Memories | Sanjoong

20. Visions

*
The world is an illusion
and the death is the ultimate truth
*

The scenery outside passed by in a blur. It was around 5pm and San was tapping his pen against the page, once again lost in thought. He was thinking about everything he had found out from his trip to Busan. It sure was a lot more than he would usually find. San looked at the page and sighed, his mind drifting in and out of consciousness. He felt himself floating into the memories again and was really trying not to let it happen. He distracted himself with Mr. Park, whom he had just left behind.

***

The news paper article dropped from San's hand when he saw Mr. Park enter.

"What are you looking at San? Did you find what you were looking for?" He asked cheerfully, closing the door behind him.

That's right. What was San looking for in the first place?

"I think so. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just wanted to do some research on the area," he lied.

"Well you could just ask me, I've lived here all my life. I know almost everything there is to know."

San looked at the ground where the article had dropped to. He looked up at Mr. Park and sighed. Picking up the file with the newspaper, he walked to the old man and showed it to him. "This... can you tell me more about the boy who died?"

Mr. Park's face faltered for a second, but he quickly recollected his thoughts and spoke. "This wasn't too long ago, maybe a few years ago. There was a boy who was known for being... a little unhinged." Mr. Park spoke as though he was trying to find the right words. "This boy was infamous for telling tales of vision he had seen, whether they were in his dreams or during the day when he zoned out."

"But what happened to him? What caused his death?" San asked, his curiosity making him excited to hear the story.

"The boy began obsessing over his visions, treating them as if they were real. He broke in to restricted places, took things he wasn't supposed to touch, occasionally hurt people. Anything he said was always related to his visons. It drove him crazy. People thought he had existing mental issues, but he wasn't always like that. He was carefree and happy once too. I saw him often and slowly by each passing day I watched him descend into madness. That was until that night... it was as though the images he created in his head had completely taken over him and forced him to end his life on that very bridge we visited this morning."

San took a while to process it, his brain working fast to try and think of something. He found it odd that it was the same bridge that popped up in his memories. San also thought about the familiarity of this story. He was just like San, seeing things in his head... things that just felt too real to be false.

It can't be... can it? Was there really someone else like him once? Someone who had visionary fits like he did... was it possible?

He thought about it again, then decided he should tell Mr. Park the truth.

"What if I told you that I am just like the boy in the article?" San asked cautiously.

"What are you trying to say?" The old man questioned.

"I also see 'visions'. They come to me when I'm sleeping or unfocused. I call them memories . Although at first I was against the idea... I'm starting to believe that these are linked to a past life. I'm actually here in Busan to find out more about it," San confessed, hoping that he wouldn't seem completely crazy, since Mr. Park seemed to have seen a similar case.

"I won't stop you from your research, but I want you to know that if they really are from a previous life, then obsessing over the past will do you no good - especially a past in which you didn't exist. You'll lose the present and give away your future. Don't make the same mistake that the boy did."