June 5th, Monday

Getting up from His bed, He searched for clothes among the random objects and pieces of trash around the room but couldn't find any.

"Sigh... Guess I'll get some from the closet."

He dreaded getting new clothes because they were new, untainted clothes, and by the time the day would have finished, they'd have turned into just another batch of clothes that needed to be washed.

He sluggishly headed towards the closet, opened it slowly only to see that the clothes left had been the ones for the upcoming Willow Tree Fare. It was a week-long fare, it celebrated the period in which the willow trees around the city finally reached the end of their blooming period and attained their well-known beauty. It lasted a week, usually the last week of the willow's blooming and it symbolized rebirth and new beginnings.

It was a beautiful fare although virtually nobody outside the city knew of it.

The outfits inside corresponded to one day of the fare, seven outfits for seven days of the fare.

Looking at them, He decided to put on the first day's outfit, it was the most comfortable one out of the seven, and the easiest one to clean. As soon as he put it on, a knock came from the apartment's door.

He was shocked to say the least, He had no more friends, his family had moved to another city and hadn't come back since. He could not think of anyone who might have a reason to come an visit Him.

After quickly cleaning up the front of the apartment, the part where whoever was knocking was going to see, He went to the door and looked through the peephole.

Seeing the person knocking, He let out a sigh of relief, it was none other than Liu Moon, His best friend. He quickly opened the door and greeted her.

"Good morning, what can I help you with?"

"Well, your birthday is coming up and I want us to celebrate the entire week leading up to it." Liu answered in a smug tone. She was wearing the same outfit in which she saw her in His dream, that flowy sundress, with a straw hat that had a daisy fixated in it. Her hair was as flowy and as green as ever.

"Hmm." He replied, as if He had already rejected her.

Liu let out a playful sigh before grabbing Him by the hand.

"Come on, hold my hand!" she exclaimed in a happy, excited tone as she started to run.

"Where are we going?" He asked, still holding her hand.

"Secret!"

And before He could reply, Liu started running even faster and dragging Him by the hand, stealing any momentum He might have used to speak, forcing Him to concentrate on running alongside her. Even after they had reached the bottom of the stairs and left the apartment complex in which He lived, Liu still did not let go of His hand which she had grabbed with her whole heart.

"So will you tell me where we are going now?" He asked in an anxious tone, afraid that she might drag him way again.

"Yep, we're going to the fare." She said in a cheerful tone

"The fare?" He answered in a surprised tone, He did not realize that it was that time of the year already.

"Yeah."

"Is that why you wanted to celebrate the entire week? So, we would come to the fare every day?" He asked with a smug look and tone.

Liu started laughing before dashing away. Their hands still intertwined, He had no choice but to run even faster.

"We're finally here!" Liu exclaimed, she was even more energetic than before, it didn't even seem like she ran an entire kilometer without stopping.

They had finally reached the fare, its entrance at least. It was held near the outskirts of the city since there was a lot more space and it was easier to organize that way. The medium sized field in which the fare was held was surrounded by willow trees and fences and as the sun shone on them, the trees sparkled like diamonds and the fare was as lively as ever.

Behind Liu, near a wall, He was barely breathing, He had never run that much or that fast in the last five years. He crouched down, looked up at the sky and tried calming His erratic panting.

"Why… Why didn't you warn me you were going to run?" He barely managed to ask through bitter, fleeting breaths.

"Because, it was more fun!"

Silence fell over the two, only the chatter and clatter of the fare was still heard and they both burst out laughing.

"Rember, we did the same thing last time?" Liu asked Him.

"Yeah… it... slipped my mind until you mentioned it." The last time they had attended the fare was six years ago, on the morning of the first day they ran without stopping until they reached the fare's entrance.

"Ugh..." Liu responded, rolling her eyes. "Whatever, come on already!" she continued with a smile brighter than before.

Inside, tens of different stands were laid out on each side of the main path. Some were for entertainment, like shooting an air gun for a plushie or catching fish, whilst other were for food, and it wasn't a single kind of food or a single culinary category, no, it was global, there was at least one stand for every major cuisine.

As He looked around, He couldn't help but notice how hungry He felt. He hadn't eaten anything since the prior night and all that running made Him even hungrier. Wanting to propose a quick meal before exploring the fare more, He turned to Liu.

