CHAPTER 3

ISEUL

My body felt too heavy…. I couldn't swim upwards…. A strong force was pushing me into her arms…My eyes were blinded by that intense purple light…. I could only see a woman figure….. She took me in her embrace, and It was a complete black out…. I felt as if this was moment of my death…. I never imagined , a small step towards crossing my boundaries would cost me a Death….

"She'll gain consciousness soon, She must be so tired of swimming for whole night…. I'm actually surprised how did she managed to survive in such a strong typhoon…. What a brave girl…"

A female voice…. I could hear…. Few people talking around me… My body felt lied down on a bed… So, does mean….I…I'm ALIVE ??? I tried opening my eyes, but the strong sunlight attacked me… I tried lifting my hands to block the light, but I had no energy left and IV drip needles had captured my hands…. Suddenly I felt a warm hand touching my forehead….

"Doctor, I guess she's waking up…. Wait let me close the curtains. Yeah , you can open your eyes now." I opened my eyes slowly , and found myself admitted in a hospital. A Girl was sitting beside me… Did she bring me here? Doctor lady approached me in next few seconds , checked me up.

"She's completely fine. But still I would advise you to keep her under expertise till tomorrow morning. A small amount of sea water is still inside her body…. Dear, do you feel like puking? If you want to ,Do it okay?"

"Thank you so much Rina , What could I do without you? Due to the typhoon, there were no clinics with vacant bed in Jindo…It was such a task, bringing her to Seoul…." That Girl said she brought me to Seoul, and my eyes opened up wide.

"SEOUL?? I'm in Seoul right now?? Really?" I asked her excitedly.

"Waaahhh…. Few mins ago you had no energy to even lift your hand and now you're smiling? You must be dying to cross that path and reach Seoul….No wait , you actually died while reaching Seoul" , She said surprisingly. " Yah, you look quite young, how old are you ? And why the fuck you were so desperate to cross that sea? And most importantly what's your name? Do you have any idea I've been pushed from Jeju to Jindo to save you…..Ahhhh…. C'mon speak up now….You silly girl"

I got a bit startled with her questions… But as soon as I opened my mouth to answer her… My stomach threw up vomit… I started puking badly….

"Yahhh, what happened with you when you were undersea ? TELL ME !!! What is this??? Purple Water???" She screamed out loudly.

I was taken aback….white bed sheet was full of Purple water….I was scared , I didn't know what was happening with me….

"Eonni [Older sister]...Eonni !!! I don't know…. I have no idea….what's happening with me….What should I do… I feel like dying…." I cried out, tears rolled down my cheeks. Why did I leave my home? My Dad? My Modo island? Why did I cross boundaries?

That Girl came closer and hugged me and patted on my head. I held her tightly , she was a stranger but still I felt like she was someone my kind….

"It's okay dear… Eonni is here to protect you, I can understand what you're going through right now. Stop crying now. It's okay, let me clean this mess first… we can't let Rina or any other staff know about this…. Okay?" Her warm voice comforted me.

She changed the bedsheets and gave me some clothes to wear. I was feeling much better now after puking out that water.

"Feeling better?"

"Hmm"

"So can we introduce ourselves now?"

"yeahh… I'm Iseul , Park I Seul, a 19 year old student."

"Oh…Good… Hii, I'm Miyawaki Arin. I am a Scientist."

"Wow… So cool.."

"Being Scientist is cool?? What do you study?"

"History and Literature…"

"That's more cool actually."

Both of us giggled for few minutes.

"By the way , Iseul-ah….Can you please explain what's going on with you? Bcoz you get it right….All these things are not normal , and I have gone through these situations… So tell me."

I told her everything , my dreams , why I decided to cross the sea , what happened with me underwater….everything… I expected some surprised reactions from her but she was so calm….as if she knew everything….

" Hmmm….So that's why Adrestia kept sending me to all these sea shores… But what are her intentions?" She said to herself

"Adre….Adres…" I found that name difficult to pronounce

" ADRESTIA…. You will meet her sooner or later… She's an annoying bitch , won't let me live peacefully….Anyways I am not going to let her meet you unless I understand this whole situation. Do you want to contact your parents?"

"Hmmm , can you call my Dad?"

"Yeah sure, tell me the number. I'll talk to him first."

She dialed the number. Someone received the call, but in few minutes her face darkened up….

"Iseul-ahh….Your father… He disappeared from the Island… Your neighbor picked up the call… they said while performing the rituals… he suddenly disappeared…. Many of them thought he got drowned…but his body is nowhere to be found…. He just disappeared…."

My whole world went upside down…. I kept listening to eonni's words…but… My heart ached like never before… I felt everything roatating around me…. My father….my only family… I lost him… How foolish I could be to cross my limits…. I suddenly remembered his words… Until his death I cannot cross the sea… And today as I crossed the sea , he disappeared… I can't hear anything more… I just wanna sleep now… I can do nothing else… I am the worst daughter… I lied back on the bed and closed my eyes. But couldn't stop tears rolling down…..