Chronicle Of The Stars

In an unknown place, Velmir was lying on the ground, without a sign of consciousness. "Awake, you fake one." A voice covered in hatred echoed in the realm, waking up Velmir. 

"Where am I?"

"Water? Why is there water?"

"Ahh! My head...It's this headache again!"

A swift gaze, he examined everything with his mind arranging all the information. An unfamiliar realm with water as its floor, no sky, no objects, it's just a space with stars..."Huh? What is that?" - Something was shining in the dark. He straightened up and walked forward to the light source as though fate itself led the way. He moved closer and closer until the form of the light could be seen - a figure of a person. He stood before it, feeling like it was a part of him, and reached out his hand.

"That's my body." The light spoke, prisoning the space.

 "Give it back."

"You are not Velmir." 

Words pinned in his head, all of a sudden, he knelt to the ground, pressing his temple. It's almost like time has stopped, memories flowed into his mind, and they assembled.

A boy who was holding average test results was going back home on a familiar road, but he didn't remember its name; he just went through it. He keeps going and going, until in front of him is _______ apartment. "Strange, I couldn't read it. It's not really important anyway, now I just want to meet mom, dad, and sister!" He went to the apartment and found the room ____. 

"Today is just another day, why do I miss them so much?"  Going into the house, he saw his mom and dad, they'd prepared dinner, everything was just another peaceful day, he put his packbag down, and went to get some milk. The comforting scent of wood, warm and gentle, filled his house just like it always had. "Seeing the fridge was always this lovely?" He chuckled. It didn't take him long to go to the dining table, where all three of them were waiting for his appearance. They talked, talked like every normal day, but he couldn't remember the conversation. 

After the meal, they even go and watch a horror movie! He was scared of blood, even a bit of it made him scream, but it's so odd, why was he clenching his left hand? He never had this habit, and is this feeling called "scare"? It didn't seem like he was scared at all. The screen was strange too; it was definitely repaired yesterday, yet there was only blurred motion.

"I want to sleep, I'll go first." He told his family members. Lying on his bed just like the other days, but this time, it's not the feeling he wanted; instead, he ignored the bed and lay on the cold ground as if it were something he truly belonged to. 

Once again opened his eyes. He did the same morning routine as always, they would have breakfast together, go to work, and go to school. Though their workplaces and school are far from each other, mom and dad would drive them to school.

On his way, he observed every object on the way with the most beloved eyes, sparkling like he had gone to a far place and wanted to stay here forever. "Alright, we're here - you can get out now, sweetie." His mom said with a caring tone, while his sister added, "You're not going? Seo Wero." Just then, his tears dropped, he didn't feel it, yet couldn't control it as well. "Ah, why all of a sudden?" He quietly wiped away the tears, but the moment he opened his eyes, the scene had changed. 

In his student suit, he witnessed a heartbreaking moment, a black hair boy with a blurry face kneel down into the ground, clenching his bed with his left hand, as a woman was passing away. He didn't know them, yet in the bottom of his heart, he called her "mother". He cried, but this time in pain and suffering. At the same time, the woman held the boy's hand as her fragile voice faded away like her life force. 

"Velmir promised me, live a free life."

The moment her words finished, all signs of life had vanished, her hand dropped, she gave the boy the most precious look before the eyes lost their spark, and slowly closed her it. The sentence was not coercion but rather a desperate begging. They both cried, the witness and the one who experienced it. 

Time was not given to him, while he was crying, a voice behind him complained, "Why?...you killed me..." It was covered in hatred and pain. He immediately turned around, and the surroundings had changed, leaving the two in the place where he had woken up. The voice was from the boy who lost his mother; he stood opposite, with his left hand clenched, and he cried out bloody tears, all filled with his sorrow as if this world was the reason for his tortured heart. So he started questioning, begging in despair and helplessness.

"Please, return my body..."

"What have I done to you...?

"I want to live, please..."

"Don't kill me..."

Each word spoken was a sword piercing through his heart. He remained silent. Was it guilty? Or the similarity between them? If he gave up this body, would he reunite with his family?

With each question that appeared, he found himself consumed by his guilt. He asked this world, hated it, loved it, yet wanted to live in it. All his memories with Lucas, the despair he had, everything he experienced during this short journey, all happened when he was "Velmir". So he asked...Who was he? 

An ordinary student or a traveler? He asked, and no one answered. In this world, he felt loneliness, the same loneliness that he knew when he was a student. He accepted the fact that he wasn't someone special, he acknowledged it, knew it, felt it, and Velmir...Did he experience the same, too?

"But I killed him."