With her face raised to the sky, lady Kim’s gaze seemed to be lost between the countless stars. Some were brighter than the others. Some were smaller or just further away. But all of them were doing the same. They were shining. Even if the sun would eventually rise and dominate the boundless sky, they were shining. Even if they were invisible at day, they were shining. They waited patiently every time till the night came so the whole world would recognize their existence again. Was she also just like one of those stars? Should she also just have to wait? Lady Kim let out a short sigh. She sat down on the thick branch and leaned her back on the tree trunk. The different scenes of Reli on the old man’s back appeared in her mind and she seemed to be lost in thought again.

Hearing the breath from the other side of the tree trunk became slower and steadier, the old man slightly opened his eyes. None of lady Kim’s movement could escape his sharp sense. He was awake the whole time and would remain alert until Reli woke up.

A group of single-horn squirrels ran vigorously on the branches around the old man. Every now and then a bright sunbeam shone through the shaking leaves on Reli’s face. The young boy suddenly squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his face on the old man’s clothes before slightly opened them. It was already noon.

“Woa grandpa, how long have I been asleep?”

Reli stretched his arms and leapt out from the old man’s lap. His sudden movement scared few single-horn squirrels. Their tiny body quickly disappeared as they jumped onto another tree.

“The time was just right as it seems. How are you?”

Hearing Reli’s lively voice, the old man opened his eyes and inspected the emerging figure behind the boy. Lady Kim was standing there silently with a green bamboo water holder in her hands.

“It was only a scratch. Nothing serious. I have gathered freshwater from a small waterfall not far from here. Do you both wanna drink some?”

She shook her head slightly before crouching down in front of Reli and asked in a gentle voice. Reli turned his head to the old man instead of answering. Sensing the old man’s sceptical gaze on the green bamboo water holder, lady Kim opened it and took a small sip of the freshwater.

“We haven’t eaten for a whole day. Let’s go back to the house and prepare some food.”

The old man stood up and signalised Reli to climb on his back. After giving lady Kim a short nod, his body vanished from the tree branch. Looking at the old man’s fading silhouette, lady Kim had a calm expression on her face. She stored the green bamboo water holder back under her clothes and quickly followed the duo.

A refreshing breeze blew over the riverside. On the wide green grass area next to the wooden house was a huge black, furry ball. The head of the black golden-paw bear raised abruptly as the sounds of quick steps were coming closer. Upon realizing who the newcomers were, the bear lowered its head again and continued to chew on something in its hand.

“Wow, fatty. You have brought so many herbs this time. You can’t wait to get your daily herbal water, can you? Oh right, it’s already past noon now.”

Reli’s childish voice rung out when they arrived next to the bear. He quickly climbed up on the bear’s back, peeking over its shoulder. The bear raised its jaw in the air and growled in low voice before dropping its head again

“For now, please always stay 50 steps away from Reli and the wooden house. I will go to catch some fish.”

The old man spoke to the arriving lady Kim. He still needed certain pre-emptive measures against her. Lady Kim nodded. She didn’t mind his instruction since it was only natural in their situation. After inspecting her surroundings, she chose a clean spot with dense fresh green grasses and sat down.

Various herbs were lying on the ground next to the black golden-paw bear. Most of them had the bear’s favourite flavour. The old man had a weird feeling that the bear was getting smarter every day. Not only did it know which herb to gather but each herb was also cut cleanly and sorted out on the ground. Even the bear’s behaviours while hanging with them were strange lately. It often looked dazed. Not that look of stupid animal but more that of a human child studying the world around it.

The old man smiled and shook his head. It didn’t matter as long as the bear was still friendly with Reli like now. He was glad his young boy had someone to play with. Picking up all the herbs, he brought them into the wooden house and called to Reli.

“Reli, make a hugeee fire. Cause your grandpa will catch a hugeee fish this time. Enough for us all. Even that fat bear will also get some.”

“Woohoo, fatty. You heard that. Let’s do it.”

Reli raised his arm and jumped happily in the air. He quickly ran over to gather dry branches from behind the wooden house. Lady Kim sat still on the soft green grass. Her serene figure seemed to have merged with the background, concealed in the calmness of the riverside. The whole world in front of her eyes appeared to be moving in slow motion. Not a single detail escaped her observation and were all captured in the sheer bottomless darkness behind her slowly widened pupils.

Reli’s naive laughter rung out in her ears, resounding in every corner of her mind, reaching out to the high sky. The sun shone so brightly. Its intense light weighted down on the whole riverside, almost trying to compress everything underneath it. Lady Kim felt as if her blood flow had slowed down. She felt her heartbeat shaking the oppressive air around her and she also felt the old man’s heartbeat. His image seemed to suddenly be enlarged in her eyes. He was wading in the river. It was as if she was right behind him, following his precise steps. She could almost feel the warmth of his skin as the hot sunlight shone down on his muscular back. A light breeze whistled over the surface of the river, following its wave. Cool, humid air blew gently on her face and brought her sense slowly away from him, back to her original spot.

A heavy thud resounded underwater. The huge fish was blasted against the river ground. Before it could regain its sense, the old man swiftly closed the distance between them and delivered another deadly punch, ending the fight eventually. Grabbing the fish body tightly he took a big swing. An explosive sound rang out from the river as the fish broke through the surface of the water and landed next to the wooden house. It was as huge as three grown men together.

The loud noise caught the attention of the black golden-paw bear. In front of it, Reli was wielding a short, broken branch. He quickly moved close to the bear and struck softly on its furry belly. The bear lazily lowered its head towards the young boy. This time Reli looked behind it and spoke in a stern voice to someone.

“Johann, I leave it to you.”

