Post by NinjaDeathStrike on Feb 9, 2011 23:06:56 GMT -5
Hey guys. I know this isn't exactly art, but it is a creative project I worked on this fall. It's a short story that I wrote for a friend when she was felling down. It's a little long, so I've posted it in chapters, but I wanted to share it with you guys, since I consider you all friends. I hope you like it,
Ninja
Sunshine
by NinjaDeathStrike
Growing up we are often told by those who love us most that we are special, that we, above everyone else, are important. As life goes on, we learn this is rubbish. We’re not special and no one cares if we’re happy with our life or not. Why should we be? Life isn’t about being happy. It’s about making money and gaining power and living up to the expectations of everyone around you. However, there are those few among us who are truly special; those who, if you are lucky enough to meet them, can change the way you perceive the world. No matter how much the world tries to beat them down, they know they were meant for something more.
Chapter I
Nothing Special
Sun was a teacher, a job she told herself she enjoyed. She was small, pretty, with a round face and sharp cheeks that made her whole face light up when she smiled. Her dark eyes nearly matched her raven black hair. She had a pleasant voice that could be as soft as a pillow or as sharp as a sword depending on the occasion.
Sun didn’t think she was special. In fact, she knew she wasn’t. This lesson had been harshly taught to her over the last few years, and she had learned it well. Once, the world had seemed open and full of opportunities. The only thing that could hold her back was herself. She was young and pretty and life was an adventure worth living. But as the years went on, the weight of the world became heavy on her shoulders. She no longer thought of herself as young or pretty or adventurous, though it was obvious to even the most casual observer that she was still all of these things.
“Class, class!” Sun said as she rapped the whiteboard with her ruler.
“Yes, yes!” the children replied enthusiastically.
“That’s all for today’s lesson. Rememebert to fill out your phonics sheet for homework and be ready to practice for the next lesson.”
“Yes teacher.” The response was less enthusiastic than the last.
“Ok, goodbye class!” Sun said as she waved them out the door. The class had been the fifth of the day, and Sun was completely exhausted. She returned to her office, slipped off her shoes, and put her feet up on the desk, hoping to enjoy a few minutes of peace before she had to start preparing the next lesson. Just as she let out a sigh of relief the phone rang.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Sun? This is your mother. I’m just calling to make sure you’re still planning to come and visit this weekend. You know your father hasn’t been well and we’d like to see you again.”
“Yes Mom. I already told you I’m coming home to check on Dad. I’ll leave as soon as I can after work today.”
“Good. You know your father and I worry about you. Are you still teaching? You can’t make very much money teaching. It’s not a good job for you. You never should have left your last job. You could have been an executive there by now.”
“I wasn’t happy there Mom.”
“So? I didn’t say anything about being happy. I just want you to have a good, respectable job. That’s what’s important. Speaking of respectable, are you still dating that same guy you’ve been with all these years?”
“Yes Mom.”
“And you’re still not married huh? Teaching wouldn’t be so bad if you had a good man to support you. Why do you stay with him? Why not marry someone else? You’re not getting any younger you know.”
Sun sighed. “Mom, we’ve been through this before. I want to be with someone I love, and I don’t want to get married. It’s just,” she paused, “not for me.”
Sun’s mother scoffed. “Not for you? What do you mean not for you? You’re just going to stay single and alone for the rest of your life. That’s not a respectable choice for a woman like you.”
“Thanks Mom. I love you too. I’ll see you tonight.” She hung up the phone and tired to return to her hard earned respite. Just as she put her feet back up however, the principle walked into the office.
“Sun, what are you doing?”
“I was just getting ready to plan my next lesson sir.” She said as she scrambled to put her feet down and look busy.
“Well I have something else for you to do. There are some books up in the library that the kids have put in the wrong place. I need you to go up there and sort them out.”
“Don’t we have a library staff to do that?”
“They’re busy working on some new story books I told them to write, so you’ll have to do it.” He turned to leave, but as he was almost out the door he stopped and looked back. “By the way, once the library staff is done writing those books, I want to make an after school reading club. You’re in charge. It starts Monday.” He left without even saying goodbye. Sun sunk lower into her chair and groaned. She would still do it of course. It was her job to teach after all, and she didn’t want to let anyone down.
Looking for something to cheer her up, Sun picked her phone back up and called her boyfriend. “Hey honey,” she said happily when he answered the phone. “Are we still planning to meet up on Saturday?”
“Saturday? Oh yeah, I forgot, I have a business meeting. It’s not going to work. Sorry Sun.”
“Well then how about Sunday? Why don’t we have a picnic in the park Sunday for lunch? The weather is supposed to be beautiful this weekend.”
“Eh, maybe. I want to see some of my buddies from school sometime this weekend. What if I just stop by your place Sunday night? You can make dinner.”
“Fine,” Sun replied, no longer happy. “I guess maybe I’ll see you Sunday night then. Goodbye. I love you.”
“Yep.” Click.
Chapter II
Accident
Sun left work thoroughly defeated. No matter how much she gave, people always wanted more. No one seemed to notice the toll it was taking on her. Everyone wanted her to fix their problems, but no one cared about hers. It didn’t matter though; she would keep giving until there was nothing left to give. It’s just who she was.
The drive to her parent’s house in the city would take more than an hour, but Sun left late to avoid the worst of the busy traffic. By the time she got onto the highway it was already dark. The bleak, gray sky, along with the quite road and hum of the engine was almost hypnotizing. Sun found herself starting to drift off to sleep on several occasions, but always managed to snap back just in time.
Sun dipped her head down and her eyes began to close once again. As soon as she realized she was fading, she snapped her head up. When she looked at the road again, she saw what looked like a person stumbling across it. She was headed straight for him. Sun’s adrenaline started pumping as she struggled to avoid hitting the thing in the middle of the road. She was sure now that it was a person, although it was bent over and limping badly. The injured person saw her coming and tired to move more quickly, but as he tried to run his leg gave out and he fell flat on the road.
Sun turned the wheel as hard as she could, but her car fought her every step of the way. The little car was old and stubborn and not used to having a high level of performance demanded from it. Sun managed to steer it off course just enough to avoid flattening the person who now lay face down on the road. Unfortunately, the only place to steer the car was off the road. It lurched off the pavement and sputtered to a dusty stop well off the road.
Sun jumped out of the car and ran back to the road to check on the injured person. As she got closer, she could see the person was a man. He had dark hair, like her. It ran down over the rest of his face. He was tall and lean, but not skinny. If he had been standing, he would have cut an impressive figure, but being hunched over and bleeding all over the road diminished it somewhat. Most of the cuts looked superficial, probably from his fall a moment before, but Sun could see a substantial amount of blood pooling underneath his left leg. It was the same leg he had been favoring as he tried to cross the road.
“Hey mister? Are you ok?” Sun asked as she approached him. She didn’t get too close. The guy looked like a wounded animal, and she knew that if he was in trouble he might act like one. He looked up at her. At first his eyes were desperate and pleading, but when he looked at her face they changed. He was terrified.
He gasped. “Impossible! I didn’t know there was another so close. You have to run!”
“Excuse me?” Sun considered the possibility that he was crazy.
“I know what you must be thinking. I’m not crazy and I do know what I’m saying. You need to get out of here! Now! It might already be too late. Forget you ever saw me, get back in your car, and go. Don’t look back and don’t turn around.”
Dumbfounded, Sun stood for a minute weighing her options. She knew she couldn’t leave this man lying in the road. “I can’t leave you. You need help.” She bent down and helped the man into a sitting position. “What’s your name? She asked.”
“My name is Gidae, but you can’t help me. You need to leave before it’s too late.”
“Gidae, I can’t leave you here bleeding in the middle of the road when it’s within my power to help you.” She looked at the wound in his leg. There was a small entry wound at the back of his calf muscle and a rather larger exit wound through the front of his leg. She took of her jacket and wrapped it around the wound. “Gidae…were you shot?”
“Yes. By men you don’t want to meet. They’re still looking for me. That’s why you have to get out of here.”
She wanted to stay with the man until she could get him some help, but the look in his eyes as he talked to her was deadly serious.
“I…” she started to say, but before she could finish, she heard more voices coming from the forest off the side of the road.
“Go! Run!” Gidae yelled in a near panic. This convinced her. Sun turned on her heel and sprinted back to her car.
She opened the door and, just before getting in, turned to look back to the road one more time. She saw a group of three men emerging from the forest. “Nice shot Kaljueng. Put it right through his calf.”
“I told you he wouldn’t get far,” the one called Kaljueng replied. All three men were armed. Kaljueng was a short man. His shoulders were broad, but he wasn’t burly. He moved with the power and grace of a tiger, all threat and potential violence. He casually walked up to the man lying in the road, considered him for a moment, and then smashed him across the head with the butt of his gun.
Sun let out a tiny cry of fright and surprise. One of Kaljeung’s companions heard her and looked in her direction. He tapped Kaljueng on the shoulder and pointed. “Hey you!” Kaljueng called. Sun didn’t stop to listen to what he was going to say next. She turned back to her car and scrambled into the driver’s seat. She checked the rear view mirror to see if the men with the guns were coming towards her. They were.
