http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=artSAy52RkY&feature=youtu.be

Jim Chappell - Lullaby

 

“Haneul, wake up. Haneul.”

My eyes lazily opened as I looked around the room, trying to register where I was. There was a birthday party for my two twins, Minyoung and Youngmin. They invited their friends from school. Everyone was happy and laughing, enjoying the lovely time. A food fight broke out and the house became messy. After that, I felt a bit dizzy so I knocked out on the couch. My vision fuzzed a bit before they focused on Daehyun, my husband’s face. His soft brown eyes looked into mine. I could see the hidden pain in them. I looked away. I can already feel the pain slowly invading my chest. I lift myself up and yawned.

“It’s time. Minyoung and Youngmin are all ready to go. We also cleaned the room while you were sleeping,” he informed me.

I looked around the room. There was nothing present except for our regular furniture. The walls were a light turquoise color, and the carpet a clean gray color. The frosting on the walls from the birthday cake was gone and the happy atmosphere from the birthday party was gone. The presents from the other kids were put away and I could see from afar my younger daughter, Hyuna, asleep on the other couch. Her short silver hair covered her peaceful face. She was big for her age, but with time and without a chose, she’ll get skinnier and her hair will get longer.

“Put Hyuna on the bed first, before we go,” I told him.

He went over to Hyuna and picked her up. He disappeared around the corner to her room. I looked at the living room and memories of my first birthday party flashed.

“Haneul, we should get going. The sun’s setting.” Daehyun’s voice made me lose my trace of thoughts. He looked at me, and the expression on his face told me he knew what I was thinking. His eyes grew dark and a bit of sadness could be seen. They looked so exhausted for the first time. I stood up before he could say anything.

“Let’s go,” I said.

We got out of the house and went into our white, shiny car. The car would always look so proud and shiny, but today, the car looked dull and depressed. It was almost quite pitiful.

I got in the passenger’s seat and Daehyun went on the driver’s seat. I looked at the mirror and saw Minyoung and Youngmin sitting side by side. Minyoung’s long bright blond hair in two ponytails. I stared at her bright blonde hair with orange highlights. They lightly bounced whenever the car hopped. Her hair reminds me of the sun. The orange highlights would be the flames that covered the shining sun. Of course, they were all natural. I looked at Youngmin who was sitting right beside her. His hair was a bit more unique and different from hers even though they are both twins. He had a dirty blonde hair color with golden brown highlights.

“Haneul.”

I looked at Daehyun. His eyes were on the road, but I could tell that he didn’t want me to continue staring at the twins. I sighed and faced front.

“Don’t worry Daehyun, it’s only for today,” I said. My eyes were on the road, but my mind was at another place and time.

It wasn’t long before we reached the graveyard. The sun was still setting, creating a beautiful mix of orange, pink, and purple in the cloudless sky. I got out of the car and gently took Minyoung out of the car, while Daehyun took Youngmin. The air blew gently and the trees looked black, almost like shadows. I placed Minyoung on the sidewalk and held her small, tiny, and soft hands. We started walking up a hill, where our destination was. Daehyun and Youngmin walked behind us. Youngmin talked loudly and cheerfully as he walked with him. Minyoung couldn’t talk. She was too tired to start a conversation with me. She was starting to take slow, deep, and heavy breaths as she dragged herself up the hill. Worried, I bent in front of her.

“Get on my back Minyoung. I can tell you’re getting tired,” I softly said.

She hesitated at first, but she got on after a few seconds. Her head lay on my back and I could feel her rapid heartbeat thumping endlessly. Daehyun and Youngmin walked beside us and I could tell that Daehyun was worried by his small but noticeable glances. We continued walking and Minyoung’s heavy breaths became lighter and her rapid heartbeat slowed down.

“Mommy, are we there yet?” she asked. I looked in front of me. I saw the old, black, short, fat tree that stood beside two polished stones. They stood in the opened field, just the two of them. They looked so lonely as they stood proudly next to their beloved tree.

“We’re almost there,” I answered.

"Okay."

