Timeless Snow ✓

Ch. 82 - Together

Sitting there, wrapped up in one another you tried to find the right words to say. A way to summarize what had happened and figure out the next move, but the words never came out. The only sound was the whistling wind high up on the snowy mountaintop. Part of you was afraid to bring it up, knowing Taehyung would insist on fighting fate and going forth together. The hopeful ideals were cradled in happiness, but the world is crueler than that. As beautiful as the earth is, it was equally as haunting. Humans were capable of the most compassionate acts found in all life, but we are also the most demented in the ways we choose to torture one another. 

How could people who created music and art become so cold as to murder one another? How could we have the ability to communicate, yet remain so deaf to others' suffering? It was true your view of humanity was bleak, but you wished so much better for them. One would assume you hated this earth for all its cruelty, but it wasn't the earth's fault. It was humans that made the planet ugly, it was us who destroyed the planet in our pursuit of land and power. At the same time, we are the ones capable of turning beautiful colors of paint into a masterpiece admired by thousands. The way artificial paint colors mixed just right made you feel various emotions. The way music was made by hitting and strumming different things made you sway in the moonlight to your favorite song. The world was flawed, but all you could do is hope for a better humanity one day. 

Nevertheless, you knew you would crave to be back on this doomed rock once you were gone, just as you did last time. Why couldn't all moments be as perfect as this one? Suffering made us stronger, it made us grow and learn, but why did it have to be that way? Why couldn't people be raised with kindness and compassion over fear and punishment? Humanity took a wrong turn on the road to life. Taking in a deep breath, you let your mind drift into the memories that made being alive worth it. 

Meeting a lonely boy on a waterlogged street in West Virginia, to sharing a drink in a college coffee shop. Wondering lost through the afternoon forest with a stranger and ending up stranded in a cave by the relentless rain. Sharing a meal despite the flirtatious waitress. These memories... they were... 

Taehyung's arms wrapped around you tighter. You nuzzled yourself into his embrace. Your lips curled as the memories continued. Crammed under a bed, eating mediocre Chinese food from the nearest delivery joint. Laying under a bed for hours as a classic movie played on the hotel room t.v. It was an afterlife of memories, and they weren't yours. Kasey's memories were starting to become more apparent. The barrier between the two of you was becoming more blurred as memories faded into reality. Where did you end and Kasey begin? 

'So, how are you handling everything?'

'How am I handling dying, you mean? Are you going to ask me how the weather is, too? I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown.'

'You seem like you're handling this better than the other souls I've seen. Not going to lie; when I saw you standing on that ledge back there, part of me wondered if you were going to jump. I could see the fear in your eyes.' 

'Fear of what?'

'What might happen to you when you come back.'

In your head, you could hear Nathaniel talking, a conversation back and forth similar to one had in the aftermath of Kasey's death. A piece of his consciousness lingered in you, forever carving a place in your heart. Jimin... He was a kind friend in death, but he was the most incredible brother anyone could ask for in life. They had forged a bond ever deeper than when they had met, Jimin was a piece of your soul now. The only blood relation you'd die for.