Sun jammed the key into the ignition, popped the car into gear and sped off. She checked the mirror again to see that the men had given up the chase and were returning to the unconscious man in the road. After that, she didn’t look back.
Chapter III
Hunted
Over the following weeks Sun almost managed to forget what had happened that night. After fleeing the scene she had continued to her parent’s house. She was severely shaken, but she managed to put on a good face. Pretending to be ok when she wasn’t was something Sun had become quite skilled at. She went about her life like nothing had ever happened. Try as she might though, she couldn’t shake the event from her mind. Gidae haunted her thoughts; she kept seeing him pleading with her to run. In her more paranoid moments, Sun felt like she was being watched. She would feel eyes boring into her back only to turn around suddenly and see nothing out of the ordinary. There was no sinister force stalking her in the shadows, or so she thought.
Then one evening, as she was walking to her car after work, she got the feeling she was being watched again. It hit her almost as soon as she exited the school. She fought it at first. She told herself she was imagining things, that she would turn around and see no one, just like she had before. She fought the feeling for as long as she could before she finally gave in and looked over her shoulder. This time there was someone there. It was a man, dressed all in black, about ten meters behind her. Even though he was wearing sunglasses, Sun could tell he was looking directly at her. He pulled out his phone and began to dial. Sun walked faster. As she rounded the corner where her car was parked, she saw another man standing in front of it. He was dressed the same as the first. All in black, tight clothes that showed off his impressive bulk.
Sun didn’t think. She ran. She took off as fast as she could, running to the side, away from the two men. Just as she was about to enter a nearby door a third man immerged from it. It was Kaljueng. Even though Sun hadn’t gotten a good look at him the night of the accident, she rememeberted his sleek, powerful figure.
“Hello.” Kaljueng said as he lunged for her. Sun swung her purse as hard as she could. Kaljueng, eager to grab a hold of her, was caught off guard. The purse struck him in the side of the head. He reeled back in pain and Sun sprinted past him. She tried to head back to the main road, but saw that one of the other men coming up the street from that direction. Instead, she ran further up the street, away from the center of town and away from anyone who might have been able to help her.
The purse to the face hadn’t slowed Kaljueng for long, and soon he and one of his buddies were hot on her heels. Sun looked ahead and saw the road coming to an end ahead of her. The main street turned to the right and headed back down into town, but it was blocked by the third memeber of the posy. Sun’s only option was a small hiking path that twisted up a rather large hill behind the school. Knowing it was a dead end, but having no other options, Sun started up the path.
Even though she was in good shape, sheer panic and a non-stop sprint up a mountain soon wore her out. Sun began to slow, but pushed herself to continue as fast as she could. She didn’t dare look behind her, but she could hear the men following. They were getting closer.
Sun reached the top of the hill. She was trapped. There was only one path up or down from the summit, and she knew her pursuers were heading up it right now to catch her. Completely out of options, Sun collapsed to her knees and awaited the men at the top of the hill.
She saw Kaljueng and his two lackeys approach the top of the hill. They were walking. There was no need to run, because there was nowhere for her to go. Just as they crested the summit Sun saw a flash from the trees, as a forth figure came barreling out of the woods. The newcomer lowered his shoulder and smashed into one of Kaljueng’s followers. Even though the grunt was considerably bigger than the attacker, he wasn’t ready for the blow and went tumbling to the ground. As he tried to get up, the attacker recovered from the tackle and landed a devastating kick to the bottom of the dazed grunt’s jaw. The grunt’s head snapped backwards and he lost his balance and went tumbling down the hill through the trees.
Kaljueng and the remaining man’s focus quickly shifted to the new threat. They both charged at the man from different directions. The mysterious man quickly assessed the situation. As the second grunt threw a punch at him he dodged out of the way and grabbed the man’s arm. Using his own momentum against him, the mystery man redirected the man’s impressive weight and sent him crashing into Kaljueng. As soon as the big man hit the ground, the attacker delivered a swift punch to the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.
Kaljueng was the only one left. He rose to his feet and glared at the attacker. “You again? I’d have thought you’d given up after you failed to protect the last one.”
“I don’t give up so easily Kaljueng. You won’t find the rest of the Sun Crows.”
“You can’t be everywhere Yeongung. I’ll get them all eventually.” Kaljueng sounded confident, even though he was backing away. By this time his two henchmen had recovered enough to stumble into line behind him. “Come on guys, we can keep looking elsewhere. This one isn’t worth the trouble.” They turned and headed back down the hill.
“Thank you,” Sun said as she rose to her feet. “If you weren’t here, I don’t know what would have happened. But, if you don’t mind my asking, why are you here, and for that matter, who are you?”
“My name is Yeongung, and I’m here to stop Kaljueng and his lackeys. I’ve been following them for a few days now, trying to figure out what they were up to.” Yeongung was nothing special to look at. In fact, he was absolutely average in nearly every aspect, except his eyes. When Sun looked into his eyes she saw a fire burning so brightly it hurt to take in. Even though she couldn’t hold his gaze, she found herself drawn to them every time she looked at him.
“Are you with the police?”
“Not exactly. Private security might be a better way to look at it. My employer is very old and very powerful and has a vested interest in seeing that Kaljueng and those like him fail.”
Slightly suspicious but not wanting to doubt the man who had just saved her life, Sun pushed ahead. “Why were they after me?”
“They’re looking for something called a Sun Crow.”
“What’s a Sun Crow?” Sun asked “Do they think I have it?
“The Sun Crows are very rare and very valuable. They think,” Yeongung started to explain further, but just then his phone rang. He stopped mid sentence and took the call. It was a brief and curt conversation. Sun guessed he must have been talking to his superior. There were lots of short ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers and information relayed in the briefest manner possible. Yeongung hung up the phone. He seemed distracted. After a moment he realized where he was again and looked at Sun. “Hey sorry lady, but…”
“Sun.”
“Huh?”
“My name is Sun. You saved my life, you can use my name.”
He smiled a crocked, but by no means unpleasant smile. “Alright then Sun. I’m sorry but I can’t answer anymore of your questions right now. Not that I don’t want to you understand, but there are other issues that I need to deal with. Are you going to be ok?”
“If you’re sure those creeps are gone I’ll be fine…thanks to you.”
“Good.” He grinned at her. She blushed. “Then I guess I’ll see you later.” And with that, he was gone back down the hill and into the woods from where he had come.
Chapter IV
Hunter
Sun didn’t see any trace of either Kaljueng and his posy or the mysterious Yeongung over the following months. This time however, she didn’t let what had happened slip from her mind. She spent every free moment she had looking for information about the Sun Crows.
First, she traced the name to a Chinese myth about the Jinwu. She found out that the Jinwu, or golden crows were immortal, three legged birds that were said to live in the sun and have magical properties. One of the crows would leave the sun tree each day and fly to earth where it would feed on the grasses of immortality. Then, when it returned, another would set out. Other than the basic legend, information was painfully difficult to come by. There were myths all across Asia concerning three legged birds. Some told of magical beings capable of granting wishes or power, while others viewed the birds as pest and bad omens. Many of the stories seemed to confuse the Sun Crow with the Phoenix, although just as many claimed they were separate creatures.
Sometimes Sun felt like her search was going around in circles, but in truth, she hadn’t been happier in years. She finally had a mission, even if it was trying to track down a made-up bird that may or may not be able to grant wishes or bring bad luck. For so long Sun had been stuck under the weight of responsibilities given to her by everyone expect herself. Now, finally, she was doing something she wanted to do, she felt free. She felt like she could fly.
After an impressive amount of independent research, Sun decided to take her search to the next level. One weekend, when she was in the city visiting her parents, she noticed a shop that had a picture of a three legged bird on the sign out front. Figuring it couldn’t hurt to ask, Sun entered the store.
The interior could best be described as a cross between a convenience store, a magic shop, and a psychic’s parlor. It was poorly list and smelled somewhat like moth balls. It was messy, but not dirty, and stacks of potions and elixirs sat helter skelter throughout the store. There was a small section of books on the arcane arts in the corner. Most of the volumes available promised to teach the reader how to either make someone love them or get revenge on someone who had strayed. Sun immediately felt silly for hoping to learn anything interesting here, but before she could leave, the oldest, tiniest, most haggard woman she had ever seen emerged from a back room behind the counter. “Can I help you young lady?” The woman asked. Her voice was as rough as sandpaper. “If you’re looking for a love spell, the books are worthless, but the Oopsy Daisy potion behind you might work in a pinch. I’d suggest the Cupid’s Bane, but you don’t look that desperate.”
Sun’s cheeks went red. Coming in here was definitely a bad idea, but she might as well see it through to the end. “Um, I’m not looking for any sort of love spell thank you. I was wondering…if you knew anything about the Sun Crows? I thought I saw one on the sign outside your shop.”
The old woman seemed pleasantly surprised. “Well, well, quite a keen eye you have little girl.” Her voice became shrewder. “What exactly do you want with the Sun Crows?”
Sun hadn’t actually expected to find any useful information and she didn’t know quite what to say. “Well, my friend told me about them once. I thought the stories were quite interesting.”
