As The Sun Rises

Two

It had been a restless night for the boy, dream after dream filling his head as he tossed around in his cottage bed. It wasn't long before the frustration tore him away from attempting to sleep the rest of the night, so he opted for keeping his mind busy by gathering stuff he'd need for his travels. Jimin spent the early dawn hours packaging various nuts and berries, a handmade knife for protection, and a fishing pole he crafted using thin rope attached to a stick. It wasn't much but he hoped it would serve its purpose well enough.

When he could finally start to see a bit of light glowing up the horizon of his quiet and still asleep village, he had kissed his Mother on the cheek goodbye and ran off towards the trees, quiet and unseen as his bare feet carried him.

A soft whistle of wind sung its way to Jimin's ears as he stood just outside the clearing of tall trees, and from deep inside he could vaguely make out the melody of birds and crickets chirping, a sign that the world was starting to wake up, beckoning young Jimin to join them. His heart trilled happily, clutching the strap of his makeshift satchel of belongings to his chest.

Jimin always liked the forest. He would spend many hours of the day exploring the parts closest to his village. Yet he never strayed too far off in fear that he would lose his way, and for the sake of not worrying his mother when he was younger. That would all change today. Taking a deep breath, Jimin took his first few steps into the forest.

He felt the soft grass and crunching of leaves against his feet as he followed the sun's rays, basking in the warm breeze that blew his hair away from his forehead. As well as the various wildlife that made home in the forest, early spring brought about sunny weather. This time of year the sky would reward the villagers with the first signs of rainfall for the season, blessing their crops and feeding life to their drinking source. So far it looked like clear skies for the day, as far as Jimin could tell.

Minutes turned to hours as he followed the path of the sun, all the way up to the point where he could no longer recognize where he was. His eyes were strained from the continuous path, and he squinted the entire way until the sun rose up high enough to not blind him. Still, he trudged on in hopes of finding the pond. It all seemed so silly; the idea that following light would lead him to somewhere on earth. This had to of been the most bizarre thing Jimin has ever done, but he kept reminding himself that he needed to do this.

He crossed a small stream and kept heading straight, noticing signs of moss and healthy vegetation; a good sign that he was getting close to a body of water. He stopped for a moment to get a drink from the stream and eat a few berries before continuing forward. He inhaled the healthy scent of the forest, and just a bit further he listened for the source of the stream. He felt it in his heart that he was close.

Quickening his pace, he pushed through the vegetation that blocked his way, fighting hard against the plants that almost seemed like they were protecting his destination. Persistent, Jimin broke through the cluster and tripped forward on his hands when he made it to the clearing, a small gasp leaving his lips. When he recollected and pushed  himself to stand, he looked at the view in front of him, and immediately knew this is where he needed to be.

Jimin looked at the most beautiful and clear pond he had ever seen, so much so that he could see an entire population of colorful koi fish swimming about. Lily pads in full bloom lay on the surface of the water, casting a pretty reflection of green and pink. Around the pond grew small clusters of cattail plants. It was hard to believe that this place could be supposedly dangerous; the area felt so pure and undisturbed.

Jimin walked towards the water and looked down at the koi swimming around. Many had various colorings and markings that blended in with one another. He bent down, whispering a small hello to the creatures, and they greeted him back with opening mouths.

"Which one of you is a spirit?" He asked out loud, not really expecting an answer. A curious finger stretched out to touch the surface of the water, a small giggle leaving his lips when one of the fish swam up to greet it with a kiss. "That tickles."

He sat down by the edge and rummaged through his bag, pulling out the rest of his berries he had stashed away. He decided to gift them to his new friends, watching as they all swam up to him as he gently tossed them in the water. "You guys seem so hungry, I wonder how you eat out here by yourselves," he spoke as each one gobbled up the berries.

For a moment he just sat there, enjoying the break after hours of being on foot, watching the koi go about their way. He sighed as his shoulders slouched down, reminding himself why he was here in the first place. Now wasn't the time to mess around.

He unfastened the small fishing pole from his back and stood up to set the hook onto the thin wire, making sure it was secure. Looking out on the water, he searched for any sign of abnormality, but he didn't know what he was looking for. He casted his line anyway, tossing it as far as he could.

"I suppose I just wait now."

So that is what he did. He waited, watching the water and the fish swim about, waited for a sign as the sun continuously rose above his head. The boy grew restless as time passed.

"Please, please just give me a sign," he whispered to himself but hoped the earth had heard him. He closed his eyes and fought back tears, his pent up strength faltering now that he had been alone for so long. He had to be strong for his Mother's sake, not wanting to worry her and possibly make her worse, but poor Jimin had so much on his mind. He spends his entire days running around his village for items to help her, to make sure she's not alone and taken care of, doing the house chores and the food collecting, often making sacrifices of his own just to keep her alive. He almost felt like the world was cruel to him, that everything he tried just wasn't good enough. That he had done something so horrible in a past life that he was forced to endure his own karma in this life. It all just didn't make sense. He wanted to desperately hold onto that hope and kindness that stirred life inside him to keep trying, but sometimes it just felt so hard.

So finally, Jimin let his tears fall. Each little droplet fell down his cheeks as he sniffled, using the back of his hand to wipe them away. The salty tears burned his eyes and clouded his vision, but it felt good to release it. He stood there clutching onto his flimsy fishing pole as the tears flowed freely from his eyes, biting onto his lip to stop it from trembling, water droplets falling into the pond as the fish watched him in sorrow. When he was ready, he would recollect himself, but until then he let himself break for a moment.

He watched as his fish friends turned away, Jimin's heart deflating in the thought that his tears made them sad enough to leave, but suddenly all he could focus on, was a strange orange light swimming towards him from the other end of the pond. His sniffles halted and he fell silent as he watched the peculiar light. It felt like time had stopped and nothing else moved but the tiny thing, the soft orange glow filling Jimin with an odd sense of comfort, that it was going to be okay. As it got closer, he could finally see what it was. The brightest koi he had ever seen, so bright that it looked like the sun. He wanted to reach for the fish, but in a flash the entire pond blinded Jimin in a cloud of white, startling him so that he fell backwards on his rear, an audible gasp leaving his lips.

His instinct of panic spiked as he covered his eyes from the harsh brightness, scooting away as far as he could from the pond and as fast as he could, but then the brightness faded away just as fast as it came, and when Jimin lowered his hand from his face to look back, suddenly a pair of orange eyes stared back at him.

"Why do your tears fall, human?"

Jimin had found the koi spirit.