She leaned back, wiping her tears with a quick flick of her hand.
"Do not climb up that tree again, I don't ever want to see you up there!"
He nodded reluctantly.
"Why don't you play with Saggi and Kimmun? Why are you back here today?"
A light bulb went off in the boy's head. He had completely forgotten that was an option.
He quickly slipped his shoes on and grabbed his gray and yellow bike that was sitting near the fence. He opened the wooden gate, went around the side of the house and entered the Cul- de -sac. He saw his two friends sitting under the Kalimukun tree, a tree with white flowers and red seeds. Those two always seemed to sit under a tree.
"Saggi, Kimmun, do you want to go to the waterfall again today?" Nagwon shouted to the two little boys.
Saggi, the boy with rose red hair and freckles spread across his sun soaked skin looked up at the little boy. His brown eyes turned green upon seeing his other best friend. Kimmun, a tall coconut shell-colored boy, lazily turned his head. A flicker of happiness showed in his eyes despite his calm face.
"Why not? I think I saw something the other day near the cave." Saggi replied.
"Really? Then let's go!"
Saggi giggled, amusement written all over his face. He stood quickly and dusted off the petals that had fallen into his lap. Kimmun followed, slowly catching his foot.
"Wait for us to get our bikes!" Sagi said, already jogging towards his house.
Kimmun slowly made his way towards him.
ΨWaterfall again? How many times do we need to go back to that place!Ψ
⛧Let things play its course Moonshine, you're always looking at the negative aspects.⛧
The little boy looked at the blacktop of the road, the heat of the sun practically touching the tips of his toes.
"Nagwon! Let's go."
Off on their bikes they cruised down the neighborhood, quickly gaining speed once exiting. Down the highway they went, all of the floating shuttles were too high for them to see and the cars on the ground were few, as usual. No one had cars anyway unless they were uber rich or dirt poor.
After 5 minutes of twists and turns of different scenes of life at Nebula .347 they finally arrived at the point where the realm of Kimet and Nebula .347 met. It felt ancient, old, special. No one knew it was here except for the three.
"I saw something glimmer near the entrance to that cave," Saggi said, rolling up his pant legs.
Nagwon slipped off his shoes, feeling the grass in his toes, one of his favorite sensations.
Saggi was making his way towards the waterfall, walking gracefully. Kimmun squatted over the water, looking at the fish that swirled around his feet. After a few moments passed Saggi appeared in front of both boys, who were now both soaking their feet in the water and playing with the fish.
"This was what I was talking about."
A ring with what looked like fire and leaves wrapping around it was propped in all of the boy's vision.
"Who's ring could this be?" Nagwon asked, curiosity taking hold of him.
He reached out to touch the ring and as soon as he touched it, the original dull yellow was replaced with a burst of energy. It dispersed after a few seconds and what remained was a multicolored ring. The fire was now fire, the leaves and flowers around it were now just that. It looked much more alive.
"It must be mine if it lit up like that, na?"
"I guess so," Saggi replied.
Kimmun hummed in agreement.
"I'll wear it on my pinky finger!"
He happily placed the ring on his pinky finger. It was loose due to his small hand but it somehow auto adjusted.
They then went on an adventure through the woods. Playing with the animals and talking about how excited they were to go back to school. Time flew by. By the time the boys arrived back to their neighborhood the sky was turning to its original reddish- orange color, signifying the end of a day cycle. In an hour or so the sky would shift to a bluish- green and then finally a purple until morning of the next day which starts at 3:00.
Nagwon set his bike back inside the gate. And dusted himself off before entering the house. He opened the wooden door and his mom greeted him cheerfully.
"Did you have fun today?" She asked, her heart and face filled with joy.
"I did!" he began with enthusiasm, "Saggi and I went back to the waterfall today and we played in the water and stuff!"
Kang Bora, Nagwon's mother, smiled ever brighter.
"I'm glad you had fun, go take a shower, you smell of fish. Remember to wash in between your toes and toe nails!"
"I will Eomma!"
He turned around to take a shower and a shimmer glistened across a vase. It caught Kang Bora's eyes.
"Nagwon, what's that on your finger?"
Nagwon looked down, a little nervous that his mom would tell him he couldn't have the ring. Pushing through his apprehension he told her he found it at the waterfall.
A look of concern flashed across her face.
"Nagwon, are you sure that was no one's before?"
"Yes! I'm not lying, it was abandoned!"
"Oh, proud of you for the big word. I'm just worried someone will see it and would think you stole it. Not only that but if that was someone's and they're still linked to it emotionally they're emotions could be transferred to you. How about this, let's put it on the altar and let our ancestors handle it, na?"
He nodded his head in agreement. He made his little legs walk over to the large red arch filled with feathers, flowers, jewelry, vases, candies, teas and alcohol drinks.
"Hey Halmeoni, Halabeoji, and everyone else. Can you keep this ring for me until I grow old? Thank you."
[Set it here where the bamboo bowl is] a soft feminine voice responded.
"Okay Halmeoni!"
With his left hand he placed the ring in the bamboo bowl with a shimmering rock and some dried herbs.
He then dashed to the bathroom, his mom sighing after him and that was the night Nagwon's life shifted.