Half Of You

3. Voice

3.

Singing.

Clearer than the sound of their breathing, Luhan, his friends and a few of the villagers sat on the damp earth listening intently to the sweet pure sounds of a person singing in the forest.

Around them the melody lingered then drifted, beautifully echoing deep into the forest.

"Who-" Luhan began to ask.

He was immediately shushed by a elderly person who threw him a irritated look. Luhan shrugged and returned to listening to the singing voice.

It was hard to tell whether it was one person or two. The voice harmonised so well and blended so beautifully, it was as if it was a duo. A pair singing in harmony as the sun rose and filled the sky with mornings light.

To say Luhan was baffled was the least. He was both stunned and taken by the voice. He was overwhelmed with this want to know more. Closing his eyes, he tried feeling closer to the voice. He fell into the many conflicting yet complimenting tones of the voice and strained his ears to swallow the pleasant sounds of the voice.

But it was over all too soon.

The sun had reached its highest and the voice ceased to no more than an echo amongst the trees. Luhan focused everything he had on following the sounds of the echo as it ran away into the trees. His eyes tightly shut and his fists clenched, he realeased a short whimper as the sound fully disappeared.

His eyes flew open and he was surprised to notice he was not the only disappointed one.

Around him people got up and sighed, stretching as though they had just experienced a marathon. Of emotion it seemed, Luhan thought to himself.

His friends too all stood up and stretched looking down expectantly at their friend.

"Well?" Shu smiled knowingly at him.

Luhan was still in a state of shock. He found himself immediately missing the voice, which he felt was odd. Nothing had ever had a impact this strong on him. And he wondered why.

"Who was it?" he choked out, glancing up eagerly at his friends.

Shuang pretended to think for a second before she smirked at him.

"Well wouldn't you like to know." She teased.

"Stop teasing him." Lihua playfully slapped Shuangs arm and turned to Luhan. "No-one knows who it is." She said

Luhan was puzzled. Hasn't no one gone further into the forest to see?

"No." Answered Huiliang. Luhan looked at his friend. How did he know what he was thinking?

"You spoke out loud." he smiled "Noones gone in to see because we're all afraid the singing will stop." He explained.

Luhan frowned, irritated by this. He wanted to know who the voice belonged to. In that selfish moment he didn't care whether or not the voice would stop. He just wanted to piece it to a face. Maybe then, and only then, he'd feel closer to it.

"Anyway, get up. We're going rock climbing today." Tian extended his arm out to Luhan to hoist him up.

Luhan grabbed his hand and got up, dusting his pants off.

"Does it happen everyday?" He asked casually, referring to the singing.

Lihua stopped walking and scrunched her face up, thinking. "Come to think of it, we don't really know. No-ones ever been here everyday to hear." She answered, looking thoughtful.

This interested Luhan and he made himself a promise to come again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that.

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The next morning, well before sunrise Luhan packed himself a small bag and set off to the forest.

He plopped down on the earth and took a seat in the same place as yesterday, only this time he was a lot more closer to the area where the sound had come from.

The sun began its slow rise and Luhan closed his eyes, ready to take in the sound of the singing.

It started almost on cue. The sounds of the sweet singing surrounded him in pure bliss. With his eyes closed Luhan fell into the music once again.

He had to force himself to open his eyes and start on his quest to piece the sound to a face. That was what he was there for. He took a deep breath and reminded himself again why he was there.

I was going to find out who it was. He repeated to himself, clenching his fists in confidence.

Luhan pulled his bag up and slung it over his shoulder, taking a shaky step forward in the direction of the voice.

He felt the need to shut his eyes again and listen but argued against himself and continued stepping into the forest.

With each step he took, the voice grew clearer and louder. He constantly forced himself to fight against his need to stop there and listen.

Instead his feet carried him forward, plunging on his quest to unmask the voice.

Beneath him, the discarded leaves on the damp soil squished under his feet. He looked forward as he walked, a mission on his mind.

But one step too soon, and it was all over.

Luhan cursed as he stepped on a twig that broke and snapped. He froze immediately and cursed multiple times, his eyes shut he prayed the voice couldn't hear.

But it could.

Just as the sun was halfway in the sky the voice cut and its final echoes drifted amongst the trees once again.

And Luhan heard it.

Clearer than the singing itself, he heard it.

The unmistakable sound of scurrying feet. The sound of the voice running away.

Luhan realised at that moment, that in his attempt to get closer to the voice, he had infact chased it away.

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A/n:

Progress progress progress

This might have been confusing but it's all a build up.