two.
the dog days of summer (1)

"These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after."
— Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting

They were just kids back then, very reckless and always happy, and with no understanding of their own mortality. They did not yet understand death, but they would when they were a little older.

"Hey, Jae? Take your little brothers with you, would you?'

Jae paused in the middle of the doorway, one foot already out the door. He studied the aglets of his shoelaces almost religiously before retracting his foot and turning around. His mother was standing in the foyer of their humble little home, and she looked tired but she was still beautiful. Her hair was hastily tied into a bun, but even in their disorder, the stray strands fell gracefully. A basket overflowing with dirty laundry was resting on her hip. She was still fairly young, not even forty years old, but her face was pinched from lack of sleep. And Jae was only ten years old but he knew that she had sacrificed a lot so that they could live in their humble little home, and he loved her very much. He could hear his little brothers romping around upstairs.

"Mommy, I want to play with my friends today."

Jae was a good boy. He didn't ask for much and he never made a fuss about anything, so it was rare for him to actually want something—to say he wanted something. Mrs. Shin kept the solemn face of a stern mother in front of her son, but on the inside, she was starting to choke up. Jae was such a good boy. But what ten-year-old boy already knew how to hold back from his own childish desires? There were so many days when he had to stay at home and watch his younger siblings while she was at work, but sometimes it was just so convenient. It was so convenient for her to allow him to hold back, to sacrifice his own wants, because some days she would be so tired and the thought of not having to tuck in her own children into bed for once was ripe like a forbidden fruit. And sometimes, she bit into that fruit.

"Your brothers can play with your friends too, can't they?" Jae thought she sounded very tired.

She saw in his eyes how he almost relented, but then a fire sparked in them and he looked up at her in such an earnest and reverent way that it made her feel guilty for testing him.

"I want to play with just my friends today, Mommy."

Something stirred inside Jae that day. Perhaps it was the oppressive heat, seeping through the cracks of the windows and making everything sticky despite every fan in the house set on high—all the houses in Damyang were too old to have central air, except for the newly renovated homes owned by the Town Council members—but Jae felt feverish. Everything around him seemed to take on the sickly yellow sheen that coats the sky before a huge storm. Something was going to happen today. And whatever it was, all he knew was that it was absolutely necessary that it happened while he was with his friends.

Short stills of their faces raced around in his mind, and he recalled each and every one of them, how lovely they were. How much he loved them. He was standing in the doorway to his humble little home, the sun creating a halo of light around his boyish haircut, and his mother set her laundry basket on the floor and crouched down to hold him tight.

In her embrace, Jae felt his mother tremble. He was not yet old enough to understand that adults could also feel fear, especially one of his own parents. But this emotion from his mother that he could not yet name made him nervous like he was about to do something very, very wrong. Mrs. Shin held him a few moments longer. Even though she did not understand why she must hold him tight, she felt it was necessary. She felt that her son was leaving her. Not in the physical sense (although he would leave out the front door soon because she would let him), but in the sense that he was changing already. He was only ten years old and he was already changing from a boy to something else (not yet a man, but not a boy, either; something in-between that was horrible and that no boy should become at ten years old). But she dismissed the thought quickly because it was silly. Jae was a good boy. He always came home before it got dark.

"Alright, Jae. You go on ahead and play with your friends," she said, but she was still holding him.

"Thanks, Mommy." Jae hugged her back, but then he recalled the faces of his friends and wriggled out of her grasp.

Once again, he had one foot out the door, and his mother stopped him. She grabbed his arm, and he turned around to look at her, to see in her eyes just how much she loved him.

"Would you help me tuck your brothers into bed when you get back?"

She felt selfish asking him to do something so simple, something she could have done herself. It was a weekend, after all, so she did not have work the next day. Jae usually only tucked his brothers into bed when she was working. But that little fear inside of her started to grow again as soon as she let him go, and she needed an excuse, anything to bind him to her again. A request. A promise.

"Of course, Mommy. I'll be back before their bedtime."

And then he left for real this time, no longer able to entertain her. The door squealed on its hinges and shut noisily behind him, and Mrs. Shin suddenly felt very alone. She would die in a car accident six years later.

