"The Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom once more , Again the gentle breeze carries the fragrant petals that dance in the moonlight.

There you were when I left , standing lonesome in the moonshine , your sheen eclipsing the light of the stars.

Once I turned back , you were there no longer , having returned back to the Ninth Heaven that you came from ."

♪ Hum -Hum ♪

The unwelcome vibration increased to a fervent pitch .

Even if he wished to , it was no longer possible for Jun You to ignore the irritating noise that harshly interrupted his sojourn in the World Of Dreams .

A reluctant hand reached over the messy desk on which his body was inelegantly sprawled over and made contact with the offending piece of equipment .

The Mobile was in a manner contrary to its marketing , very distinctly inconveniencing its Master by executing a Sound and Light show , the effects of which drilled harshly into his head.

Although with a nonchalant flick the circus ended , unfortunately the name of the Caller was exposed as well.

He sighed ; his head flopped down in a final bid to seek the soothing shelter of the desk.

Through his hazy eyes a familiar room , even now in shambles came into sight . The messy clutter that had piled over the course of several weeks seemed to have formed their own ecosystem by now , the Coffee Pot in particular had become a very successful last refuge for several endangered species of moulds which had no doubt been wiped out in the outside world by now.

Very reticently he lifted his head and then with a swift movement put on the worn jacket that had been draped over the rickety armchair that was passable for an antique .

Unlike his surroundings he at least maintained some semblance of tidiness accentuated by his well -groomed hair and fair complexion that wouldn't have been out of place for a woman.

He got up and headed for the dusty mirror attached to an ancient cabinet situated next to the closed door.

He gently shook of the dust from the surface and then observed his reflection.

A slender man who appeared to be in his twenties stared back at him . His features were sharp and might have been considered as quite handsome if it were not for an air of sloth that unconsciously radiated from his eyes , as it was with the decent sartorial sense he had managed to retain , he could be considered passable .

Though he was certainly not someone who would cause heads to turn around by just the most fleeting of glimpses even so with the aura of firm maturity that he possessed a second deeper look was undoubtedly possible.

Nodding in satisfaction to his appearance , he reached inside his cabinet and pulled out all that he would need .

A couple of spare bucks for the journey , his mobile and a pack of cigarettes which was the only addiction that he allowed for himself .

With that Jun You was ready to set off into the stormy Rivers and Lakes in a manner befitting the Heroes of Yore.

After the door opened with a painful creak , he eased himself out as gently as he could ; being courteous to the elderly was a habit that he had inculcated inside since his younger days , though the fact that his wallet was heading through a rough patch could also have contributed to his sudden courtesy .

He rapidly headed down the stairs that groaned under his strain , his hand smoothing a strand of hair that had got in the way of his eyes .

His mind was already far away .

Even though the entire world was pretty much known to him inside-out , there was always a slim chance that he might just encounter something interesting

Though the likelihood was naturally , quite abysmal.

**********************************

Rat a tat-tat !

The sound of the door knocking snapped Ye Lan out of her reverie .

She hurriedly pulled down the cover on the board in a frantic effort to hide the seemingly random scribble and the pinned photos that dotted the surface of the white board.

After calming down her racing heart , with a swift movement she opened the door and let the knocker inside.

The one who came in was a young woman possessing a short stature . Dressed stylishly ,the fact that she wore light makeup was unable to diminish her radiant beauty instead it served as a contrast that highlighted her inner radiance even more.

The woman pranced around in a playful manner taking in the current state of the spartan room that was bare of luxury of any sort and was so spic and span that the light reflected from the corners was almost blinding .

She looked at Ye Lan with her brows raised questioningly who responded by shrugging her shoulders irritably.

"I can't focus if my workspace is all cluttered up , " Ye Lan said as succinctly as possible.

"Oh !"

"And I here I thought that you were readying yourself for marriage ! "

The other woman acted all cocky teasing Ye Lan relentlessly.

Ye Lan snorted .

She had long since become familiar with this woman . If she didn't take firm control her irksome trap wouldn't shut and would ramble on for hours like a broken record with no useful information coming out at any point of time.

"I have no time to waste on your silly shenannigans ! Cut to the chase or I will kick you out !"

