Chapter 1
5,000 Paper Stars (One-Shot)He kept his head low, his eyes never leaving the damp dirt trail that he walked upon. He didn’t want to look up; he didn’t want to see the trees that she always loved to come and look at in the springtime when they were fresh and ripe with the promise of renewal and the trees she loved to sketch during times like now- during the fall when they were full and lush with color.
It had been a night like this when she had been doing exactly that, looking at the trees, watching the storm.
He felt hot tears begin to fill his eyes, running down his cheeks and mixing with the icy rainwater. It had been a night exactly like this when he had lost her.
*
She had called Donghae that hot July afternoon while he was still at work begging him to meet her at their special spot by the river.
“Please Oppa, can we go tonight? There’s supposed to be a thunderstorm and I want to watch!”
Her voice was as sweet and fragile as she was, light and high, but its usual sing-songy undertone was missing.
Something seemed to be off, but Donghae didn’t pay it any mind. He laughed at her excitement. He knew that it was dangerous to sit outside during a storm, but the smile on her face as she watched the lightning flash over the water’s surface and the way that she would cling to him when the thunder got too loud, made every second of the fear worthwhile.
“Anything for you,” He had said smiling, “Can you get out?”
She had laughed.
“Duh, of course I can, Oppa! I do it every time. Can you bring the paper?”
“I’ll bring it all.” Donghae was still grinning.
He could hear her laugh and clap her hands together on the other end.
“I can’t wait, Oppa. I love you!”
She hung up before he could respond. He put the phone back on the receiver and sighed happily to himself.
**
‘I had smiled,’ he thought to himself. The tears were falling faster now, competing with the rain. He found himself gasping for breath, his breathing becoming more erratic. Water from his long, sopping wet hair was dripping into is eyes. He squeezed them shut and leaned against a tree trunk for support. The rough bark dug into his chilled, damp skin.
“Donghae Oppa.”
His eyes flew open at the faint sound of her voice. He looked left, right. Only to find that he was alone.
“What the did you expect?” he muttered to himself,
“She’s gone. She’s been gone. You’re alone now.” He paused.
“You’re always alone now.” He adjusted the strap of his backpack and straightened up.
“Keep going,” the voice said again, “Come on, babo!
We’re almost there!”
She sounded the same, her voice untouched by time, still as musical and cheerful as it had been all those years ago.
He swept his hair from his eyes and kept walking down the path.
The rain was falling harder now and the wind had picked up, pushing against his body as he trudged on.
*
He had gone home after work that night to change out of his dress clothes and to grab his backpack full of origami paper that he had promised that he would bring. The sun had just begun to set and by the time that he got into his car, he could see the dark storm clouds gather on the horizon, turning the sky a menacing dark gray.
Donghae rarely ever go t to see his sister. His parents had kept her locked up in the hospital ever since she had first been diagnosed with lymphoma and as her condition had continued to deteriorate, his contact with her had lessened. His parents didn’t care about her; their youngest child was simply a burden, an accessory that they would rather lock away and forget about. But Donghae had always taken it upon himself to be there for her, especially now that her health was getting worse. He loved his little sister. And he would have done anything for her. Even if it meant taking it to the extreme.
**
“Hannah,” he whispered to himself. He had almost reached the river’s edge now. He could hear the sound of the raindrops hitting the water’s surface.
*
As Donghae drove to his and his sister’s special spot that night, the storm had come earlier than he ad expected. By the time that he had reached the first stoplight, it was completely dark. When he had reached the turn off to the dirt path, the rain was completely pounding on the hood of his car, the wind whipping the rain on his windshield to the point that it was nearly impossible for him to see where he was going. He parked at the turnoff and continued down the dirt path on foot, leaning into the harsh wind.
**
‘Just like now,’ thought to himself, ‘just like then.”
*
The first rumble of thunder had sounded by the time that he had reached the river’s edge. Water was streaming down his body and it was pitch black outside.
“Hannah?” Donghae shouted out, “Hannah are you here?”
There was a flash of lightning and for a split second, the river bank was illuminated with a bright white light. He saw Hannah standing ankle deep in the water, her bald head bare to the night sky, her pale blue knit cap clutched in her left hand.
The light faded and they were plunged into darkness again.
“Oppa!” she yelled out, “Donghae oppa, you came!”
There was another flash of lightning and Donghae caught a glimpse of the cap in Hannah’s hand. She turned it upside down and dropped what looked like one hundred origami paper stars in the river where they floated on the surface like forgotten falling stars.
“Hannah!” Donghae shouted as he ran to the river’s edge,
“Get out of the water! You’ll get sick!”
She giggled, the sound of her laugh carrying over the downpour of the rain.
“I’m already sick, Oppa,” she said, “And I’m not gonna get much better, trust me.”
Donghae splashed into the water, wading towards where Hannah was standing. He looked down at the stars floating on the surface.
“Already Hannah?” he said, “You said that you were going to wait to throw these ones in.”