Youngmin’s blabbering became quieter as we neared our destination and I could feel Minyoung’s head going lower as if she was hiding herself.  After a couple more steps, we stood in front of the two polished gravestones with the names, Yoo Mihi and Yoo Youngjae. I placed Minyoung on the floor without taking my eyes off of the two stones. Their joyful faces were on their gravestone and I couldn’t help but let all the memories inside me run through my mind like a film.

“Haneul? Is that you?” I looked at the young and innocent Mihi crouching with her back to the wall, brawling her eyes out.

“What’s wrong, Mihi?” I asked. She didn’t reply. The only thing that came out of were more cries. I came close to her and gave her a hug. My short, chubby arms wrapped around her and I pulled her close to me. Not knowing what to do, I awkwardly patted her back to try to comfort her.

"Did Youngjae bully you again?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Did one of the girls bother you again?" I asked. She shook her head.

“Then what’s wrong?” I asked. She didn’t answer me. Silence covered us except for her small whimpers.

“I was walking to my room, but then I heard my mom and the principle talking. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my mom so I stayed to listen, but…” she started crying again.

“But then what?” I asked.

“My mom said, “I don’t want her back. After this summer, let her stay here. I’m sure she won’t be any trouble for you. Her body is so weak she can’t do anything back at home with me. She’s only a burden to us. Please, just let her start living here. She’s bound to live here sooner or later."

I couldn’t say anything to comfort her. I didn’t know what to say. So I only held her close and softly pet her head.

“I’m only a burden to everyone! I hate myself! Why can’t I be just like everybody else?!" 

Hearing her explosion, I became furious at her.

“No you’re not Mihi! You’re perfect the way you are. Not everyone is perfect! You may have a weak body, but not everyone can stay as strong as you can! You’re always smiling even at the most crucial time just to cheer everyone up!” I exploded.

I could see the shock in her face, but then she started smiling. New tears began filling in her eyes and she gave me a hug.

“Thank you, Haneul. You are such a nice friend,” she whispered.

“Mommy, are you crying?”

I looked at Youngmin. His face was a bit blurry and my eyes felt cold as the air gently blew against them.

“No, honey. Mommy’s not crying,” I lied.

He came close to me and hugged my leg. My fingers went through his soft, silky hair. He dug his face in my leg. I could feel something wet from my leg. I pulled him away from my leg and bent down to his level.

“Baby what’s wrong?” I asked.

He hid his face from me. I saw a trail of tears falling down his cheek. I hugged him.

“Why are you crying?” I asked.

He didn’t answer me. He sniffed and slowly began crying. I looked at Daehyun. He shrugged and walked to Minyoung.

“Mommy?” he finally said.

“Yes honey?”

“Will Minyoung and I end up like our real mommy and our real daddy?”

I heard Daehyun stop walking and I could feel my shoulders becoming heavy as my heart dropped.

“You will Youngmin, but you still have a long way. Just enjoy this time as much as possible, okay?”

“Okay Mommy.”

I stood up and Youngmin hugged my leg again. My fingers smoothly went through his silky hair as I slowly got lost in my memories.

“Class, now that you’re all 15, you will start taking real missions. They’re not as dangerous as the ones adults take, but remember that they are still dangerous. Now, get into your groups. I will assign a mission to your group and you will have to complete it. Remember that this mission will effect not only you, but also the person you’re purifying,” our teacher announced.

I eagerly looked at Mihi. We were finally going to saving the world from falling into grieve, greed, and pain. Daehyun and Youngjae came to our tables and our teacher handed us the person we needed to purify. The person was only a kid, about 10 years old. She had jet black hair and looked tired. Her eyes were a light shade of gray and her skin was pale, as if she has never been out in the sun before. Her name was Song Woori. She stared straight ahead into space. She looked so lifeless. It was as if she had lost all hope in the world.