“You’re a bad liar girl,” The woman snarled. Then her expression softened, “but I can see that’s because you’re not accustomed to it. However, if you’re seeking the one of the Sun Crows, you’d be very wise to turn back now. There are many stories of those who went looking for the Golden Crows. Very few of them end happily. Those birds weren’t meant to be hunted and they weren’t meant to be kept. Better if a pretty little thing like you left them alone, for your own good.”
“So you do know about them! There’s more than one? How many are there? Has anyone claimed to see one near here? What kind of powers do they have? I’ve read so many stories, but none of them make sense together.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said girl!? The Sun Crows are not to be sought except by those who are appointed. Those stories you’ve heard? They’re all true in one form or another, but there’s one thing they all leave out. No one goes seeking the Sun Crows and returns the same as they left. Those that go looking without permission find themselves in more trouble than they bargained for, and even those appointed to seek often don’t like what they find. You just run along now and forget you ever heard about the Sun Crows.”
“So you’re saying they’re real? Incredible. I’m not afraid to look, and I’m not afraid of change. If the Sun Crows are truly so terrible then they can deal with me when I find them.”
“Hurmph,” was the woman’s only reply. It was clear the discussion was over, especially when the she turned her back on Sun and returned to the back room of the shop. She slammed the door behind her. Sun left the shop, more determined than ever to find the Sun Crows.
“Hello Sun,” someone said when she walked back out onto the street. It was Kaljueng. Sun opened her mouth to scream for help but didn’t get a chance. A rough hand covered her face and she felt a small prick in the back of her neck. Her eyes went wide with Panic, and then everything went black.
Chapter V
Trapped
Sun awoke somewhat groggily. She tried to get up but couldn’t seem to move her limbs. Her head felt heavy and everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Then she remembered what had happened. She quickly realized that the reason she couldn’t move was because she was restrained. She lay on a hard flat surface, and now that she was truly coming to, she could feel a rough rope binding her arms and legs. Looking around, it appeared that she was being held in an apartment, or at least, what used to be an apartment. It clearly hadn’t been lived in for years. The pink, flowered wallpaper was peeling off the walls and the floor was covered in years of dust and grime. Sun screamed for help, but quickly realized it was useless. Wherever she was, it was far removed from anywhere people might come looking for her.
She heard footsteps coming down the hall and turned towards the door. Kaljueng and his two henchmen entered the abandoned apartment. “It’s nice to see you awake Sun. We have some things to talk about.”
“You can go to hell Kaljueng. I don’t know why you’re following me, but I don’t know anything about the Sun Crows.”
This earned her a hard slap across the mouth from one of the henchmen. “You’ll speak when spoken to!” Kaljueng said furiously. “How do you even know we’re trying to find the Sun Crows? Clearly you’re more involved in our ordeal than you’d like me to believe. I’ve been hunting you a long time Sun. You will answer my questions and you will do what we want, or I will hurt you. After I hurt you, I’ll let Jin and Min here do what they want with you. And believe me; they won’t be gentle.” The two henchmen, Jin and Min grinned at each other. Jin cracked his knuckles for effect. “Now, where are the other Sun Crows?”
“I don’t know!” Sun exclaimed. “I don’t know anything about the Sun Crows. I didn’t even think they were real until today. Please, just let me go. I don’t know anything.”
“Liar!” Kaljueng screamed. He punched Sun in the stomach causing her to cry out in pain and fear. “You have to know where they are! Tell me! I will have the power of the Sun Crows! I’ve been searching too long and lost too much to be dissuaded by a little bitch like you.” He hit Sun again. She cried and sputtered, trying to catch her breath.
Kaljueng steadied himself and paused. He took a deep breath in an attempt to regain his calm. When he began speaking again, his voice wasn’t raised, but his entire body was tense and his hands were shaking. “I’ll ask once more, and then I’m going to start killing you. Where are the Sun Crows hiding?”
“I don’t know!” Sun sobbed. There would be no escape this time, the thought of what was coming was too much for her to bear. Sun closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.
The room was silent for a moment. Then she heard more footsteps coming down the hall. They came rapidly, rushing down the corridor. Sun opened her eyes again and saw Min leave the room to see who was coming. A second later Min came flying backwards back into the room. He landed hard on his back and gasped as the air rushed out of his lungs. Yeongung came flying into the room after him. While Min was still on his back, Yeongung leapt into the air and came down on top of Min, planting his knee into the fallen man’s throat.
In one swift motion, Yeongung rolled off of Min and engaged the other two men. Jin’s brute strength well outmatched Yeongung’s own, but Yeongung was quicker and smarter. He managed to dodge most of Jin’s attacks until Kaljueng grabbed him from behind. Yeongung took a brutal blow to the stomach and lurched forward. However, as Jin swung for his face, Yeongung caught his arm just as he had back on the hilltop. With one quick blow, Yeongung struck Jin in the elbow. The joint bent the wrong way and there was a bone splitting crack. Jin fell to the ground holding his broken arm. With two blindingly fast kicks to the chest and head, he was down.
Kaljueng and Yeongung circled each other cautiously, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Kaljueng leapt at Yeongung. Yeongung blocked the first few attacks, but they came too quickly to completely avoid. Yeongung’s guard slipped and Kaljueng caught him with a flurry of punches to the stomach followed by a devastating hit to the side of the face. Yeongung staggered backwards. Kaljueng pushed his advantage. As Kaljueng came in for his second series of attacks however, Yeongung recovered. He caught the punch directed at his throat and countered with three blindingly fast jabs to Kaljueng’s nose. When Kaljueng fell back, Yeongung took two big steps to gain momentum and then jumped as hard as he could at Kaljueng. Yeongung brought his elbow crashing down into the top of Kaljueng’s head. Kaljueng hit the floor immediately. He didn’t move.
Yeongung stepped over his fallen foe and approached the table where Sun was tied down. He quickly untied the ropes and helped her to her feet. “I’m sorry I was late. They managed to lose me in town before they kidnapped you. I should have been here sooner.”
Sun didn’t reply. She simply threw her arms around Yeongung and buried her head into his shoulder while she cried. After several moments, she began to compose herself; she withdrew from the embrace and looked into Yeongung’s fiery eyes. “Thank you Yeoungung,” she said as she wiped her eyes and took a step back from her savior.
He smiled kindly. “You’re welcome Sun. Now if you’re ready, my employer would like to see you.”
“You’re employer?”
“Yes. He’s been keeping tabs on you. He knows you’ve been looking for the Sun Crows and he’d like to talk to you.” He noticed Sun stiffen and take a tiny step away from him. “It’s ok Sun. You trust me right?”
She relaxed. “Of course,” she answered.
“Then trust him. I wouldn’t work for him if he was up to something sinister. The only thing he has for you is answers. I promise.
“Ok then. I’ll meet him.”
“Good.” Yeongung held out his arm for Sun to take as they exited the abandoned hotel.
Chapter VI
Shine
Sun and Yeongung drove back into town to meet Yeongung’s boss. It took more than forty minutes to make it back into the city. Sun realized she must have been unconscious for a significant amount of time when she had been abducted by Kaljueng. After nearly an hour, they arrived at their destination. It was a small Chinese restaurant in a quiet neighborhood within the city.
“Is your boss a chef?” Sun asked
“He’s a lot of things, although a chef is certainly not the least of them.”
“Fine, be mysterious then,” Sun teased.
“I wasn’t intentionally trying to be mysterious,” Yoengung fumbled, “but explaining who and what my employer is, is not my place. Don’t worry; you’ll understand when you meet him. To answer your question though, no he is not a chef. He simply owns this restaurant and has a private meeting room in the back.”
“Now I’m really curious,” Sun said as they got out of the car and walked into the restaurant. Yeongung nodded to the hostess as they entered, and she pointed them towards the back of the building. He held the doors at the back of the room opened for Sun. They were massive with ornate carvings etched into them. After she entered the room they closed with a heavy thud.
The back room of the restaurant was much like the front. The walls were all done up with red wallpaper highlighted by gold leaf. There were some cheap paintings on the walls. The kind you see in nearly every Chinese restaurant. In the center of the room was a long wooden table that appeared to be made out of the same type of heavy wood as the doors. Yeongung pulled out a chair for Sun and then walked around the table to sit on the other side.
Directly across from Sun sat the oldest person she had ever seen. This person made the old lady in the magic shop seem like a silly teenager. Ancient was the only word that could properly describe his age. Yet it was clear that he was still spry and in good health. He sat up straight and his eyes seemed to gleam, much like Yeongung’s, only less intimidating. They were, undisputedly, full of life. “Hello Sun,” he said gingerly. His voice, like the rest of him, was old but energetic. “My name is Sae. I’m glad to see that you’re ok. I was worried you would meet the same fate as Gidae, although you’ll be happy to know that Yeongung here was eventually able to rescue him as well. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and I’ll be happy to answer them.”
Sun did indeed have a lot of questions, but at the moment all she could do was marvel at this enchanting old man. He reminded her of a character out of a fairy tale. Seeing him for herself, she understood why Yeongung found him so hard to describe. “How old are you?” was the first question that managed to find its way out of Sun’s mouth. Shocked at what she had just said, she covered her mouth before something even more stupid and rude could escape.
