Chapter Twenty Eight. Fruits

After Alisha and her grandmother had been done with their breakfast, the older woman took her hand woven bag and set herself out of the house, ready to head to the market. Alisha still came and accompanied her grandmother even as she was in distress. She walked behind the older woman keeping up with her without any problem as her poor old bones could only allow her to move slowly giving Alisha who was already distressed an advantage as she simply kept up with her grandmother's pace. But that did not stop her from tripping over a stone and falling back on her bottom as she wasn't even watching where she was going making the older woman rush over to her side as soon as her legs could permit while her eyes held concern in them.

"Are you alright?" asked her grandmother as she bent more than her already turned back an old woman's angle as she looked at her, and when Alisha nodded the older woman squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. Her grandmother seemed to be squeezing her shoulder a lot these days but this one time was an exception as she surely needed that kind of reassurance. But why was her grandmother behaving differently these days? Instead of hugging her as usual she tended to squeeze her shoulder more often these days and Alicia who was already distressed dismissed the thought that wasn't of much concern right now. It must have been because the older woman was trying to comfort her to accept what fate held in store for her.

She got up from the ground and they continued their walk in silence until Alisha tripped the second time.

"Watch your step, child" cautioned her grandmother and Alicia made sure not to trip again and at least she didn't,which was a relief. After settling her grandmother into her stalk,she silently walked away when her grandmother called her back and she turned back to see what might be bothering her grandmother but there was none. Instead, the older woman said...

"Pass by Maya's house on your way home. It has been long since the two of last saw each other" emphasised the other woman and Alicia noddec. But on her way there, she realized she didn't want to go to Maya's house. She didn't want to face the village head one on one for she didn't want to hear the news of her getting married once again plus she was sure the man, Maya's father would not just inform her of her marriage but also add on more as not to worry for he must have chosen a good man for her. Alicia didn't want to hear anymore than what she already knew that had already dug a pit in her stomach and she just headed on home, considering talking to Maya later.

As she walked alone, she started to relieve on the happenings in her life. She had her grandmother and she was more than happy to concentrate on her art work than some damned marriage to some damned man. And now she had more than a single reason to be happy with her life. She had her grandmother,her best friend Maya plus her newfound friend Wo Ryung.

Thinking about Wo Ryung, Alicia stopped moving and turned around to look at the tiny path that led to his forest. He hadn't come back to see her since long now. Was he alright? For the little time she had known him, Alicia was sure he should have come to see her. The man seemed to have an impatience with matters concerning seeing her something Alicia definitely found no problem with. But what could have held him back for that long? Unable to find answers, Alicia slowly walked towards the small path that led to the gumiho's forest until she completely disappeared behind the trees.

In the forest, Alicia was surprised because she didn't find Wo Ryung at the spot where she usually did and neither did he descend from air just as he did the previous time. She walked a bit farther before she quickened her pace and almost fell into a run towards the cave. Had something happened to him? The forest was usually quiet but it was eerily quiet today. She couldn't sense his presence at all not even detect his scent in the air. Alarmed in the end, Alicia ran towards the cave, going as fast as her legs could carry her until she barged into the gumiho's residence in a very impolite manner but he still wasn't in the cave.

Alicia felt sweat begin to drip down her neck. She stood in front of the cave and contemplated on where to go next but she couldn't decide until her eyes fell on the direction that the rabbit had led her the previous time. She rushed towards the direction not slowing her pace a bit until she was panting because of the long distance she had covered but she didn't stop. She continued to go farther and farther into the forest until she finally halted with her eyes widening at first before they narrowed.

Right at the spot where the rabbit had led her the previous time,Wo Ryung sat looking very exaggeratedly relaxed with his legs crossed and his eyes closed while his palms rested on his thighs. He looked just like someone in deep meditation but not only that. There was a light blue form of light that had circled around him and a square distance of about two meters from where he sat, forming a barrier around him.

Alicia slowly approached the barrier but unlike any other time where he always seemed to sense her presence right the moment she set foot on the forest land,he didn't even seem to register her presence this time for even a single bit. She slowly started to rotate around the circle that glowed even brighter whenever she got close to it as though it was meant to keep Intruders away until she stood right before him if only the circle hadn't been between them but the man didn't even move an inch. Instead, he looked so peaceful and relaxed except for his hair that was moving behind his back as though there was a breeze inside the circle that swept only at the back of his head something Alicia highly doubted. She watched him for some time contemplating on whether to enter the circle and wake him up or to leave him to his meditation before she chose the latter and turned around to make her way from there.

Alicia took a few steps from where he sat before she turned around to have one last glance at him. She found herself wondering how long he must have been there seated like that. Had he been like that since she last saw him? She gasped at the thought before she quickly covered her mouth with her hand making sure not to disturb his meditation. She had decided she wouldn't disturb him but there was nothing for her to do back home to help her decrease on her fatigue and so she decided to just sit down there and watch him.

As Alicia sat in one position and watched Wo Ryung, the sun kept changing it's positions in the horizon until she looked up and realized it must be late noon already and her stomach rumbled in demand for attention. Meditating on where she could get something to eat, She remembered Wo Ryung giving bringing her a variety of fruits and she quickly got up from her spot to look for some fruit which she was sure was somewhere in the forest, and with that thought in mind, she looked back once at him before she left promising him to come back later in her mind.

She leisurely walked within the forest looking here and there and it didn't take her long before she could find a peach tree and another smaller one with pomegranate on the other side and she rejoiced. Picking enough for herself, Alicia turned around to leave when she spotted grapes too and her mouth watered on impulse of her unsatisfied stomach and she made her there too. She picked a smaller branch full of the fruit and finally turned around to leave, satisfied with her catch when she heard something like a wolf's cry from somewhere a bit far but not far enough from where she was or to allow her go back to Wo Ryung safely and she wasn't even sure if the man would notice in case she came back with a wolf trailing her heel.

And she knew she had to be quick because the wolf would catch up with her sooner than her feet would be able to carry her back to the man who was currently deep in meditation. With trembling hands, Alicia held her fruits without even realizing that the pomegranate had fallen and the grapes were slowly loosening from the small brunch she held as they slowly fell due to the way she was holding them.

After she had slowly taken a few steps, she fell in a run towards where she had left Wo Ryung completely forgetting about the fruits she was holding in her hands as she ran. She didn't dare to look back but her senses were telling her that the animal was coming after her and she wasn't sure if she would get lucky this time too as the previous night when she didn't even know what had knocked the wild animals out and she ran with all she had.

She tripped over a tree branch and fell fat on her stomach while she could hear her heart drumming in her ears and she looked behind her only to see her pursuer coming at her at full speed just a few meters away from where she lay on her back she quickly got up and continued her race towards where she had left him. She could see it was a few meters before she got there as she could see the blue moths swirling in the a air at a measured distance from where she was,but could she make it to the place in time and in one piece before the wolf ripped her apart? She could feel the distance between her and the predator thinning as she ran and she silently prayed for a miracle to happen for the barrier around him not to hold her back and let her get to him to wake him up.