Omen

“Your dad said he misses you.” My aunt said through the pain while weeping, delivering the last message my dad said before the waves of the roaring sea killed him.

“Sorry, we did our best to save your mom.” The doctor gave me her most polite and apologetic bow after informing me that my mother had died.

“Your grandma loves you very much, dear.” The neighbour told me, while I stared outside the house where I grew up.

“Don’t ever come back! We lost our biggest client because of you!” My boss yelled at me while throwing anything he grabbed at me.

…

“Remember this… You’re the one who gave up on us.” My first and last love told me.

…

Is it worth living? I feel like it’s not. I have thoughts that the Gods just wanted to punish me, or that destiny just made a fool out of me, just for a good laugh. Why is it always me?

Tire screeches

!!! A loud thud garnered the attention of people who were busily walking in the street.

…

The concrete road feels rough against my cheek. It’s all cold, the road, the wind, even my hands started to freeze. No, my whole body feels numb. Is it because of the cold? I can’t move; something must have petrified me. Why am I lying on the road in the first place?

“Someone call 911!”

“Oh, my God!”

“Hey! The driver ran away!”

“Somebody call the cops too!”

“Hit-and-run!”

They’re so noisy, what the hell are they saying? I can’t even hear a thing properly. I looked everywhere my eyes could at the moment. But everything’s blurry until I see my hand, broken and misaligned, while soaked in dripping red liquid.

I remember it now. Something hard hit me, and all I remember next is that I’m on the ground. This feeling, am I really about to die?

Yeah, it seems like it. Just about time, I'm planning to die anyway.

…

I bet no one can even recognise me if they saw me right now in this situation. My face is covered in blood, and I’m basically drowning in it. It’s also getting harder to breathe over time. So this is what it feels like to die. I thought it was painful, but I can’t feel anything. Is it because I already suffered so much that even death can’t hurt me any more?

I already gave up.

There’s nothing left for me. No one was waiting for me. I gave up on everything, even on her. I was rotting inside, patiently waiting until the ground swallowed me and let the world get rid of me.

In between my short breaths, colourful lights passed my half-lidded eyes. An angel flashed on the big screen. I am dying, but my heart refuses to stop beating, as if it’s telling me to keep living.

“An… na…” I said, using all the energy left in me.

I saw her; she’s in the massive billboard attached to the tallest building in Seoul. She’s already at the top of the world. For one last time, I saw her long, silky black hair, her angelic face, and her pretty eyes. Everything is embedded in my mind, in my heart, and in my soul.

“You’re… as beautiful as the last time I saw you...” I smiled as my eyelids shut down.

I’m getting sleepy; this must be it since I can’t even breathe anymore, no matter how I try. This is my final moment.

As my heart slowly stops beating. My last consciousness drifts on my happiest memories, with her.

“Hey, you'd better keep your promise that you’ll be my number 1 fan.” Anna is walking happily in a straight line on top of the concrete wall, which is just a couple of feet high.

“Yes, of course! And you’ll be the number 1 idol for me.” I hold her hand, ready to catch her if she falls.

…

Tears slowly run from my closed eyes to the ground, mixing with the flood of blood.

…

“I did, I became your number 1 fan.”

“Sorry Anna… and thank you…”

“I love you, Anna.”

—

Thud!

“Aw! Aish…” A book just hit my head, it’s painful, really. It woke me up and all I can do is scratch the part it hit to reduce its pain.

“Aish!? You’re the one who’s sleeping in my class, and yet you’re the mad one!?” She sounds so mad.

But is that Ms Bae? She looked younger than when I last saw her. Wait, she’s supposed to be the head principal…

…

…

…

My eyes widened.

“Huh!?”

“Where am I?”

“This place… this is our classroom during my high school days! Why am I here?”

“I’m dead, right?”

“This must be hell! And that book was part of it since it hurts like crazy!”

“But… I died… and I woke up…?”

…

“Wait, is it just a dream? My head hurts like crazy, so it must be a dream.”

My thoughts were flooded by confusion as I looked around. I’m in my high school classroom, and I’m supposed to be dead by now. Is this really the afterlife? Heaven? I am expecting a cloudy place with lots of babies with wings.

“Heaven my ass, I’m not supposed to go there, I deserve hell,” I said.

“What are you talking about?? Hell!? Are you cursing me!? I’ve heard enough! Go stand outside!” Ms Bae roared at me, but her tantrums were not where my focus was.

