Episode 3: Dream of Starlight and the Milky Way

When the cloud path ended with a gentle curve, Hajin couldn't even breathe properly and burst out in exclamation at the sight that unfolded before her eyes. It was the 'Milky Way Lake', a huge ocean of jewels where hundreds of millions of stars melted and flowed. The surface of the lake was so clear and transparent that you could see the bottom, but its depth was so far away that it was impossible to guess. On the deep sapphire-colored water, emerald and amethyst-colored glitter shimmered in gentle waves, and the Milky Way in the night sky sat on the water like a mirror, making it so mysterious that it was difficult to tell which was the sky and which was the water.

Slurp – clatter –. Every time a wave hit the silvery sand by the lake, a pure and clear sound spread in all directions, as if a clear crystal xylophone and music box were playing together. At a small wooden dock on the lakeside, a large pink seashell ferry boat elaborately decorated with iridescent mother-of-pearl was floating on the silver waves. At the stern of the boat stood an old otter boatman, wearing an old straw hat askew and baggy beige overalls, holding a long ash oar.

“Oh my! Who is this? Our Commander-in-Chief Bonnie and the sweet little master are here!” The otter boatman twitched his long mustache and let out a good-natured laugh. “Hello, Grandpa Dalo!” Bonnie hopped down onto the wooden deck of the dock and waved happily. Hajin also bowed politely.

“Hello, old man….” “Come on, come on! Get on board, good boy. I am ‘Old Man Dalro,’ an old boatman who has guarded the waters of this Milky Way Lake for five hundred years. It is truly a great honor to serve as a guest of the dreamland tonight.” Hajin held Bonnie's hand and carefully stepped onto the mother-of-pearl shell boat. The boat was comfortable without rocking, and the inside of the shell was covered with soft coral-colored velvet cushions, making it as comfortable as a mother's embrace. Squeak, crackle-. As old man Dalro pushed the long wooden oar vigorously, the seashell boat began to glide smoothly across the silvery water of the Milky Way.

Silver bubbles rose like jewels on the surface of the water along the ship's trajectory. It was then. Pong! Pong! Pong! Fish large and small began jumping into the air in the clear waves around the boat. It was no ordinary fish. These were ‘starlight carp’ whose silver and gold scales sparkled like stars in the night sky. Each time the carp gracefully rotated in the air and dived into the water, the clear, transparent sound of the bells formed a melody and resonated in the air.

“Wow! Bonnie, look at that! Starlight is coming out of the fish!” Hajin hung on the ship's railing and shouted with sparkling eyes. Three or four starlight carp came so close that they almost touched Hajin's fingertips and greeted him happily with a puff. “Hajin, try holding this Milky Way water in your hand.” Bonnie scooped up clear water using a small birch ladle placed in the corner of the boat and carefully poured it onto Hajin's palms. Hajin was surprised. The water droplets that collected on my palm were not as cold as ice water. Rather, it had a gentle lukewarm temperature like hot spring water on a spring day, and it was round like a transparent bead and rolled across the palm of my hand.

As the warmth spreading from the water droplets penetrated deep into Hajin's chest along her wrist, it felt like the anxiety and loneliness that had been oppressing Hajin's heart during the day were washed away like melting spring snow. “Grandpa Dalo, why is this water so warm and soothing?” Hajin asked curiously. Old Man Dalo slowly rowed the oar and smiled kindly.

“The water of this Milky Way Lake is a river made up of the purest tears of love and gratitude that all children in the world shed in their hearts at night while they were asleep. The warmth I felt when my mother stroked my head, the laughter that burst out when I held hands with a friend, and the heartbreaking prayers for my beloved family melted into stars in the night sky.”

“Tears of love and gratitude….” Hajin quietly looked at the starlight drops on his palm. Then, the image of my mother coming home exhausted late every night came to mind, heartbreakingly. My mother had a bandage on her wrist as she lifted and placed a heavy shopping cart at the checkout counter of a large supermarket all day. Even though she came home from work with swollen legs, her mother smiled brightly after buying warm triangle kimbap and banana milk from a convenience store for Hajin. The tired face.

‘Hajin, I’m sorry mom came late. Were you very hungry? Did anything happen to my son at school today?' At that time, Ha-jin was afraid that her mother would worry, so she swallowed the incident of being teased by her friends during the day and said, 'Yes, Mom. Nothing happened. I lied and said, ‘I had fun with my friends.’