I looked over her profile over and over as our teacher led us to the room to the other world. I was excited to see how the other world looked like. Whenever one of us asked about the other world our teacher would say that it’s something beyond horrible, but he was always a jokester so we took his words lightly. But he was serious. The moment I entered the other world I could feel nothing but pain, fear, and hopelessness. Every part of my body was throbbing in pain. My arms, my legs, my head, my chest, everything, was just thumping. It felt like I was having a mental breakdown. Hopelessness came in me. It felt all too familiar.

Everything looked just as earth. The grass, the buildings, the water, even the people looked the same. The people were walking passed us, like they couldn‘t even see us. One of them walked straight through me. The only difference was a small black creature beside them. Some were bigger than others, and some were uglier than others. This place was horrible, I couldn’t stop looking at this world.

“Kids, in this world, no one is to fool around. If I find anyone fooling around, I’ll erase your memory and take your powers away. Then for the rest of your life, you’ll live like a normal person. For now, your mission is to kill all of those dark creatures beside the people. Once you get older, you’ll be fighting against the creatures who will fight back. Now hurry and get going we don’t have much time,” His eyes were serious and his voice no longer has any emotions. It was almost as if he was a completely different person.

Everyone scattered and we went our way. We found our girl in a hospital bed and a big, dark, ugly creature was sitting beside her. The creature had one eye in the center of its unrecognizable face. It had arms and legs, unlike the other ones we saw when we first came here. It had claws and a small tail. It was hunched back and only stared at us with its eyes full of hate, despair, and tragedy.

Woori didn‘t look any different from her picture, so pitiful, lost… so dead. I could feel the creature’s single eye follow my every step as I carefully went next to her and looked into her memories of her car crash that caused her blindness. I transferred those memories to Daehyun he put an illusion in her mind. An illusion where she could see again. She could see her fully healed parents and the beautiful colored world. Mihi stayed back in case anyone got hurt. She wasn’t meant to fight because her powers were healing. Youngjae was busy killing the dark creature. He would simply touch any part of the creature and give physical pain to it. He could make them die a gruesome and slow death if he wanted. He didn’t have to do much since the creature only stood next to her bed.

The dark creature disappeared and Woori’s eye sight came back. A clear cloud came above our heads and showed us how the other Woori was doing. Her person in the other world gave a small smile, indicating that our mission was successful. We happily left the other world. I felt accomplished and helpful for purifying a person, but deep inside, I felt sick to the stomach.

“Haneul.”

I looked behind me and saw Daehyun carrying a sleeping Minyoung.

“I’m taking Minyoung to the car. Youngmin, you’re becoming tired too. Come on, come with Daddy. You can rest in the car. Mommy’s gonna stay here for a bit longer. Then we can go home and you can sleep on the bed, okay?"

“Okay.” Youngmin let go of my leg and started walking by Daehyun.

I turned back to the gravestones and looked at the both of them. Their bright smile covered their hidden pain. I gave a smile. Mihi would tell me everything about her and Youngjae’s relationship. She told me about how Youngjae asked her out, their first date, how he purposed to her, and when she got pregnant. I was even with her when she was giving birth to her beautiful twins.

It was a beautiful sunny morning. The sky was a baby blue and the clouds were pure white and fluffy. I just got back from a very tiring mission. The creatures were getting stronger and stronger and I recently heard that another person died on another mission. I went to Mihi and my room, only to see her crouching next to the bed, holding her big and round stomach. I went to quickly went to her and the next thing I knew, I was at the hospital pacing around the hallway. Everything was happening so fast. Daehyun wasn’t on any mission, so he came as soon as possible. Youngjae, on the other hand, was in the middle of a very important mission. I paced across the hallway, waiting for the doctor to come out. Daehyun was on the phone. I didn’t know how much time went by, but it felt like an eternality. Daehyun hung up the phone with a scowl. He came to me and opened his mouth to say something, but a messenger came behind him. The messenger was a young boy, probably only 16, but his eyes were as died as Woori’s. His eyes showed the many dreadful events and deaths. They held in no warmth for this world. He had light short hair with a small, round baby face. He came towards us expressionless that mismatched his innocent-like face.

“I’m here to tell Yoo Mihi, the wife of Yoo Youngjae, an important message. Please let me through.”

