'West was the Dream.' Geonhak x Reader

Chapter 7 - Ending 1/2

If you are looking for a less happy ending, read this chapter. If not, the rest of the story will continue past this point with a happier end.
-/-/-/-/-/
She thought hard about the boy that visited them only for a short time but the time was special to her. She thought a lot about the things that left her, they both nursed the bird and when it was ready it flew away, its whereabouts unknown but she imagines it had made its nest and maybe even had a family. Like the bird, Geonhak also left her. He had his own dreams and followed them, it made her somewhat jealous. She only ever grew up here and never had the chance to travel, these big empty golden fields suddenly felt suffocating and stale, too small of a place for her.

What was her dream? What did she want to do? Geonhak was all she could think of, his smile invaded her mind for the next few hours since the wagon of men left. If she ever wanted to see him again it would be impossible, even knowing which direction he travels it would take a lot of patience and asking around in hopes she could find him.

The winter months ended and finally she could leave home. It didn't take long after the snow began to fall for her to decide.

'I want to go with him. I want to find him again... when the first wagon train comes through in the spring I will go West. I will ask everyone if they have seen him before and where he might be now.' She told her parents early on in the new year. They warned her he could have been anywhere if he was even still alive.

'He could have gotten sick and died.' They reminded her.

She didn't care, she received the gifts they handed to her for the travels and plenty of money. She hugged her parents for what might be the last time and went into town. She waited in a crowd of people, waiting along with them for the line of wagons coming into view, expanding far into the distance. The heat of the ground made the view hazy the further back she looked. There were families and many single travelers climbing onto the large ox and horse driven carts. The most possessions anyone had on them were very small. Taking up space on the trail was not allowed and any space was reserved for people rather than items. The girl held tightly to her bag of things that sat on her lap, money and letters from her parents inside. She also brought a feather left behind by the bird, it was what she had left of Geonhak. He paid the closest attention to the feathers after having seen them many times, he told her once how the pattern was uncommon.

The wagons started to move and took her attention back into the moment, the wheels turned and the sun was hot this day but the shade of the cloth covered wagons kept them cool. She spent months asking the townspeople at each stop if they had seen a man with an old brown hat and a chicken feed bag for carrying, Geonhak did not appear like most people around either and that was an advantage she took.

Most did not know of him and she went further along with the train until one woman recalled seeing him around, telling her that he has come into town to buy feed for cattle and one or two wooden childrens toys. Y/n kept asking until she was given the directions out to the land, she was even offered a ride out there as it was nearby.

(If this was not him then I will go West again and keep searching.) She though while arriving to a freshly built cabin.

The man that gave her a ride stayed back and waited for her as she walked down the dirt road, passing rows of trees that occasionally blocked the view of the place.

A woman came out with a baby in her arms, calling a name that sounded familiar and y/n stopped in her tracks, peeking behind a tree. She saw a man walk up to the woman and take the baby in his hands, y/n could see his face clearly from this distance. It was him. The three disappeared inside, unknowing of the guest watching them.
—-

He finished helping his wife put the baby to sleep and kissed her cheek before going back to his daily chores. He stopped at the front door as he saw something catch his eye, a feather placed carefully on the ground and nothing else. Picking it up, he recognized its pattern and memories came back to him. He ran to the entrance of his fence beside the dirt road and looked in both directions.

It was empty.

He kept the feather since that day and always wondered.

What if.