Hourglass || pjm ||

06

"What?" I blurted.

I was beyond bewildered. In the modern world, time travel isn't even possible. I had never considered the possibility of being transported back in time. It was a ridiculous theory, but I figured I'd better listen to them before making a judgement.

"We're not saying that it's confirmed. It's just a theory, but it may or may not be acquainted with science. There are always supernatural forces." Namjoon further explained to the clueless bunch of us.

"We don't have any proof right now, but what could possibly explain the sudden change in environment?We've been here for what, months? And that's all we could come out with to explain this phenomenon." Yoongi finished.

I looked to my sides at my friends. Jiwoo and Yeon Young were frowning, and Johyun was licking her lips, a sign that she was thinking hard.

"Want some food?" Jin asked, already munching down on a biscuit. I nodded, grateful for the distraction. Besides, I hadn't eaten since a while ago.

Jiwoo reached over and took four biscuits from the tin, one for the each of us. The night sky was already dark, peppered with shimmering stars. The eleven of us chatted about our lives for awhile more, and we went to sleep. Jin, Namjoon, Taehyung and Jimin gave up their sleeping bags to the four of us and no matter how much we tried to reject, they insisted on doing so.

It seemed that there was an unspoken agreement that we would travel together from this day onwards and depend on each other.

-

I tossed and turned in the sleeping bag, unable to sleep. My eyes did feel heavy, but there were so many thoughts in my mind that I just couldn't fall asleep. I listened to the dripping of water somewhere in the cave, focusing on keeping my messy thoughts away. It was totally dark in the cave, and the boys had left us a torch in the middle of our sleeping bags, just in case we needed to go and pee in the middle of the night.

I stood up, needing some fresh air since I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. Beside me, Jiwoo slept peacefully, her body tangled in the sleeping bag. One strand of her strawberry coloured hair was in her mouth, and she was chewing on it like a camel.

Johyun's mouth was wide open, dangling as if she needed water. Once, when the four of us had a sleepover, we had pranked her by pouring a whole bottle of water while she slept, such that she choked.

Yeon Young wasn't faring any better. She had kicked her sleeping bag to one side and spread her body on the floor. I shook my head and covered her head with the sleeping bag.

I grabbed the torch and my jacket which I had used as a pillow, then tip-toed my way out to the entrance of the cave. I was concentrating on not shining the torch in anyone's eyes when I accidentally dropped the torch on someone's head.

Oops.

The person flinched in pain and I bent down to retrieve the torch, whispering an apology meekly. Let me tell you, manoeuvring yourself amongst eleven bodies is one of the most difficult stuff.

When I finally made it out, I scanned my surroundings for somewhere to sit. After all, I didn't want to lose my way and I wasn't sure whether it was safe to spend the night out in a forest.

I picked a seat on a rather wide rock, some meters away from the entrance of the cave so I could run in if it was dangerous.

The night air was chilly, so I was grateful I had thought to bring my jacket along with me. I breathed in deeply for a few times to clear my mind, and tilt my head up to look at the night sky.

Stars were peppered across the pitch-black curtain draped over the sky, shining so brightly, a scene I had never witnessed back in the city with all the industrial lights. I switched the torch off. The blend of greyish hues against the violet tones was a stark contrast against the brilliance of the shimmering stars.