1 ☾ Encounter
Shadow of Destiny
☾ Hyun.Ra ☽
This must be a dream.
I mean how could this stranger, who looks just around my age, be in my room? What's with the scream I just heard? And what did he just say to me?
"I'm your shadow," he repeats, looking straight at my eyes. "And I'm a lot older than you think. About that scream... Ah, where should I start?"
I blink in confusion. Not because of his calm reaction -- well, a little bit though -- but because he just answered all questions I have in mind.
This is so not real. I must be dreaming right now. I just need to close my eyes and-
"It would be a wise and good decision if you could just sleep and forget this unexpected night," he mutters softly. "It is my mistake not to be aware with the moon's motion. I should drag the Shade[1] to Erebus[2] instead."
The Shade? Erebus? Whether it's me who has lost my mind or this stranger is insane. I have no idea what he is talking about.
The man heaves a sigh, looking above for two seconds before he snaps his fingers. All of a sudden, the light in my room is on again. I flinch due to the impossible happening, grabbing my blanket close to my chin, "What the-"
"I'm not going to waste your time," he walks to me while I keep shifting backwards until I reach the edge of my bed. "Now that the Encounter has happened, I'm pretty sure you will have more visitors soon."
"No!" I cover my ears with both hands. "This is a dream, Min Hyunra. You should-"
My rambling stops in a moment when someone -- or, to be exact, something -- breaks into my room through the window.
My hand move from ear to mouth, covering it as I hold my breath when I see what just broke my window. I almost scream my lungs out when the man whispers vividly, "Stay still. We'll talk after I finish it."
Stay still? Did he ask me to stay still when I see a monster in my room? Yes, a tall monster with gray skin and two big eyes. It has sharp nails which look like ready to rip anyone who comes close to it.
"This will be unpleasant for you to see," he stretches out his hand as if he is going to take something from the empty air. "I suggest you to close your eyes for a minute."
Not even sure why I listen to him, I close my eyes eventually. Once again the high pitch scream echoes that I cringe upon the noise. What is happening really?
As much I want to take a peek, I don't open my eyes until the mysterious guy speaks, "It's safe now."
There he is, still standing with black coat on top of his white shirt. Why don't he just disappear so I could rest assure that I'm just imagining things due to my lack of sleep?
"I know you don't like what I will tell you," he starts, tucking his hands inside of the pockets. "This is not supposed to happen if I was more careful so my apology."
I drop my jaw with disbelief. Does he think his apology is enough to explain all of these happenings?
"No, of course no," he suddenly speaks. "I'll answer your question. Every each of them if you want me to because I believe you need a really long explanation."
Did he just-
I stop thinking of anything as I realize why he keeps answering the questions I have in mind. As crazy as it is, this guy here...
"Yes, I can read your mind," he blurts out the mystery out loud. "And, in case you're wondering, I can't switch this ability on and off so, yes, I'm still reading your mind right now."
"That is absurd," I feel my hands start to tremble while holding the blanket tightly. Then I ask him the same question again, "Who are you?"
He studies my expression before bowing in ninety degrees, "I'm your shadow but I'll go with Yoseob as my name since you're not comfortable with my introduction as your shadow."
He needs to stop intruding into my mind. Wait, do I believe that he can read my mind?
"Don't think too much," Yoseob mumbles. "You can talk it out loud instead of me barging into your mind."
"Fine," I dare myself to look at him directly. "What kind of nonsense you're talking about shadow and whatever term you used? What is that creature? Why are you here? When-"
"You know...," Yoseob clears his throat casually. "On second thought, I think you should let me read your mind. I'm not sure I can remember those non-stop questions in one go."
This guy is-
"You said you're a shadow," a question pops in my mind. "Then you're not a human, aren't you?"
Impossible with this so-called-reading-mind-ability.
"I was. Once," he answers calmly, still looking at me. "Should I start to answer your questions now?"
Why does my heart beating faster because of his gaze? Crap. He can read your mind, Min Hyunra!
Yoseob chuckles but he quickly hides it, faking a cough while I feel so embarassed that I want to dig a hole and hide there.
"I'm your shadow and, as nonsense as you can think, that is perfectly true," he starts to explain. "When you're conscious, I am just nothing but shade of the light. When you're asleep, I'm fully awake."
"However tonight is an exception. When the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned, both the Individu[3] and Shadow can see each other with full conscience. Just like tonight," Yoseob continues. "I didn't expect you to return and sleep so early. If you took your sleep as usual, I believe you're still deep in your slumber now."
"That creature is just one of so many creatures live in Erebus, the Shadow Realm. The one who I fought with before you wake up is a Shade, a spirit," Yoseob looks at the broken window. "That last one is Bogeyman[4]. They have shape-shifting capabilities."
He steps closer to my bed, standing only a metre away from me, "As for now, I need to take my leave and I suggest you to sleep again."
"What- Yah! Where are you going?!" I shout to him when he walks to the window, somehow forget that somebody could hear me.
Yoseob stops and turns to give me a small smile before leaving my room, jumping out from the window.
"Because more of them will come to you, Hyunra."
☽ ☾ ☽ ☾ ☽ ☾
Author's Note:
[1] Shade : spirit or ghost of a dead person, residing in the underworld
[2] Erebus : place of darkness between earth and Hades, the underworld
[3] Individu : in French, it has the same meaning with individual or person considered alone
[3] Individu : in French, it has the same meaning with individual or person considered alone
[4] Bogeyman : A person or thing that is widely regarded as an object of fear.
Comments