A Wish

Far away from the hustle and bustle of the world, Si-ri was gladly weaving clothes for winter. Out of the blue she noticed some light from the corner of her eyes and rushed towards her window for clarity.

She became a little frightened and suspicious, worried there could be the presence of a human being but it was something else.

 “Oh! It’s a lantern, it seems people have started to celebrate the festival,” said Si-ri and closed the window to stop herself from admiring the sky full of lanterns. In this way, she would clog herself from the strong desire to go and see the world, happy faces of people, celebration, colours, crowd and everything.

“If only, father would have been here, I would not feel this lonely. It's been a long time since I haven't seen you father, please come back soon. I am missing you severely,” Si-ri mumbled in her thoughts while resting on her chair. She closed her eyes and shed tears and a lone tear slowly slid down her face as she recalled some memories of her parents.

She had a sketch of her mother that she had made. Touching the sketch delicately, she said, “I still miss you, I miss you every day. You were the centre of my universe, you were my whole world. You know mom, I am now skilled in cooking, weaving and everything that you wanted me to learn. Even though it was not that easy, father tried so hard to feed me after you left, by cooking all by himself but it was totally tasteless, it was punishment for my taste buds that's why I learned everything quickly.”

Her lips and eyes both were manifesting different stories. Her lips were forming a complete crescent while eyes were brimming with tears.

Si-ri suddenly heard someone calling her name at the front door. The voice seemed to be familiar. She ran towards the door and started peeping from the hole first for her security.

 “I almost forgot about this maniac.” Si-ri opened the door with agitation and gave him a piece of her mind. Her tone and expression awoke an unwelcoming feeling. 

But Si-ri’s words could not affect Min-ho as he was lost in filling his eyes with every ounce of her beautiful face. He was smiling like an idiot and said, “You look really cute when you are angry”. 

Suddenly, there was a hushed silence between them. They both were looking at each other as if they were hypnotised or if someone had cast a spell on them. They both held each other's gaze, unaware of their surroundings that reckoned the rhythm of passing breeze, drumming of brittle leaves on windowpanes and the mist that held the mansion in a dark caress.

But as always shyness often gets in the way of intense eye contact. Si-ri shyly broke eye contact but Min-ho was still staring at her. Si-ri coughed to wake him up with the trance.

Min-ho regained his consciousness and felt embarrassed for his words.  

“Let’s celebrate the festival.” Min-ho said with a big smile on his face. 

Si-ri may look angry from outside on the sudden arrival of Min-ho but somewhere deep down she couldn’t deny the fact that she was happy as someone was there with her to celebrate the festival.

“Let's go to the rooftop”. Si-ri grabbed Min-ho’s hand in excitement and dragged him towards the rooftop. 

The moment they reached the rooftop, the sky was full of colourful and bright lanterns. The view was so mesmerizing.

Si-ri took the lantern from Min-ho, started to write her wish, and asked Min-ho to write his wish on the lantern.

“I don’t have any wishes.” Min-ho shrugged.

“It's not right. Our desires are one of those powers that make us feel alive. To dream is like breathing. No dream or desire is like wandering and living life aimlessly in a monotonous way. Dare to dream, there is no limitation on what you can potentially achieve, except for the boundation you choose to impose on your imagination. Set yourself free like a bird in the sky of ambitions, dreams and desires and let yourself soak in the light of accomplishment and failures.”

“Only grey heads have no desires as they are at the finishing line, they just calmly wait for their end. You don't seem to be a grey head then why don't you possess any wishes?” Si-ri teased him.

 “Because I am all alone in this world and I am satisfied with the things I have,” Min-ho responded.

Si-ri pressed her lips together and directed her gaze at him.

“But today I want to wish for something,” said Min-ho surprisingly and asked her to write his wish on his lantern.

“I wish that one fine day, this beautiful and kind hearted girl will be able to flee this mansion forever and spend a happy life outside free from miseries.” 

Si-ri’s eyes rammed on to him and held for a moment. The corner of her lips turned up shyly and asked him to wish for something for himself.

“You are special to me. That's why I only wish for your happiness,” he said as they both lit the lantern and let it float in the sky.

Looking at the lantern Si-ri couldn’t help but feel butterflies for the first time. She knew she felt something for Min-ho.

“Whenever I would be fortunate enough to leave this mansion and live a normal life outside I would like to meet people like you, who are selfless, pure, kind and honest.”

“Then you have to be disappointed because there is no one like that,” shrugged Min-ho.

“Maybe. Tell me something about life outside because till now I have only seen the world from the eyes of my father but I want to know your perspective,” asked Si-ri. 

“Just like every coin has two sides, you can live here in two ways. First way is to take birth in a well off family, where you can dominate and harass people who are lower than you. Second, do hard labour from day to night to earn your bread from the corrupted high class people for whom you are a mere slave,” Min-ho said.

Silence crept between them again.

“I know everything about the prevailing injustice of the kingdom. Father told me everything about how the top officials of the palace are misleading the King. They continue to fill their pockets with the hard earned money of the poor.” 

 “And what do you do for a living?” asked Si-ri, narrowing her gaze.

“I work at a gambling house. Impressed with my fighting skill and strength gambling house owner hired me to deal with people who couldn’t offer him timely payment on his loan.” Min-ho answered.

“So, do you think your service at gambling house will make any positive change for the poor people? It’s not a noble job at all. Just think about it once, are you positive about spending your life without any aim? Moreover, what is so good in threatening poor people for payment? You’re simply wasting your time and precious life by doing this measly work.” Si-ri tried to explain Min-ho.

“You’re good at fighting, why don’t you try to seek a place at the palace and serve our kingdom. Think about it you never know amidst this you may find the goal of your life too,” smirked Si-ri. 

Min-ho slowly nodded in agreement, they continued to chat for a while until it was time for Min-ho to leave.

 “It is getting late Si-ri, I must take my leave,” said Min-ho. Si-ri gave him a sad smile before agreeing.

As they were going back downstairs, Si-ri slipped. She quickly closed her eyes on instinct preparing for the impact when she felt muscular arms circle around her.

She slowly peeled her eyes open and was met with a pair of eyes filled with concern looking at her. She felt herself being hypnotised by his gaze. That’s when she felt her heart pounding in her chest. In sudden anxiety and fear, she pushed Min-ho off.   

Min-ho tensed up a little and asked Si-ri, “Are you alright?”

 “Yes I am fine. Thanks for saving me,” Si-ri responded hesitantly.

Min-ho wished Si-ri goodbye and proceeded to leave, with a gentle smile on his face.

Si-ri’s gaze followed him across the door till he disappeared into the dark forest.

On his way back, Min-ho couldn’t stop thinking about Si-ri’s words to set a goal instead of living aimlessly.

“I wondered how I would ever understand the meaning of life and that inner strength to accomplish something but Si-ri made me understand that as long as we have the gift of life everything is possible. I still have my life and my dreams. As long as there is life in me, the possibility of fulfilling my dreams can never die.” He smiled and continued.

Meanwhile, Si-ri couldn’t get her mind off Min-ho. She kept reminiscing in the memories of her and Min-ho. 

“The way his eyes were intensely looking at mine as if he was staring into my soul. Those hazel eyes are full of lights as one could see a beam of serenity even in the state of chaos. Every time I look into his eyes, I find a weird solace and comfort in them”.

Then, she remembered the wish he made and admiring him for having a pure and pious heart in a crowd of deceivers. 

All curled up in her bed Si-ri slept peacefully with a smile. After a long time she felt happy. Min-ho has started to fill the void in Si-ri’s life.