The Gift

Epilogue - 27 Years Ago

North Korea

A jeep was parked in a lonely clearing. Inside were two men. The driver was away down the track keeping a look-out, but there was no-one else around. It was late autumn, and there was still a lot of leaf cover, screening the vehicle from anyone except someone very close.

Lim Bong looked out of the window into the forest, as if he was trying to see through it. He sighed and turned back to the other man.

"If I walked through the forest, I'd see the hills, and just beyond is where we grew up. It seems a shame I can't visit, I'd have liked to see it again."

Ri Choong-ryeol nodded, but didn't say anything. His brow furrowed, cautious, wondering how much to engage.

"I should have known you wouldn't do it," said Lim Bong. "You were always far too principled. You always do the right thing." He paused, perhaps expecting Choong-ryeol to reply, but he didn't.

"But I worry for you," he continued. "Here you are, trying to do the right thing, surrounded by people who scheme and look out for themselves."

Choong-ryeol spoke at last. "That's why someone has to show the way. If no-one does the right thing, how can the world get better?"

He paused and then sighed, as if he was carrying a heavy weight.

"And anyway, is your Government so much better? Are you telling me that people there don't scheme and compete for power and wealth? After all, what are you doing here if it isn't part of a scheme, a plot?" He gave Lim Bong a challenging look.

Lim Bong held up his hands. "I agree, it's not perfect. But there are some checks and balances. And I think it is getting better. We just have to do the best we can in the circumstances."

Choong-ryeol nodded his head, appraising him and then smiled back.

"Always the pragmatist!"

Lim Bong too smiled. For a moment, the years fell away and they could have been having one of their talks whilst rabbit hunting. Then, he became more serious.

"But what about the future, your wife, your boys?" he asked. "What if something happens to you; you're the victim of some plot or scheme? You might need to get out of the North."

Choong-ryeol shook his head. "I'll never leave, you should know that."

Lim Bong nodded. "I do, but what about them?"

Choong-ryeol was silent. Bong's words seemed to weigh heavily on him.

Bong watched him, trying to judge what to say next.

"Look, I'm a rich man. I've not had my own children. Let me help yours."

Choong-ryeol was angry at that. "I don't need help for my children. I'm not taking your money."

"That's not what I meant," said Bong earnestly, leaning forwards. Choong-ryeol sat back and looked at his old friend, wondering whether he should be suspicious of him after all.

"Hopefully for your sake it will never be needed, but if they ever do need to get out, then I want to be able to help them." Bong did seem to be sincere.

"Surely that's not such a bad thing for me to offer? Your father and you protected my family when we needed help. Let me do the same for your's. If they never need it, then nothing will happen, but if they do, well, there will be money to help them."

Choong-ryeol thought for a while. Trusting what a South Korean said seemed madness, but Bong was different. And he was right, who knew what the future might hold?

"Ok," he said at last. "I agree, for their sakes."

The two men looked at each other and smiled, pleased they had come together.

"It's a shame I can't meet them," said Bong. "Your youngest is just the same age we were when I had to leave. I'd have liked to meet Ri Jeong-hyeok."

*********The end of "The Gift", but read on for news of the sequel and a sneak peak of the first chapter of "Twisted Rope".**********