Jeo Jeo’s view

I was engulfed by the darkness. The room seemed familiar, and it was cold and silent. I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t even see my own hands. The dark abyss went on and on as I wandered around.

The air was still, and I began to think I was dead. “Hello? Is anybody out there?” I yelled out into the darkness. Silence filled the room. “Help! Somebody… Anybody.” I screamed out again, in a panic. I was lost. I didn’t know where I was, and all I could think was ‘no one can help me.’ I felt alone, and scared. I worried about my friends, family, and Yongguk. I hoped, and prayed he was okay. The surroundings began to change, as I light in the distance came into my view. I notice I had been here before. I was in this same place in my nightmare. Everything was the same, except there was no fire.

 Two shadow figures came into my view. One was extremely tall and the other was around my height.  The figures came closer and closer. I could see that one was a man and the other a woman. When they came into my view, the place I was in lightened up. I could see the features of the two figures. The woman was my height, with curly brown hair like mine. She had green eyes, an olive skin complexion, and she smiled at me. She was so beautiful. The man was tall, taller than Yongguk. He had short blonde hair, with blue eyes. His skin was fair, and he had a warm smile on his face. They were both young. They looked to be in their late thirties.

“Who are you?” I asked. 

The woman stepped forward, “Your parents.” She said.

When she said that, my heart skipped a beat. I felt like my breath was taken away from me. “You can’t be your too young.” I said arguing, and the man stepped forward.

I really looked at the two of them, noticing the similarities between them and I. The woman had the same hair as me, and the same color eyes. I had the same features at the man. We had the same skin complexion, same nose, mouth, and face shape.

“You are our daughter. We may look young to you, but that is only because we died the day you were born.” The man said.

“I-I-I d-d-don’t u-u-understand…” I said just barely able to project my voice. “Am I dead?”

“No, but you must fight to live.” The woman said, or I should say my mother.

“But, but, how can I see you?”

“You are in the in-between. Not fully alive, and not fully dead.” My father said, “You must fight for your life. The life we wanted you to have.” His voice was deep and smooth, much different than Appa’s.

“Although we couldn’t be apart of your life, we were always with you. Watching your first steps, first words, and performances. We watched everything you did, and we are so proud of you.” My mother said, and I began to shake. I couldn’t comprehend it all at once. Everything I’ve been through, everything I’ve done, and all now, they were apart of my life.

“We have seen everything. Even the night your boyfriend hurt you.” My father said. “At first we weren’t pleased, but shortly after we began to see why he was the way he was. You are more important than you think. You have the power to change the world, and you have changed the lives of the people you have come in contact with for the better.”

“But, I don’t know what to do.” I replied to them.

“You must fight. Don’t give up. You have grown into such a beautiful young lady. Do what your heart tells you.” She said to me, and she touched the side of my face looking into my eyes.

“But everything that’s happened. If I would have just did something different…” I said.

My father walked up to me placing his hand on my shoulder. “You can’t change the past, what’s done is done. You can only move forward with your life. It is time for you to take your place in the land of the living, not here. It is not your time to join us in death.” He said, “We love you very much.”

They began to fade away, “No! Don’t leave me!” I cried, “Please don’t leave me alone!”

“Remember, you are never alone. We are always with you inside your heart.” My mother said, and they disappeared.

Once again I was alone in the darkness. The light had faded when they left. I was shaking, I couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or if it was because I was scared.

I dropped to my knees, and began to cry.

I felt all alone. I sat in the darkness, but I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to fight. Time passed, as I sat there crying. “How could this happen? How could I let this happen?” I cried, placing my face in my hands. Soon after I felt a small hand on my shoulder. “Unnie, it’s okay. Don’t cry.” Said a little girl’s voice. I lifted my head to see a small girl, around the age of five. She wore all white, and had brown eyes that were like molten chocolate. They were warm and inviting.

“Who are you?” I asked in the middle of my sob. She didn’t answer me. I studied her. There was something very familiar about her. I had seen her before, but I couldn’t think of where. She wrapped her arms around me, embracing me in a hug. When she did this my eyes widened. I realized where I had seen her. I had seen this little girl in a photo. A photo that Yongguk kept in his desk drawer, the photo was of him and his family from ten years ago. The little girl I was seeing, the one that was hugging me was Dambi, Yongguk’s little sister.

“Unnie, you have to fight. I won’t let you die. You need to take care of Oppa. Eomma and Appa agree.” She said, and two more figures became visible to me. They were Yongguk’s parents, and they smiled towards me. “Unnie, you must live. Not just for yourself, but also for your friends, family, and for Yongguk Oppa. You have to take care of him.” She said, she was much wiser for a five year old then expected. “Go to him Unnie. Go to Oppa.” She said releasing me from the hug, and walking back over to her parents. “Eomma and Appa know you care about him. Keep your promise. Keep Oppa safe.” She said referring to what I had said the day we went to visit their graves. They faded away shortly after waving goodbye. I knew what I had to do. I finally understood what I was supposed to do. I had made my mind up, and I wouldn’t die that easily.  I began to feel whole again. Breathing became harder and harder. I struggled to take in the air I needed to live, but I wouldn’t give up.