“There’s no point waiting anymore Oppa,” she responded. Up close Donghae could see her face more clearly. She looked thinner than the last time that he had seen her. Frailer. Her young face was drawn and pale and- though Donghae hated to admit it- she looked sickly. “I’m not gonna last that long.”
“What the hell, Hannah?” Donghae said exhasperatedly. He reached out to embrace her but she stepped out of his reach. “Don’t talk like that! You have forever left! Even the doctors think that you’re going to pull through.”
Hannah waded out further into the river so that the water was up to her waist. She turned her back to her brother.
“The doctors don’t know like I know, Donghae,” she said, “I’m done. I called you here cause I wanted to say goodbye. And I didn’t want you to get a call tonight saying that I died. I wanted to die here. I wanted to die near you.”
Donghae could feel his throat closing up on him and his eyes filled with tears. He splashed his way over to Hannah.
“No Hannah,” he choked out. He took her hand in to his. He was crying, now, hard. His sobs wracking his whole body. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed, illuminating the river once more. The origami stars glinted in the flash of light, looking eerie in the blue-white light.
“Aren’t they beautiful, these stars?” Hannah murmured. Her voice seemed strained, as if it were coming from far away,
“They can go on forever, they can float on this river forever. They can keep going. They have no end. I’m jealous of them, Oppa. Why can’t I be like them?”
“Whoever said that you can’t?” Donghae was crying now, he didn’t know why, but he could feel the despair wash over his body like a wave, he could feel the hot tears coursing down his cheeks and he could feel the tension of a sob in his throat. “This isn’t your end, Hannah!”
“Yea, Donghae it is.” Another flash of lightning, the bright light glinting off of her rain slicked scalp. “Why do you think I gave up the stars now? Why do you think I let my wish go? I’ll never make it. I’m not going to. I’m dying, Oppa. I’m leaving. I’m leaving you.”
“No!” Donghae lifted Hannah’s thin body out of the river and carried her to the river bank. She didn’t protest, just clung weakly to his body.
He lay her down on the rocky bank and knelt at her side.
“You’re gonna be alright, okay?” He whispered to her. He removed his sodden hoodie and draped it over her. She was only clothed in her thin hospital gown and Donghae wanted to try to shield her body from as much of the pounding rain as possible. “Everything is going to be okay.”
Hannah smiled weakly at him. She took Donghae’s hand into her own and slid her eyes shut.
“Donghae oppa,” she said weakly, “I love you. Don’t ever forget that okay?”
He gripped her hand in his own tightly. He was crying harder now; his tears rivaling the storm falling around them.
“Hannah-“
“No, Oppa,” she interrupted. Even with her eyes shut, her thin face was stern, “I’m dying, okay? I called you here because I wanted this to be the last place that I saw. I wanted you to be the last person that I saw.” She squeezed his hand back and opened her large brown eyes. She stared directly into her brother’s eyes.
“Saranghae, Oppa,” she whispered, “I love you. Remember that. Always remember that.”
Donghae felt Hannah’s hand go limp in his own.
“Hannah?” He placed his ear to her chest, searching for a heartbeat. He heard nothing. “Hannah?” he said again, frantically. The sob that had been lurking in his throat ripped free and Donghae felt all the wind being knocked out of his body. He collapsed on top of his sister’s lifeless body and gasped for breath. His cries wracked his body, the sound of his tears and the intensity of his sorrow taking over his senses until the roar of the thunder and the flash of the lightning faded into the background.
His world had dissipated.
**
He reached the river bank, shivering from the cold rain. His thin t-shirt was completely soaked through, forming a sort of second skin against his chilled body.
It had stopped raining by now and the whole riverside smelled rich with the scent of damp freshly fallen leaves from the trees lining the river.
The river itself was calm, barely moving, with a slight current sending ripples traveling down it.
He sat at the water’s edge and removed his backpack, reaching into it to remove Ziplock bag filled with thin strips of pastel origami paper. Slowly, he ped the bag and took out one of the strips and with numb and trembling fingers, he began to fold. He shut his eyes.
“Hannah,” he murmured. He didn’t need to look at his work while he folded. His fingers had long memorized the pattern.
~You can easily wish on one star, that’s simple. But you won’t know if it will come true. 5,000 stars mean that your wish will come true.~
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, but after a period of time, he opened his eyes. He gathered up the small pile of stars that he had created and waded waist deep into the water.
~We can be together again. We can be a real family.~
He raised his arm above his head and dropped the stars into the water.
“There,” he murmured, “5,000 stars.”
He tilted his head back to the sky and sighed.
“5,000 paper stars!” he shouted at the heavens, “I did it!”
Tears began to leak from his eyes, hot and fast, racing down his cheeks.
His voice softened and he lowered his head towards to water.
“Now bring her back to me,” he whispered, “Please. Bring her back.”
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Well that's it! I hope you guys liked it. Comment please :]
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