I looked into his eyes. Behind his emotionless eyes lays all the secrets behind this cruel world. I went to his most recent memory, the message he needed to send to Mihi. Once I watched that small piece of memory, I could feel myself feeling weak. Regret immediately came over me. My legs were going numb and my hands became cold. My eyes were stinging as I only stared into space. I could hear a thumping sound coming from my ears and I forgot how to breath for a while. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it. Youngjae, my friend’s husband and my friend, was dead. I trembled back and Daehyun caught me before I fell.

“What’s wrong Haneul?” he asked.

I didn’t answer him, I couldn’t. I would only be admitting it. So I just buried my face in his chest, trying to keep myself together. I heard the messager’s walking and his footsteps getting farther away. He’s leaving. What a pitiful young boy. Daehun put his arms around me, letting warmth surround me. We separated when the doctor came out of the room. I saw two nurses coming out holding tiny babies. We looked at the doctor and rushed to him. He looked tired, ashamed, but mostly sympathetic.

“We successfully took both the twins out, but I’m afraid it was too much on her body. I’m not sure how long she has, but you can say your last words to her,” he quickly walked by, trying to avoid my eyes.

I stood in shock, still trying to face reality. Mihi was going to die soon….. Mihi, my best friend…. Dead….. Youngjae…. My friend…. Dead…. I snapped out of it and started running to the room. I opened the door and saw a pale and tired Mihi. Her head was sweaty and her hair looked dead. Her bright blond was gone and the orange highlights were turning gray with each second. She didn’t have much time left. The heartbeat monitor was slowly beeping making a sad beep…. Beep… beep… sound. I took small baby steps as I went towards her. My heart painfully broke with each step I took. My eyes were blurred with the heavy tears that covered my vision. She looked so vulnerable.

“Haneul?” her voice croaked. Her voice was so tired. It almost seemed like she didn’t have any strength left.

I walked next to her and she took my hand. I could see the tears in her eyes.

“Mihi, Youngjae is.. He’s…”

“I know,” she whispered. “We both saw it coming. He was in no condition, but we couldn’t say anything. His power was slowly killing him. It took more damage on him than his opponent.”

Her tears fell from her eyes and new ones began filling them. Just seeing them, my own tears began falling. I looked away from her and she only held my hand tighter.

“Oh Haneul, why are you crying? You’re a strong person. I know you are,” she tried comforting me.

My tears only came more. I felt so useless, so hopeless, and so weak. I was the one who should be comforting her, but she’s doing it to me instead.

“Haneul, please do me one more favor,” she breathed out. I looked at her. “Please take care of my kids.” I shook my head.

“I can’t do that, they’re your kids, you’re treasure, you’re happiness! I can’t take them away from you and Youngjae!” I yelled. She weakly smiled and slowly shook her head.

“They’re my last gift to you. My happiness… my treasure…. will be my last gift to you."

She closed her eyes and the last bit of tears came out. Her hand dropped on the bed. The warm smile on her face was no longer there. The beeping heartbeat on the heart monitor came to one long continuous deafening note. My friend, my only true friend, was gone forever. My tears continuously ran down my face. I started hiccupping and wiping my face with my hands. I couldn’t stop myself.

I sniffed as I looked at the grayish white stone and the reddish brown stone. My phone started ringing from my pocket. I looked at who the caller was but the instant I saw who it was, anger filled every part of my body. I had another mission to do. Daehyun came up from the hill at the right time.

“Let’s get the kids home first before heading out,” I said.

He took my hand and we ran to the car. We hurried back home to put the kids to sleep before heading out. This mission was going to be a long and tiring one, but I had to do this to survive. So that next year, I could let her how much they have grown.

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This is my short story I had to write for my English class. It was part of one of my stories that I deleted. It's really long and had some corny stuff, but I like it. I don't think I'll ever write the whole story though... It'll be more like a book if I took the time to write it out :P Anyways, I know I haven't updated in a long time, but finals are coming up and I don't really have any motivation to write anything.... so this is like a gift... I don't have anything else to say... so bye~