The sound of the gulls filtered into his small ears as he ran with three other kids, their voices filled with shrieks and squeals as they went all the way up, up until the edges of the cliff, up until the very edge, the adrenaline of doing that which was forbidden by their overly concerned parents.

Stopping close to the grassy edge, chest heaving from the exertion it undertook as he bolted to this ravine.

A gasp fell out of  his rosy lips, as he breathed in the salty air, the sun shining like melted crystals on the deep blue, endlessly huge sea. He smiled , turning his head to see his three- two- friends gasping, their lips circled into a small circle as their flowing silken shirts fluttered in the mid-summer air. Their hands were trying to tame their fluttering shoulder length hair the salt laced breeze playing with them. He frowned as he realized the third gem was missing, his child-like heart stuttered as he tried to find where his gem went, scared for a moment he mistepped once more, a mistake that had a heavy price here near the edge- he sighed in relief.

There. His eyes sparkling as he witnessed the sights of the crashing waves, rubbing his knees as he got up from where he had tumbled into the fair sized grass. A soft smile grazed his lips as he stared at him. Shaking his head, he broke away from the group, jogging onto where Namu lay, his feet buried into the green gauze.

While little Tae pretended to dust some of the emerald dust off of his shoulders, he looked down on him, the slight height difference even as kids being something he never failed to boast of.

"Fell down again?" Tae teased, his voice filled with humor, but slight concern tainting it.

He rolled his eyes and patted Tae's head, "A rock was hiding in the grass..I couldn't see it, Tae." He said, wincing slightly as he tried to walk once more.

Tae's brows furrowed, bending down to inspect if he grazed his knee to hard. He  bit his lip as he saw his knee having tiny red pools stemming out, feeling guilty that he charged ahead so fast that he couldn't keep up and tripped trying to do so.

"Sorry.." He muttered, pulling his hand down so he could sit down.

"It burns." he said, pouting.

Tae's frown deepened, trying to see how he could help him, tapping his head animatedly as he had seen my father do countless times in his majestic study.

Snapping his tiny chubby fingers, he remembered what his mother did whenever little Tae grazed his knee from running too hard while kicking a ball around in their large courtyard.

He tried to find a cloth looking around, his tiny frown returning when he found nothing around themin the grass carpeting the cliff.

Finally, he stared down at his fluttering brown silk shirt. Untucking it from the white shorts, he ripped a part of it out, grinning widely at the satisfying tear of a square from the cloth.

"Stretch your leg out, Namu!" he said excitedly, happy to be of help.

Namu hesitantly stretched it out, looking down at it, shrugging after trying to find something wrong.

He tucked the square into the shape of a triangle and placed the silk over his grazed knee, twisting it in the back, and bringing it out to the front, remembering how his mother tied the knot. Smiling proudly as he tightly tied the knot, he looked up to warm brown eyes grinning.

"All don-" His eyes grew large as if realizing he forgot something very, very important.

"Wait!" He said, startling Namu.

He bent down to place a slight kiss on the bandaged knee.

"There!" he said, his giggle infectious, happy to have reduced his pain.

Namu smiled, his eyes going like dark crescent moons and twin dimples popping up in his cheeks.

Tae got up, reaching his hand out to help him get up from the soft mellow grass.

Putting his hand around his own shoulders, we walked till the very edge of the cliff over looking the vast blue blanket.

Namu's eyes grew wide as he stared at the vast blue sea, grinning at the way the waves came over and over again to embrace the short patch of land.

Something always tore them apart, but every time, the deep blue waves came crashing back with even more force, refusing to let any power pull them apart. Over and over, as if it were a rhythmic promise,

"I will be back for you. Every time, if only for a mere moment, I will come back to embrace you tight, to shield you, if only for a brief second, from the world if I have to."

That was ten years ago, the last memory Tae had got to make with his beloved, and two best friends.