He knew that he should have quickly run away before the person could properly see who he was, but curiosity got the better of him causing him to look up and meet the persons eyes...and when he did, his eyes widened in disbelief as only one name came to his mind.

"Aera?"

-

Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that during those five years, when he had been separated from the only family he knew, so much would change yet so much would still remain the same.

The last Jimin remembered of Aera was when they both were hiding in the small house back in the other realm while grandma Helda fought the ghoul.

He remembered how scared and worried she looked, even though she tried to hide it and act calm.

He remembered how he held on to his friend's hand tightly, scared that if he would leave it, he may never get to hold it again.

The memories of that dreadful day, the day when he had almost died, still remained crystal clear in his mind as they would haunt him during the night and make him feel gloomy during the day.

Many a times had Jimin, after waking from the five years of coma, cried whenever he was alone in his room. The pain of the curse combined with the longing to see his friend was too much for him to handle.

He had felt lost, confused, lonely and above all...scared of the possibility that Aera may not even be alive.

But here she was, standing right infront of him, with eyes brimming with tears.

His own eyes, he realized, were starting to tear up as a swirl of mixed emotions formed in his heart.

"Aera..." He called out once again, but this time, more as a whisper as his voice got carried away by the wind that blew.

He saw her take a step ahead and then another as his heart beat fast while his mind tried to come up with words that he could say.

The way Jimin felt was no different from what Aera was going through as she found herself walking closer and closer to the boy who stood infront of her.

With each step, she could hear her heart beating in her chest as finally, she now stood right near him. Raising her hand, Aera brought it towards Jimin's face and touched his cheek as if trying to make sure that the moment she was in, was not just a dream.

"Jimin, it's really you. I am not dreaming, it really is you." She whispered as a smile slowly crept up her lips and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Jimin nodded as a soft smile made its way on his lips. "Yes, buttercups. I kept my promise, I found you. I am back." He whispered as on hearing this, a feeling of extreme happiness and contentment filled Aera's heart causing her to flung her arms around his shoulder and pull him into a hug.

"I thought I may never see you again, Jimin." Aera said as a tear and then another rolled down her cheeks. "I felt so lonely without you. Everyday without you and grandma had been miserable. Everyday of the other realm, I would go to the police station or around the neighbourhood asking if anyone had seen you. Jimin, I missed you, I missed you a lot."

Breaking from the hug, Jimin held Area's hands as he looked at her deep in the eyes. "I missed you too, Aera. To be completely honest, I am in a daze right now because I was not expecting to see you here but, I feel really happy to see that you are alive and healthy. A lot has happened and I have so much to share with you but before that, please stop crying. It aches my heart to see tears in your eyes. Please, buttercups."

Nodding her head, Aera wiped her tears and backed away as she took a deep breath and calmed herself. 

The gentle breeze that blew, somehow helped her in calming herself as tears stopped flowing but a smile still persisted on her face. Looking up, she gave a sigh as she looked at her friend. "Tell me everything that happened after the attack."

"It is a long story and it is a bit confusing, you sure you want to know?"

"Yes, I do. And if you have any idea who that ghoul, who attacked us and almost killed you is, then tell me because if that creature is alive I am not going to spare it at all."

Sitting on the bank of the river with their legs crossed, the two looked at a swan who swam gracefully along the river's current.

Reeds grew around the river while a small squirrel with a nut in its tiny hands ran past them.

With her eyes fixed on the river but her attention fully on what her friend was saying, Aera kept nodding her head as Jimin told her of what had happened after the attack and how he had been saved.

"Like you know, after I had been hit by the curse thrown from the ghoul, I was loosing a lot of blood..."

"Yes, I remember." Aera whispered as a memory came to her mind in which she remembered seeing Jimin lying on the ground, unconscious, drenched in his own pool of blood.

"But what you may not know was that, there would have been something else that would have killed me much faster than loosing blood..."

"Really? What was it?" Aera asked.

"The spell the ghoul had aimed to throw at late grandma Helda was a very powerful curse and this curse works best when it hits one at the heart. And somehow, because of my great luck, I got hit straight at the heart. So, had it not been for a particular someone, the curse would have taken over me and then I would not be having this conversation with you here right now."

Aera raised an eyebrow and slightly tilted her head as she turned to look at Jimin who sat beside her. "Who was it?" She asked as Jimin smiled in response.

