Sunlight

[1]

Quick note: speech is in "abc" while thoughts are displayed in 'abc'

Enjoy!

The sun loomed over the cliffs as if leering at the scene happening under it. Amidst the trees and mountainous paths, Yona and Hak had been found on their journey for the Oracle. Having been hit by a poisonous arrow, Hak slowly lost his strength as the venom coursed through his veins. He'd been cornered and slipped off the edge of the path. He stubbornly held onto the edge, Yona all but running to his aid. Her hand gripped onto Hak's sleeve, almost slipping with sweat. His hand still gripped the edge of the cliff, only one thought racing through his mind: Don't fall. Don't fall. Don't fall. Yona grunted as she pulled with all her might, expression contorted with arduous pain. Kan Tae-Jun slid down a cliff towards his warriors. He yelled "W-What are you doing? Get the princess away from Hak!"

His soldiers complied, shielding their swords and slowly advancing towards the duo. Yona and Hak both exchanged a look. Deep in their subconscious, everyone knew what was going to happen next. Hak's grip on the ledge faltered, and Yona was pulled with him. Tae-Jun had finally arrived at the ledge, but he was a second too late. His hand brushed the soft fabric of Yona's clothes, but he was unable to get a firm grip. The sun shone brightly, almost as if mocking the dread that filled the cool, mountainous air. Tae-Jun's hand froze in place, with the rest of his body. He stared in horror at the pair far, far below him, too far down to be saved.

~~~***~~~

♪Once upon a time,

♪when the big red sun was eaten, ♪

♪and the world was swallowed by darkness... ♪

The path to the river was dark, as usual. Not much sunlight is able to make its way past the thick foliage. I followed Yoon as we walked, focused on his singing. His voice faltered as we finally got to the water's edge. I peered around him, anxious to see what stopped him. He took a bite out of his apple and muttered "What a pain. Dead people".

Two bodies, one's arms wrapped protectively around the smaller one with the fiery hair. "Are you sure, Yoon? We should check just in case..."

She knelt down, pressing two fingers onto their neck, searching for a pulse, however weak. A small smile etched onto my face. "They have a pulse, Yoon! We need to save them!"

He frowned but decided to help anyway. Together, we managed to drag them both without aggravating their injuries. With a heavy thump, we laid them both on separate sleeping mats and bandaged their wounds. As we tended to them, I noticed 'they' were a tall man and a girl with dark crimson hair. As Yoon put ointment on the girl's scrapes, I decided to work on the other one. His body was littered with contusions, I didn't even know where to start. I looked over to see how Yoon was doing, only to see him staring back. He made a tch sound and gently pushed me away. "What a pain. I'll take care of him, you gather the fruits from the garden".

I nodded in response and walked out. I strode around the house towards our little orchard, collecting the fruits that hung low and looked ripe. A few feet away, the medicinal herbs from our garden looked ready to be picked.

'I'll save Yoon the trouble and get them for him.'

Once was done, I dropped off the basket at the entrance of the hut so Yoon could see it. Peeking into the house, I noticed he was still treating them.

'If he kicked me out earlier, he probably won't need me now'.

I had decided to take a stroll around our little sanctuary, only stopping at the cliff below the waterfall, low enough to see all of it and relish in the sound of the water crashing down into the small lake below. That was one of Ik-Soo's favorite haunts, his spot of solace where he'd meditate and listen to the voices of the gods.