I feel as if I were in a dream. The colours are muted and sounds seem akin to passing a tunnel. It’s strangely unreal, the feeling of weightlessness, like a simple breeze would blow me away. I see a door opening in front of me, tinkling wind chimes alerting anyone inside of a visitor. There are two boys my age, perhaps younger unloading old, tattered books from large boxes. I faintly remember being here, when, I can’t recall but everything looks familiar.

                One of the boys looked up, pale face with a mischievous glint in his eyes. The boy smiled a dimpled smile at my direction. I smile back as best as I could, maybe this person can tell him where my unconscious has drifted to.

                “You have a very important guest coming…” the pale boy with dimples says with a hint of laughter in his voice. The statement struck me as odd. A guest is coming? Aren’t I here, standing where they are?

“Shut up, Yi Xing…” The other boy looked up, the one busy sorting through thick ancient journals judging from the looks of yellowing onion paper used in olden times. He looked right through me and I was frozen in place, the air knocked out of my lungs. This boy was breathtakingly appealing. One might mistake him for a girl if one doesn’t look properly. Face white like rice powder with almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose and pretty pink lips.  I want to say something, to hold his gaze and have him acknowledge my presence. But I was stuck, unmoving.

“But then again…” the dimpled boy continued with a teasing tone as though he wasn’t reprimanded, still looking straight at me. “A white butterfly signifies a visit from the dead. Who did you kill with your charm this time, Min Seok-ge?”

An ancient book went flying and I felt it fly past me, missing my wings by an inch. “Hey, don’t do that… You almost hit it… That would bring bad luck…” This time the dimpled boy didn’t suppress his laugh, he bent over and picked up the journal. A curious expression passed his face, stopping his laughter. “The Lu Family made book donations? They never do… I wonder what brought about the change and this book looks like it belongs to the young master…”

The pretty boy shrugged and continued rummaging through the huge box. “It arrived earlier, I’m just sorting through it, they have a very impressive book collection…”

“I heard all the young master does is read, having a weak body and all…”

“Don’t believe in rumours too easily, Yi Xing. For all we know there isn’t a young master. No living person has seen him… but nevertheless this would help with the bookstore’s profit. I might keep some books for myself. They seem interesting…”

Hearing that, I wanted to so much as engage him with talk, it was I who owns the books after all. But another gust of wind coming from the shop door opening again stirred me from my destination. And I felt my wings getting heavy, like a weight was pushing it down.  Then realization hit me, I have wings. This isn’t a dream and the dreadful part of it was that I wasn’t in my human body.