The Day of Thunder

[Haka Tae-soo]

Maybe it was the fact that the trip here took so long, and so much had changed since the incident. Maybe it was the sound of the river - even a traumatised river that he had no idea how to help.

But somehow, the last two days in this (decidedly weird) village didn't feel more stressful than the weeks... now months, that came before.

So when Tae-soo's head settled itself on the impromptu pillow on the tent by the river, sensing Ha-yeong close by, once again he felt that pull, and immediately fell asleep.

The dream that started was all but comfortable. It was as if reliving that fateful day - he and Ha-yeong making their way to the next ritual spot, then being interrupted and told of what had happened. Rushing back. Finding houses torn, burnt down.

Then he saw it. Eomoni's face, crying. Nuna running away, holding Darae's hand, running away. Somehow it was almost as if they were afraid of himself. Ha-yeong suddenly wasn't by his side. He looked for them, then looked into the river, trying to see his face.

He saw the river smiling. Gangmul-sshi showed him the rain putting out the flames that still burnt in parts of the houses. Halmeoni smiling. He asked about Ha-yeong, about his family, a teardrop slowly trickling from his eyes into the river. As it hit the surface of the water, he felt it. He was the teardrop. He dived into the water. He felt embraced.

A smile crept into his face. It was still there when he woke up the next morning and saw Ha-yeong just up, ready to go out to pick some herbs.

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D2 EN - attempting to sleep. Will TN 20. VP spent. | 4k4 ⇒ 23 (TN: 20)