→“Hyweng”

Letter after letter, page after page of the love that they both knew wouldn’t last littered his bed. It was just too abnormal, too perfect to be reality. Kikwang shuffled the stack of love notes in his hands, the corners wrinkled and dog-eared – time had taken its toll on them. His eyes swept across the sheets, scrutinizing the photos strewn to and fro with every last ounce of focus he had left, desperate to relive one of those memories again – any of them. As his gaze shifted to the tiger, currently ensconced under his blanket, he felt a small tingle of relief. And just like that, a diminutive piece of the weight on his chest lifted as a smile tugged on the corners of his lips.

It had been such a long time since the stuffed tiger had been brought into his acknowledgement; Kikwang had forgotten its name. Reaching forth, it was then he noticed the thin, silver chain wrapped around its neck, glinting as rays of sunlight reflected against it.

It was a locket. An exotic one at that, adorned with intricate designs of who-knows-what. Maybe the accessory held its identity. Gripping the tiny heart in his fingers, he attempted to pry it open, but to no avail. It was then he noticed the tiny, almost undecipherable print on the back that read, Only I can control my heart.

Fingers fumbling with the numbers on his cell phone, he held it to his ear while waiting for his call to be answered. “Hello?” The voice was soft, so delicate that he could almost shatter it with a mere breath. “Did you want something?”

“I was just wondering – what was the tiger’s name?”

“I once called it... Hyweng.”

“Have you ever tried to open the locket?”

A puzzled silence. “What locket?”

“The one on Hyweng’s neck!”

“It never had a locket. In fact, I don’t own any lockets.”