"My My ! " , the woman clicked her teeth in mock admiration , " to think that the Female Goddess admired by everyone in the precinct , behind that ice cold visage is in fact a cold hearted bitch ! "

Ye Lan's facial veins popped with an audible sound .

The woman on seeing the fuming Ye Lan who was about to blow her top held her hands up in surrender ; after all you could only push a tempestuous bull so far , any further and she , Yu Lao was going to be in dangerous territory even though she had accumulated quite a lot of experience as a matador challenging bulls.

Since this time what she was facing was in fact a lion clad in the skin of a cow .

Hrrumph !

"Forgive me please , Young Lady ! All that I came to tell you was that the boss wants to see you at once . " These words she said whilst exaggeratedly bowing in the manner of a Martial Arts Expert who has made the World Of Cinema his new home .

Although her [Death Seeking ] skill appeared to be MAXed out , the points in her [Self Preservation ] skill weren't too far away from the Ceiling as well and she had swiftly glided out of the door far before the flying duster reached her former position.

Ye Lan collapsed on her chair wiping beads of sweat away from her exquisite face.

She sighed and pulled down the cover from the whiteboard.

Her vision fell upon the messy board as she contemplated something.

A frown appeared on her face as she realised to her chagrin that she was no closer to the source of the entangled spider web than she was before.

Her fists clenched and released repeatedly as she exhaled rapidly.

Time was running out swiftly ; it was as if she could feel each time the clock ticked the weight pressing on heart increased a notch.

Eventually she came to a decision and slung on her overcoat before covering the board and heading out.

There was no denying the boss.

All she hoped for was the audience would be short so that she could return back to proper business.

**********************************

The True Culmination of Life doesn't occur at death .

Instead it occurs at the onset of stagnation.

All around him , Jun You could see men and women who were already dead and continued to walk under the neon lights like living corpses.

All around him , all he could see were men and women who had long lost of their enterprising spirit and settled on to the dull monotony of repetition that characterises repetition.

By which he meant living on in established patterns , for instance a youth who completed university would do his best to find a steady job , get married and have kids eventually turning into the mirror image of his father and countless others who could be found everywhere . Their role models having their permanent residence in the illusory world of print and media who have subtly but surely influenced them on to a path of no return .

When the spirit of uniqueness and the fuel of passion that drives on people to carve out their niche is lost what good is their remaining existence for ?

Does living like a herd of sheep gives them a sense of sublime satisfaction ?

Jun You's thoughts took a gloomy turn which unlike the twilight the suffused the world as of then was neither lit by the gentle lights of the stars or the harsh lights from the neon signs that were strewn all across the busy thoroughfare.

Lost as he was Jun You failed to notice that he had already arrived at the entrance to the Subway , lucky for him a passing salesman with a heavy briefcase on his way back home after the end of the day struck against him at just the right moment causing the threads of reverie that bound him to snap.

The curses that Jun You inevitably received were as sweet as blessings to his recently defrosted ears , he couldn't help but return the favour with a smile and a deep bow towards his benefactor which caused the other man to sped away in a manner reminiscent of a scared rabbit that had come face to face with its predator.

With a laugh , Jun You was already racing down the stairs that led down into the bowels of the earth.

Five minutes later he was standing earnestly amongst those who had lined up for the arrival of the train. The efficiency of the City Transit didn't disappoint the eagerly waiting fans and gladly sent in their best star , whose arrival was greeted with much fanfare.

Jun You was lucky that unlike others he didn't have to wait for long and could board immediately , strangely though as if they had signed a contract beforehand , even as the doors opened right in front , the entire line began to spill apart into different coaches completely ignoring the coach right in front.

Although Jun You's spine was tingling like crazy he didn't refuse the red carpet welcome handed out to him and very gladly entered inside the filled compartment which was bustling with noise.

♪ Hum -Hum ♪

With a melodious noise the doors snapped shut and the train eased out of the platform.

Barely had they left the station though that the overhead lights flickered for an instant and gave out plunging the entire train in darkness still the darkness lasted for barely an instant as the lights switched on back to their original intensity.

" Must have been a glitch , " was his initial thought

An inspection of his surroundings caused him to revise his opinion.

