The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: And thou shalt at noonday, as the blind th in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.

Deuteronomy 28:28-29

Minho adjusted himself very well. With ease he found the balance to keep himself upright on the horse. Taemin rode ahead to Naeun, then back to Minho to make sure they were both comfortable or needed a rest. The small trail was barely noticeable. The lush green of the leaves was illuminated by the summer sun.

"My brother and I used to play here a lot when we were kids." Taemin told me as they trotted into the forest.

Minho looked around. He could see how much fun children could have here. Whether it was playing hide and seek, or using sticks as swords. The possibilities seemed endless to him. Maybe Naeun could play here too in the future. Maybe even with the children she had met at the party.

The soft tapping of hooves on the uneven ground once again gave Minho a feeling of comfort. He enjoyed the fresh air. The silence was only pleasantly broken by the chirping of birds and rustling of trees. It was peaceful here.

"There's a cave hidden just back there." Taemin recalled. He wondered if Jinki still thought about it sometimes.

"That's where we used to hide our favourite toys." He had to laugh when he thought back to it. It had been a long time since he had been here, especially with Jinki.

"Can we go there?" asked Naeun with glittering eyes.

Taemin and she looked at Minho expectantly, but he wanted to see it too. In his childhood, there were no secret hiding places, no mysterious caves or forests to explore.

"Absolutely." he therefore said. 

Leisurely, they came off the narrow path. But when Taemin stopped, Minho could see no cave. Taemin lifted a mighty bush to one side. Minho recognised how stone wall faced stone wall with a narrow open space.

"So there's a cave behind that?" Naeun seemed interested but afraid at the same time.

"Follow me." Taemin said gently and walked along the wall lengthwise.

The bush jumped back and the path into the unknown was hidden from view again. Minho made way so that Naeun could now walk in. Taemin was waiting for her on the other side and held out her hand. Minho had to duck to get through the small gap. Fascinated, he looked at the rock walls around him. Even though this was not Taemin's first time here, he too was touched by the glimpse into the past.

"Wow." Naeun breathed in excitement.

The cave was high, so Minho could stand up straight too. It didn't stretch too far in, but all three had more than enough room to themselves. Minho's heart sank when he saw toy soldiers and small action figures lying on the ground. He had given all that up to be top of the class. It didn't seem like a fair exchange to him. The air was fresher here and it echoed with every word they spoke.

Taemin would have thought that all the things they had left here had become overgrown. But it was all still there. He looked lovingly at the drawings he and Jinki had made here and many things he thought long forgotten found their way back to the surface.

"Can we stay here for a while?" Naeun wanted to know.

Minho didn't want to keep the horses waiting too long, but he too wanted to linger there for a few minutes.

"Dusty, but it can still be used." He said when he had found some blankets. He placed them on the floor.

Naeun picked up some papers and scattered pens from the ground. She lay down on her stomach on the blanket and began to draw.

"Your childhood must have been beautiful." Minho looked dreamily at all the adventures he himself never got to know.

Taemin couldn't quite make it out, but he thought he heard melancholy in Minho's words. He nodded and had to smile.

"It was." He gently the remnants of the past time.

He came to a sudden halt. Wetness was clouding his sight as he picked up a picture he had painted years ago. Taemin could still remember it well. They had all ridden out together and had a picnic in the forest. Tha