Yeongung laughed out loud. Sae only chuckled, “Very,” he answered, “but to fully answer that would be to get ahead of ourselves a little bit. Instead, let me ask you something. What do you know about the Sun Crows?”
Relieved that she hadn’t insulted him with her slip of the tongue, Sun told Sae everything she knew about the Sun Crows. She briefly relayed the story of their daily flight to Earth along with the stories of the three legged birds that possessed luck or power. When she had finished she asked him, “Do you know about them sir?”
“You don’t need to call me sir, child. Yes I know a great deal about the Sun Crows, nearly everything there is to know in fact. You see, I’m quite closely connected to them. The story you told was a basic and somewhat incomplete version of the events surrounding them. Would you indulge an old man and allow me to tell the whole story of the Sun Crows?”
“Of course sir,” Sun replied, using ‘sir’ again without thinking.
“Thank you my dear.” Sae cleared his throat. “Once a very long time ago, when there were far fewer people on the earth, there were ten great birds who all shared a home in the sun tree Fusang. The tree was one of the oldest and wisest things in existence, and it was happy to share its branches. These birds looked like great ravens, except that their color was golden and they each had three legs. They were called the Jinwu, or Sun Crows. Every day, one of the birds would leave the tree and fly to Earth in order to gather food for the others. On its journey, the bird would stop and talk to all the people it crossed paths with. It was the lifelong desire of many people to see a Sun Crow. It was said that the bird could sing a song to you that would make you laugh and cry and fall in love all at the same time. Spending even a brief moment with a Sun Crow was enough to lift even the heaviest heart out of despair. The birds carried with them power and wisdom and shared freely with everyone they met.
Soon however, the hearts of men grew bitter. Some of them envied the Sun Crows’ grace and beauty and desired their power. There was, living at that time, a legendary hunter who plotted to steal the Sun Crows’ power. His name was Houyi, and he was as clever and deceptive as the Sun Crows were kind and wise. Houyi plotted with some of the other jealous men to trick the birds into giving their power only to him.
One day, as the youngest of the Crows descended to earth, Houyi met it along the road. ‘Hello good bird,’ Houyi said with a smile. ‘I noticed that every day you and your fellows must fly all the way across the land to pick the grass of immortality from the other side of the sea. It just so happens that I have some of this very grass at my house. If you would come and visit me, I would gladly share my grass with you and you would not have to make the long flight across the world.’
Having no reason to fear man, the Sun Crow gladly accepted his offer and followed Houyi back to his house. When they entered the door, Houyi and the others captured it. Houyi put the Sun Crow in a cage and showed it off to all of his friends. ‘Look friends!’ he would cry, ‘Truly I am the greatest hunter in all of the world for I have captured a Sun Crow. It’s power and secrets will now belong only to me!’
Houyi was disappointed by his captured Sun Crow though, and he didn’t receive the power he wanted. He misunderstood the nature of the Sun Crow. By caging it he had destroyed everything he sought to gain. The bird languished in its prison. It refused to sing and soon grew sullen and depressed. Houyi’s heart followed suit. He could not bear to see this magnificent creature suffer so, yet he had not the willpower to set it free. Houyi grew to hate the bird. He blamed it for all of his own misfortunes.
Finally, unable to live with the pathetic creature any longer, he threw the cage into the air. The bird finally free, soared into the sky to return to the sun. However, in his hatred, Houyi sought to kill the bird so that no one else could be blessed by it. He retrieved his great bow and sighted the bird. Just as it was about to return to its home in the sun, he let his arrow fly. Houyi, who truly was the greatest hunter in the world, shot true. The arrow pierced the bird just before it came to rest in the tree.
The other Sun Crows, furious at Houyi’s actions, took flight to avenge their fallen comrade. They set fire to his village and sought to destroy the hunter. Houyi saw the birds coming and knew that they would kill him. In a desperate attempt to save himself he cried out, ‘Look everyone! The Sun Crows are attacking. They are jealous that I have gained their knowledge and power and they seek to take my life!’
The people of the world feared for their lives. ‘You must protect us Houyi! For if the Sun Crows kill you, surely they will kill us all!’
Houyi drew his mighty bow again and sighted the approaching Sun Crows. One by one he shot them all out of the sky. All but one. Seeing his brothers and sisters fall and knowing he could do nothing to stop Houyi, the last bird returned to Fusang defeated.
The people of earth cheered Houyi as their savior. They thanked him and brought him many gifts. Kings and Queens came from all over the world to bow before his feet and thank him for is great bravery. Houyi received just what he had wanted, more power than anyone else on earth, but he was never happy again; he would never forget what he had tried to possess and how it had driven him to hate. He never forgave himself for killing what he had loved so much.”
Sun and Yeongung sat in silence as they waited for Sae to go on. For a moment it seemed as though the story was over, but then he took a deep breath and continued. “This,” he said, “is where the legend ends. It is not however, the end of the story. You see the last of the Sun Crows was not completely powerless, and the nine who fell were not completely doomed.
The final Sun Crow returned to Fusang to attempt to save his family. He was the oldest and most powerful of all Sun Crows, and he still held hope in his heart. He came to rest in Fusang, and then crawled into the tree’s heart. He told the tree what had happened and what he wanted to do. The tree loved the Sun Crow, who had lived in it for so many years, and it consented to the bird’s wish. The tree reached out with its power and found the fallen birds scattered across the earth. It poured its power into the Sun Crows and transformed them into humans so that they could live safely hidden among the people of the world. The transformation was very hard on the tree, and when it had saved the last bird, it died, bursting into flames from the heat of the sun.
The final Sun Crow returned to earth as well. He also took on human form and sought to protect the others from the evils of man. He collected those men who were true of heart and tasked them with guarding the other Sun Crows. He never revealed himself to the others though, because he was too ashamed to face them after he failed to save them from Houyi.” Sae finished and stared at the table, unable to meet Sun’s eyes.
Sun sat open mouthed staring back at the man. Finally her lips formed a question, “So are you…” she couldn’t finish.
Sae finally looked at her. “The oldest of the Sun Crows? Yes child. I am.” A large wet tear rolled down Sae’s cheek. “But have you guessed your role in this story yet?”
Sun stared at him in shock for a moment. “You mean…I’m a Sun Crow?”
Sae smiled the most beautiful smile Sun had ever seen. “Yes Sister. You are in fact, the youngest of us, and it is finally your time to learn the truth. That is why you have been so compelled to seek us. The rest of us have been waiting a very long time for you to join us.”
“But how can that be?” Sun questioned, “I’m not thousands of years old. I remember being a child. I remember growing up. How can I be an ancient, mythological bird?”
“There are reasons people confuse the Sun Crows with the Pheniox. When one of your human bodies dies, your spirit is reborn into the world through another. It’s really not as uncommon of an occurrence as you might think.”
“So does that mean that Kaljueng is really Houyi?”
“No, although he is of the same kind. Houyi was only a man and so died when his time in this world was finished as all men do. It is the thirst for power that the two men share. There are always those who go hunting for the Sun Crows in the vain attempt to acquire power for themselves. You would think they would learn this can’t end well for them, but alas, they never do.”
“What about you?” Sun asked. Her question was directed at Yeongung, who had been completely quiet during the scene.
“I’m not a Sun Crow, if that’s what you’re asking. Nor am I a Hunter. I’m one of those men who are ‘true of heart’ as Sae so eloquently put it. Sae found me as a child and told me the story of the Jinwu. He asked if I would be willing to give up my life to help protect them. In exchange, I would be allowed to seek them out and enjoy the benefit of their wisdom and kindness.”
“I still can’t believe the Sun Crows are people, and that I’m one of them,” Sun said mostly to herself.
“It makes sense Sun,” Sae explained. “Think about your life. Your whole life people have been drawn to you. You don’t have to encourage or persuade them. If you go to a party, you will always be the center of attention. This is not because you are vain or self-centered. People are just happy to be near you. When you enter a room, everyone stops to look at you come in. Others will seek you out simply for the satisfaction of being near you. You still contain some of the power to bring joy that you had in your original form.
But that power must be freely given. It cannot be owned or demanded from you. You’ve never been happy to be possessed by anyone, because it’s not in your nature. However, you’ve let yourself become caged by those you feel beholden to. You’ve willingly imprisoned yourself, and your heart languishes just as it did when you were captured by Houyi. You will never be happy unless you are free to come and go and give as you desire Sun. To try and pretend otherwise will only hurt you and those you are trying to please. This is your life. Live it for yourself.”
“What does that mean Sae? Am I supposed to leave everyone I know and care about to go on some flight of fancy?”
“Of course not, but you can’t let their expectations trap you. You must be yourself. That is the most radiant version of you there is.”
Yeongung looked at Sun and she could feel his eyes pierce her. His voice was gentle however and he shot her that same crocked smile she had seen before. “Do what you were meant to do Sun. Shine.”