They were waiting for him by the riverbank. The sunlight reflecting off of the water temporarily blinded him, leaving sparkling patterns behind his eyelids. A warm orange glow swam across his vision and for now, he could only hear his friends, how they quietly fit themselves into the ancient landscape of the forest. Their voices were soft amidst the vastness of the trees towering above them, perhaps out of reverence or maybe fear, and the light splashes of displaced water had him guessing that someone was already playing in the river. It was probably Hye, always desperate to escape the summer's oppressive heat, and maybe Jin, because she always made sure she was close by. And then he held his hand up to his forehead and his friends were revealed to him.

Hye was already waist-deep in the murky water, standing there like they were about to be baptized as they languidly moved their hands back and forth through the gentle current. Meanwhile, Jin was kneeling at the edge of the water and trying to splash the others. She got a bit on Ann and he responded by dumping the largest rock he could find into the river, creating a torrent of water that ended up raining on all of them except for Mana, who was basking under the sun on a nearby rock. She didn't even bat an eyelash while the rest of them screamed themselves silly. Their joyful shouts echoed through the trees and Jae could hear their voices all around him, like an embrace in the form of a song.

When Jae emerged from the treeline, none of them had to say anything. An empty spot among them naturally opened up for him, and he settled into it with great care, suddenly feeling right again. All of them got along with each other well enough, but only when they were all together did everything click into place.

Eventually, they all ended up in the water.

Ann led them along the river, egging them on, and by then all of them were paddling in water that kissed them up to their necks. Their toes brushed against the rocky bottom if they let themselves sink for a few seconds. Jae was a weak swimmer, but none of them were particularly worried. When they were all together they thought themselves unstoppable. Ann and Jin, the strongest of the five, held Jae by each of his arms, keeping him afloat. He felt weightless in their grips. They had no fear of drowning because they did not know it. The water was gentle and the wind kind, and the current bobbed them along like a child's rubber duckies in the bath.

And then something latched onto Ann's ankle.

"Woah!" he yelled, his voice ringing out among the trees and chasing birds from their nests. And then he went under.

Mana was the first to notice, but she was so shocked that she couldn't find the words to inform anyone. Instead, morphed into a huge O, her eyes as wide as saucers and a brief whoosh of air escaping from her. Like dominos, the attention of the rest followed: Hye was next because they always made sure to keep an eye out for everyone, even though they were not sure they would even be able to do anything; then Jin, because she felt Jae jerk himself from her grasp, and Jae last. He would have been the first to notice if he weren't so worried about drowning. Ann tried to grab onto Jae as he was pulled beneath the water but whatever was holding onto him was stronger, and the force of this thing pulled Ann from Jae and Jae from Jin in one fell swoop.

"Ithinksomethingpulledhimunder," Mana burst, forcing all of her words out in one go. She knew if she talked any slower the words would never come.

Their lazy afternoon burst into chaos.

Jin started to scream in panic. Her hands felt empty, her grip on Jae's wrist nothing but a ghost. She kicked at the water below her, suddenly hyper-aware of the current rushing below her feet and imagining some sort of slimy creature lurking in the depths, ready to eat her whole. Mana, perhaps tired out from speaking so many words at once, had gone limp, and nothing but the air held in her lungs kept her afloat. She thought maybe if she kept completely still, whatever was happening would pass. The shock had pushed all logic out of her mind. All she could rely on was her learned instinct of freezing.

Meanwhile, Hye had scrambled after the first trace of movement they spotted. They dove head-first into the water, their eyes squeezed shut and their hands reaching around blindly. They were scared and couldn't bring themselves to open their eyes. And they knew it was stupid but they wanted to at least do something.

The current which had seemed so gentle before now roared in their ears underwater. Hye was starting to get light-headed from holding their breath, but they were stubborn. They were not going to come up for air until they grabbed onto something. Where did Ann go? Was Jae okay?

And then Hye grabbed onto something.

It felt like someone's arm but some primal part of their psyche immediately registered it as something not human. Hye jerked backward as if just burned, but whatever it was grabbed them back. Spindly fingers gripped at their forearm and their blood turned to ice. It was pulling Hye now, down, down, down—was the river always this deep?—and finally, finally, Hye opened their eyes.

But the water was too murky, and all they saw was green.

Hye's chest felt like it was going to burst any second now. A jolt of panic raced down their spine and a tiny thought at the back of their head threatened to break through. Was this death? Was Hye going to die in the deep dark green of this murky water?

