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002. THE APPLE TREE. SPRING, 1967 nine years ago.
The first time Solara Kim saw Sirius Black was under his apple tree.
Well, it was the apple tree she saw first. The great statue stood proudly towards the back of the garden, shielding its own ripe goods on every arm, while thick, timber branches reached towards the sky. It stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the Black home exterior, the rich apples burning light through the dark patches of cruelty the house endured. She couldn't help but admire it. It stood strong and bold - just like the family that resided there.
Peering over the rusty fence, Solara clambered up to see if she could get a better view, her small limbs providing her with barely any support. The fence rocked under the newfound weight as its strength failed, the old wood snapping and Solara sprung back, landing back on her feet with a sharp exhale. She held her hands out in alarm as the creaking fence toppled to the side, before colliding with its brother, creating a gap between her garden and the neighbour with the apple tree.
Solara rapidly whipped her head around for any potential eyewitnesses, only calming when she noticed there were none, her heart daring to rip out of her chest. She was alone, and now a perpetrator. What if she was transported back to Korea and was locked up in a cheongsonyeon gyodoso with all the other juveniles who broke people's fences? What would her eomma and appa say? They'd worked so hard to provide a living in order to buy a house and now, they had a delinquent as a daughter. Would they be disappointed?
Gulping, Solara stepped forward, her eyes hyper-alert and sweeping her surroundings as she pierced her head through the broken wood, her hands only grazing the cracks for support. She was afraid of breaking it any further.
"Hello?" She called out, desperately hoping the dreaded neighbours weren't home, and weren't planning on coming back for a few hundred years. The girl held her breath as she listened for any signs of life next door. However, only the sweet smell of silence followed, seemingly confirming her answer as she heaved out a breath of relief before a back door swung open and a small, confused voice rang out.
"Hello?"
In a panic, Solara lept behind one of the newer and intact fences, slapping a hand over her mouth, praying any frightened exhales would cease any sound.
"Uh, hello?"
The voice called out again. Though this time, it was directly beside the splintered crack in the fence.
"Huh," they murmured out, their hand stroking the shards of wood. With the stranger much closer, Solara noticed the voice sounded like a male - a young boy, at that. Perhaps, he was her age? He couldn't be much older. His eyes curiously peered at the damage, running a soft finger over the snapped lines. "You weren't here yesterday."