THE END
Notes
Ninja
Sunshine
by NinjaDeathStrike
Growing up we are often told by those who love us most that we are special, that we, above everyone else, are important. As life goes on, we learn this is rubbish. We’re not special and no one cares if we’re happy with our life or not. Why should we be? Life isn’t about being happy. It’s about making money and gaining power and living up to the expectations of everyone around you. However, there are those few among us who are truly special; those who, if you are lucky enough to meet them, can change the way you perceive the world. No matter how much the world tries to beat them down, they know they were meant for something more.
Chapter I
Nothing Special
Sun was a teacher, a job she told herself she enjoyed. She was small, pretty, with a round face and sharp cheeks that made her whole face light up when she smiled. Her dark eyes nearly matched her raven black hair. She had a pleasant voice that could be as soft as a pillow or as sharp as a sword depending on the occasion.
Sun didn’t think she was special. In fact, she knew she wasn’t. This lesson had been harshly taught to her over the last few years, and she had learned it well. Once, the world had seemed open and full of opportunities. The only thing that could hold her back was herself. She was young and pretty and life was an adventure worth living. But as the years went on, the weight of the world became heavy on her shoulders. She no longer thought of herself as young or pretty or adventurous, though it was obvious to even the most casual observer that she was still all of these things.
“Class, class!” Sun said as she rapped the whiteboard with her ruler.
“Yes, yes!” the children replied enthusiastically.
“That’s all for today’s lesson. Rememebert to fill out your phonics sheet for homework and be ready to practice for the next lesson.”
“Yes teacher.” The response was less enthusiastic than the last.
“Ok, goodbye class!” Sun said as she waved them out the door. The class had been the fifth of the day, and Sun was completely exhausted. She returned to her office, slipped off her shoes, and put her feet up on the desk, hoping to enjoy a few minutes of peace before she had to start preparing the next lesson. Just as she let out a sigh of relief the phone rang.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Sun? This is your mother. I’m just calling to make sure you’re still planning to come and visit this weekend. You know your father hasn’t been well and we’d like to see you again.”
“Yes Mom. I already told you I’m coming home to check on Dad. I’ll leave as soon as I can after work today.”
“Good. You know your father and I worry about you. Are you still teaching? You can’t make very much money teaching. It’s not a good job for you. You never should have left your last job. You could have been an executive there by now.”
“I wasn’t happy there Mom.”
“So? I didn’t say anything about being happy. I just want you to have a good, respectable job. That’s what’s important. Speaking of respectable, are you still dating that same guy you’ve been with all these years?”
“Yes Mom.”
“And you’re still not married huh? Teaching wouldn’t be so bad if you had a good man to support you. Why do you stay with him? Why not marry someone else? You’re not getting any younger you know.”
Sun sighed. “Mom, we’ve been through this before. I want to be with someone I love, and I don’t want to get married. It’s just,” she paused, “not for me.”
Sun’s mother scoffed. “Not for you? What do you mean not for you? You’re just going to stay single and alone for the rest of your life. That’s not a respectable choice for a woman like you.”
“Thanks Mom. I love you too. I’ll see you tonight.” She hung up the phone and tired to return to her hard earned respite. Just as she put her feet back up however, the principle walked into the office.
“Sun, what are you doing?”
“I was just getting ready to plan my next lesson sir.” She said as she scrambled to put her feet down and look busy.
“Well I have something else for you to do. There are some books up in the library that the kids have put in the wrong place. I need you to go up there and sort them out.”
“Don’t we have a library staff to do that?”
“They’re busy working on some new story books I told them to write, so you’ll have to do it.” He turned to leave, but as he was almost out the door he stopped and looked back. “By the way, once the library staff is done writing those books, I want to make an after school reading club. You’re in charge. It starts Monday.” He left without even saying goodbye. Sun sunk lower into her chair and groaned. She would still do it of course. It was her job to teach after all, and she didn’t want to let anyone down.
Looking for something to cheer her up, Sun picked her phone back up and called her boyfriend. “Hey honey,” she said happily when he answered the phone. “Are we still planning to meet up on Saturday?”
“Saturday? Oh yeah, I forgot, I have a business meeting. It’s not going to work. Sorry Sun.”
“Well then how about Sunday? Why don’t we have a picnic in the park Sunday for lunch? The weather is supposed to be beautiful this weekend.”
“Eh, maybe. I want to see some of my buddies from school sometime this weekend. What if I just stop by your place Sunday night? You can make dinner.”
“Fine,” Sun replied, no longer happy. “I guess maybe I’ll see you Sunday night then. Goodbye. I love you.”
“Yep.” Click.
Chapter II
Accident
Sun left work thoroughly defeated. No matter how much she gave, people always wanted more. No one seemed to notice the toll it was taking on her. Everyone wanted her to fix their problems, but no one cared about hers. It didn’t matter though; she would keep giving until there was nothing left to give. It’s just who she was.
The drive to her parent’s house in the city would take more than an hour, but Sun left late to avoid the worst of the busy traffic. By the time she got onto the highway it was already dark. The bleak, gray sky, along with the quite road and hum of the engine was almost hypnotizing. Sun found herself starting to drift off to sleep on several occasions, but always managed to snap back just in time.
Sun dipped her head down and her eyes began to close once again. As soon as she realized she was fading, she snapped her head up. When she looked at the road again, she saw what looked like a person stumbling across it. She was headed straight for him. Sun’s adrenaline started pumping as she struggled to avoid hitting the thing in the middle of the road. She was sure now that it was a person, although it was bent over and limping badly. The injured person saw her coming and tired to move more quickly, but as he tried to run his leg gave out and he fell flat on the road.
Sun turned the wheel as hard as she could, but her car fought her every step of the way. The little car was old and stubborn and not used to having a high level of performance demanded from it. Sun managed to steer it off course just enough to avoid flattening the person who now lay face down on the road. Unfortunately, the only place to steer the car was off the road. It lurched off the pavement and sputtered to a dusty stop well off the road.
Sun jumped out of the car and ran back to the road to check on the injured person. As she got closer, she could see the person was a man. He had dark hair, like her. It ran down over the rest of his face. He was tall and lean, but not skinny. If he had been standing, he would have cut an impressive figure, but being hunched over and bleeding all over the road diminished it somewhat. Most of the cuts looked superficial, probably from his fall a moment before, but Sun could see a substantial amount of blood pooling underneath his left leg. It was the same leg he had been favoring as he tried to cross the road.
“Hey mister? Are you ok?” Sun asked as she approached him. She didn’t get too close. The guy looked like a wounded animal, and she knew that if he was in trouble he might act like one. He looked up at her. At first his eyes were desperate and pleading, but when he looked at her face they changed. He was terrified.
He gasped. “Impossible! I didn’t know there was another so close. You have to run!”
“Excuse me?” Sun considered the possibility that he was crazy.
“I know what you must be thinking. I’m not crazy and I do know what I’m saying. You need to get out of here! Now! It might already be too late. Forget you ever saw me, get back in your car, and go. Don’t look back and don’t turn around.”
Dumbfounded, Sun stood for a minute weighing her options. She knew she couldn’t leave this man lying in the road. “I can’t leave you. You need help.” She bent down and helped the man into a sitting position. “What’s your name? She asked.”
“My name is Gidae, but you can’t help me. You need to leave before it’s too late.”
“Gidae, I can’t leave you here bleeding in the middle of the road when it’s within my power to help you.” She looked at the wound in his leg. There was a small entry wound at the back of his calf muscle and a rather larger exit wound through the front of his leg. She took of her jacket and wrapped it around the wound. “Gidae…were you shot?”
“Yes. By men you don’t want to meet. They’re still looking for me. That’s why you have to get out of here.”
She wanted to stay with the man until she could get him some help, but the look in his eyes as he talked to her was deadly serious.
“I…” she started to say, but before she could finish, she heard more voices coming from the forest off the side of the road.
“Go! Run!” Gidae yelled in a near panic. This convinced her. Sun turned on her heel and sprinted back to her car.
She opened the door and, just before getting in, turned to look back to the road one more time. She saw a group of three men emerging from the forest. “Nice shot Kaljueng. Put it right through his calf.”
“I told you he wouldn’t get far,” the one called Kaljueng replied. All three men were armed. Kaljueng was a short man. His shoulders were broad, but he wasn’t burly. He moved with the power and grace of a tiger, all threat and potential violence. He casually walked up to the man lying in the road, considered him for a moment, and then smashed him across the head with the butt of his gun.
Sun let out a tiny cry of fright and surprise. One of Kaljeung’s companions heard her and looked in her direction. He tapped Kaljueng on the shoulder and pointed. “Hey you!” Kaljueng called. Sun didn’t stop to listen to what he was going to say next. She turned back to her car and scrambled into the driver’s seat. She checked the rear view mirror to see if the men with the guns were coming towards her. They were.
Sun jammed the key into the ignition, popped the car into gear and sped off. She checked the mirror again to see that the men had given up the chase and were returning to the unconscious man in the road. After that, she didn’t look back.
Chapter III
Hunted
Over the following weeks Sun almost managed to forget what had happened that night. After fleeing the scene she had continued to her parent’s house. She was severely shaken, but she managed to put on a good face. Pretending to be ok when she wasn’t was something Sun had become quite skilled at. She went about her life like nothing had ever happened. Try as she might though, she couldn’t shake the event from her mind. Gidae haunted her thoughts; she kept seeing him pleading with her to run. In her more paranoid moments, Sun felt like she was being watched. She would feel eyes boring into her back only to turn around suddenly and see nothing out of the ordinary. There was no sinister force stalking her in the shadows, or so she thought.
