Go Iljae

The cold wind hugged my frame, startling my senses. I meekly opened my eyes and adjusted my vision to my surroundings. I was in no doubt that I wasn’t in this place previously. It wasn’t as dark as the midnight and it wasn’t as bright as the noon sun as the glow of the sky was indicating that morning was about to come. I glanced at my side and noticed that I was the only person here.

Wait - Where is here?

I stood up, but I was too abrupt that I felt myself slowly falling. It was a good thing that I was able to hold on to something that felt cold or else, I would’ve made an embarrassing scene. But why do I care? No one is around anyways. I quickly walked away and roamed around the place, leaving the grassy plains that seemed to falter when I stepped away.

I was in a peculiar prairie where I assumed was the quiet valley between the West Village and the cliff near the East village. I saw how the red tulips swayed side by side and how its dew slid down to its root swiftly. It was another calming place just like the West Village; it was just that I would prefer this over that.

I averted my gaze and saw that there was a little open area near it, where I saw a miniature, new swing oddly placed there. As I moved near it, small infrastructures of houses appeared as if it unfolded upon my gaze. The oddity of this. Small huts rose strangely from the ground and lush trees appeared out of nowhere, where it shaded me from the sunlight that also seemed new to me that I felt. It was then when I realized that the sun had risen up towards the sky. It was odd how it seemed like it was 2:00 am a while ago and now, it was 10:00 am. And I just walked for a good 10 minutes. It was just simply impossible. The way scenes shifted from one to the next was somehow fast as if I was in a dream.

A little creek startled me, disrupting my thoughts away.

I looked at the swing and saw it moving by itself – or by someone. I walked towards it slowly and peeked. I was more than shocked when I saw a little girl in a white dress swinging alone. I immediately thought that it was a ghost.

“Twinkle, twinkle little star~,” she hummed that sounded so sorrowful.

I felt Goosebumps cover me and a shiver down my spine when I heard her voice. But her voice wasn’t creepy but rather, relaxing. I found myself slowly walking towards her, making sure she doesn’t hear me. I stopped in the nearby tree and hid there. I was now in her left side. What stunned me was when I noticed that her face portrayed a sad one an agonized one. I felt my heart crumble at the sight of her.

I wanted to go to her and comfort her, but someone got to her before me and stood in front of her. It was a boy carrying a tulip behind him. I saw how the tulip was plucked out of its roots abruptly and in an irritated manner. I chuckled even more when I saw bits of soil sticking out of its roots. Oh, the adorable scene of this.

“Hey,” he said.

She quickly looked up and saw a boy. “A–Are you talking to… me?” she asked, completely surprised.

“Yes,” he said.

She sighed and looked down again and slightly rocked her swing back and forth. She stopped when a tulip was presented in front of her. I noticed that she was feeling curious as to why she was giving him flowers, but nonetheless, fascinated by it.

“My mom told me that whenever a girl is sad, you should give her flowers,” he stated, a little bit happier than before.

“A-Are you… giving it to me?” the little girl asked, astounded.

“Duh,” the boy retorted and rolled his eyes.

The girl grabbed the flower ever so careful. She smiled at the sight and giggled, placing away her sad face somewhere else. I saw how the little boy blushed when he saw her smile, but quickly replaced it with a nonchalant facial expression. The little boy sat at the other swing beside her and began to on a lollipop.

“T-Thank you,” she anxiously said and gazed on the tulips some more.

“So,” he said, breaking her trance on the tulip. “Why were you looking glum?”

“I-I wasn’t!” She quickly defended herself. The boy laughed and pinched her cheeks. “I was just… admiring the grass.”

He laughed at her failed reasoning.

I turned around and giggled as they talk some more. The way they talked to each other was comforting despite the fact that they had only met. I smiled at myself as I listened to their conversation. The way the little girl looked so glum a minute ago and how her smile lit up her face in an instant sent butterflies in my stomach. How I vision the boy plucking the tulip slightly panicking was quite amusing. These two will go farther than what minds can think of.

“I really hope that they’ll be together forever.”

Then, I closed my eyes to reminisce the scene as drowsiness took over me.

Drip. Drop. Drip.

I felt my cheeks get damped with raindrops as I opened my eyes, realizing that I actually fell asleep. I glanced around and saw that I was in the square in the North Village. Honestly, I didn’t know how I came here, but I didn’t utter a word about it nor did I get curious of that idea. I was more than flabbergasted but I choose to be calm and rational about it. I found myself sitting and admiring the old fountain, to which I remembered, was not working anymore. But to my amazement, it was still operating and adequately functioning. And it also seems that the moss around it disappeared as if it was cleaned by someone. It looked so fresh and new compared to when I last visited here.

The sound of the loud droplets of the rain and people’s chattering stole my attention from the fountain. It was raining. I saw everyone panic as they started to run around the square, uttering incoherent words as they search their bags for their umbrellas. I saw how the road got drenched in the rain and how a lot of people slipped in it rather humorously. Everyone was frightened by the idea of getting wet in their expensive, old-looking outfits while I wasn’t even bothered to move an inch from my spot.

