A new story in every chapter.
The Reveries I Keep is a collection of one shot stories from contests I participate in, written under different genres. Set in different places and different time periods, this collection will take you on a whirlwind of...
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The mountains are veiled with a fine mist this early morning, and the breeze still blows the same chilly air even though it's supposed to be summer. I thought I'm going to enjoy my school break, but here I am, trembling after chasing my parents with their forgotten wallet all the way to Hwagae Market. What's wrong with summer this year, anyway? It's already July but it still feels like it's February.
I pour myself some green tea mom made earlier and make myself comfortable in the living room. I sigh after taking a sip, viewing the scenery just right outside the window in front of me. I take in its idyllic beauty that always greets me every day in the last sixteen years. Every year, summer's always the same with all the blossoms, birds and the bright sunshine. But this year, something's not right.
Just then, a loud croaking of a frog interrupts my thoughts.
"Ugh. Come back!" I can hear rapid footsteps just right outside the house. "Please!" the same voice cries again.
Crash! Smash! Crash!
The earthen pots continue to break loudly as whoever is outside is still trampling around dad's precious plants. I'm sure I'm screwed later for not looking out after the house and the garden like I'm supposed to.
"Please, I need to go back!" the voice exclaims. If their voice is not filled with desperation right now, I'd say they have the most melodious voice I've ever heard, like that of an angel's.
"Who's there?" I ask as I scramble up to my feet and hurry to open the front door. Sliding it open, a bloody stranger is standing right in front of me, frozen as they are caught in the act. They're reaching down for a frog that's starting to hop away.
He's dressed in clothes that even if it's almost ragged, it still looks expensive. He also doesn't look like someone from around here because if he is, he'll be instantly famous for how beautiful he is.
I can see one of his perfect eyebrows arch up, and I turn beet red from embarrassment. How long did I stare at him? I clear my throat and try to regain my composure.
"Who are you?!"
・✧ ο ✿ o ✧・
"I can't believe it," is all I can say after listening to his story. "You really are a prince?" I ask him. He nods, then winces as I dab a cotton over the deep scratches on his hand.
I know why he looks like this and how he got all these wounds. He told me everything, saying he got into a fight against the Prince of Winter, Gyeoul, and the Princess of Spring, Chunja.
At first, all the four seasons live in harmony. After winter reigns, spring blossoms. After the spring, summer shines. As summer fades, autumn flourishes. It's a symphonic cycle, but everything changed when the prince of winter became Gyeoul. He was greedy and he's not content to reign for only a few months in a year. Little by little, he started to spread his chilly atmosphere over to spring. Everyone didn't notice it at first, but as time went by, spring started to become colder than what it was supposed to be.
