Paper Cranes

Part 4

The brunette doesn’t come visit the kids’ room anymore and something tells Chaeyoung that it’s not because she doesn’t want to, but she can’t. Her skin is paler and she’s always in bed, sitting upright when Chaeyoung visits.

She enters Jisoo’s room with a small book in hand, taking her usual seat next to the bedside. It’s not the usual big picture book Jisoo’s used to seeing Chaeyoung haul around for the kids.

“What’s the book for?” Jisoo’s eyebrow goes up as she stops folding her paper crane.

“What else is a book for?”

“You could use it to hit people with. At least, that’s what my teachers did to me.”

Chaeyoung scrunches her face together at that thought. “I’d rather kick people than hit them with a book.”

“You with that bamboo legs?”

The book in Chaeyoung’s hands almost goes flying, but she refrains from inflicting such an injury on Jisoo’s head.

“My legs is not that bad!”

“Yeah keep dreaming, kiddo.”

“Stop being a pain in the ass or I’ll leave for tonight.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s already 8:30 anyway. Visiting hours are over in 30 minutes.”

“Hence the book. I’ve decided to read you bed time stories.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure to for a bed time story?”

“Consider it an early Christmas present.”

“Hey, hey. I am not five years old like the kids next door... Are you trying to distract me too?”

“Maybe. Now, shh.” Chaeyoung shushes her as Jisoo just scowls at her. Clearing her throat, she begins to read.

“Once upon a time there was a girl who wanted to learn how to shiver. She went to haunted houses and hung around in cemeteries and wandered the dark forest, but she was never afraid, and never shivered. She played with mad dogs and walked on high wires and leapt from tall trees, but she was never afraid and never shivered. She read tales of horror and tended the sick and had a witch foretell her death, but she was never afraid and she never shivered.

So she dove to the deep sea, and climbed the high mountains, and walked the wide desert alone; she lay down in tombs and fought ogres and dragons and chased after treasures; she became famous in the entire wide world. But she never did shiver, and she lamented this one night as she lay down with her lover.

And that night she finally shivered, but she was never afraid.”

Closing the short story book, she peeks at Jisoo who has her eyes closed.

“How was your Christmas present?”

“Christmas? That was more like a Halloween horror story.”

“Did you shiver?”

“No.” Jisoo said as she sticks her tongue out. “Why would anyone want to learn how to shiver?”

“That’s not the moral of the story.”

“Who wrote these silly tales?”

“A collection of authors. That one was from someone who enjoys walking in snow.”

“Pfft. What a bunch of weirdos.” She grumbles as she pulls the covers up further.

-/-/-/-

“Why are you smiling like that?” Jisoo stares suspiciously at Chaeyoung, “It’s creepy, stop it.”