Daldal: Main story

Prologue

"Live alone."

It was a harsh season.

The sky incessantly spewed snow, and in a world where white had turned upside down, coldness filled the air.

Amidst the freezing winter, a day in this harsh season, saw someone experiencing loss for the first time.

This is the story of a mere twelve-year-old boy.

The one who taught him about the first taste of loss was none other than his mother. She was both his parent and his mentor. Giving birth to the child and raising him made her a parent, and guiding him through life, starting from his first steps, made her a mentor. The last lesson she imparted was about parting. A farewell that was eternal.

For a child unfamiliar with the ways of the world, it was an excessively cruel experience. Why wouldn't it be? It was the separation from the closest and only blood relative. The farewell to the only family he had in the world struck like an uninvited guest.

Perhaps it was fate that they went out to gather wild herbs, vowing to survive even in the harsh winter of the East. The woman, who sat crouched, diligently working with a hoe alongside her son, suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed. From that moment on, she lay in bed for several days, unable to regain her strength.

Despite enduring beatings for stealing meat to revive his mother and banging his forehead against the ground in an attempt to obtain medicine, the son couldn't revive his precious mother.

One day, the woman naturally becomes aware that an unfamiliar illness is gradually consuming her, leading her to the inevitable conclusion of life's journey. She reaches the final destination unknowingly, realizing it's time to leave, even if it means parting ways with her son.

Ironically, the emotion triggered by this realization isn't the anticipated fear of impending death. Instead, a peculiar sense of relief washes over her. She's overwhelmingly grateful to be liberated from the burdens of her challenging life. She had long been prepared for this moment. She was ready to willingly take the hand offered by the messenger of the afterlife.

The only lingering regret for her was her son, Eun-oh, who would have to live the world alone from now on. The last piece of advice she left for her son, who would now face a lonely life, was simple yet profound:

"Live alone."

"Do not mingle with people, do not give your heart to them, do not trust them... Even if it means being lonely, rather live alone. Live that way. That's your mother's wish."

Rarely does one come across such a harsh piece of advice in the world, urging not to meet good people and live happily with them, but to live alone in solitude. It might be more fitting to call it a curse. However, she had no choice but to express it this way, considering the harsh reality her son was facing.

"Can you do that?"

Remarkably, Eun-oh replied that he could. He didn't ask why he had to, nor did he plead to stay together for a long time.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you in such a world..."

Eun-oh cried while smiling. He cried out of sadness and smiled for his mother. It wasn't okay, but he assured her that it was.

Death quickly encroached upon her. Even young Eun-oh could see it. Whether denied or not, reality existed, and fate approached relentlessly. Faced with the inexorable reality and fate, Eun-oh felt utterly powerless.

Therefore, in the end, she had no choice but to acquiesce to the parting.

So, he had no choice but to force a smile and bid her farewell.

"I'll be fine. So, please go in peace." Eun-oh forced a cheerful tone, believing it would allow his mother to close her eyes in comfort.

"My gentle and lovely Eun-oh..."

She gazed endlessly at her son's beautiful face, one she would never see again. Then, with her last strength, she raised her hand. The thin hand of the frail woman reached its destination, resting on her son's head.

"You know, to no one... absolutely..."

Her words were vague. Nevertheless, Eun-oh nodded, understanding what she meant.

"I love you, my child. Don't forget the words your mother said."

Looking into her son's eyes that had lost their original color, the woman painfully smiled. In that moment, longing sprouted in her heart.

"You were so beautiful..."

Long ago, Eun-oh's eyes held the sunlight. She missed that sunlight. She wanted to see that radiant beauty one more time before closing her eyes, even just once. But it was impossible. Now, the only existence in Eun oh's eyes was the venom she herself had created.

Tears streamed endlessly from the dying woman's eyes. The smile that surfaced on her parched face was filled with regret.

That was the last.

On that night, in the cold dawn, she left quietly, as if asleep. Ending her arduous life and flying far away, leaving behind her young son in a world filled with hostility and coldness.

And her advice, like a spell, entwined Eun-oh's life.

Eun-oh lived according to his mother's wishes.

Without mingling with anyone, without giving his heart to anyone, without relying on anyone, alone.