All of the passengers save for a man seated opposite to him engrossed in the [Evening News ] were standing .

Their postures were -um - what was the word ? Abnormal .

Yes , that was it .

Abnormal described their current posture quite aptly.

Although the unnatural tightness in their muscles and the fact that their hands holding the handles hanging from the surface had long since turned white under the strain were certainly factors that had contributed to his conclusion , that black vapour slowly effusing out from their bodies was the true culprit.

That and the fact that their faces now resembled the visage of rotting corpses with the meat on the surface having been eaten away and the hair hanging down in clumps .

He certainly didn't recall travelling in a special train meant for zombies who had already decomposed so much that even a dumpster won't accept them anymore.

Which meant ...

He turned a inquiring glance towards the seated man whose face was hidden behind the newspaper.

As if responding to his glance the man elegantly folded the newspaper and carefully stashed it on a corner of the seat and turned his tender smiling face which framed by those unruly locks of hair were enough to cause many a girl to swoon.

Jun You mentally compared and reached an unsatisfactory conclusion , he got all grumpy as a result.

No mercy , then this time.

"It's such a pleasure to finally having been able to meet you ! " the man spoke in a gentle voice that matched perfectly with his polished looks and the cultured demeanour that he displayed.

"Illusion ? " Jun You interrupted , his finger gesturing towards the grinning zombies in a rather obvious manner.

The man's eyes turned wide in surprise but he still replied just as politely as expected of one who belonged to an aristocratic lineage unlike the rude boor to whom the concept of courtesy lay on a star that was far , far away from here.

"This is not an Illusion . On the contrary the Zombies are Hundred Percent Real ! My Innate Magic gives me the skill of Reanimation , although it's cliched I still find it best to be used with corpses that had uh ... deceased just recently . "

Jun You scratched his chin in cursory thought .

"Not bad . So what do you want ? To go so far as to murder an entire train ."

He clicked his teeth in mock admiration.

Th man acted as if he didn't sense the thinly veiled sarcasm and began to speak.

"My real name is irrelevant but in the World Below I have been known as the Marionette and My name is a member of the Bulletin Board just as yours . I have been sent by my boss to invite you for a little chat ."

"I don't recall ever seeing your boss before ? What in the world could he possibly want of a leech of society like me ? "

Jun You shrugged exaggeratedly in a bid to show his harmlessness.

But the other man on seeing this just sighed and carefully spread out his paper once more to read.

" If you resist I am permitted to bring you by force , the loss of an arm of or two should be fine . I leave it up to you to decide but please make it as soon as possible . You see , I have a ball in the City Hall to attend to in about twenty minutes , so although I would like to entertain for you a while longer unfortunately time doesn't permit the same . You can scream 'give up ' when you are ready ."

With that he snapped his fingers and turned his face towards the paper as if there was something far more interesting in the confine of the pages.

" I wonder if he is staring at the gossip pages " Jun You snickered inwardly even as the smell of decay increased substantially overloading his sensitive senses nearly causing him to gag.

The zombies stepped forward menacingly and enclosed him in a cordon with his back to the doors.

Jun You glanced unhurriedly at the watch fastened to his wrist .

A subconscious frown appeared on his face.

"Listen Up ! " he said , "I can't give you anymore than five minutes so better make this fast ."

The other man looked up from his paper in curiosity for a brief moment but returned back to the shelter of the news . Being a civilised gentleman there was no way he could enjoy watching a barbaric scene like a blustering man being torn apart right in front of his eyes . That was left for his more ahem ' warrior like ' companions.

He elegantly put on his pods and listened to the pleasant melodies played by the masters of old whose genius was worthy of appreciation even now .

His feet gently tapped the surface in response to the wondrous melody that made its way into his heart using his ears as a medium

His glance never wavered from the newspaper that he had set his sight on .

Meanwhile Jun You had his arms stretched open in welcome towards the army of approaching zombies that were scrambling over each other in a bid to get the first dibs on a nice piece of living flesh.

His eyes flashed with a purplish hue mirroring the wide smile that was plastered on his face.

The rails screeched as the train galloped into the darkness with an almighty bang whose sound vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared.