Seven Star's Dream 02

Oct 28. 2024

“Well, is it behind my back?”

“No, not yet. It needs to grow a little more.”

When Chilbyeol(Seven Star) had heard all the answers he wanted to hear, he became very hungry. The thought of her changing made her even more curious about her body.

“But what's that on your head?”

Chilbyeol(Seven Star)'s eyes caught sight of her brother's black horns.

“Ah! It's a horn! Actually, when the bees come, we fight with it.”

“Will I get one?”

“Yes. All my brothers have horns like this.”

“I bet you fought the map bee with these horns, didn't you?”

“I think so.”

Suddenly, Chilbyeol(Seven Star) and her brother became somber as they remembered the caterpillar's death at the hands of the map bee.

“Let's sleep here behind the leaves, just in case.”

“Yeah.”

Chilbyeol(Seven Star) couldn't stifle a yawn. She was still eating leaves when she asked and heard the answer, and so was her brother. Perhaps because they were full, they both fell asleep easily.

When Chilbyeol(Seven Star) woke up the next day, she was alone.

“You're gone.”

He felt a pang of sadness, but it was short-lived. Hunger struck, and before she knew it, she was filling her stomach with leaves. After eating, he fell strangely asleep. He lost count of the number of times he ate and slept before the sun rose and set, and often found himself doing both.

“I must be a big eater and a big sleeper.”

He noticed that his body was getting a little bigger every time he woke up. Suddenly, there was a flapping sound from above. He could feel the flapping of giant wings above him.

“Ow!”

I heard an urgent scream.

“Take cover! It's a winged beast!”

Someone warned. Chilbyeol(Seven Star) hurriedly ducked behind a leaf. It flapped its wings for a moment, then swooped down with its beak.

“Help!”

Chilbyeol(Seven Star) was saddened by his helplessness, and the bright sunlight of the day was slowly fading. Someone sang sadly. For the first time, Chilbyeol(Seven Star) looked up at the night sky. He realized that something was floating in the pitch-black night.

“What is it?”

Her voice carried far and wide, and someone who heard her answered.

“The stars and the moon.”

“It's not the same as when it was bright.”

“That's the sun.”

Then another voice said.

“Hush, be quiet, for there are enemies awake at night!”

The caterpillar's thick voice, perhaps one of his brothers, spoke. It wasn't the last brother. Chilbyeol(Seven Star) realized at that moment that there were several brothers in the same place.

“Speak loudly only when you are in danger!”

Hearing that, Chilbyeol(Seven Star) realized that the caterpillar who had warned her of danger was her brother. A sigh escaped his lips, and from the sound of it, he realized that there were still a few others.

Then the eight stars were born. He heard the sound of the egg cracking around him. Chilbyeol(Seven Star) looked at the twitching form of Palbyeol(Eight Star) as it struggled to get out of the egg.

“That's how I was born.”

When Palbyul(Eight Star) was born, Chilbyul (Seven Star) was happy. She was happy to have someone to keep her company.

“Eat the egg shell.”

Chilbyeol said sweetly.

“Yes.”

Palbyeol replied in a cute voice. Chilbyeol wanted to help her in any way she could, so she watched her eat the egg shell and stayed with her until the sun and moon changed three times, teaching her how to eat the leaves and rest behind them as her brother had taught her before.

Then another winged beast attacked the house where the Chilbyul (Seven Star)s lived.

“Help!”

The screams came again, this time from two different places.

“Help!”

The caterpillar siblings screamed again and again, until another winged beast spotted them nearby and hunted them down. For a while, the other brothers hid. How long had they been hiding? Chilbyul (Seven Star)s quietly surveyed the outside world.

“Let's stay here tonight. Eat and sleep whenever you can.”

Even though the danger had passed, Chilbyeol whispered in the tiniest of voices to Falbyeol.

“Sister, there must be more than one winged beast!”

“Yes. I noticed it this time.”

“I'm sad for my sisters and brothers who were captured.”

“Yes. Me too.”

The two of them were pensive and said nothing.

The next day dawned, and there was a slight breeze before the sun rose in the sky. The precious late-summer breeze swept across Chilbyul (Seven Star)s' body.

“Sister, you have beautiful horns on your head.”

Palbyul(Eight Star) looked up at Chilbyul (Seven Star) and said.

“Yes. You'll have horns too.”

As she said this, Chilbyeol felt where her horns were, and realized that they had grown even more since she had a headache a few days ago.

“How high did my horns grow?”

“Longer than your face.”

Palbyul(Eight Star) looked at Chilbyul (Seven Star) curiously. Chilbyeol was happy that Palbyeol was following her and watching over her.

Just then, the leaf they were on shook. They were on the edge of the leaf, so they easily hid behind it to see what was happening. Out of nowhere, a large hand reached down and grabbed a large transparent object. It was the first time they had ever seen such a large object, and it caught Chilbyeol's attention.

