Child of Destiny

Late night of the third day of Shin’s training, our ’price charming’ finally woke up on his bed after collapsing earlier.

”Looks like, I really am exhausted, huh?” muttered Shin as he stared at the ceiling. And after a few moments, he suddenly shook his head before commenting. ”No matter how many times I look at it, I still believe that these things existed inside a small cottage.”

Shin shook his head at little before sitting up from his lying position. And right after he did that, he suddenly heard a loud rumbling sound coming from his stomach.

”Tch! And now this buddy is also starting to raise some complaints too,” muttered Shin while tapping his tummy.

After that, he immediately got off his bed before walking out of his room to look for something to eat. While he was on his way towards the kitchen, his eyes were immediately caught by some things on the table. And walking towards it, he saw that they were a bunch of foods prepared for him.

Seeing that, Shin smiled a little as he looked at those delicacies. A single look at it was more than enough for him to know that they were top quality. What’s more, a small mentalism formation was covering the whole table to preserve the foods on it.

His smile became a little bitter when he saw that. ”He even wanted me to break this before I could even take my food? Isn’t it a little too much?”

Regardless, he still proceeded at break the formation sealing the table. And since it was only a basic formation, he didn’t encounter any problem when breaking it.

When the formation was removed, some steams suddenly flew up, signifying that the food were still warm.

”This is quite convenient,” joked Shin before starting to eat. ”Thanks for the food!”

When he was done taking his dinner, he then walked out of the cottage, trying to get some fresh air.

The sky was already deep when he walked out. And not a single star could be seen in there due to the thick dark clouds covering them.

The trees around him were dancing along with the movements of the blowing wind. There were no crickets singing at night this time – maybe because of the formation set up by Grandmaster Benn around mountain. Instead, the leaves of those trees were seemingly singing a lonely song every time those trees shook their branches.

Due to that, Shin felt something strange in this atmosphere. There was some strange feeling that he already felt before. He thought that he already forgot about this familiar feeling of loneliness, but he couldn’t help but feel a deep solitude every time he was alone like this.

He might have a place that he could came home right now – there were also people that he could call his family at the same time. But from time to time, he still felt that he didn’t belong anywhere. Maybe because he knew that there was a missing piece deep inside his heart. Or maybe he just wanted to know about his real self.

Shin stared at the dark sky for a moment before closing his eyes, trying to feel the cold breeze of this silent night and immersing himself with this atmosphere.

He took a deep breath while opening his eyes once again. Then he took another look at the sky before muttering to himself. ”I feel like writing some lyrics right now.”

With a bitter smile, he shook his head a little before walking down the mountain. He walked aimlessly for quite some time until his stopped his steps on top of a water fall where his feet dragged him onto.

Shin stared dumbfoundedly at the scene in front of him due to its breathtaking view. In the middle of this lonely night, he saw a sea of fireflies flying across the darkness and lighting up the surroundings.

Seeing this, Shin shook his head a little while smiling bitterly. ”So, are you telling me that it is fine to roam aimlessly from time to time?”

When those words left his mouth, Shin suddenly heard a voice coming from a distance. ”Isn’t it? Sometimes, traveling without a proper destination in mind is more fulfilling than having a planned journey. After all, life is full of surprises.”

Shin turned his head at the direction where that voice was coming from and saw David sitting on top of a huge rock in the middle of the river. He was currently watching the fireflies and seemingly enjoying it.

Feeing the gaze directed to him, David suddenly turned his head and looked back at Shin while saying smilingly. ”That is why some people say that life is all about the ’journey ’not the ’destination’. It is fine to get lost from time to time since it is a part of life.” 

He paused for a moment to look at the sky before continuing. ”But I can’t totally agree with that.”

”Travelling without a proper goal will only make your journey a meaningless wander. It is fine to get sidetracked here and there, but you can’t forget about the main road that you are taking.”

”Everyone can choose a path that they want to take, but you still can’t walk on multiple paths since you are only a single entity.”

Shin stared at David for a moment before asking. ”So, how can we know which path is the best to take?”

”There is no way. After all, it is impossible to see the end of the road if you are only standing on its starting point. If you want to know if you choose the right choice, then you need to walk through that path until your reach its destination,” answered David almost immediately.

He paused for a brief moment before continuing. ”All you can do is to brace yourself, become stronger, and enjoy everything that you are going to experience.”

”That way, you are not going to regret anything when you reached your final destination. And at the point of time, you are going to say that your entire journey is meaningful.” he added while looking at the sky.

”I see,” said Shin before lowering his head a little; it seemed like he was contemplating about something.

When David saw that, he suddenly added. ”Maybe the journey is the most importing thing when doing an adventure, but having a proper destination is similarly important. And those two will never be separated because they are always been together.”

Shin nodded his head after hearing that. ”I will keep that in mind.”

Then silence descended between the two as they continued to watch the fireflies silently.

But moments later, Shin suddenly asked. ”But you are called the ’Wanderer’, Senior Brother. Do you also have a proper destination in mind?”

David pursed his lips a little when he heard that. But he immediately gave his answer not long after. ”Of course! Even the wind has their destination, much less a person like me.”

”Mind telling me about it?” asked Shin with some curiosity.

Maintaining his pursing lips, David knitted his eyebrows a little before shaking his head. ”Nope, I don’t mind at all. But I will tell you about it later.”

”Is that so?” said Shin before hopping from a rock to another. And when he arrived at the huge rock where David was sitting, he immediately sat beside the latter and asked. ”Then how about sharing something about yourself?”

Then Shin raised his head at the sky before continuing. ”I am sure that you already knew a lot of things about me, but I still don’t know much about you. Isn’t it a little unfair?”

”You think so?” asked David almost instantly.

But Shin quickly responded. ”Yep! I am calling you Senior Brother but I don’t know much about you. Aside from the thing that you are a famous Young Mentalist around the world, I don’t know anything else.”

Hearing that, David pursed his lips even further before turning silent. But after a few moments of thinking, he suddenly nodded his head. ”Fair enough.”

Then he turned head at Shin before saying. ”So, what do you want to know about me?” while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Shin tilted his head to the side and held his chin with his hand while saying. ”Anything is fine. I am not that picky after all.”

”But I am not that good at picking a topic about such things,” said David.

Shin suddenly pursed his lips when he heard that. But he was also not that good choice a topic either, so he just randomly said. ”Then how about you tell me how did you become your master’s-… I mean, our master’s disciple?”

David was slightly taken aback when he heard that. And the stunned expression on his face made Shin to a little hesitant on this topic. ”Is it an off-limits? Then it is fine, let’s choose another.”

”Ah! No, it is fine. I am just a little surprise. That’s all,” said David almost instantly while waving his hand. And after a slight pause, he immediately added. ”What’s more, you are bound to know about it sooner or later when you meet Master.”

”So, where should I start,” said David while raising his head at the sky.

After a few moments of silence, he suddenly said. ”Then-... should I start at the day when I was born?”

...…