Then one evening, as she was walking to her car after work, she got the feeling she was being watched again. It hit her almost as soon as she exited the school. She fought it at first. She told herself she was imagining things, that she would turn around and see no one, just like she had before. She fought the feeling for as long as she could before she finally gave in and looked over her shoulder. This time there was someone there. It was a man, dressed all in black, about ten meters behind her. Even though he was wearing sunglasses, Sun could tell he was looking directly at her. He pulled out his phone and began to dial. Sun walked faster. As she rounded the corner where her car was parked, she saw another man standing in front of it. He was dressed the same as the first. All in black, tight clothes that showed off his impressive bulk.
Sun didn’t think. She ran. She took off as fast as she could, running to the side, away from the two men. Just as she was about to enter a nearby door a third man immerged from it. It was Kaljueng. Even though Sun hadn’t gotten a good look at him the night of the accident, she rememeberted his sleek, powerful figure.
“Hello.” Kaljueng said as he lunged for her. Sun swung her purse as hard as she could. Kaljueng, eager to grab a hold of her, was caught off guard. The purse struck him in the side of the head. He reeled back in pain and Sun sprinted past him. She tried to head back to the main road, but saw that one of the other men coming up the street from that direction. Instead, she ran further up the street, away from the center of town and away from anyone who might have been able to help her.
The purse to the face hadn’t slowed Kaljueng for long, and soon he and one of his buddies were hot on her heels. Sun looked ahead and saw the road coming to an end ahead of her. The main street turned to the right and headed back down into town, but it was blocked by the third memeber of the posy. Sun’s only option was a small hiking path that twisted up a rather large hill behind the school. Knowing it was a dead end, but having no other options, Sun started up the path.
Even though she was in good shape, sheer panic and a non-stop sprint up a mountain soon wore her out. Sun began to slow, but pushed herself to continue as fast as she could. She didn’t dare look behind her, but she could hear the men following. They were getting closer.
Sun reached the top of the hill. She was trapped. There was only one path up or down from the summit, and she knew her pursuers were heading up it right now to catch her. Completely out of options, Sun collapsed to her knees and awaited the men at the top of the hill.
She saw Kaljueng and his two lackeys approach the top of the hill. They were walking. There was no need to run, because there was nowhere for her to go. Just as they crested the summit Sun saw a flash from the trees, as a forth figure came barreling out of the woods. The newcomer lowered his shoulder and smashed into one of Kaljueng’s followers. Even though the grunt was considerably bigger than the attacker, he wasn’t ready for the blow and went tumbling to the ground. As he tried to get up, the attacker recovered from the tackle and landed a devastating kick to the bottom of the dazed grunt’s jaw. The grunt’s head snapped backwards and he lost his balance and went tumbling down the hill through the trees.
Kaljueng and the remaining man’s focus quickly shifted to the new threat. They both charged at the man from different directions. The mysterious man quickly assessed the situation. As the second grunt threw a punch at him he dodged out of the way and grabbed the man’s arm. Using his own momentum against him, the mystery man redirected the man’s impressive weight and sent him crashing into Kaljueng. As soon as the big man hit the ground, the attacker delivered a swift punch to the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.
Kaljueng was the only one left. He rose to his feet and glared at the attacker. “You again? I’d have thought you’d given up after you failed to protect the last one.”
“I don’t give up so easily Kaljueng. You won’t find the rest of the Sun Crows.”
“You can’t be everywhere Yeongung. I’ll get them all eventually.” Kaljueng sounded confident, even though he was backing away. By this time his two henchmen had recovered enough to stumble into line behind him. “Come on guys, we can keep looking elsewhere. This one isn’t worth the trouble.” They turned and headed back down the hill.
“Thank you,” Sun said as she rose to her feet. “If you weren’t here, I don’t know what would have happened. But, if you don’t mind my asking, why are you here, and for that matter, who are you?”
“My name is Yeongung, and I’m here to stop Kaljueng and his lackeys. I’ve been following them for a few days now, trying to figure out what they were up to.” Yeongung was nothing special to look at. In fact, he was absolutely average in nearly every aspect, except his eyes. When Sun looked into his eyes she saw a fire burning so brightly it hurt to take in. Even though she couldn’t hold his gaze, she found herself drawn to them every time she looked at him.
“Are you with the police?”
“Not exactly. Private security might be a better way to look at it. My employer is very old and very powerful and has a vested interest in seeing that Kaljueng and those like him fail.”
Slightly suspicious but not wanting to doubt the man who had just saved her life, Sun pushed ahead. “Why were they after me?”
“They’re looking for something called a Sun Crow.”
“What’s a Sun Crow?” Sun asked “Do they think I have it?
“The Sun Crows are very rare and very valuable. They think,” Yeongung started to explain further, but just then his phone rang. He stopped mid sentence and took the call. It was a brief and curt conversation. Sun guessed he must have been talking to his superior. There were lots of short ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers and information relayed in the briefest manner possible. Yeongung hung up the phone. He seemed distracted. After a moment he realized where he was again and looked at Sun. “Hey sorry lady, but…”
“Sun.”
“Huh?”
“My name is Sun. You saved my life, you can use my name.”
He smiled a crocked, but by no means unpleasant smile. “Alright then Sun. I’m sorry but I can’t answer anymore of your questions right now. Not that I don’t want to you understand, but there are other issues that I need to deal with. Are you going to be ok?”
“If you’re sure those creeps are gone I’ll be fine…thanks to you.”
“Good.” He grinned at her. She blushed. “Then I guess I’ll see you later.” And with that, he was gone back down the hill and into the woods from where he had come.
Chapter IV
Hunter
Sun didn’t see any trace of either Kaljueng and his posy or the mysterious Yeongung over the following months. This time however, she didn’t let what had happened slip from her mind. She spent every free moment she had looking for information about the Sun Crows.
First, she traced the name to a Chinese myth about the Jinwu. She found out that the Jinwu, or golden crows were immortal, three legged birds that were said to live in the sun and have magical properties. One of the crows would leave the sun tree each day and fly to earth where it would feed on the grasses of immortality. Then, when it returned, another would set out. Other than the basic legend, information was painfully difficult to come by. There were myths all across Asia concerning three legged birds. Some told of magical beings capable of granting wishes or power, while others viewed the birds as pest and bad omens. Many of the stories seemed to confuse the Sun Crow with the Phoenix, although just as many claimed they were separate creatures.
Sometimes Sun felt like her search was going around in circles, but in truth, she hadn’t been happier in years. She finally had a mission, even if it was trying to track down a made-up bird that may or may not be able to grant wishes or bring bad luck. For so long Sun had been stuck under the weight of responsibilities given to her by everyone expect herself. Now, finally, she was doing something she wanted to do, she felt free. She felt like she could fly.
After an impressive amount of independent research, Sun decided to take her search to the next level. One weekend, when she was in the city visiting her parents, she noticed a shop that had a picture of a three legged bird on the sign out front. Figuring it couldn’t hurt to ask, Sun entered the store.
The interior could best be described as a cross between a convenience store, a magic shop, and a psychic’s parlor. It was poorly list and smelled somewhat like moth balls. It was messy, but not dirty, and stacks of potions and elixirs sat helter skelter throughout the store. There was a small section of books on the arcane arts in the corner. Most of the volumes available promised to teach the reader how to either make someone love them or get revenge on someone who had strayed. Sun immediately felt silly for hoping to learn anything interesting here, but before she could leave, the oldest, tiniest, most haggard woman she had ever seen emerged from a back room behind the counter. “Can I help you young lady?” The woman asked. Her voice was as rough as sandpaper. “If you’re looking for a love spell, the books are worthless, but the Oopsy Daisy potion behind you might work in a pinch. I’d suggest the Cupid’s Bane, but you don’t look that desperate.”
Sun’s cheeks went red. Coming in here was definitely a bad idea, but she might as well see it through to the end. “Um, I’m not looking for any sort of love spell thank you. I was wondering…if you knew anything about the Sun Crows? I thought I saw one on the sign outside your shop.”
The old woman seemed pleasantly surprised. “Well, well, quite a keen eye you have little girl.” Her voice became shrewder. “What exactly do you want with the Sun Crows?”
Sun hadn’t actually expected to find any useful information and she didn’t know quite what to say. “Well, my friend told me about them once. I thought the stories were quite interesting.”
“You’re a bad liar girl,” The woman snarled. Then her expression softened, “but I can see that’s because you’re not accustomed to it. However, if you’re seeking the one of the Sun Crows, you’d be very wise to turn back now. There are many stories of those who went looking for the Golden Crows. Very few of them end happily. Those birds weren’t meant to be hunted and they weren’t meant to be kept. Better if a pretty little thing like you left them alone, for your own good.”
