A Silent Snow

"All I see is a sky which is blue. I need rest. Let's sleep."

Thud...

The white dress drifted and merged with the water. Long hair floated in the sea. Just as she closed her eyes, a sound rang in her ears-the bubbles of her breathing and the saltiness she tasted. She didn't lose her breath.

She was just sleeping...

She slowly opened her eyes and lifted her hands.

The blue water embraced her.

Looking at the blurred sky, she wondered where it all went wrong. "I think the moment I was born, it happened..."

It was a snowy night.

But the moon was brighter than ever.

Someone was softly humming...

Wrapped in a white blanket, a faint sound filled the hospital room.

She was crying. Her mother held her, but her gaze stayed fixed far away through the window. As the baby cried, her mother brushed her fingers through her tears.

"Don't cry, my baby... don't cry, my Seol..."

She sang a lullaby-

"You are my sunshine... You are my little sunshine... my love, sunshine..."

Her lullaby echoed through the room, and Seol slowly fell asleep. Her mother placed a short kiss on her cheek.

"Sleep well..."

Winter passed, summer came. Seasons changed just like that.

Wind, sun, and rain kept repeating, only growing stronger each time.

Five years passed like that. Seol was now five years old.

TV sound played in the background.

Seol's mother was in the kitchen preparing lunch. Her hands were hurried, and there were small wounds on her fingers.

Meanwhile, Seol watched the TV, moving her head as she sang along.

"Two... zero... one... four..."

She counted the numbers she saw on the screen.

"Seol..." her mother called.

"Mom..." Seol replied.

"Seol, what are you watching?"

"Mom..." Seol pointed at the TV.

"It's snow," her mother said. "You always play it..."

Seol's face changed as she stood there and sulked.

"Seol, snow will come. Can we pray for it to come quickly?"

Holding her breath, she asked, "Mom... can I?"

She held both her hands together and closed her eyes. "Dear sunshine, please make the snow come."

Seol slowly opened her eyes.

Her mother brushed her hair and returned to her chores.

Seol watched her as she worked.

"I heard... I don't know why I remember, but I heard it. It's her voice... my mom's voice."

"My dear sunshine... little sunshine..."

She smiled and began humming while admiring her mother.

Seol knew she was special. But whenever strangers looked at her strangely, she noticed her mother's eyes would turn red.

"Seol..." her mother called. "Come here. We need to go somewhere."

She packed food into boxes and changed Seol's dress. While tying Seol's shoes, she spoke gently.

"Mom, why is your body all wet?"

"My Seol is very observant. Mom is running a bit late today, so shall we go? When I say so, you must hold my hand tightly and walk with me. If it gets hard, Mom will hold you."

Seol nodded as her mother stroked her hair.

The roads were packed.

Crosswalks were filled with people.

Seol struggled as she looked around, then at her mother. Her mother was panting, her wet, rough hands holding Seol's small soft hand.

Seol knew her mother's fingers were red, and her clothes were different from others.

It was because of her.

They took small steps and entered a building.

Through the entrance, they walked down a narrow, old hallway and reached a room.

From afar, a voice called, "Seol... you're here."

Seol hid behind her mother.

"Seol, greet your teacher. Don't hide."

Seol tightened her grip on her mother. "I don't want... I hate it..."

"Seol..." Her teacher gently took her hands. "Your favorite teddy. Let's play with it."

She took the teddy.

Her small steps moved forward. She entered the room, glancing back at her mother, who was waving at her.

Seeing that, Seol smiled, showing her teeth.

The teacher and her mother talked.

"Here is Seol's bag."

"Seol is improving. Her speech is becoming easier now. The only problem is socializing. But we cannot force it. Don't worry-she is a smart girl."

Her mother bowed repeatedly, thanking them, while the teacher tried to stop her.

Seol played with the teddy.

"I can hear everything. I understand, but it's hard to express. If I am not special, would Mom be happier?"

She looked at the other children playing together.

"If I play with them, will Mom be happy?"

Seol stood and moved closer to the other kids.

She suddenly stopped.

Laughter and teasing could be heard.

"Scary... I can't..."

She clenched her skirt.

Her eyes fell on the open window. A soft wind brushed the curtains as she stepped closer.

Pink petals fell like rain.

She stretched out her hands to catch them, but they slipped through her fingers. She closed her eyes and tried again and again, but still failed.

The petals fell to the ground, and people stepped over them. Everyone was busy.

"It must hurt," she whispered, looking at the dry branches creaking in the wind.

Her hair clung to the window and trailed the curtains as she chuckled.

"Found it..." she murmured.

The day faded like that.

After tucking Seol into bed, her mother went to the outer room. The hall was dark in their two-room apartment, carrying a scent of oldness.

She sat on the couch and let out a breath.

A memory pressed heavily on her chest.

Two years ago... On a cold night, a phone call rang... Seol's mother took it... After everything happened in a flash.

"Sorry... sorry... It's our fault..."

A young child sat on the floor crying while his mother pleaded beside him.

Seol's mother turned back and looked at her daughter, who was staring at her father's photo.

A single tear fell from her tired eyes.

"Please get up... it's not anyone's fault..." she said, going to Seol and holding her.

"Seol, are you hungry?"

The tears she had been holding broke the moment she embraced Seol.

Seol was only three years old when her father died in an accident.

A young student working at a construction site survived because Seol's father helped him-but he died instead.

They say a death while saving someone is honorable. But how can it be honorable when a family loses everything, and a boy is left with trauma?

Seol knew it too.

She only quietly said goodbye to her father.

"Seol... take care of Mom..."

Those were her father's last words that echoed in her ears, even though she never saw him again.

It was a dream before he took his last breath.

Tears fell onto the carpet. Silence filled the hall. Seol's mother tried not to let her daughter notice, but she cried anyway.

The memory returned every year-the night the phone rang. The same night she lost her other half.

And Seol was the gift left behind before he died.

That night, Seol had a dream...

"Seol..." Her father clapped his hands and cheered. "Come... come to Daddy..."

"Oh, honey, did you see that? She's walking..."

"Seol... come to Mom..."

"Seol, that's cheating. Come to Daddy..."

"No, honey, that's cheating..."

Clank-

"Ahh..."

"Seol!"

The two of them quickly rushed toward where Seol had fallen.

"Seol, don't cry..."

Seol, still asleep, smiled softly as a quiet voice escaped her lips.

"Dad..."