“Yah! Coco, you nut,” Sungjong scolded as he narrowed his eyes at the hyperactive pup. The dark little ball of fur seemed ignorant of the annoyance in his owner's voice as he leaped up on his hind legs, begging to be played with. Tapping Coco lightly on the head, Sungjong rolled his eyes. He couldn’t stay mad at the dog for long; Sungjong had no idea how he did it, but Coco hit a soft spot.

The sound of tinkling laughter caused Sungjong to look up in confusion. There was no one in the park, or so he thought anyways. It was eight o'clock on a Thursday morning. The elderly people who exercised in the morning had all left and most children were in school. What was strange is that the laughter didn’t come from in front or behind him. It came from above him.

Looking up, the look on Sungjong’s face was astonished as he saw a girl around his age sitting on top of the streetlamp about three meters in front of him. She sat on the curved part of it, kicking her legs back and forth. The moment she met Sungjong’s eyes, however, she winked at him and vanished. Boom, gone. Disappeared. Just like that. For a moment, Sungjong just stood here and tried to find the logic in a situation like this. There was none.

He looked around, dazed. There still wasn’t another soul in the park, save for Coco, who was winding the leash around Sungjong’s legs. Untangling himself from the leash, Sungjong continued his walk through the park, doubting what he had just seen. He could have sworn there was a girl sitting on the streetlamp. There was no way that he was making her up. He heard her laugh, he saw her wink. Shaking his head to try and clear his mind, Sungjong walked down the path slowly, secretly hoping to catch another glimpse of the cryptic girl.

The next day, Sungjong got up bright and early to walk his dog again. He had a sense of foreboding about today. He couldn’t stop thinking about that girl from yesterday. It made him feel like he was going crazy. Was his mind playing tricks on him? He tried ruling out possibilities as to why she was just a figment of his imagination, but he couldn’t come to a conclusion. He’d enlist the help of his friends, but Sungjong didn’t want to be the laughingstock of his group. Walking through the park and claiming to see a disappearing girl sitting on the streetlamp was just a recipe for humiliation.

Clipping the leash on Coco, Sungjong started towards the park. There were actually other people there that day. Not a lot of people, but there were people nonetheless. Two elderly men strolled past him, making their way to the chess tables stationed on one end of the park.

Eyes scanning his surroundings, Sungjong’s eyes landed on a park bench. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the same girl from yesterday seated daintily on it. Her eyes looked up from the flower bracelet on her wrist that she was examining and locked eyes with him. At the sudden eye contact, Sungjong felt the heat rise to his cheeks. He tried to contain his excitement as he mentally rejoiced. His suspicions yesterday were disappearing as he neared her.

“Nice bracelet,” were the first words that slipped out of Sungjong’s mouth. He wished he could take them back. What kind of smooth greeting was that? Sungjong cursed himself for not thinking over his words. He kept on smiling, hoping she wouldn’t think he was strange.

To his delight, she only giggled and touched the bracelet. “Thank you! I made it myself,” she said warmly. Her eyes shifted over to Coco, who was now sniffing her shoes.

Sungjong didn’t know what, but something about the girl seemed…otherworldly. Maybe it was her outfit choice. She wore a short, light green dress that flowed and simple shoes that matched. Upon closer inspection, they seem to have been made with a material he wasn’t familiar with. Cooing at Coco, she reached down and the jolly pup’s head and murmured, “Isn’t he adorable?”

“He’s definitely something,” responded Sungjong, then looked at her again. He was sure that it was the girl from yesterday. Cocking his head to one side, he summed up his courage and asked her, “Were you here yesterday, as well? I…I could have sworn I remember you from somewhere.”

A mild look of surprise crossed over the girl’s face before she answered him breezily with, “Oh, I come here once in a while.”

Just then, Sungjong’s hand slipped from the leash. The plastic piece that held it clattered to the floor, startling Coco. In a panicked frenzy, the puppy bolted under the park bench and took off for the woods. “Oh no,” gasped Sungjong. “I’ll be back; I gotta grab him before he gets lost!”

Taking off, Sungjong dashed towards Coco, whose excitement gradually rose at this newfound game of catch-me-if-you-can. He could have sworn he heard the girl chuckle mischievously. Thankfully, Sungjong managed to grab the leash before Coco could get away any further. Grabbing the squirming dog, he turned around to head back to the bench. To his surprise, the girl was gone. Walking briskly towards the seat, he stared at the spot she was sitting at in disbelief. The seat was covered in what looked to be like sparkles. Right in the center of her spot was the bracelet of flowers.