“So you do know about them! There’s more than one? How many are there? Has anyone claimed to see one near here? What kind of powers do they have? I’ve read so many stories, but none of them make sense together.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said girl!? The Sun Crows are not to be sought except by those who are appointed. Those stories you’ve heard? They’re all true in one form or another, but there’s one thing they all leave out. No one goes seeking the Sun Crows and returns the same as they left. Those that go looking without permission find themselves in more trouble than they bargained for, and even those appointed to seek often don’t like what they find. You just run along now and forget you ever heard about the Sun Crows.”
“So you’re saying they’re real? Incredible. I’m not afraid to look, and I’m not afraid of change. If the Sun Crows are truly so terrible then they can deal with me when I find them.”
“Hurmph,” was the woman’s only reply. It was clear the discussion was over, especially when the she turned her back on Sun and returned to the back room of the shop. She slammed the door behind her. Sun left the shop, more determined than ever to find the Sun Crows.
“Hello Sun,” someone said when she walked back out onto the street. It was Kaljueng. Sun opened her mouth to scream for help but didn’t get a chance. A rough hand covered her face and she felt a small prick in the back of her neck. Her eyes went wide with Panic, and then everything went black.
Chapter V
Trapped
Sun awoke somewhat groggily. She tried to get up but couldn’t seem to move her limbs. Her head felt heavy and everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Then she remembered what had happened. She quickly realized that the reason she couldn’t move was because she was restrained. She lay on a hard flat surface, and now that she was truly coming to, she could feel a rough rope binding her arms and legs. Looking around, it appeared that she was being held in an apartment, or at least, what used to be an apartment. It clearly hadn’t been lived in for years. The pink, flowered wallpaper was peeling off the walls and the floor was covered in years of dust and grime. Sun screamed for help, but quickly realized it was useless. Wherever she was, it was far removed from anywhere people might come looking for her.
She heard footsteps coming down the hall and turned towards the door. Kaljueng and his two henchmen entered the abandoned apartment. “It’s nice to see you awake Sun. We have some things to talk about.”
“You can go to hell Kaljueng. I don’t know why you’re following me, but I don’t know anything about the Sun Crows.”
This earned her a hard slap across the mouth from one of the henchmen. “You’ll speak when spoken to!” Kaljueng said furiously. “How do you even know we’re trying to find the Sun Crows? Clearly you’re more involved in our ordeal than you’d like me to believe. I’ve been hunting you a long time Sun. You will answer my questions and you will do what we want, or I will hurt you. After I hurt you, I’ll let Jin and Min here do what they want with you. And believe me; they won’t be gentle.” The two henchmen, Jin and Min grinned at each other. Jin cracked his knuckles for effect. “Now, where are the other Sun Crows?”
“I don’t know!” Sun exclaimed. “I don’t know anything about the Sun Crows. I didn’t even think they were real until today. Please, just let me go. I don’t know anything.”
“Liar!” Kaljueng screamed. He punched Sun in the stomach causing her to cry out in pain and fear. “You have to know where they are! Tell me! I will have the power of the Sun Crows! I’ve been searching too long and lost too much to be dissuaded by a little bitch like you.” He hit Sun again. She cried and sputtered, trying to catch her breath.
Kaljueng steadied himself and paused. He took a deep breath in an attempt to regain his calm. When he began speaking again, his voice wasn’t raised, but his entire body was tense and his hands were shaking. “I’ll ask once more, and then I’m going to start killing you. Where are the Sun Crows hiding?”
“I don’t know!” Sun sobbed. There would be no escape this time, the thought of what was coming was too much for her to bear. Sun closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.
The room was silent for a moment. Then she heard more footsteps coming down the hall. They came rapidly, rushing down the corridor. Sun opened her eyes again and saw Min leave the room to see who was coming. A second later Min came flying backwards back into the room. He landed hard on his back and gasped as the air rushed out of his lungs. Yeongung came flying into the room after him. While Min was still on his back, Yeongung leapt into the air and came down on top of Min, planting his knee into the fallen man’s throat.
In one swift motion, Yeongung rolled off of Min and engaged the other two men. Jin’s brute strength well outmatched Yeongung’s own, but Yeongung was quicker and smarter. He managed to dodge most of Jin’s attacks until Kaljueng grabbed him from behind. Yeongung took a brutal blow to the stomach and lurched forward. However, as Jin swung for his face, Yeongung caught his arm just as he had back on the hilltop. With one quick blow, Yeongung struck Jin in the elbow. The joint bent the wrong way and there was a bone splitting crack. Jin fell to the ground holding his broken arm. With two blindingly fast kicks to the chest and head, he was down.
Kaljueng and Yeongung circled each other cautiously, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Kaljueng leapt at Yeongung. Yeongung blocked the first few attacks, but they came too quickly to completely avoid. Yeongung’s guard slipped and Kaljueng caught him with a flurry of punches to the stomach followed by a devastating hit to the side of the face. Yeongung staggered backwards. Kaljueng pushed his advantage. As Kaljueng came in for his second series of attacks however, Yeongung recovered. He caught the punch directed at his throat and countered with three blindingly fast jabs to Kaljueng’s nose. When Kaljueng fell back, Yeongung took two big steps to gain momentum and then jumped as hard as he could at Kaljueng. Yeongung brought his elbow crashing down into the top of Kaljueng’s head. Kaljueng hit the floor immediately. He didn’t move.
Yeongung stepped over his fallen foe and approached the table where Sun was tied down. He quickly untied the ropes and helped her to her feet. “I’m sorry I was late. They managed to lose me in town before they kidnapped you. I should have been here sooner.”
Sun didn’t reply. She simply threw her arms around Yeongung and buried her head into his shoulder while she cried. After several moments, she began to compose herself; she withdrew from the embrace and looked into Yeongung’s fiery eyes. “Thank you Yeoungung,” she said as she wiped her eyes and took a step back from her savior.
He smiled kindly. “You’re welcome Sun. Now if you’re ready, my employer would like to see you.”
“You’re employer?”
“Yes. He’s been keeping tabs on you. He knows you’ve been looking for the Sun Crows and he’d like to talk to you.” He noticed Sun stiffen and take a tiny step away from him. “It’s ok Sun. You trust me right?”
She relaxed. “Of course,” she answered.
“Then trust him. I wouldn’t work for him if he was up to something sinister. The only thing he has for you is answers. I promise.
“Ok then. I’ll meet him.”
“Good.” Yeongung held out his arm for Sun to take as they exited the abandoned hotel.
Chapter VI
Shine
Sun and Yeongung drove back into town to meet Yeongung’s boss. It took more than forty minutes to make it back into the city. Sun realized she must have been unconscious for a significant amount of time when she had been abducted by Kaljueng. After nearly an hour, they arrived at their destination. It was a small Chinese restaurant in a quiet neighborhood within the city.
“Is your boss a chef?” Sun asked
“He’s a lot of things, although a chef is certainly not the least of them.”
“Fine, be mysterious then,” Sun teased.
“I wasn’t intentionally trying to be mysterious,” Yoengung fumbled, “but explaining who and what my employer is, is not my place. Don’t worry; you’ll understand when you meet him. To answer your question though, no he is not a chef. He simply owns this restaurant and has a private meeting room in the back.”
“Now I’m really curious,” Sun said as they got out of the car and walked into the restaurant. Yeongung nodded to the hostess as they entered, and she pointed them towards the back of the building. He held the doors at the back of the room opened for Sun. They were massive with ornate carvings etched into them. After she entered the room they closed with a heavy thud.
The back room of the restaurant was much like the front. The walls were all done up with red wallpaper highlighted by gold leaf. There were some cheap paintings on the walls. The kind you see in nearly every Chinese restaurant. In the center of the room was a long wooden table that appeared to be made out of the same type of heavy wood as the doors. Yeongung pulled out a chair for Sun and then walked around the table to sit on the other side.
Directly across from Sun sat the oldest person she had ever seen. This person made the old lady in the magic shop seem like a silly teenager. Ancient was the only word that could properly describe his age. Yet it was clear that he was still spry and in good health. He sat up straight and his eyes seemed to gleam, much like Yeongung’s, only less intimidating. They were, undisputedly, full of life. “Hello Sun,” he said gingerly. His voice, like the rest of him, was old but energetic. “My name is Sae. I’m glad to see that you’re ok. I was worried you would meet the same fate as Gidae, although you’ll be happy to know that Yeongung here was eventually able to rescue him as well. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and I’ll be happy to answer them.”
Sun did indeed have a lot of questions, but at the moment all she could do was marvel at this enchanting old man. He reminded her of a character out of a fairy tale. Seeing him for herself, she understood why Yeongung found him so hard to describe. “How old are you?” was the first question that managed to find its way out of Sun’s mouth. Shocked at what she had just said, she covered her mouth before something even more stupid and rude could escape.
Yeongung laughed out loud. Sae only chuckled, “Very,” he answered, “but to fully answer that would be to get ahead of ourselves a little bit. Instead, let me ask you something. What do you know about the Sun Crows?”
Relieved that she hadn’t insulted him with her slip of the tongue, Sun told Sae everything she knew about the Sun Crows. She briefly relayed the story of their daily flight to Earth along with the stories of the three legged birds that possessed luck or power. When she had finished she asked him, “Do you know about them sir?”