'Well, we can always eat later.' He said to Himself as He watched Liu, the brightest of smiles on her face, her eyes glowing like pearls or diamonds.

"What do you want to do first?" He asked excitedly.

"Hmm… Catch me a fish!" Liu exclaimed in a playful, commanding tone as she pointed her finger to a nearby stand, akin to a spoiled child.

He started laughing and was soon joined by Liu.

"Ok, let's get your fish!" He replied just as excitedly.

The nearest fish-catching stand near them was called 'fleeting fish', it was run by and old woman who had been present at the fare for the last thirty years. A sweet old lady, dressed in traditional, Korean clothing. She had fled Korea when she was 20 years old, in the midst of the Korean war. Everybody knew her as Ms. Kwan.

"Greetings, Ms. Kwan." He said in a polite, humble tone whilst bowing slightly.

"Oh, Young Man, I haven't seen you in forever."

"Haha… I'm glad to see you again, Ms. Kwan."

"Yes, but what of that girl you always came with?... What was her name?"

"Oh, Liu, she's right here." He answered as he turned to his right just to be met with nothing. Slightly panicking, he started looking around, perhaps she had gone to some other fish stand or the toilet but contrary to His expectations she was a few meters away from Him buying sushi.

"She left for a bit, but she'll come back." He continued with a slight laugh at the end.

"Ah, is that so?" Ms. Kwan said in a soothing, almost melancholic tone. "Well, how about you catch some fish for her, what do you say?"

"Of course, that's why I'm here!" He exclaimed with a big, proud smile.

After countless tries, the old woman started laughing at Him with all her heart. Disappointed, He slouched His head only to hear giggles coming from His left, it was Liu, she was laughing too, although she was trying to some-what hide it.

Seeing her, He frowned, but that made Liu laugh even harder, and, in turn, it made Him laugh.

"No dice?" asked Liu in a giggly tone.

"No dice." He responded jokingly.

"Better luck next time, eh?" Said the old woman as she looked at Him.

He smiled back softly before thanking her and leaving.

The two walked around the fare, exploring, laughing, reminiscing of old times. It was the first time He felt so alive, the first time He felt so… present. As they walked between the stands and through crowds of people, they laughed and joked and reminisced of the days long gone.

"What now?"

"You're asking me?" He answered with surprise.

"Of course, you're the birthday boy... well... you will be in a week but still!" Liu exclaimed.

"Hmm... let's go to that strange hot dog stand." He finally said after a long pause.

"OH, YES, LET'S GO!" She answered before dragging Him away once again.

As they ran towards it, He felt that they were getting closer and closer before finally reaching their destination. The same old stand, only a little more weathered, six years ha passed after all.

Leaving Liu behind, He immediately ran up to order. The same persons from six years ago was still in charge of orders and cooking. They strange hot dogs they sold used normal hot dogs, store bought, but they added three more layers to them, a cheese layer, a corn flake layer, and, in between the two, the layer that contained a strange sauce that He had never before eaten, that's what made them strange. 

It wasn't a bad sauce, not by a long shot, in fact it was the opposite, it was was one of, if not the best sauce He had ever eaten.

After ordering, Liu caught up to Him and beckoned Him in the space behind the stand. It was a specially arranged space by the stand owners, it consisted of long table with seats or long benches on either side, so that people could sit somewhere warm, guarded from the elements to finish their food.

It was one of only ten such stands in the entire fare and for that reason, some people would come with food from other stands and eat inside. They would usually order something to drink after, so there was really no loss for the stand owners.

But strangely enough, it wasn't as populated as He remembered, probably because it was the first day of the fare.

Looking around, He could not help but feel melancholic at how much everything had aged.

"Wow! Everything is so old now." Liu said, as if reading His mind.

"Yeah, it really is."

"Enough of that!" Liu exclaimed, breaking up the sudden mood. "Let's eat and go home, I'm sure you must be tired. Plus, we have six more days so there's no hurry!"

"Yeah, you're right." He answered with a smile and as soon as he did, the strange hot dogs also came, He had ordered two, one for Him and one for Liu.

"Finally!" He said, and immediately after thanking the cook, He began eating.