[ memory. // hyeri self-para ]
Hyeri knelt on the bed, over looking the wild looking city, following the green vines as they swirled up the pipes on the side of wrecking buildings. "Hyeri, honey. Hop away from the window." A soft voice called out to her. Mrs. Lee gently picked Hyeri up, moving her from her watch place, placing her in the arm chair across the room. "Don't look out the windows, sweetheart. It's not safe." A tall, dark haired doctor, Mr. Lee gently patted the top of his daughters head before kissing his wife's cheek. Hyeri, even at such a young age was fascinated with the affection between her parents. She puffed up her cheeks and giggled. "Okay Daddy!" She mumbled. She found herself fiddling with a loose strand on her little plaid blue pinafore, listening to her mother and father converse. "Joon, dear. Please be safe." Her father had been called to the hospital so unexpectedly in the early hours of the morning, and it was almost impossible to leave the house quietly. "Of course, darling. I'll be home tonight. I love you." - While her parents talked sweetly to one another, Hyeri found herself crawling off the chair and wandering back to the window, struggling to climb onto the big bed before her. She wanted to look out the window again. It just so happened that as soon as she'd found herself occupied, her father abruptly walked over, tugging the blind down. "Hyeri. You are not to look outside any more. Do I make myself clear." He said harshly. Hyeri quickly nodded, and shuffled away from the window, climbing down off the bed and running over to the small coat mattress, diving under the covers. What was really out there? What were they trying to conceal from her? Hyeri sat up, covered in a light sweat. She hadn't woken from a nightmare, but it might as well of been one. Her body shuddered as she pulled back the covers, the baggy t-shirt swarming her tiny frame. She padded her way across the room, her feet greeting the cold tiles of the bathroom. She clutched the cold porcelain of the chipping bathroom sink, the amount of cold pulsing through her body made her feel numb but it put her racing mind at ease. She fiddled with the taps, begging for a small drizzle of cold water which came to her after a minute of waiting. She splashed the cold water onto her face, letting the droplets run down her face. She sighed, enjoying the feeing, ever little last moment of it. She wandered back to her bed, still feeling rather shaken but better. She ran her hands up and down her legs, now resting her head on the window sill, closing her eyes. But she couldn't sleep and she felt uneasy. She opened her eyes once more and found herself watching the city that was never truly asleep. What was beyond the walls?