I sat down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Today, I had hit upon an epiphany. The best place to search for a loveless song would be in the olden ballads. Yes, back then they sang mainly about epic romances, but surely there has to be a song about tragedy somewhere. I had to prove to her that as important as love was, it was not to dominate everything.

            With a more cheery outlook, I hopped out of bed and went to get dressed. After thanking the hotel clerk, I perched my guitar on my shoulder and went in hopes of accomplishing my mission. I walked to a nearby theater and asked for a playlist. It was all about love.

            Argh, I walked out and went to a music library and put in my searches. A hit of songs came up but I couldn’t bring myself to click on them. It seemed too cheap. I wanted to find it myself. I closed the window and walked back out, determined that if it took me three years I would do it. Coral, just wait for me.

            I walked all over town, walking until my feet were about to fall out and asked for songs without love in it. Many gave me weird looks and I had no choice but to resign myself to the fact that at this rate I would never find it.

            When I finally crossed off the last music store on my list, I walked to the edge of a river and sat down on one of the rocks. The wind swirled the waters and I watched as the peaks of tiny rocks peeped out at me. Larger boulders rose from the middle of the waters and stood proudly, representing to me all the obstacles I will face.

            A feather light touch brushed my shoulder and I stared back, startled. Immediately I had to shield my eyes from the bright light that was emitting from the distance. There was a halo like sound and the opening of the heavens. The sound of the water faded away and I only focused on the light taps of coming footsteps.

            I squinted my eyes and waited until a slender figure appeared before me. At first her features were blurred but it didn’t take long for me to realize that it was Coral. Her hair was sheared short, a remnant from her hospital days. That hurt. Her arms were no longer bandaged and she was smiling, happier than I have ever seen her.

            “Coral? Is that really you?”

            The apparition smiled and showed assent through the dip of her head. I felt my heartbeat race faster and I became excited. “Have you come back? Are you coming to tell me that you’re waking up? Will you remember me when you open your eyes? Tell me you will know me and not that bastard.”

            She only smiled and painted a serene figure. I stepped forward and tried to reach out to grasp her hands. “I hope you realize that it was really I who love you, not him. I hope when you wake up, we’ll be able to start over. Here,” I fumbled in my pocket. “I have the crystal. I have the rock of the heart. Want to look at it? It’s here somewhere.”

            “No, Donghae. Show me later. Just work hard on your mission. But stay true to yourself as well. Do not work yourself too much. Do not tire yourself out for me; no matter what you think, I’m not worth it.”

            Her words pained me. “No, Coral. I hate this attitude. I can’t believe this. Even as a semi-conscious apparition you still manage to maintain your self-deprecating stance. When will you learn to realize that you are SPECIAL?”

            She shrugged, a response I expected. “I’m happy now, Donghae. You be happy too. Just be happy. And when you know, learn to forgive and forget. All this anger is bad for you. Please, learn to let go.”

            She started to leave, fading back into the vortex she came from. I took a step forward and tried to rush into the light. “No, no, please. Come back and explain. What do I have to let go? Coral, please!”

            I jerked my head up and sputtered. Water had gotten into my mouth and I tasted the nasty grit of dirt and random floats of algae. Ugh, disgusting. Somehow I had landed in the water, and now my entire outfit was soaking wet.

            There was a tiny laugh and I refused to turn around. I would not fall for the same trick twice. This time it would not be Coral. This time I refused to see who it was. “Are you right in the head? You were talking to yourself and I thought you were nuts. Are you sure you’re fine? And now you’re soaking wet because you ran right into the waters.”

            It was really a girl this time. Donghae turned around in annoyance and yelled, “Shut up! I am in no mood to be playing whatever silly games you have in mind. Leave a poor boy alone!”

            From around the edges of a hill of rocks appeared a beautiful girl. She shrugged and stood a few feet away, still laughing. “If you like, I can leave you alone to walk back to town with that. Although, I’m not sure I would want to. It’s kind of embarrassing to be walking around looking like I just took a swim with my clothes on.” She was smirking and looked defiant when I glared.

            “What can you do to help?”

            She indicated with her chin. “I live right over there. I suppose you can come over and take some of my brother’s clothes. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. He left everything here when he went off to college.”

            I sighed grudgingly. “Take me, I suppose.”

            She turned smartly on her heel and walked through the shallow forestry. We reached a smaller town with a circle of twenty houses. Women were outdoors, singing and doing the laundry. For such a small community, there was a lot of hubbub.

            “Look, there’s Yoona with a new boy. Who is he? My, my, he’s a handsome one. I’m sure her grandmother would approve.”

            I chose to ignore the whisperings and continued to follow her until we reached the slightly bigger cottage at the end of the block. When she flung open the door, I was greeted by the old lady once more.

            She saw me and smiled mysteriously. “Somehow, I knew we would meet again. But for a third time? That, my boy, means we were meant to be. What is it you are looking for? I am afraid I see nothing but lost in your eyes. You are clearly confused and don’t know where to go.”

            My mouth opened, but I couldn’t speak. How did I explain? I bowed to her and said, “I just wish to borrow some clothes.”

            She scoffed. “There’s more to that. I can sense the aura of hurt around you. My, if this isn’t a kicked puppy, I don’t know what is.”

            I twisted my hands in front of me. “I’m just looking for a song, a ballad without love.”

            She nodded. “That, my dear boy, has to come from you.”

            I shook my head. “She doesn’t want it to be from me.”

            Her eyes gleamed. “She? Now we’re talking. Sit down and tell old granny about it. Go on, it wouldn’t hurt to let some of the anguish out of your heart. Tell me about this she. I’m interested. It’s rare to see a boy go to such lengths for a girl. Is she your sweetheart?”

            I shook my head. “She’s in a coma right now. She was run over by her abusive bastard of a boyfriend. All I ever wanted was for her to realize that he didn’t deserve her. But she had such a low opinion of herself, she thought that she deserved whatever torture she had. She hated love, she didn’t want it. And I set out to prove that the world is filled with it. I set out to prove to her that I would be willing to do anything for her. But I’m scared by the time I get back, it would be too late. She would have woken up right into his arms again.”

            There was a silence and she looked over. “Out of curiosity, are you quite sure she is, well, in a coma and not departed from this earth?”

            I clapped my hands over my ears. “No, she’s here! She’s still here!”

            Yoona lowered my hands. “Relax, and tell her the story then. Maybe my grandmother can help you.” I looked at the wise woman and she nodded, waiting patiently for me to continue.

I cannot believe I have been here for a year now. Thank you for your support ♥