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I slowly walked through the thick fog that enveloped the entire town.
It was five in the morning and I wasn’t supposed to be awake but no one would care anyway. Everyone was too busy with their own lives to even look at a boy like me.
I strolled to the center of the town, what would always be my favorite place.
There stood a large fountain with tiny statues built on the sides of it. The fountain itself was grand but what caught everyone’s eyes was the single sculpture in the very center of the fountain. It was one of a boy, tall and skinny and he would’ve looked rather attractive if it weren’t for the distressed look on his clay face.
Legend has it that he was once a human, a young boy, that could, like any other human being, feel things like sadness, happiness, anger, and love. This boy was in love with a girl who lived across from him. They soon got together and lived happily for a few weeks.
But his father was outraged once he found out that his only son was with a girl. So he placed a curse on both his son and the poor girl who didn’t know what she did wrong. The girl was to die once she turned twenty one and so was every female to be born in her family. As for the boy, he was turned into a statue in the heart of his town for centuries.
He couldn’t die but he could hear and see everything happening around him. Dozens of people have reported seeing the statue’s eyes move. Some people even said that if you throw a penny into the fountain with your loved one, fate would keep you two together no matter what.
I frowned, deep in thought, my eyebrows furrowing unconsciously.
“A penny for your thoughts?” a voice next to me snapped me back into reality.
I jumped slightly and turned around so quickly that my back almost cracked. There stood a boy with curly, brown hair that reached his eyes. He wore a green and black checkered sweater and a black skirt that just reached his knees. Under his skirt, he wore black leggings that hugged his legs perfectly. He was surely what most would call ethereal and I would’ve wholeheartedly agreed.
He looked at me and caught me staring. I felt heat rush up to my cheeks as I looked away. The boy beside me laughed and said, “it’s fine, my name’s Kai, by the way. What’s yours?” I met his eyes once again and replied, “M’name’s Beomgyu.” “That’s a lovely name,” Kai beamed.
“You looked so concentrated looking at the fountain and I couldn’t help but wonder what you were thinking,” he told me with a soft smile on his face. “O-oh, I was just thinking about that old myth. You know? That if you throw a coin into the fountain with your lover you two stay together forever?” I replied.
Kai's mouth formed a little ‘o.’ “Yeah, my mother told me about it when I was younger.” “But do you think it’s true? The legend, I mean,” I asked quietly. It came out so quiet that I almost couldn’t hear myself but Kai was close enough to make out what I said.
“Well, we’ll never know unless we try, won’t we?” he answered just as quietly as me. He took out a penny from the pocket of his skirt and handed it over to me. “Go ahead,” he motioned his head towards the fountain.
I smiled at him and tossed the penny into the fountain with my eyes still locked with his. He grinned at me again before saying, “well, Beomgyu, it was a pleasure to meet you. Unfortunately, I need to get going but I hope to see you again. soon” And I could’ve sworn, I saw the statue smile.
x.X.x
We didn’t see each other again. I came back to the fountain the next day and the next but he never came.
I went back to the same place for months until I found out that he moved to another town the day after we met. I may or may not have cried for days without end about someone I only met once.
But I mean, who wouldn’t?
He was the first person who was actually ever nice to me. He seemed like he actually cared. But the fact that he moved didn’t stop me from going to that fountain for months after just in case he would come back.
He never did.
It’s been almost six years since I’ve seen him.
I’m twenty-five now and I have matured. I’m not that innocent seventeen-year-old I was before. And there I was, sitting in my favorite coffee shop drinking a caramel macchiato doing work stuff on my laptop.
The bells of the entrance chimed and I heard someone walk in. I didn’t pay much mind though, the cafe was fairly popular so people would enter and leave the shop quite often. The person walked up to the cashier and stated their order.
“Hmm, I’d like one medium-sized americano, please. Yes, dine in. Also, could I have a cookie with that? Just a chocolate chip one, please. Yes, thank you.” The customer had a sugary sweet almost like honey voice and judging by it, I assumed it was a guy.
The boy sat on a table next to me and mumbled a little ‘hello.’
Wait. That voice. I heard it somewhere before. No. It can’t be. I haven’t seen him in years it can’t b-
“Hello, Beomgyu, I'm Kai. Nice to see you again.”
Fate truly does work in a strange way.
-end-