[CONTENTID1] Peter Pan [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] “It is humiliating to have to confess that this conceit of Peter was one of his most fascinating qualities. To put it with brutal frankness, there never was a cockier boy.”― J.M.Barrie, Peter Pan [/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3] Suji found herself under the familiar roof of her old country house. It belonged to her grandparents before they passed away, and Taeyeon sold it to move to the big city. She saw the little five-year-old-girl hunkered on the front porch while rain dribbled from the dark, angry skies. The girl cried, and cried, loud and wild. She screamed her misfortune at the heavens. Pudgy, little hands rubbed her eyes with jittering vehemence.

            “Big brother!” she cried. “Big brother, come back!”

The sight left her pitiful. “I’m alone again.”

An awful pain twisted in her chest like a wrench. Suji covered and sobbed silently as the little girl wiped her tears away.

            “You promised you’ll never leave me, big brother,” said the child. She regained her strength to stand with newfound determination. “But it’s okay. I’ll protect myself now.”

The tumultuous sky thundered. Lightning ignited the clouds, falling in frightening strips across the endless, rolling hills. The ground tore apart, and beneath the rubble, Suji found Baekhyun lying in a pit full of pages for the Neverland Club.

            With a convulsing pull, Suji jumped awake. She was hyperventilating. Her fingers trembled as they searched for her jug of water. She brought it to her lips, taking greedy gulps and ignoring the spill over her soaked shirt. She often had that recurrent dream, but it was the first time she acknowledged Baekhyun in the dream.

            No, he was not the same boy from her past. But there was a way he patted her shoulder. Light, three times, with his palm. And then there was that gentle twist of his lips, and that light in his eyes; the sort of light that promised protection from dangers, and a reliable soul to lean towards.         

            No. It certainly was not Baekhyun.

Besides, ever since that traumatising incident, Suji found that she hated letting people step into her inner circle. That area carried a sacred space only reserved for a few people in her life.

            She started the day with a quick jog around the area, and returned to cook some breakfast. Taeyeon snored from her room, so Suji left her breakfast ready and concealed on the table. She decided to take a quick stroll to university to pick up some books for her essay. Jieun wanted to meet up for ice-cream and noodles around the afternoon.

                                                *

Suji ventured to meet Jieun at campus. She took the metro to her the main entrance by the bridge, which she had avoided for over a week. Regardless of the sunny weather, the area was devoid of usually bustling, life. A familiar figure caught her eye. Sehun sat over the edge of the bridge. He swung his legs as he stared at the lapping waves beneath him.

            The sunlight reflected off his dark hair, catching the luminescent brown in his strands.

            Suji quietened her pace as she walked passed him. No need for disturbance on a beautiful Saturday morning.

            “She doesn’t even say hello,” he said.

She glanced over her shoulder, but Sehun continued to stare into the distance.

            “Hello,” Suji reiterated.

With a generous smile, he glanced at her. “Hello. What ails you on this fine morning?”

            “I’m just hanging out. You?”

He shrugged and scratched his cheek. “I’m just hanging out too, I guess. I’m waiting for the boys to show up, but thought I should have some ‘me’ time. A writer needs inspiration.”

            “What’s the inspiration for today?”

“Death,” he answered.

            A shiver ran down her spine. “What?”

Sehun laughed at her reaction. “Death, and life. Two phenomena that make mankind cry at each occasion. Hold a baby in your arms, and you cry. Hold your dead loved one and you cry. Sad that you keep a name when you’re alive, but you’re reduced to being a corpse, a body, the deceased, when it’s over. What do you say?”

            The revelation struck her brain with some arguments. Suji leaned on the railings and held her hands before her. “I don’t know. That’s deep inspiration you’ve got there.”

            “I need it for my latest short story. It’s about a man who’s going through death and life at the same time.”

A few birds flocked in the sky above them, tittering in the morning air. Below, the w