Stray Marigolds
The campfire crackled in the quiet night, the flames stretching towards the darkened sky littered with gleaming stars. Haeyin stifled a yawn as he leaned back against the tall tree he’d claimed for a camp site, his body aching from the day’s travels as he sat on his bedroll beneath it. Perhaps it was time he invested in a horse after all, he thought, rubbing his stiff shoulder.
A gentle breeze rustled the tree’s branches, shaking a few leaves loose, and Haeyin turned his attention upwards. In the distance, he could see the moon rising above the treeline. It would be full in a few more days time, but for now it resembled a smile, wide and bright. The expression on Haeyin’s face, however, was anything but. He stared forlornly at the sky, at the moon, reaching to touch the golden pendant around his neck. While the night brought him comfort in ways he could not fully explain, there was always a certain sadness that mingled with it; memories of days long past, of a life he had once lived.
Rummaging through his rucksack, Haeyin withdrew a small jar and a clean white cloth before setting them on his lap to unfasten the clasp of the necklace. He held it carefully in his hands, tracing the spiraling designs with scarred fingertips. With a weary sigh, Haeyin unscrewed the jar’s lid and dabbed the cloth with its contents. He adjusted his posture, finding a comfortable position, and set to work on polishing the precious metal, allowing himself to be consumed with the fleeting memories of its previous owner, of the friend he had lost so very long ago.
It wasn’t long before Haeyin’s vision began to blur, the exhaustion in his limbs coupled with the warmth of the fire effectively drawing him closer to sleep. He stubbornly rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand, dipping the cloth into the jar again and yawning as he did so. The fire’s light danced and flickered across the necklace’s renewed golden surface in a mesmerizing display, and after a few more moments, Haeyin’s eyes slipped shut, his hands falling slack in his lap as sleep finally claimed him.
