A Necklace of Collecting The Souls or Hearts Ⅱ

Written by Younghee Kim

Behind the house where the boy lived, there was a bamboo forest that spread out like a folding screen. His mother took care of his younger sister every day, so the boy often felt lonely, but once he entered the forest, he could forget all his loneliness and the house because it was exciting and fun.

The crooked roots would sometimes grab onto his ankles like vines, and slippery bamboo leaves could make his shoes come off, so he always had to walk carefully.

After a heavy rain, as drops were still dripping from the bamboo leaves, the boy bent down to take a sip and was startled when he met the bright eyes of a green frog peeking through the leaves, causing him to take a step back. Unfortunately, he stepped on a newly sprouted baby shoot.

“Ouch!”

The baby shoot was very small, as if it had just emerged from the ground, wrapped in layers of skin like it was in swaddling clothes. When he looked closely, he noticed a small, tender face, reddened with bloodshot eyes, peeking out from between the rough skins.

“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

The baby shoot, hurt because one of its skins was stepped on by the boy, spoke gently.

“I’m okay. But... I want to drink water.”

The boy ran to the small spring where he would often play, dipping his hands to gather the spring water, and he brought it back to pour over the baby shoot. His hands were small, and it took several trips, but the baby shoot drank so sweetly that he didn’t mind the hard work.

Thus, the boy and the baby shoot became friends, enjoying the presence of green frogs that came in droves to sing without getting scared, and they played together lapping up the fresh droplets of water that pooled on the bamboo leaves.

When they were together all day long, they witnessed the sunlight that had been washed clean by the rain scattering like glass as it cut through the bamboo, and they felt the bamboo forest tremble at the flapping of the doves returning home to the fields at dusk.

Then one day, a long and noisy rainy season began. The rain poured down all night on the tin roof, and fierce winds howled.

Worried about the little, delicate baby shoot, the boy ran around the bamboo forest in his dreams for several nights, and then, as if by magic, the rain stopped, and the sun came out. Early in the morning, the boy rushed to the bamboo forest.

He ran to the special place where he thought his friend would be waiting, searching between the tall bamboo stalks, but he couldn’t find the baby shoot anywhere.

Calling for the baby shoot, feeling teary, and wiping his tears, he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from somewhere.

“I’m here. Look up. I’m right here.”

The boy looked up for a long time in the direction of the voice.

There stood a strong and magnificently grown bamboo, looking down at him.

“It’s me, the bamboo shoot! I have become a bamboo.”

“Really? You are my friend, the baby shoot?”

“Yes! Come on! Hang onto me. I’ll let you see far.”

“No, you’ll break.”

“That won’t happen. I’ve been preparing underground for so long! I’ve been becoming strong and trying not to break!”

“Really? You won’t break if I hang on? You were small and weak!”

“I’m very strong now. You can’t cut me down with a knife or an axe!”

The boy couldn’t believe it, but he carefully grabbed onto the bamboo and lifted his feet slightly.

Then the bamboo gave a sturdy bounce and lifted the boy, swinging him around like a swing.

From deep within the strong bamboo’s joints, the sound of rain and wind, which they had silently endured together, resounded like a grand orchestra.

Hanging from the bamboo, the boy listened to the sounds of the forest they used to hear together and took deep breaths of the life essence they used to share.

The bamboo shoot, now a bamboo, whispered to the boy hanging from him.

“You’ll become like me soon. Can you feel it?”

The wind, cooling the boy’s flushed cheeks, also whispered to him.

“It will happen.”

And the dove that had been watching the boy and the bamboo shoot from above, separated from its friends out of curiosity, whispered to them.

“You’ll become unrecognizable.”

The secret of the bamboo shoot turning into a bamboo strengthened the boy’s arms and legs and eased his fears and loneliness.