Love Across Universe

Lunar New Year

Soojin

The atmosphere in my motherland, Korea, was always enchanting, but during Lunar New Year, it transformed into something truly magical. An aroma of tradition and celebration filled the air, and the streets, adorned with twinkling lights and colorful decorations, exuded a festive vibe.

Here I was, standing in front of a small stall festooned with vibrant banners and lanterns. This temporary stall, set up only for the occasion, had a handwritten banner proclaiming, 'Happy Year Of The Rabbit' in Korean.

"Does this look good?" Sooah asked, showing me a hand fan adorned with a picture of a rabbit, the majestic creature symbolizing this year.

"It'll look good only for a few days. After we return to the States, it'll end up in your drawer," I said, trying not to sound rude but voicing a likely reality. Sooah would use it for this year's festival, but next year, it would be forgotten when another creature would take the spotlight.

"Leave your smart American shell for a while and indulge in some traditional mood," she said, paying for the hand fan.

My sister and I had similar tastes, but she was more traditional while I leaned towards a Westernized style. It wasn’t my fault; she had spent two more years in Korea than I had.

We were in Seoul, but my family still spoke to me in English because I was most comfortable with it. Sooah was seven and I was five when we moved to the States. She still had her childhood Korean friends, but I had none.

Mostly, I had only three friends at school, counting Alain as my best friend. The year of the rabbit reminded me of him. Why? Because it symbolized friendships and relationships. Every year during this time, I’d video call Alain to show him the streets, decorations, and lights. This year was different. My eyes turned glossy again.

"Ttal, what are you doing? Come, it's prayer time," Appa called me, and I moved towards the Han River.

People generally gathered here to pray to the River God of the Han River. Meaningless, right? But who would make these people understand? Such gods didn’t exist, but Eomma explained long ago that it was a belief they followed.

I joined my hands and closed my eyes. For the first time, I decided to break my modern and rational thinking and prayed sincerely for the safety of the Abreos. I knew it wouldn't work, but let's give it a try. Who knows, maybe a miracle would happen...

"WHAT?" I screamed at the top of my voice and was about to run to the nearest point of the river when I felt a strong grip around my waist, pulling me back.

"What happened?" Sooah held my hand tightly.

"Have you gone mad?" Eomma said, putting her hand on my forehead.

The people around us gave looks of disbelief.

"I...I just saw him," I stuttered, trying to make my speech clear.

"Who?! And God forbid if I hadn't pulled you back in time, you would have drowned by now," Appa said, shock evident on his face.

"I saw Alain, Appa! I wouldn’t have drowned...the high tides aren't that high; I could've saved my best friend," I said, breaking down.

"Oh my ttal, you must have been dreaming. I was watching closely; there wasn't a single sign of any creature. There isn’t any bush either, so he couldn’t hide. Jagiya, let’s go back home; I understand you’re tired," Eomma comforted me, patting my back.

I followed my family, taking one last glance at that place.

We reached home after a 30-minute walk. We lived in the capital, so the Han River wasn’t far.

It was past midnight, and I couldn’t sleep. Sooah was snoring beside me. In our Seoul house, there were just bedrooms; since we didn’t visit often, it hardly mattered.

Reflecting on today's incident, I pondered over it. Who was that guy then? To be honest, I couldn't tell whether it was a human or not; I thought I saw a shadow...a dark one. I thought it was Alain because I was thinking of him. Yes, that was possible.

But it looked like Alain. My visions couldn't trick me; I was sure. Suddenly, the creepy stories Alice used to tell me started haunting my mind, and I began to sweat. God, why? Ghosts didn’t exist.

"Why are you still up?"

I saw a face beside me, whitely lit, and screamed at the top of my lungs. "AAAAHHHHH!!!!"

"Hahaha, it was fun, siso," Without even looking, I knew whose voice it was - Sooah!

"You were sweating, and I knew you were thinking of something creepy, so I decided to turn on the flashlight. Since the light was aimed at my face, it illuminated the best feature God gifted me," she said, turning on the lights with a playful smile.

"Does everything in this world seem like a joke to you, Min Sooah?" I dropped all honorifics because I was fuming now.

"You must respect elders, Soojin. Now, get back to sleep." She turned off the lights, and I rested my head back on the pillow.