“Sister, what is that?”

“I've never seen that before either.”

“I think something is looking at us.”

“I see the shape of an eye over a large object.”

Through the magnifying glass, Chilbyeol saw the eyes of a child looking at the leaf. Just as he realized who the figure was, a large hand gestured to the leaf beneath him, where the two eggs were. In an instant, the nonchalant hand plucked the leaf with the eggs and disappeared with a thud.

“The eggs were stolen!”

Chilbyeol announced to his brothers above.

“This happens sometimes!”

A voice called from above.

“Last time, you poked your caterpillar brother with a shiny pointy thing.”

Another voice said.

“Are they the same animal?”

Chilbyeol asked.

“Maybe.”

The caterpillar brother who had spoken first answered.

“Well, then, we'll have to be careful. Sis, I'm scared.”

Eight Star whispered, her voice trembling.

“It's okay, we'll just have to hide and be careful.”

Chilbyeol was scared too, but she calmed down and comforted Palbyeol. After that scary day, Chilbyeol and Palbyeol watched the moon change shape for several days.

“A few days ago, the moon looked like the part of the leaf I gnawed off, and now it looks like the part of the leaf you gnawed off.”

Palbyul(Eight Star) said cheerfully as he recovered his strength.

“Yes, it is. I love the moonlight.”

Chilbyeol(Seven Star) and Palbyeol(Eight Star) diligently ate the leaves, enjoyed the moonlight, and fell asleep.

The next day, they woke up the same way they always did, eating leaves and resting on the leaves, enjoying the sunshine. Just as the sun was setting, I heard a very loud noise. There was a thumping, children running around, and something that sounded like a “boom” and shook the earth.

“White smoke!”

A loud voice shouted toward Chilbyeol(Seven Star) and Palbyeol(Eight Star). Frightened, they quickly hid behind a large leaf. But the white smoke quickly followed them. A burning sensation came over their bodies. There was also a sinking feeling in their stomachs. Luckily, it didn't touch them directly, so they didn't suffer any further damage. Still, they hid behind the leaves until the danger passed and didn't come out. The sisters were disappointed that they couldn't see the moon, but they waited patiently for two more days, because for several days they kept hearing groans from the leaves above them. Then the groans stopped.

“It must have been the smoke.”

Chilbyul (Seven Star)s whispered to Eight Stars.

“We felt the warmth from the smoke.”

“Yeah.”

The two sisters looked at the moon in sadness. By now, Chilbyeol had lost her appetite.

“I'm not hungry anymore.”

“Sis, I'm still hungry.”

“Wait a little longer before you eat, just in case. The smoke might have burned the leaves, so you should smell the leaves

the smell of the leaves.”

As Chilbyeol realized the changes in her body, she gave Palbyeol advice that might be her last.

“I think I'm going to change, I don't know, but my body is telling me so.

Watch my changes and do the same. Let's stay apart and meet later, just in case.”

Chilbyeol crawled up to the tip of the leaf just above him and pinned himself upside down. Then she fell asleep on the leaf. Chilbyeol had always thought he could move by wriggling, but when he fell asleep, he felt like he was swirling around in a liquid. She was enveloped in a very cozy, soft substance and felt like she was melting into it, but she still felt exhilarated. She was happy during the dream, but after a few days of swimming without realizing it, something prickled at the back of her mind. The liquid feeling was turning to dryness, and the flaccid feeling was turning to fullness. When she could no longer hold herself inside the chrysalis, her back cracked open. The tiny crack caused her to squirm, and her movements were very different from her normal movements. She slowly slipped out of the chrysalis, leaving her body to its own devices, knowing only that it was different. She realized that the heavy object on her back was on her back, but it was so wet that she didn't know how to move it.

“Okay, let's take a break.”

Chilbyeol rested for a while and dried the object on his back. The warm sun dried his heavy object. Then he heard a clattering sound from somewhere. His eyes weren't fully open yet, so he couldn't quite make out the source of the sound. After waiting for a long time, when Chilbyeol finished drying the object, it began to flutter in the breeze.

“Move your wings.”

A gravelly voice called out from above.

“Wings?”

Chilbyeol realized that his heavy object was a “wing.” He impulsively moved his wings.

“I can fly! I can fly!”

Chilbyeol shouted with joy, and then realized that there was someone with wings like hers above him.

“Who are you?”

“Me? I'm a black and white butterfly!”

“I'm just like you! You finally know what your mom looks like!”

“Yes. That's what parents look like. My name is Sun.”

“I'm Chilbyul (Seven Star)! Wait!”

As Chilbyeol was talking, he remembered Palbyeol and went back to the plant he was in. He looked hard for her. He found her chrysalis, but there were several small cocoons attached to it.