This caused the bear to turn its head and scanned its surrounding, but no other person could be found. It felt a soft pressure on its big belly again and cast a confused glance at Reli.

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“Hahah, caught ya.”

The boy laughed out loud while running joyfully around the big bear. Crackling sounds could be heard from the big fire next to them.

After chopping the fish in many parts, the old man marinated them in the special herbal mixture. Lady Kim closed her eyes and curiously examined the various scents spreading out in the air. The smell this time was very faint as the old man didn’t want to attract the attention of other beasts. He threw a big portion of the fish in front of the bear and spread the rest neatly over the huge fire. Every now and then, big drops of fat dripped in the fire creating lively sizzling sounds.

After giving Reli a cup of the special herbal tea, the old man prepared another hot cup and walked over to lady Kim.

“This is the special herbal tea we always drink. It will not only help you recover quickly but also strengthen both your body and mind.”

His calm voice rung out as he carefully placed the cup of tea in front of her. With a straight back, Lady Kim sat firmly on the green grass while looking deeply in his eyes. Her hand slowly reached out from under her clothes and a green bamboo water holder appeared. Still keeping eyes contact with the old man, she placed the water holder next to the cup of tea.

There was only absolute silence. Right when the old man wanted to say something, lady Kim hand moved like lightning and grabbed the cup. She drank all the tea in one go. After that a haughty smile appeared on her face as she looked playfully at the old man’s shocked expression.

“Wasn’t the tea too hot to be drunk like that?”

Glancing at her now flushed cheeks, the old man asked in a concerned manner. His words made lady Kim glared at him angrily. She widened her eyes before tapping a few short times on the green bamboo water holder and pointed towards a tree. The old man lowered his head a bit to avoid her eyes. He covered his mouth with one hand and cleared his throat.

“You see, Reli’s tummy is very sensitive so he can only drink water from this river. Yes, that is it.”

He looked back at her and spoke in a serious manner. He even nodded a few times as if trying to show that his words were true. Seeing his attempt to explain the situation, lady Kim followed his actions with amused eyes.

“I will eat here. The soft green grass is quite comfortable and it’s not too windy like next to the river.”

She spoke gently after laying the cup back into his hand. The old man nodded slightly and stood up.

Just before he left, the old man turned his head and looked warmly into her eyes.

“Thank you.”

He spoke sincerely in low voice.

There was absolute silence again. A light breeze came from the quiet forest, letting a few loose leaves gliding over between the two unmoving figures. Under the warm sunlight on the vast green grass next to the river, he was still standing and she was still sitting. Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly a few times upon realizing how long she had been captured in his charming eyes. She quickly averted her eyes from his and repeatedly rubbed her delicate fingers on her black robe, trying to flatten some invisible creases. Only after seeing his figure disappeared from the corner of her eyes, did her breath slowly calmed down.

“Woohoo, the fish was so delicious. Even lady Kim had eaten so much hahah.”

Reli rubbed with both hands on his full tummy and waved merrily at lady Kim in the distance. The old man lifted a big leaf full with hot roasted fish flesh and looked at her. She shook her head signalising she already had enough. He nodded and finished it all by himself.

“I will stay in the house for a while.”

The old man shouted over to lady Kim before closing the door of the wooden house. He was grateful for her understanding of their current situation. They had to trust each other if they want to escape this place together but it was easier said than done. He couldn’t allow any mistake regarding Reli’s safety.

Some white clouds idly floated in the sky, casting small shadows over the forest. The sunlight felt much milder on the skin now and from time to time a refreshing breeze came down from the upstream. It was peaceful at the riverside. Lady Kim watched calmly at the lively Reli. He was playing around with big black gold-paw bear. The bear was surprisingly gentle and patient toward the young boy. Even though its real speed was unmatched, the bear still kept the same running pace with Reli. It would hold still if it wasn’t sure where Reli would climb down next from its head, so not to accidentally hurt the boy.

Reli’s happy laughter also brightened up lady Kim’s mood. She looked at the clear water of the calm river, then at the quiet wooden house. The old man’s figure appeared in her mind. The first time they met in person. The fight they fought together. She knew he was awake the whole time on that tree branch. That was why she decided to sleep at that time. He didn’t say it but right now he was probably sleeping inside that wooden house. Seeing the bear and boy duo playing next to the river, she knew Reli was safe as long as the bear was around.

After thinking about it for a moment, lady Kim went to a calm river part not far away from the wooden house. The water was flowing very slowly at this spot. Big branches of a huge tree were leaning over the water. The many big leaves created a perfect natural barrier to block unwanted glances. She placed her shoes on a flat rock next to the river and stuck her right foot slowly into the water. The temperature felt just right for her. She waded deeper into the water as she gradually undressed herself. When the water reached her shoulders she calmly took off her headscarf and headcover. With a small thud, they landed neatly on the flat rock, along with her black clothes.

Warm sunlight reflected on the calm water surface and landed onto her long, silky black hair. She ran her fingers gently through the loose hair. Every now and then small water drops would land on her smooth skin. No one knew that her appearance was completely normal and she had always made sure to hide that fact. But now she didn’t seem to care anymore. Was it because the barrier protecting this land would disappear soon and she might die in the upcoming chaos? Or was it because of him? She softly stroked her shoulders thinking about his gentle touch as he wrote the message on her back. It was about how they would deceive that bearded man into destroying the cracked blue barrier. Would she be the one in that cave instead if none of the pursuers was alive? What was his original plan? And what would he do next?

She was lost in deep thoughts as her hands kept rubbing gently on her soft skin, revealing the delicate curves of her body. Yet she didn’t know she wasn’t the only one.