The Magic Shop

Chapter Four

Mirae stumbled into the apartment, her mother gripping the back of her shirt tightly. "You go lay down!" her mother screamed, her face pale red from anger. "I can't believe that I left work for you." The woman barked leaning against the door. The dark-haired girl teetered into her bedroom, despite the sun that peaked through the tiny window the room looked dark and bleak. Mirae threw herself on the bed in a ragdoll like motion. Her body laid lifelessly as she stared upward at the dingy white ceiling. The front door creaked open and slammed closed, a sense of peace poured over the house. Mirae relaxed into the bed, allowing her body to sink into its comfort. She slowly drifted off into a peaceful slumber. Her mind, for a moment, drew a blank leaving her thoughts... her dreams in complete darkness.

A dim spotlight pierced through the surrounding darkness revealing a shimmering red apple. It was dripping with a dewy moisture; the water ran down the apple onto a pearly white pedestal. A small butterfly crawled over the apple from behind and opened its wings to fly. Rose petals swirled around the apple and the butterfly took flight, disappearing into the darkness. A pair of wet hands stretched out around the apple. "Don't worry," a voice whispered, it was distorted as if multiple people were speaking through the same vessel. "all of this is not a coincidence." The voice continued. The voices were vaguely familiar, but there was something about them that the girl could not pinpoint. A low humming melody resonated through the darkness just under the sound of the voice. The hands remained outstretched around the apple. Slowly, another pair of hands became outstretched beside the original pair. Mirae's mind was confused, but it would not stop the dream.

"Through infinite worlds," another voice was added to the myriad of voices, this one more familiar than the others. The humming in the distance turned to a sweet whistle. "we've found our destiny." A bright flashing light accompanied by a sound of shattering glass bombarded the girls mind. From the chaos, two more pairs of hands appeared beside the others and reached for the girl. Mirae's body twitched and her body ran circles through its cavity. The strobing was replaced by the still spotlight and the dewy apple once again. The pink and red rose petals rose from around the apple and the butterfly flew backward towards the fruit like a movie being rewound, everything happened in slow motion. The shaken girl jumped up, her face was beaded with sweat and her chest rose and fell rapidly.

This was the oddest and most unsettling dream the high school girl ever had. In her arms, tucked protectively, was the bear that Jungkook had given her earlier. Mirae grabbed her phone, her hand clammy and moist from fear, the time was 4:45. To her, it didn't feel like she had been asleep that long, when she laid down it had just become noon. She swallowed a rough, scratchy lump in her throat, it was dry. She wandered into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, she fumbled through the cabinet until she found a glass and filled it to the brim. She quickly gulped down the cool liquid, remnants of the drink leaking down her mouth as she huffed for air. From the corner of her eye the girl saw a quick motion. She snapped her head towards the movement to see the tea kettle sitting on the stove, her body tensed up.

It had not been there when the girl entered the kitchen, she was a bit spooked, but maybe she just had not noticed it before now. The sleek black kettle stared at her, although it possessed no eyes. Its silver streaks glittered in the sunlight. The kettle whispered to her, even without a mouth, it called to her. The girl sat her glass on the counter and slunk off to her room to retrieve her tea. She lifted the lid on the box that contained the sweet packets. The girl skipped into the kitchen and grabbed the kettle, filling it with water to brew the tea. After a short wait, the girl shuffled to her bedroom and threw the curtains open. The sky was just as beautiful as it was that morning and the sun had moved to the west side of the city. The tea box fell from the rocking chair with a soft puff, opening to spill its contents.

The girl looked at the box, three packets were spewed across the floor. The girl furrowed her brows and sneered at the packets with disgust. "I only have three more?" the girl hissed, she was upset by the discovery, but she left the thought alone because her tea was cooling. She sipped the tea; the swirling taste of mid-spring excited her taste buds. The mixture of sweet and bitterness, a citrus flavor she had not tasted before. She gazed happily at the sky, the sun rays tickling her cold cheeks. She was overwhelmed by a burning need to return to the dark-haired boy and the odd world he occupied. A cool breeze brushed over the girl unexpectedly, but she did not react to it. Her limbs began to tingle from her toes upward, it was the same fiery needles as before. She continued to drink her tea and watch the sky; it had become a bluish-grey color that the girl associated with the impending darkness.