"Wizard Alf."

The name, it sounded familiar...

She was sure that she heard that name somewhere before...

Suddenly, it struck to her that this name that Jimin had taken was the same which the Prince and Jungkook had once mentioned while talking to her.

"No way!" Aera exclaimed as her eyes widened to which Jimin just nodded with a smile. "Jimin, that is the same wizard the Prince and Jungkook keep talking about! The so-called most powerful wizard of the world! Do you know, I once even went to his house with them and it's full of magic."

"I know buttercups. Have you wondered where I have been staying and recovering for the past five years?" Jimin asked to which Aera nodded. "Where?"

"At Wizard Alf's house, silly. Which means that when you and the Prince must have come to his place, you could have found me had you done a bit of exploring and opened a door. I was right there, just near you..."

"...and I did not even know." Aera spoke, more to herself as she blinked her eyes in disbelief. "So that explains why your locket was there. Of course! No wonder it was lying around at his house because you live in that house!"

Jimin nodded as a chuckle escaped his lips on seeing how worked up Aera was getting, as if she was about to find a cure for cancer. "Yes, you are right. By the way, do you know where that locket was kept because I seem to have lost it."

"Oh, about that..." Aera spoke with a smile. "It's at the castle right now. I took it with me thinking that maybe it would help me find you. And it did!"

A relieved sigh escaped Jimin's lips. "That's a relief. Anyways, on with what I was saying." He spoke and was about to continue but fell silent, as if suddenly in deep thought.

"Uh...what happened?" Aera asked as she noticed how her friend suddenly seemed to look lost.

"I was just wondering if you remember seeing someone that night, I mean, the night of the attack. Do you remember seeing someone before you lost consciousness or went somewhere?"

This question caused Aera to fall in deep thoughts too as she tried to remember as much as she could, bringing back the memories which she had been so desperately trying to erase for the past years.

And that is when a particular fragment of that night came to her mind, causing her to fall in wonder and surprise;

Turning around, her eyes met with that of the ghoul's as anger took over her. "You killed them...you monster!" She screamed at it as she lunged forward to attack the ghoul but with a simple snap of it's fingers, Aera fell down to the ground, an action which caused pain to immediately jolt through her.

Her eyes started closing as dizziness started taking over her.

She could see the ghoul was about to attack her to which she closed her eyes in fear.

But minutes passed by and nothing happened. Finally, Aera opened her eyes only to realize that the ghoul was no longer in sight and instead in its place now stood a man who wore a blue cloak with a crescent moon used as a pin to hold it together.

The man gave a warm smile to Aera as he then sprinkled a golden coloured powder which caused her to close her eyes and fall asleep.

"Aera, do you remember anything?"

Jimin's voice caused Aera to come back to reality as she slowly nodded her head.

"Yes Jimin, I do. I remember seeing some man just before I fell unconscious. There was this golden power he sprinkled over me that caused me to fall asleep. I also think that he is the one who saved us from the ghoul."

Hearing these words, Jimin snapped his fingers as his eyes twinkled. "Aha! The sleeping powder! It is a portion Wizard Alf loves using, though I am not sure why. But, leave that. Aera, do you understand what this means?"

"What?"

"It means that you have met Wizard Alf before, atleast caught a glimpse of how he looks like. Not only this, but it also means that Wizard Alf was the one who fought the ghoul and saved my life along with yours. He is the one who has taken care of me and tended to my injuries ever since then. Aera, Wizard Alf is a wonderful man full of mysteries. You should meet him! Perhaps, one day, I can even take you to him."

"Whoa! I don't think I am quite ready to meet him yet. But I am really grateful to him." Aera immediately responded to which Jimin beamed in delight. "Jimin, I understand that Wizard Alf was the one who saved you and brought you here, but, what did you do all these years. Surely you couldn't have been staying inside the whole time."

"Uh, actually, I did." Jimin answered. "Aera, the curse like I said, had a huge impact on me and so, I had been in a coma for the past five years and woke up only a few months back."

Aera's eyes widened in shock as for a second, it felt as if everything around her had frozen. "Five years?" She spoke as in disbelief. "You were in a comma for five years?"

"Yes."

