Demon Stories

Cheol: The White Crane and the Red Ribbons, 1877, England, 1532, Korea

Cheol

The White Crane and The Red Ribbons

1877, England and 1532, Korea

 1877, England

Long ago, there was a time in my life which I do not like to remember. But I will tell it to you, my red flame haired rose. Would you like to hear about it? Of course you would. Ah, your perfume is filling my nose. It smells like irises. Did you know white irises are native to Korea? Oh you did not know? Yes, they have yellow drops on them, but they are spread apart like a beautiful lady's five points. Her five star points, like Venus. There was a time where I knew somebody who loved irises. 

I know you are curious about my past. Your eyes tell it. Let us play a game. I will tell you a story, but it is up to you to decide whether or not it is true.

A long time ago, in my Korea, there was a legend about a strange creature in the sky. Many people said it was a crane, maybe an elegant crane which floated there. Others thought it might be a part of a lady's clothes, maybe some freak of the wind blew up some washing into the air, such a phenomenon to happen again and again, what a joke it was. 

Yet still others thought it might be a lady herself, flying up there over the mountain, a small ball of white cloth, her sleeves so long and flowing. Many were afraid of her, for they thought her to be a ghost.

In my country, the mourning clothes are white, and women who have their hair down are of ill repute. Thus, a ghost of such a woman would look like how she appeared. There are many stories of such women ghosts, especially in the woods, but she was different.

How do I know? Because I saw her. I saw her many, many times. 

Such creatures as you and I attract the company of others. However, this one. 

In my life, I knew this one. I have been alive for a long, long time. Yes, you have guessed right. She would be the one who liked the irises. In fact, floating up there, she looked like a white iris to me. 

She was an elegant lady, in life and death. Just caught between two worlds, her poor tender heart broken. Her long hair was parted down the middle, laid down and down towards her knees. The smooth black hair was straight and thick, beautiful and glossy as it had been in life. 

This lady. I stayed in Korea for so long even though I could leave. I was finally free from my life in binding, but I could not leave because of her. Because it was my fault she was floating in the air. 

Especially when it was raining, a crazy downpour, she would appear sometimes outside of my window. She'd be in the sky, flying in a pattern. Because of this pattern, I'm not sure she was aware she was still in this world. I'm not sure she realized where she was. But still, her soul was attracted to me and I kept it close to me with tender care. 

When a soul is bound to you, that is what happens. When you die together, that is what happens. The souls need each other. 

Yes, I died with her. Such a thing does happen. It was fate, for I was born in this world with somebody, so I died with somebody. Yes, I am a twin. I had a twin brother. And this lady. She was my twin brother's lover. Not wife, but lover. And I suppose twins are of the same mind, for I loved her as well.