“You don’t need to call me sir, child. Yes I know a great deal about the Sun Crows, nearly everything there is to know in fact. You see, I’m quite closely connected to them. The story you told was a basic and somewhat incomplete version of the events surrounding them. Would you indulge an old man and allow me to tell the whole story of the Sun Crows?”
“Of course sir,” Sun replied, using ‘sir’ again without thinking.
“Thank you my dear.” Sae cleared his throat. “Once a very long time ago, when there were far fewer people on the earth, there were ten great birds who all shared a home in the sun tree Fusang. The tree was one of the oldest and wisest things in existence, and it was happy to share its branches. These birds looked like great ravens, except that their color was golden and they each had three legs. They were called the Jinwu, or Sun Crows. Every day, one of the birds would leave the tree and fly to Earth in order to gather food for the others. On its journey, the bird would stop and talk to all the people it crossed paths with. It was the lifelong desire of many people to see a Sun Crow. It was said that the bird could sing a song to you that would make you laugh and cry and fall in love all at the same time. Spending even a brief moment with a Sun Crow was enough to lift even the heaviest heart out of despair. The birds carried with them power and wisdom and shared freely with everyone they met.
Soon however, the hearts of men grew bitter. Some of them envied the Sun Crows’ grace and beauty and desired their power. There was, living at that time, a legendary hunter who plotted to steal the Sun Crows’ power. His name was Houyi, and he was as clever and deceptive as the Sun Crows were kind and wise. Houyi plotted with some of the other jealous men to trick the birds into giving their power only to him.
One day, as the youngest of the Crows descended to earth, Houyi met it along the road. ‘Hello good bird,’ Houyi said with a smile. ‘I noticed that every day you and your fellows must fly all the way across the land to pick the grass of immortality from the other side of the sea. It just so happens that I have some of this very grass at my house. If you would come and visit me, I would gladly share my grass with you and you would not have to make the long flight across the world.’
Having no reason to fear man, the Sun Crow gladly accepted his offer and followed Houyi back to his house. When they entered the door, Houyi and the others captured it. Houyi put the Sun Crow in a cage and showed it off to all of his friends. ‘Look friends!’ he would cry, ‘Truly I am the greatest hunter in all of the world for I have captured a Sun Crow. It’s power and secrets will now belong only to me!’
Houyi was disappointed by his captured Sun Crow though, and he didn’t receive the power he wanted. He misunderstood the nature of the Sun Crow. By caging it he had destroyed everything he sought to gain. The bird languished in its prison. It refused to sing and soon grew sullen and depressed. Houyi’s heart followed suit. He could not bear to see this magnificent creature suffer so, yet he had not the willpower to set it free. Houyi grew to hate the bird. He blamed it for all of his own misfortunes.
Finally, unable to live with the pathetic creature any longer, he threw the cage into the air. The bird finally free, soared into the sky to return to the sun. However, in his hatred, Houyi sought to kill the bird so that no one else could be blessed by it. He retrieved his great bow and sighted the bird. Just as it was about to return to its home in the sun, he let his arrow fly. Houyi, who truly was the greatest hunter in the world, shot true. The arrow pierced the bird just before it came to rest in the tree.
The other Sun Crows, furious at Houyi’s actions, took flight to avenge their fallen comrade. They set fire to his village and sought to destroy the hunter. Houyi saw the birds coming and knew that they would kill him. In a desperate attempt to save himself he cried out, ‘Look everyone! The Sun Crows are attacking. They are jealous that I have gained their knowledge and power and they seek to take my life!’
The people of the world feared for their lives. ‘You must protect us Houyi! For if the Sun Crows kill you, surely they will kill us all!’
Houyi drew his mighty bow again and sighted the approaching Sun Crows. One by one he shot them all out of the sky. All but one. Seeing his brothers and sisters fall and knowing he could do nothing to stop Houyi, the last bird returned to Fusang defeated.
The people of earth cheered Houyi as their savior. They thanked him and brought him many gifts. Kings and Queens came from all over the world to bow before his feet and thank him for is great bravery. Houyi received just what he had wanted, more power than anyone else on earth, but he was never happy again; he would never forget what he had tried to possess and how it had driven him to hate. He never forgave himself for killing what he had loved so much.”
Sun and Yeongung sat in silence as they waited for Sae to go on. For a moment it seemed as though the story was over, but then he took a deep breath and continued. “This,” he said, “is where the legend ends. It is not however, the end of the story. You see the last of the Sun Crows was not completely powerless, and the nine who fell were not completely doomed.
The final Sun Crow returned to Fusang to attempt to save his family. He was the oldest and most powerful of all Sun Crows, and he still held hope in his heart. He came to rest in Fusang, and then crawled into the tree’s heart. He told the tree what had happened and what he wanted to do. The tree loved the Sun Crow, who had lived in it for so many years, and it consented to the bird’s wish. The tree reached out with its power and found the fallen birds scattered across the earth. It poured its power into the Sun Crows and transformed them into humans so that they could live safely hidden among the people of the world. The transformation was very hard on the tree, and when it had saved the last bird, it died, bursting into flames from the heat of the sun.
The final Sun Crow returned to earth as well. He also took on human form and sought to protect the others from the evils of man. He collected those men who were true of heart and tasked them with guarding the other Sun Crows. He never revealed himself to the others though, because he was too ashamed to face them after he failed to save them from Houyi.” Sae finished and stared at the table, unable to meet Sun’s eyes.
Sun sat open mouthed staring back at the man. Finally her lips formed a question, “So are you…” she couldn’t finish.
Sae finally looked at her. “The oldest of the Sun Crows? Yes child. I am.” A large wet tear rolled down Sae’s cheek. “But have you guessed your role in this story yet?”
Sun stared at him in shock for a moment. “You mean…I’m a Sun Crow?”
Sae smiled the most beautiful smile Sun had ever seen. “Yes Sister. You are in fact, the youngest of us, and it is finally your time to learn the truth. That is why you have been so compelled to seek us. The rest of us have been waiting a very long time for you to join us.”
“But how can that be?” Sun questioned, “I’m not thousands of years old. I remember being a child. I remember growing up. How can I be an ancient, mythological bird?”
“There are reasons people confuse the Sun Crows with the Pheniox. When one of your human bodies dies, your spirit is reborn into the world through another. It’s really not as uncommon of an occurrence as you might think.”
“So does that mean that Kaljueng is really Houyi?”
“No, although he is of the same kind. Houyi was only a man and so died when his time in this world was finished as all men do. It is the thirst for power that the two men share. There are always those who go hunting for the Sun Crows in the vain attempt to acquire power for themselves. You would think they would learn this can’t end well for them, but alas, they never do.”
“What about you?” Sun asked. Her question was directed at Yeongung, who had been completely quiet during the scene.
“I’m not a Sun Crow, if that’s what you’re asking. Nor am I a Hunter. I’m one of those men who are ‘true of heart’ as Sae so eloquently put it. Sae found me as a child and told me the story of the Jinwu. He asked if I would be willing to give up my life to help protect them. In exchange, I would be allowed to seek them out and enjoy the benefit of their wisdom and kindness.”
“I still can’t believe the Sun Crows are people, and that I’m one of them,” Sun said mostly to herself.
“It makes sense Sun,” Sae explained. “Think about your life. Your whole life people have been drawn to you. You don’t have to encourage or persuade them. If you go to a party, you will always be the center of attention. This is not because you are vain or self-centered. People are just happy to be near you. When you enter a room, everyone stops to look at you come in. Others will seek you out simply for the satisfaction of being near you. You still contain some of the power to bring joy that you had in your original form.
But that power must be freely given. It cannot be owned or demanded from you. You’ve never been happy to be possessed by anyone, because it’s not in your nature. However, you’ve let yourself become caged by those you feel beholden to. You’ve willingly imprisoned yourself, and your heart languishes just as it did when you were captured by Houyi. You will never be happy unless you are free to come and go and give as you desire Sun. To try and pretend otherwise will only hurt you and those you are trying to please. This is your life. Live it for yourself.”
“What does that mean Sae? Am I supposed to leave everyone I know and care about to go on some flight of fancy?”
“Of course not, but you can’t let their expectations trap you. You must be yourself. That is the most radiant version of you there is.”
Yeongung looked at Sun and she could feel his eyes pierce her. His voice was gentle however and he shot her that same crocked smile she had seen before. “Do what you were meant to do Sun. Shine.”
THE END
Notes
Like I said at the begging I wrote this for my friend.
the Sun Crows, or Jinwu are real, but there's not a lot of information on them, so I elaborated quite a bit. Here is the wiki article about them.
Most of the names are Korean, since that's where I live and my friend is Korean. The character of Sun is roughly based on her. The other characters' names each have a meaning: Gidae means hope, Kaljueng means thirst, Yeongung means hero, and Sae means bird
the Sun Crows, or Jinwu are real, but there's not a lot of information on them, so I elaborated quite a bit. Here is the wiki article about them.
Most of the names are Korean, since that's where I live and my friend is Korean. The character of Sun is roughly based on her. The other characters' names each have a meaning: Gidae means hope, Kaljueng means thirst, Yeongung means hero, and Sae means bird