The boy stood there silently, no emotion in his eyes.

 Like a doll, his painted face never moved, wind blowing softly through his light brown hair.

 Others gathered around him, offering words of comfort, words of pity.

 But the boy did not hear them.

His brown eyes stayed glued on the plain wooden casket.

 Never looking away.

He did not feel the embraces of friends... family.

 All nerves left in his body had grown numb, unfeeling.

The boy could not cry, for every feeling had left him.  

For what had felt like an eternity, the boy stood there, never acknowledging anyone’s presence.

His mind, blank, not a thought nor a single word.

But..

                Piano keys. The gentle playing of the instrument can be heard. Those soft high melodies…

Another joins the boy. Slightly taller, darker locks of hair…

Falling to his knees, this boy releases many tears, a never ending river…

The younger child breaks away from the silence of his world.

He glances at the boy that has collapsed at his feet.

Why must he be filled with such sorrow?

Why does he cry so?

The boy suddenly cries out in his sadness.

‘Why did you take him?’

The young boy recognizes the scene. He smiles softly and kneels down to hold his shaking hands.

The emotional boy does not respond to his gesture.

But the other did not expect him to.

He gives a small smile and embraces the distraught boy anyhow, trying to bring what comfort that he can.

‘He didn’t want to go.

He doesn’t like to see you sad.

But he must go.

He had no choice.’

Yet, the boy does not stop his tears, more and more travel down his face as the younger child speaks to him.

‘He’s going to a better place… You’ll see him again.’

Again…

                More piano keys… playing slowly, crisp, and soft.

A familiar melody, a comforting tune…

The boy smiles sadly and kisses a single tear on the elder’s face.

The younger rises from the ground and sighs as he watches his pain.

He turns his gaze at the poor lonely box lying above the Earth.

Soon it would leave for the depths of the soil, never to rise until the end of time.

More piano keys play …

                Coming from the clouds, the skies…They’re calling him. God calls to him…

The boy starts to climb the grassy hill behind them and stops at the top, facing the sunset.

He reaches for the clouds that seemed to surround him, the sunshine completely enveloping the boy.

The boy quickly turns back to the cemetery, a lone tear glistening in the light.

‘I didn’t mean to hurt you, Minho hyung.

I don’t like seeing you sad.

Remember the pleasant times.

Don’t forget about me. About us.

I’ll be waiting for you…

So don’t worry about me.

Live a long life, a happy life.

My love for you will never fade, no matter how long I have to wait.’

The light became brighter, yet the boy’s eyes did not hurt or flinch away.

Minho lifted his head, as if he could hear the boy’s prayer.

He rose to his feet and turned his exhausted limbs to face the sun setting over the hill.

‘I’ll never forget you! You are my world!’

Minho frantically forced his legs up the hill, running directly into the sunlight.

‘I will always be thinking of you!’

Sweat and tears fell from his brow as he reached the sunset.

The boy smiled as the light engulfed him, his brown eyes glistening with sad and happy tears.

Minho’s face, wet with emotion saw the light disappearing from view and felt his heart glimmer with a familiar happiness he had not felt for a while.

He yelled to the heavens, hoping that God would let the boy hear his words.

And the boy did. He smiled and his heart fluttered with happiness as he felt himself being lifted through the world, the clouds…the heavens.

Those words will ring through his mind forever, never fading until Minho himself could say it to him face to face.

‘I’ll always love you, Lee Taemin! Never forget that!’