. Baekhyun was not disappearing again. Not like this. He kicked off his shoes, took a deep breath and dived in too.