The Envelope

 

 

 

     My imagination takes me places.
    Today, I find myself on the outskirts of Daegu...

 

 

 

Taehyung stands by his postbox, poring over the countless junk mail in his hands and tossing them into the dustbin by the side. Finally, two pieces remain: one is the weekly, wordless postcard he gets from his grandmother, and another...

It's an envelope addressed to him, marked with no return address. A small inscription by the side reads In case of misdelivery, burn immediately. The sender has even taken pains to douse the envelope in something that smells suspiciously like kerosene. Taehyung mulls over the picture of breathtaking scenery on the postcard for a while, even forcing a happy smile onto his face for the sake of his grandmother before chucking it into the bin as well. As a cold, biting wind stings his face, he shivers and turns, his breaths framed by puffs of water vapour in the frosty winter air, and heads into the house.

He slides into a seat at the kitchen island and tears off the top of the envelope. A single sheet of writing paper falls out, neatly landing on his lap. He picks it up. The writing is small, spidery, and vaguely familiar.

 

Dear Tae,
How are you? It's me, Park Mihye. Do you remember? We first met in the playground when we were three, and we played together ever since, all the way till we were eleven, when you moved away. You were crying so much, you could hardly see where you were going through all the tears.
I've missed you.
By the time you read this, I will have passed away. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 terminal cancer back a few weeks ago, and am currently resding in the hospital. I have something of yours, though, I left it with my mother. We're at 8 Gossamer Street. I'm sure she'll welcome you warmly, I've been telling her all about you.
Apologies for the late letter, but since I only just found out about my condition, I never really had the urge to write to you all these years.
Have a good life ahead, Tae. Live it well for me. I'll be watching over you.
Love,
Mihye

 

Little Mihye's handwriting was the exact copy of her handwriting now, except a lot larger. Taehyung shakes his head for a little bit, momentarily disoriented, and reads the letter again. Mihye, his childhood friend... gone. He definitely still remembers her; all those years spent together left many happy memories of his growing years. He still thinks about her every now and then, wondering if she is faring well, but since they lost contact he never dared to go looking for her. He supposes it would be a simple matter of logging onto some social media website and browsing through the Park Mihyes there, but for some reason it just never occurred to him, till now. And it's too late.

That night, as he tosses and turns, still thinking about the envelope and the message it holds, there's a flash of white light from his window. Taehyung looks up just in time to see a small, white feather appear out of thin air and flutter to a rest on his window sill. Mihye. Maybe she really is watching over him after all. He reaches out to the feather and tenderly grasps it between his thumb and index finger for a while, then lets go and leaves it lying on the window sill. And with that last, comforting thought of the day, he shuts his eyes and drifts off to sleep.

 

 

Taehyung knocks. There's a few crashes from inside the house, then someone shouts, "I'll get it!" The door opens and a flustered-looking woman greets Taehyung at the door, oven mittens over her hands and covered from head to toe in flour.

"Merry Christmas Eve! What is it?"

Taehyung stills for a bit. He'd forgotten today was Christmas Eve. He recovers quickly, flashing a bright grin at the lady. "Sorry, is this a bad time?"

"Oh no, not at all," the woman smiles back. She's a bad liar, because her hands twitch.

Taehyung decides to ignore this. He's taken a long trip here. "I'm Kim Taehyung, Mihye's friend. I was wondering..."

"Oh, dear boy!" The lady exclaims, pulling off her mittens and dragging him in. "Mihye told me you might be coming. Sit, sit!"

"I really don't mean to impose—"

"Nonsense. We're having a Christmas party in half an hour, I insist you join in."

Taehyung can't argue with Mrs Park. She ushers him into the living room loudly, introduces him to her husband (who sits in the living room hanging up Christmas baubles) even more loudly, and returns to the kitchen to resume her preparation for the party. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees her hastily wiping her eyes on her apron.

Taehyung's awkward. He perches himself on the couch, seeing but not watching the television screen, which is blaring out Christmas carols and advertisements. Outside, snowflakes begin to fall, as if to add to the magic of Christmas. So this is what her family is like.

People begin to arrive for the party, and they all seem to know each other. Taehyung watches, with a mounting sense of apprehension, as they cross the room to talk and laugh together. Maybe he should just leave quietly, and come back another day...

"Hey."

Taehyung looks up. A muscular boy who looks about his age stands over him, holding out a hand. Taehyung shakes it cautiously. "Hello."

"What are you doing here alone? The food's good, the party's rolling. You should get up and talk to the girls," the boy says, grinning cheekily and pointing to a group of (rather attractive) teenage girls who are grouped around the chocolate fondue. His eyes form small crescents that disappear into happy crinkles, and Taehyung takes a liking to him immediately.

"I'm good, thanks," he laughs. The boy's smile fades a bit.

"Mom told me you're Mihye's friend, the one she always talks about," he says seriously, plopping himself down beside Taehyung, who looks up in surprise. "I'm her brother, Jimin, Park Jimin."

"Kim Taehyung, and yes, I am. When did she go?"

"Just yesterday night, right after midnight. At least she stayed for Christmas Eve."

Taehyung nods in understanding as Jimin stands up and motions for him to follow. "She left your baby anklet for us to pass back to you. It's pretty valuable, so she figured it wouldn't be right for us to keep it."

"My baby anklet? I—oh," Taehyung was expecting something a little more sentimental, more special, so he can't help but feel disappointment well up in the pit of his stomach as the two boys climb the stairs to the second level, away from the noise of the party. Jimin reaches into a small drawer in the corridor and pulls out a familiar-looking box.

 

"Mihye, I don't have a ring now, but when I grow up I'm going to buy you lots of diamonds," little Taehyung beams, holding out a battered cardboard box. Written in a large, untidy scrawl is the word Mihye's. "Will you marry me?"

The girl claps happily and laughs, a tinkling sound that fills his ears and lightens his mood. "It depends, what's inside?"

Taehyung opens the box and presents it to her. Inside lies his most treasured posession, a golden chain that he wears around his ankle. "My heart."

"I'll marry you," she giggles.

 

Taehyung snaps out of his daze and thanks Jimin as the boy hands the box to him. Maybe, just maybe, Mihye's given him the best Christmas gift he's received in years.