Seven Deadly Sins

Mission

The wooden floors continued to creak as feet pattered around the house, one pair of shoes very brisk and the other following timidly behind.

"Eomma, why is that box even there anyway?" Hana asked as she continued to watch her mother walk around the house in a fast pace.

"You're free to your digging, but your curiosity is something else, dear child," was the answer as Choo Na-ri walked the house in search of something.

Hana's brows creased.

"Eomma, you didn't answer my question. Why is a box that could literally end the world buried near the forest?" She slowed down a bit, suddenly aware of the mistake of her action. "If you were there to stop me, or if I had known, then I wouldn't have opened it in the first place."

"What's done is done, we can't do anything about it."

Na-ri seemed distracted, and Hana could see that. She'd never get anything out now.

As the woman of forty-three rifled through the shelves of books, she said "When the right time comes, Hana. Right now, you have a mission."

One of Hana's brows raised in question.

"A mission?" she repeated in bewilderment. But then she turned disinterested. "Don't tell me... I'm supposed to find them all and get them back to this box, am I right?"

Na-ri then spun on her heel, expression bright as she leaned to plant a quick kiss on her daughter's forehead.

"Such a smart girl. Yes, you'll have to be the one."

Hana's jaw dropped. She spluttered "No- I can't- it's my fault we're in this mess and the world is on the brink of collapse-"

Her mother grabbed her shoulders to quieten her. Hana's orbs gaze back at her mother's identical ones, mouth shut and ears open for any scolding or advice.

"The only one who can do this is you, since the rule states that only the one who released the Sins can be the one to bring them back to their rightful place." Na-ri searched her daughter's gaze for any hesitation, and sees a light flicker of hope appear if only for a few meager seconds. "I know it's scary, I know it's unsettling, but your ancestors will be there to guide you, especially your great-great-great grandfather."

A silence, then-

"Who again?"

A sigh escaped the older woman's lips, as with the grip on the younger's shoulders.

"It's a lot to take in, that's why I'm doing this slowly."

"I'm seventeen, eomma."

"And your grandfather twenty-one when this happened."

"What exactly? This same thing?" She couldn't believe it. But all her mom did was nod, if unwillingly. All Hana could do was gasp, and ultimately, resign herself to the task. After all, it was her fault for being in this mess anyway. Not her grandfather's, not her mother's. And so, she has to put up with that.

One curious brow of her mother rose.

"Is that Sloth I sense?"

Hana perked up immediately, eyes widening at the accusation.

"Sloth? No."

The answer was immediate, but slightly suspicious.

"Don't ever let any of the Sins control you," her mother warned her seriously, and Hana was sure to keep this to heart. She wasn't aware of the dangers it came with, but she was no fool to what it implied. She wasn't ready to risk herself to any being. Especially to the devils of this world.

Just thinking about it made her shiver with fear.

But then determination showered over her face, and she was ready once more.

Her mother easily saw through her and tried to ease her nervousness with a gentle caress of the cheek, along with a small smile.

"Fear isn't a sin, Hana. Everyone has that. But don't let it control you, lest the Sins see it as an opening to devour your soul."

She nodded, firm and sure, and kissed her mom's cheek as thanks.

"What should I do? Or where should I find them?" she asked with renewed vigor, ready to help and save mankind. "I think they all scattered when I opened the box," she added thoughtfully.

"Oh, they separated alright," Na-ri confirmed as she walked around again, scanning papers and scrolls stacked upon the shelf. "We'll go from bottom to top, starting with Sloth himself."

Hana's eyebrows creased again for the umpteenth time that day.

"Are any of them girls?"

"None, why honey?"

"Nothing much."

"You're lucky lying isn't one of the seven, else you'd already be consumed," was all Na-ri commented as she pulled on a scroll. She didn't see the embarrassed blush that coated the young teen's cheeks as she was busy looking at the colors of the Sins embodied.

The real reason Hana asked was because she wondered if she would find a girl friend among them, but since they were all boys, her chances were slim to none. Oh well... it was worth asking anyway. She didn't need to admit that her mother was right about lying not being a sin, but what could it be close to? Has that sin acquired power? So worrisome.

"Sloth usually wears blue, and he lazes around so it would be easy to find him," Na-ri mused as she pointed at the picture of a man wearing a blue sweater over a white polo, light blue pants on his legs, and clean white shoes on his feet. He had dark hair, a nice contrast to his fair skin, and there was no smile on his face. Rather, he looked bored, like the sin he embodies.

"He'd be easy to find," Hana said cheerfully, sliding the scroll out of her mom's grasp to roll it and slip it inside her bag, ready to hunt.

The easy smile slid off once she sees Na-ri's face was anything but cheerful.

"Don't underestimate them, hon," Na-ri said. "He may be lazy but he's just as strong as the others. Now go, and take the box with you."

Whoo okay soo how's this?