"Oh, Jimin..." Aera muttered as she came nearer to her friend and held his hand. "Jimin, you really did go through a lot. I am sorry that I was not there for you. I am sorry for what happened."

Giving a smile, the boy his shook his head as he looked at his friend with an endearing feeling clinging to his heart. "Don't be. I am much better now and things have been going well for me. I have even started learning a few magical spells and though I do not have any natural powers, Wizard Alf says that I can still be a great wizard one day."

Silence took over as memories of the past flooded the minds of the two friends. They looked at each other as if understanding what the other was thinking without having to say it.

For years Aera had never felt so relaxed and calm as she did now and this was because right now, at the very moment, she was with a person who she had spent her childhood with.

She was with the person who had brought colours to her life and being reunited with him was like as if the remaining half of herself had reunited with her.

"Jimin?" Aera called out as she now shifted her gaze to the river where she caught a glimpse of a fish swimming in its waters.

"Yes?"

Looking back at him, Aera gave a soft smile as the rays of evening sun hit her face. "Do you think grandma is happy wherever she is right now? Do you think she is looking at us, somewhere up there, and smiling at us?"

A nod was what Jimin gave in response as he took a breath and let it out. "I myself don't know Aera but I am sure that wherever grandma is, she is happy and is looking at us."

"Do you think all this is my fault? The reason for grandma's death, the reason for you loosing five years of your life, the reason for the situation we are in?" A silence followed as Aera could feel a lump form in her throat. 

"Maybe, if I was not born at all, grandma would still be alive, baking her cookies and spending her life in peace. But instead, she spent her whole life protecting me from dark powers and in the end, sacrificed herself to protect us." At this point, Aera's voice wavered and broke as a tear slipped from her eye. 

A tear which contained all the hidden miseries she had been holding in her heart for five years. A tear which showed the insecurities and self-doubt she held.

Holding his friend's hand, Jimin caressed it and shook his head in denial. 

"If you were not born, I wouldn't have had such an amazing friend. If you were not born, the prophesy wouldn't be complete as without you, according to what Wizard Alf has told me, the dark powers cannot be defeated. Your existence is really unique and important for this world. Every single person in this realm has their hopes in you. And not only that, but I am pretty sure the Prince too needs you as he cannot complete the prophesy without you."

A light scoff escaped Aera's lips as she looked away and heaved a sigh. "That's it? My existence is just about a prophesy? I guess, I don't actually matter to anyone as an individual, as Aera, but rather just as some saviour who is the sidekick of a great Prince destined to save the world..."

"Aera!" Jimin exclaimed in surprise as he got up and stretched out his hand.

Looking at Jimin, Aera gave a confused look but nevertheless took his hand and stood beside him. "What?" She asked to which Jimin pointed at the sky and asked, "Can you see what I am pointing at?"

"Yeah, the moon. So what? It's going to be dark after a few minutes anyways."

"Well...Aera, what does the moon do during the night, when it is dark?"

"It gives light, and looks beautiful." Aera answered with a matter-of-fact tone in her voice.

"Exactly! Now, if I say that I have a moon of my own what would that mean?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Aera looked at her friend to which Jimin shook his head and smiled.

"It would mean that there is this some person in my life who is just like the moon. During my dark times, she is always there, shining and giving me hope. She is my light. She is my hope. She is my friend...she is you, Aera. You are the moon of my life, someone who is so important to me that without her, I feel as if a huge part of me is missing." 

Holding Aera's hands, Jimin looked at her in the eye. "So never, ever, say that you are not needed. Even if the whole world would despise you, I wouldn't. I would stay by your side because, isn't that what friends are for?"

Hearing these words caused warmth to fill in Aera's heart as she was taken aback at the amount of sincerity Jimin's words held. Giving a smile, Aera looked at Jimin and gave an a look of appreciation.

"Thanks, Jimbo. You are and always have been the best! By the way, talking about the moon, I just realized that it is getting quite late. I must return to the castle."

"Aww, really?" Jimin asked, as he gave a disheartened look. "Can we meet tomorrow too? Honestly, it's really boring to stay all alone with an old man and have no one to talk with other than him."

Aera laughed at these words as she nodded with a bright smile that caused her eyes to twinkle. "Sure, we can meet tomorrow if that is fine with you. Tomorrow, this time, this place. Ok?"

"Ok..."