“Lady, shelter yourself!” I heard someone scream to me.

I felt myself run towards the nearest shelter that I saw which the bakery was. Once I reached the shade of the roof, I clamped my hands together and rubbed it to feel warm. However, the wind blew the rain drops toward me, making me feel even colder and wet. I hugged myself as I entered the shop. The strong smell of the freshly-baked bread welcomed me, surrounding the air around me. I sat down to one of its table and blew warm air towards my hands.

“Yah!” I heard someone yell.

I turned around and saw two familiar faces. They skipped towards the baker happily and greeted him with a smile. He smiled back at them and offered them two slices of baguettes.

“You two never failed to come here in my shop every day,” he commented happily and patted their heads as he went back to the counter. The two giggled and sat down in a table, munching the baguette down.

So how long have these two known each other? The last time I saw them, which was just half an hour ago, they just met. And now, they look like they’ve been together for quite some time.

And that’s when I noticed that some of their physical appearance changed. Their height’s seemed to have increased, but nevertheless, they were still toddlers. How the girl’s hair grew longer in just half an hour was unbelievably amazing.

I just realized that something was incredibly wrong ever since I woke up.

How I magically woke up in the midst of the prairies was the first strange occurrence today due to the fact that I never slept there. How I walked towards the fences of the prairies and ended up in the playground was the second one, especially when the infrastructures rose on the ground rapidly. How I magically appeared in the town square without even knowing if someone helped me or not was the third one.

And wherever I go, I see these two kids.

“Aigoo. Lady, I’m sorry I didn’t notice you there. Would you want something?” the previous baker approached me, disturbing my thoughts

“S-Sorry. I didn’t bring my money today,” I apologized.

His lips curved upwards in a cat-like manner. “Ah, it’s fine. I give free breads to the first timers here in my shop. Besides, you look like you’re a new kid here in this town, too,” he said as he made his way to grab a basket and came back to me. He swiftly opened the lid, offering me their freshly baked bread. The appeasing scent of it immediately melted my anxiousness away.

“Choose two, ma’am,” he offered.

I looked at the basket again and saw five different kinds of bread, but what caught my eye were a piece of bread with red filling inside and a slice of banana bread. I pointed it and looked at the baker ever so cautiously. He smiled and closed the lid. Soon, a plate was placed in front of me along with the bread that I chose.

“You know,” the baker said, stealing my attention from the pastries, “Your choices of pastries remind me of that little girl there.” He pointed at the two kids, who appeared to be lost in their own little world.

“Really? Well, maybe because it catches the eyes of ladies,” I joked. He smiled and went back to the counter when another costumer went in.

“Ah,” he stopped midway, “If you ever need something, just yell my name Jongdae.”

I nodded politely and looked away. As soon as I turned to look at the square, I found myself in a very familiar place. I just realized that I wasn’t in the bakery anymore but rather, in another place. The smell of the bread faded as the scent of the recently chopped woods filled my lungs. I looked at my surroundings and saw that I was already inside a house. The transition of the events somehow ticked me off, knowing that another mystery is being unveiled.

I observed the house. The warmth of it made me realize the comfort and coziness that it was giving me, the same effect I feel whenever I was in my house. The brownish color of the walls somehow reminded me of my house. The faint shade of the sunset also gave the same effect on me, creating a very wistful feeling in my chest. And I felt that somehow, I belonged here; that I have been here.

“Oh, the bread!” I gave a sigh when I became conscious that the bread that was laid down before went to waste. “Oh well, I’d just come back again to him and maybe bring some money that time.”

I walked around to know where I was. How the house resembled my cabin was slightly funny and at the same time awkward. The difference was just that this house was new and much more presentable to look at rather than mine, which looked so old and run down. Even my familiar walls cannot compare to these newly-painted house!

“Hey, Jae!” someone yelled. I automatically jerked my head around upon hearing the familiar name and saw the boy a while ago, who wasn’t little anymore. He looked like a normal 13 years old boy who had these normal physique of a preteen. But I was feeling something off with his face. Like I had seen that before I just couldn't put my toungue in to.

Right then, I heard fast-paced footsteps behind me and saw that it was the girl running excitedly, whose age was similar to the boy that I previously saw. Her face also reminded me of someone, which I cannot remember, too. I immediately moved out of the way for her to run freely. But what startled me more was that she looked as if she didn’t even notice my very presence in the house, like I was invisible. Anyway, I followed her upstairs, where I saw the same boy kneeling over something in the back of the bed.

He gestured her to come closer. “Jae! Look!”

She knelt down and soon, laughed. I stooped down to see what they were looking at and saw that he had carved something in the back of the bed frame.

' S + I = <3 FOREVER '

Then, the girl beamed and hugged the boy. Seeing how they smiled at each other, I knew that it wasn't just friendship that blossomed between them, but rather something deeper than that.