Otherworldly - Minsung

Otherworldly

*This one is cute, but it's rather light on the romance, so it's not as lovey as my typical style
*This is meant to be a more deep story, a more fairytale vibe thing
* 7,000 ish words

"Do you believe in the supernatural?"

Jisung wasn't sure why the question was ominous. Perhaps it was because he was in a small bookshop and the owner, a twiggy old man, had randomly approached him to ask it. "Um, like ghosts?" Jisung asked, slowly setting the book he was looking at into the small stack in his arms.

The old man was leaning over a cart of books, his eyes flickering around Jisung as if looking at something else while looking at him at the same time. Or perhaps his eyes were just unsteady and a little blind, it was unclear. "I suppose ghosts would be included in that. But do you believe in anything else... otherworldly?"

"I guess I do, in a way. The world hides many secrets of course, and I'm sure humanity doesn't know all of them. Like I believe magic is out there. In- in some way."

"I see. It's very good to have an open door like that in your mind. You never know what may step through it." The man smiled kindly, years of life wrinkling around his eyes and giving hints of soft wisdom he carried.

Jisung, though preferring to stick to himself and shy away from interacting with new people, let his curiosity take hold. "May I ask why you wanted to know?"

"Let's just say that open door in your mind might have already invited something through. My eyes may be going, but there is a clear aura surrounding yours. It shifts between a dark blue and a shimmering gray, while yours is a soft green. An aura that hovers but does not interfere with another typically points toward something living."

Jisung blamed the atmosphere of the bookshop and the genuine kindness that seemed to radiate off the man, because he found himself holding onto every word and believing them, at least a little. And a few tiny rocks tumbled out of place in the stream flowing through his body, making him feel the slightest hint of unease at the disturbance.

"Oh, don't look so worried, my boy. If you had anything to fear, I'm sure we would both know it. Maybe it wasn't my place to speak up, but you seemed like you needed it."

"Needed what?" Jisung blinked in confusion when the man was suddenly no longer standing where he was. He glanced around quickly to see the bent figure of the man approaching someone that had just walked through the doors several steps away. Magic or a glitch in the system... it was unclear.

Jisung continued browsing the books like he was a moment before, but he felt an overwhelming weight of distraction hovering around his shoulders and making him glance from side to side every minute or so. There was even a moment he swore he felt something touch his hair. He'd recently dyed it a deep, midnight blue so if something was attached to him like the old man seemed to be hinting at...

No, that was impossible. Ghosts might be real, but anything else... it was out of the question.

⎒⎑⎒

The air whirled softly, whispering to those that were listening as it mingled with the never-ending blue and flickering spots of night. Jisung was sitting cross-legged on the floor of his balcony, fingers dancing over the fluttering pages of the book in his hand.

Before he left the bookstore, the owner had given him this book for free, just in case he wanted to 'explore that door' in his mind. It was a strange read to be certain, with very small stories that never seemed to end properly, and descriptions of 'beings' that did not follow the natural laws of humans. However odd it was, Jisung couldn't seem to put it down, finding himself invested in the strange things he was learning.