Whether it was the single sprinkles of the sun shining through the high crowns or tiny fairies dancing, Minho couldn't tell. But he followed the glistening lights. Warm and golden, they invited him into another world. He had never seen anything like that before in his young age of just eight.

They led him into a dense, lush green. The air was damp and single drops falling brilliantly from leaves were the last remains of heavy rain. Impetuous as a child can be, he paid no attention to the slippery earth beneath his soles, but ran and skipped after the sparkles.  

Surrounded by majestic trees touching the sky and the living sounds of the forest in his ears, Minho took the first true breath of his life. The leaves flew around his nose and it was as if the individual plants wanted to talk to him, wanted to play with him.

There was no road, not even a trail, and yet he knew where to go. He knew the lights would not betray him. He knew he was safe.

With his big, dark eyes, he watched the little gleams of light. His little head kept moving back and forth. As he tried to fix on one spot, he saw a greater play of lights in the angle of his eye and had to follow the next one. He reached for the tiny spots and laughed when they sprinkled their warmth over him.

"Stop!" it echoed through the forest.

Minho flinched and froze. He looked around, but there was no one to be seen except him and his new acquaintances. Slowly he let his narrowed gaze roam the forest.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he called out.

When he couldn't spot anyone, he shook it off and wanted to focus on the dancing lamps again. But before he could take another step, something, or rather someone, grabbed him by the shoulder and held him tight.

Minho looked into an angered face. The other boy was slightly shorter than Minho and had light brown, straight hair. His eyes reminded Minho of hazelnuts and he wondered if such grew in that forest. He especially noticed that the other boy had a birthmark above his left nostril.

"You have to be careful!" he said, looking down.

Minho followed his gaze and saw that he had almost stepped on a centipede.

"Oh! I didn't see that one!" he said, taken aback.

"Of course not you klutz!" The boy's gaze moved from the bug to Minho's legs and became even angrier.

"Take off your shoes!" the boy grumbled at him, causing Minho to wince slightly.

The boy was not only a whole head shorter than him, but also very cute. Minho hadn't thought he would possess such a gruff manner.

"My shoes?"

"Yes! Your shoes!"

"But-"

"Do you think the animals here want to see you walking around their home with dead body parts?"

"Dead...body?"

"Yes, corpses! Or what do you think leather is made out of?"

Minho looked down at his dark shoes. They were soft and wrapped his feet up warmly. The other boy, of course, wore no shoes. So it did not surprise Minho that the latter's feet were covered in mud.

"That's why they run away from you." The smaller boy opened his hands and one of the lights sat down in them.

"They're scared."

The boy's hazel eyes locked on him, piercing through him. They stabbed his most inner core and Minho fell.

He fell so deep.

Minho's screams filled the room as he tore his eyes open. He sat up frantically and tried to gasp for air. He was looking for something to hold on to. He had fallen, he was falling! The cold air hissed against his skin. Any moment he would hit the ground and shatter into a thousand pieces. His fingers clawed and cramped into the sheets beneath him.

Only when his eyes gazed around and realized that he was in his bedroom was he able to gradually calm down. His heart was racing, he could feel it all the way into his lungs. Frigidity forced its way through his limbs, sweat glistening on his forehead.

With trembling fingers he reached into his night drawer. He twisted off the lid of the container and realized that he had no more pills.

!

He smashed the pillbox across the room and ran his hands through his black hair.

Cold air rushed through to him and with a horrified look he stared outside.

It was far away, yet so much louder than the sounds of the city. Minho could hear the leaves whispering to each other, the birds building their nests and bugs running across the earth.  

It was so much bigger than the sky that stretched out in front of him. The blue of it faded into the background and the dark green took over his vision. 

Goose bumps covered him. As if a thousand ants were climbing all over him.

It was just so much more beautiful than anything else he had ever seen. A long forgotten haunting.

The forest.

How long had it been since he had been there?

Had he always been able to see it from his window?

Closing his eyes, he took three deep breaths.

Don't panic. Don't panic. I can handle this.

He looked up at the white ceiling of his room, but the image kept haunting him. Those dark eyes, they were watching him. Full of distrust, they wouldn't let go of him.

Minho's shoulders dangled up and down and his laughter filled the room. He ran his hands over his face and took one last deep breath before getting up.   

How long has it been since I last thought of you?

Minho's head ached as he stepped into the kitchen, but he didn't have time to think about it. Something was different. Had they always had this furniture?

Minho's gaze stiffened on a black, rounded object. A domed object made out of glass lay on the dining table. It glowed obscurely in the glare of the lamp. He could grasp it with one hand. It was cool to the touch and weighed heavily in his hand. 

A note under the paperweight made him halt.

'Don't forget to order your medicine from the pharmacy. We'll be back soon.'

That's right. Mother and Father left yesterday.

Minho clutched his head. He had actually wanted to get this done by yesterday. Yesterday, that note was already there.

Minho opened the app in his phone. He took a picture of the prescription, which was next to his parents' note, with the doctor's signature, and ordered it. He quickly got a notification that he could pick it up the next day.

In the corner of his phone was another notification.

'Mother and Father - Back on the 24th'.

That was in six days.

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