Not if they could help it.

Hye's body knew what needed to be done; Hye did not know death at ten years old, but the body knew of death since before it was born, had known what to do in case the situation ever arose, and every neuron fired off in Hye's brain, saying don't die don't die don't die! and suddenly they were granted superhuman strength. They were going to be so sore tomorrow because their little body was not used to exerting such force. But for now, all Hye could think of was survival, and their muscles tensed and they kicked for their life.

Whatever was holding onto Hye finally let go, but not before gouging out the delicate flesh of their arms, leaving a gory memory to reflect upon later, but Hye could not even register the pain. All they could think of was breaking through the surface of the water and breathing in the sweet air.

Now human hands were clutching at Hye's arms, pulling and pulling and pulling, and they tumbled into someone's embrace. It was Ann. Ironic that the person Hye was trying to save ended up saving them instead, but they were both safe now. That was enough. Jae was clutching at the both of them, too, coughing up a lung, but at least he was no longer underwater.

They all scrambled toward the riverbank, panting. For a few moments, no one could say anything. Then Jin burst out crying.

"What the heck was that?" she wailed, holding herself and rocking back and forth.

Hye tried to make their way over to the sobbing girl, but whatever she saw made her cry even harder.

"Woah, Hye, you're bleeding!" Jae exclaimed.

"Huh? Oh...it scratched me."

"What scratched you? What was that?" Ann yelled, his voice bordering onto hysteria. He knew whatever had pulled him under was strong, but the angry red streaks on Hye's arm just solidified that thought and made him queasy. Meanwhile, Jae got up from his spot by the riverbank and gently held Hye's hands in his own.

"Does it hurt?" he asked softly, feeling like he had failed them somehow. His eyes were dark like the murky water they had almost drowned in. Hye could not breathe for a moment. Their fingers twitched under his feather-light touch, and they shook their head. It really did not hurt, despite how brutal the scratches looked. Hye suspected their brain was just mercifully blocking the pain signals because they would not be able to handle it otherwise. When they got home their mother would throw a fit and then it would start to hurt, very badly and almost unbearable.

Mana suddenly said, "Is it still in the water?"

And what if it comes out of the water? That got all five of them running.

The group's panicked meandering led them deeper into the forest, until they were approaching the area near the shrine. Children were not allowed to go there. The traumatic incident at the river was suddenly forgotten, their pain fleeting, as they entered the forbidden territory. Suddenly the children were more interested in breaking the rules than processing what had just happened. The thrill of trespassing through the sacred ground in a town where nothing ever happened was much easier for their little brains to make sense of.

"Maybe if we pray to the god of this shrine, that thing will go away," Mana suddenly said.

Hye gazed at the shrine in the distance thoughtfully. The red beams holding up its arched roof reminded them of the color of blood.

"I don't know if praying will make something like that go away," Ann spat out, still very freaked out by what had just happened. Ever since his parents sought out work in the city to cover their increased living expenses (their landlord had just raised rent in response to "country-wide inflation," whatever that means), he stopped believing in any kind of god that could fix his problems. Ever since his little sister came home crying, saying that her classmates called her poor, saying that their parents had abandoned them, saying that their parents had gotten sick of them, Jae stopped believing in god. If praying would make this stupid god give him more money, then why was he the one supposed to offer money to the stupid guy? The whole thing just did not make sense to him.

"Hey guys, look!" Jin suddenly cried out in surprise, one hand clutching Hye's uninjured arm and the other pointing at something a few meters away. "There's something over there."

"I think it's a cave," Jae responded as they got a bit closer.

So, there was a strange creature hidden in the depths of the river. Surely there would not be anything suspicious hiding in a cave. (Their childish curiosity seemed to have wiped their memories.)

They approached the mouth of the cave.

author's notes; 01.14.2022

Wow, ok, hi...I'm still alive! I don't know if anybody is still around but I do really like this story and have always wanted to finish it. I'll try my best.

I hope you and your loved ones are all safe and healthy. We're already halfway through the first month, but happy new year! Hope you're all doing ok. Also, I'm sorry to end this chapter on a cliffhanger........ I've got the next chapter drafted already, so hopefully the wait isn't disgustingly long like this one was...bye for now! (^_−)☆