A Petal On The Wind

Chapter 6

Kim Shin POV

No matter how much I try to focus on something else, my mind drifts back to the girl who summoned me. She may have tried to deceive me but I know the truth. What is she? If she is someone who can summon me she can't be human. A grim reaper? No, she wasn't wearing the hat that refuses to burn regardless of how many times I try. A God? That could be a possibility even though I think it would be unlikely.

The Goblin's Bride? I sigh, knowing that that is most likely the answer. For hundreds of years, I have been searching for the person that will end my punishment but now I might have, it feels different. It's been a long time since I was last faced with my own mortality.

I hear the sound of a door opening and sigh once more. It's been a challenge to accept that I now live with a Grim Reaper; I don't need to add the Goblin's Bride to the list. "Where are you skulking off to?" I turn and ask him before he leaves the house.

The Grim Reaper holds up his hat. "I need to dry clean it."

Of course, it has something to do with that hat. "How do you get the hat so dirty that you need to get it cleaned when you're dead?"

"How come you have a pile of dirty clothes when you're dead?" He replies, placing the hat on his head. I want to argue back at him; technically I'm only half dead but then so is he. Regardless he's wrong about me, I don't have piles of dirty clothes; just one.

I go to argue back but I'm left staring at an empty space, he must have slipped out whilst my mind was preoccupied. Well as he is too scared to face my might, I must corner him when we next cross paths. He has gotten far too comfortable in this house that I suspect that he has forgotten that the property belongs to me, no matter how much he tries to argue otherwise.

Although I know that Deok Hwa is being punished for his naivety, I'm worried that the punishment will not be harsh enough. It may be true that he didn't realise that he was letting a harbinger of death into the house but it was still a grave mistake that he could not rectify.

I try to think of something I can do to occupy my time but my mind drifts back to that girl. Surely I can't get her out of my head for a reason. It has to mean something.

Why do I smell smoke?

I can see the wisps dancing in the air. Now this is unusual. Being a Goblin might have some perks when it comes to abilities but I have never known myself to smoke before.

"Shit, shit, shit." I turn around and find that I am no longer in the house but in the middle of a street. The voice swearing is one I instantly recognise.

I sigh, "Are you going to try and deny again that you don't know how to summon me?"

The girl from the sea turns around instantly, her eyes growing wide as she recognises that is me, a guilty look if I've ever seen one. Unlike what I expected, she races towards me, which I presume must be to beg for my forgiveness. "Do you have any water?"

"Water?" I ask, confused. "Why do you need water?" It's then that I look past her and see the reason. Flames are erupting from a rubbish bin. Did she set it on fire?

I don't have time to dwell on such questions as she continues to stare at me in panic. "Give me your coat and I'll smother the flames," I suggest. The girl looks at me, holding her F/C tight around her. "I don't have any water so unless you want to keep those flames."

Reluctantly the girl hands me her coat. I walk towards the flame and smother it quickly. "I hope you're going to give me compensation for that," the girl says, arms crossed.

"Compensation"? I scoff. "You're the one who started the fire and yet you want compensation?"

The girl's eyes widen instantly. "I'm not the one who started the fire, I saw it when I was walking by." I'm not sure whether to be impressed that this mysterious girl stopped to put out the fire or judge her for taking on a problem that wasn't hers.

"Then why were you swearing at it?"

"I accidently started making it worse," she mutters. She starts to gaze at me, and I'm sure that once more, her eyes linger for a moment on my chest. "Thank you for noticing me and helping."

Now it's my turn to widen my eyes. "I don't even know your name and you think I'd stop and help a stranger? You might try to deny it but I know you summoned me."

"Wow," I exclaim. "Are you seriously afraid that you'd be seen as a nice person for helping me? Why lie about it again and accuse me of summoning you when before the beach, I'd never seen you before."

"Are you calling me a liar? That's the first time someone's called me that. Seriously, the first time. And you haven't told me your name either."

"Y/N" she answers, in a softer voice. "My name is Y/N so you can't use that as an excuse." Y/N. The name rolls around in my head. It tastes soft but sharp, duality but no substance. I always imagined instantly knowing when I had met the Goblin's Bride. Maybe that means my first assessment is incorrect but how does that explain how she can summon me.

"Then how are you summoning me? If you're not the Goblin's Bride then how is it possible?"

"What's the Goblin's Bride?" My heart drops as I realise what I've let slip. Any chance I had of deducting what the true reason is has been ruined. Even if it's not her, I have no doubt that she will claim to be for some kind of reward.

Why has my guard been let down? She must have some serious abilities if she can trick someone like me. "It's nothing for you to worry about," I mutter, deciding the best thing to do is to leave before she can get anything else out of me.

"You can't just leave like this. You still haven't told me your name." She's grabbing the sleeve of my jacket. I turn to see Y/N's eyes wide, her arms clutching her own scorched jacket.

Carefully I prise her fingers off me. "Does it matter? I don't think we'll see each other again." This time she can't stop me as I walk away. It doesn't matter if for some reason she can summon me, or that she might be the person I've spent all my years looking for; I can't go down this dangerous road. I don't want there to be false hope and accidentally drag an innocent person into this mess. The best thing to do is never see her again. 

A/N I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update this fic. I've honestly been super busy but behind the scenes, I have been working on it. I update this work whenever I finish a chapter so the next update will be as soon as I can. Also today 'A Petal On The Wind'[ reached 1k reads!!! The support you have shown this fanfic has been amazing and it truly motivates me to continue writing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully it won't be nearly four months until the next one <3