"Grandpa Dalo... My mother has a sore back and wrists because she works late every day. I'm only ten years old, so I can't do anything to help her. I can't make money, and I can't help her heal her sore legs. I feel like I'm a really useless child..." Hajin's voice became wet and his small shoulders trembled. At that time, Bonnie snuggled into Hajin's arms and cupped Hajin's cheek with her short front paws.

“Hajin, don’t say that! Why are you useless?” Bonnie shouted loudly. "When mom opens the front door late at night and comes in, who is the first to run out and hug her neck? 'Mom, you had a really hard time today!' Who is the person rubbing your cheek? It's you, Hajin! Mom said that even though her leg felt like it was going to break all day long, the hug you gave her with a big smile made her forget all the fatigue. “You are a greater salvation and miracle to Mom than any other jewel in the world.”

“What you said is absolutely right, baby.” When old man Dalro lifted up a long fishing rod, a small, bright blue 'star pearl' fished from the depths of the Milky Way Lake came to the tip of the hook. Old Man Dalo gently placed the blue star pearl on Hajin’s small palm.

“This is the ‘star pearl of the soul’ created by the tears of gratitude you shed while thinking of your mother. Your filial piety and love have blossomed into such a beautiful jewel, so how can you say you are a child who is lacking? Your warm heart is higher than the stars in the sky and deeper than this lake of the Milky Way.” Hajin tightly held the warm star pearl in her palm. The blue light emanating from the star pearl brightened my chest.

“Mom… I’ll be braver for you. When I wake up in the morning, I’ll massage your shoulders and smile brighter so you don’t worry.” Bonnie smiled brightly and pricked her ears at Hajin's decision. “Hehe, it’s our Hajin after all! It’s so cool!” The shell boat passed between huge colonies of silver water lilies in full bloom on the surface of the Milky Way Lake. A soft moonlight was lit on each water lily petal, and little frog fairies played a serenade of blessings while playing silver flutes. Finally, the boat gently touched the white marble dock located on the cloud cliff across the lake.

Old Man Dalo tied the boat tightly to the mooring line and waved to Hajin. “Good Hajin, if you go up those stairs, you will find the Museum of Memory where your grandmother’s warm love rests. No matter how dark you come, don’t forget that star pearl and the love in your heart.”

“Thank you, Grandpa Dalo! I will never forget you!” Ha-jin bowed her head in greeting, held Bonnie's hand, and walked briskly up the white marble stairs. At the top of the cliff, a magnificent museum with antique brass arches and a huge clock tower opened its majestic doors wide to the two adventurers, with its back to the nebula in the night sky. The ding-dong-dang sound of the sacred clock tower bell echoed far across the Milky Way Lake. On the bench of the ferry on the shore of the Milky Way Lake, old astronomer 'Oliver', wearing round silver-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, was holding a long bamboo fishing rod.

Instead of a needle, a small prism crystal was hanging at the end of old Oliver's fishing line, and he was fishing out memories of starlight from the depths of the lake. “Hehe, brave little travelers who crossed the Moonlight Stairs. The waves of the Milky Way Lake whisper the most brilliant jewels only to those with a clear heart.”

When old Oliver lightly lifted the fishing rod, a brilliant silver water droplet rose to the surface and cast a small illusion in the air. It was a warm, memorable scene of three-year-old Ha-jin lying on her mother's back on her grandmother's bed in the countryside, laughing while looking at the falling stars in the night sky. ‘Hajin, the stars are always watching our Hajin. You are mommy's most precious star.'

As his mother's voice passed by his ears in the illusion, Ha-jin's eyes turned red. “Grandpa Oliver... I always thought I was a poor and clumsy child compared to others.”

“You’re welcome, little friend. This night sky is so beautiful because all the stars in the Milky Way burn in different colors and sizes. Don’t hide your unique light by comparing yourself to others. The star of your soul is already a brilliant diamond, the only one in the universe.”

Old Otter Oliver carefully removed a transparent prism crystal bell hanging from the end of a fishing rod, threaded it on a silver thread, and hung it around Hajin's neck. “In this crystal bell, your purest three-year-old laughter, which I just rescued, is forever stuffed. Whenever the harsh rain and wind of the world blows and your heart feels cold, gently hold on to this drop. Your soul will always find the clearest and warmest path to love again.”

The moment the crystal drop touched Hajin's chest, a soft and warm feeling spread throughout his body. The boy bowed his head politely to Old Man Oliver, expressed his deep gratitude, and confidently walked towards the Library Museum of Memory.