Beast, Blood, & Soul

* 41 *

"Play with me."

I'm in a cave, playing with the wolf and dog while holding the bunny. I know this dream. I now know this is a memory. I watch the dream unfold. I watch Namjoon convince me to return back to the center, his bleach white hair shining in the dark cave. I see Jin, who transforms back into his wolf and leads me back to the center. I see the child I once was, enraptured by the magic of the forest she has found.

Then the dream alters. I feel like a part of me wakes up and steps away from the image of my younger self. I can feel another next to me, but it is not the child and it is not me. I look around but see no one.

"This is not all that happened." The part of me I can't see says.

"Show me more," I say. I don't know what is going on, but I know I need more information and if this voice wants to show it to me, then I'm going to follow.

I'm led through the woods by a guiding hand on my arm. I look down and nothing is there, but I feel the direction being given from beside me anyway. I see paths that are familiar to me from working in the forest. I see us go past the campground where the Kim Foundation had their annual family retreat. I feel the other's contempt for the family as I think of them. This gives me pause because I know I don't feel that way. So whoever is leading me, it's not me.

Eventually, we get to an old clearing. I can see great trees that have been knocked down. Torn down and chopped to pieces, allowed to rot here in this dying circle. I have never been here but it looks eerily familiar.

"Where are we?" I ask the guide.

"Where it began." The voice is amused.

"The curse?" I ask.

"Among other things," the voice says.

"Did I come here as a child?" I ask.

"You were conceived here." It says.

I look around, shocked. "So my parents came here,"

"Yes," it says, again amused.

"Why am I being shown this?" I ask. What do I do with this information?

"This is the beginning and this is the end. All answers come from here." This confuses me and I don't understand. I take a long look around this clearing with its very dead trees. I see shredded ropes. I see lots of blood that stains the ground. As if something died here. As I look around trying to keep the horror inside, I realize that I'm looking at seven areas filled with blood and each pile coincides with a destroyed tree. I realize why it looks familiar. My eyes widen in horror.

"The beginning and the end?" I murmur trying to imprint this scene so I will remember it when I wake up.

"Yes. You must come here with them to finish your task." I feel the voice's urgency. "The full moon rises and you will not survive if there is another."

"I'm going to die?!!" I ask, incredulous.

"You were born for a purpose. You must see it through or what good are you?" The voice says in contempt. But of what, I don't know. Contempt for me? Contempt for the curse? Contempt for the bond?

"How do I know this is the truth?" I ask. Dreams can be tricky things and mine haven't made a lot of sense most of the time.

I feel a burning sensation in my left hand. I look down and see an infinity mark glowing on my skin. " This will be your proof. Find it and go to the clearing. Only then will you see the truth of the curse."

"If I see the curse, can I break it?" I ask the voice.

"Once the bonds are complete, they cannot be unmade." The voice says softly.