“Wait, everything seems to be real.”

“My classmates are also here…”

“Is that Sooin? There’s also Arin, Chaeryeong, Chaewon, and Yunjin's also here…”

…

“So it was a dream… It felt real. It was a nightmare, all that suffering, betrayal, and regret. Thankfully, it was just a dream.”

“If it was a dream… then…”

I stood up and looked at a particular seat near the window. She’s not there. Her seat was empty, not even a pen and a book, though her bag was there. She must be here; she should be.

“Ms Bae! What year is it?” I had to ask since my mind was still foggy. That thing is still realistic to treat as a dream.

“It’s 2024? Why do you ask? Did you hurt your sleepy head somewhere?” Ms Bae answered and added a joke at the end that caused the whole class to laugh.

So, it's our senior year. Then, she really must be here. I walked out of the room with a rush that shook all of my classmates.

“What the hell is wrong with him!? I swear he deserves detention!” Even Ms Bae was shocked.

As I’m leaving, my eyes met with the girl with foxy eyes. I forgot her name, but I remember her stealing glances at me whenever I did wrong. I think she’s judging me, well, everyone loves watching me make a mistake anyway.

She watched me as I left, and I could feel her stare.

…

I ran and swept every corner looking for her. Crashing every room I came across. I even turned to every girl around who resembled her from behind, but it’s not her. Other students are watching me in confusion. I caused such a noise, that’s why.

I continued my search for her. I explored the whole campus from the ground to the upper floor, until only the rooftop was left. As I looked at the stairs leading to the rooftop door, I remembered her again.

She’s close, I can feel it.

That dream felt so real that I even forgot about the rooftop. Why didn’t I think of it? If she’s nowhere to be found, there’s a spot where I could probably find her.

I took the stairs and opened the door. The sunrays instantly hit my face. It’s so bright that I can’t even look straight. However, even though my vision became handicapped for a moment, I already knew she was here.

“It’s that smell, her scent, that perfume,” I said as I smelled that familiar citrus, flowery perfume which she always used from our high school days lingered in the air.

“It’s supposed to be nostalgic, but,” In that dream, she wears that perfume even during the last time we meet.

I looked around steadily and slowly. Each step I take reminds me of every piece of that dream as if it were real. The first step reminds me of my happiest days with everyone I cherish. The second step reminds me of my regrets and failures. The third step reminds me of how trash I became. Another step, another regret; every step becomes heavier and heavier.

My sufferings from that dream are slowly creeping back to me. It was just a dream, but why did it hurt so much? It’s so painful.

“An… na…” I remember it clearly, the way I said her name with desperation and longing during my last moments.

I stopped walking.

…

I found her.

“Anna,” I called her name once again.

…

That long, jet black, silky hair. That perfectly tipped nose. Those round eyes stare at the blue sky. She’s smiling.

All the pain that I was feeling suddenly disappeared. She’s my antidote, my cure, my safe place, my everything, and my childhood friend.

I approached her. Every step I took hurt me deep to my core earlier, but as I took another step towards her right now, all I felt was relief.

Her presence brings me hope, knowing she’s still here, smiling at me.

“You found me, Siwoo,” She said, turning her head to face me and giving me the prettiest and most elegant smile I had ever seen in my life. That smile that feels like I haven’t seen for a very long time, just because of that realistic dream.

“You’ve been sleeping earlier, so I didn’t wake you up,” Anna said. Every time she wanted to take some rest, she would skip classes and head straight up to the roof. Of course, she will ask me to accompany her. I’m her best friend after all.

She was sitting at the top of piled-up chairs when I found her. She decided to come down. It looked stable, properly stacked up as if made by a professional with precise stacking skills, so I don’t have to worry whether she’s about to fall or not.

“You should’ve bought some snacks- huh? Are you crying?” She leaned her face on me with a questionable look.

“Huh?” I felt a tear dropping in my cheek. Tears dropped from my eyes for some reason; my heart knows why.

I’m so glad to see her again.

If that dream was just a glimpse of our future, I’ll change it. I’ll never make the same mistakes again. I’ll never let her go, I’ll protect and cherish everyone I have, I’ll

…

My childhood friend.

My first love.

And, also, my last love.

“Anna, I’m thankful to have a second chance to love you right.”

To be continued…