1 Follow the Moonlight

"Mirae Lee!" Knowing exactly who that was, I quickly looked around for the high-pitched squeal of my name. Sera yells from across the street with an exaggerated wave. I waved back with a dreaded smile on my face. It's useless trying to avoid her; we go to the same university and we even live together.

My best friend of twelve years, Sera Park, begged her parents to take me in when my mother passed away due to a car accident when I was 16, just about three years ago. After reviewing some surveillance cameras, it is discovered that she crashed into a pole while averting the car to dodge an oncoming motorcycle that was speeding head on towards her. It was painful to watch. The detectives never found the person on the motorcycle. As for my father, I was never told his whereabouts. Although it crosses my mind at times, I've never really questioned about it.

Knowing what plans Sera had in mind, I tried digging for an excuse in my head as she crossed the street with the bright smile of hers. Her white teeth beams in the sun while her black hair dances in the wind. No wonder all the guys fall for her. She's beautiful.

Putting her arm around my shoulder, she smirked, "I know you don't have any plans today, so don't even try to deny my invitation." She has a bad habit of dragging me to places. We bonded like sisters since we're both just the only child.

"Sera, I seriously can't today. Mother Nature hit me hard. Cramps, headache, and back pain. I didn't sleep well last night either."

"Oh yeah? Show me." She laughed. I laughed, and then groaned. Sera dragged me along with her.

My mom used to work multiple jobs to support us. Missing that fatherly figure in my life, my mom tried her best supplying for us. She's had a few boyfriends here and there but never settled due to various reasons. I told her I was happy with just two of us. I was used to it.

"So where are we going today?" I rolled my eyes.

Sera looked at me playfully. "Hell's Club! But first, let's pick out a few outfits!"

Sera's parents have given her the best of the best due to the fact that she is the only child; the newest model of the phone, three tiered birthday cakes along with a private party with her friends, weekly allowances, and whatever Sera asks for. Although her parents took me in under the influence of Sera, I know they never really accepted me as part of their family. I know they only kept me around because of the money they received as legal guardians from my mom's passing. Sera would often times back me up with her parents' occasional bashful words. "Why don't you get a job and contribute instead of going to university. The money your mom left is dried up. We should have never agreed to take you in in the first place. You're just a burden."

I've never complained. I thought what they did was enough. They didn't have to take me in. I could be homeless. Or hell, even worse. I was simply just grateful. That's what my mother had taught me—to be grateful.

"Mirae ah, do you know what your name means? It means the Future. I want you to always look forward and believe in what the future will bring. Looking at the past will not change anything but looking toward the future will. Just like the moonlight on a cloudless night, let the future guide you. I want you to be grateful for everything that happens in your life. Look at the good things that are happening instead of the bad things. Let go of the past and follow the moonlight."