Love Across Universe

Where Were You?

Soojin

"Get up, get up. What happened to you? You're sweating a lot. Are you sick? Soojin, please," I heard the anxious voices of my mom and sister.

"Ahh! Eomma! Unnie!" I cried, clinging to my family.

"Did my baby have a nightmare?" my appa (father in Korean) asked, hugging me tightly.

"Y-yes, appa. I saw a terrible nightmare. People were dying. They seemed very familiar. T-they were begging for help, but I couldn’t save them," I said, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

"It's okay. It was just a nightmare, dear. Don’t worry about it. Freshen up; we’ll walk to school together today," Sooah said, soothingly patting my back.

They left me alone, and the room felt emptier. A sob escaped my throat as I replayed the dream in my mind, haunted by the familiarity of the voices. Why was this happening to me?

My thoughts were interrupted when eomma called me for breakfast. I quickly freshened up, donned my school uniform, and went downstairs.

After breakfast, my sister and I walked to school. It was late, so we assumed Alain had already left. He usually waited for me, but today he didn’t. It was unlike him.

Today, Alain was absent from class. I wondered what had happened to him. God! I was so fed up with his unpredictability. I texted him last evening, but he didn’t respond. Even at midnight, my message didn’t reach him. Maybe his battery was dead. But if he didn’t contact me soon, I would be hella worried.

"Soojinah, going home alone?" my sister called out, and I turned to face her.

"Oh yeah. Alain was absent today. Let’s go," I replied softly. She didn’t ask further, understanding what was bothering me.

We stopped in front of Alain’s house. It was larger than ours, surrounded by a beautiful garden. Walking up the path to the front door, I recalled the memories we made in that garden.

From planting trees to watering them and sharing childhood secrets, all these memories made my eyes glisten with tears.

Sooah rang the bell five times, but there was no response. Defeated, we returned home.

During dinner, my eomma mentioned, "I didn’t see Mrs. Abreo at the parlor today. Every Tuesday she goes to Icy Megan, but not today."

"Maybe she ran out of money. Every week isn’t financially stable," appa said sarcastically. "Sorry, I forgot Mr. Abreo cannot run out of money."

"We went to their house today. The door was locked from the outside. Alain wasn’t at school either," Sooah added, dropping her tortilla.

"That's strange. Did you ask their neighbors?" appa asked, and we shook our heads.

We didn’t discuss about them further during dinner. Afterward, Sooah and I went to our rooms.

"Hey, wanna sleep with me tonight?" Sooah asked, appearing at my door.

"I'm okay, unnie. I’ll be fine; you don’t have to worry," I replied, looking down.

"Don’t worry about Alain either. Maybe they had a medical emergency in France", Sooah assured me as she sprinted towards her room.

The next day I didn't go to school because of headache. But at noon, I went to The Garden of The Abreos to take care care of the plants.

Eomma noticed me on her way back home from Mrs. Brown's kitty party and stopped on her tracks. "What are you doing there?"

"Alain and I nurtured these plants like our siblings, and I can’t let them wither," I bowed my head and continued my work.

"Oh, my ttal (daughter in Korean)! You’ve grown into such a kind and caring lady, jagiya (honey in Korean). You were sick yesterday. Don’t stress, let’s go back home," By the time eomma arrived, I had completed most of the work and decided to go with her.

"Mrs. Brown said she last saw them on your birthday night. They boarded their car and left at dawn," eomma said, unlocking our front door.

Mrs. Brown, their neighbor and the ‘spy’ of our society, missed nothing. She always poked her nose into others’ affairs. I didn’t like her, but to learn more about Alain’s family, I had to visit her.