*******

They are coming for me.

I see my mother next to me, and my only instinct is to run. The forest we were entering was dense, and the only light that was given was a red moon hanging over us like a bad omen. Our breaths are visible from how cold the air around us was, and if it weren't for the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I'd be freezing. We hear footsteps drawing closer to us as we run through the dimly lit path, the skin on our legs torn from the branches and twigs on the earth floot.

"Keep running!" She screams as we ran through the dark woodland. She suddenly disappeared, and I was all alone. I had no idea what I was running from. My jeans catch on a log, and I plummet onto the floor. A tall shadowed form creeps behind me. My heart stops beating for a second. Is this what true fear feels like? Everything goes black, and all I can hear is my mother's urgent voice telling me to wake up.

***

I woke up with a jolt; it was just a dream, like the one last night and the one before. I run my hands through my long brown hair as I sigh in relief. I've had nightmares for a while now, and they are mostly the same. Each reoccurring one brings me chills and unwanted paranoia. 

The only constant in my life was the nightmares that plagued me every night. I wanted an escape from the evil hand of cards I was dealt with called life. I was served a terrible hand when my father informed me of our impending move back to Korea.

I get ready for school and slip my scrawny legs into my slacks and put on my uniform polo. I head into the kitchen to eat breakfast afterward. Sitting alone at our family dinner table was also a constant in my life. I look at the lion centerpiece, the symbol of my father's company. Most days, that lion was my only company during meals. My father had started his company in Korea and had been in America for the last 10 years marketing overseas. Since his company has grown more, we were moving back. The bright side of this move was the fresh start it brought. I am the outcast of Oakland, California, and I doubted that the people in Korea would ever hear about this.

For the past ten years in America, my ethnic features had garnered me close to no close friends. The only other Asian person in my school was a boy named Kenji. He shared my experience closely, making us inseparable.

It was rare that Kenji and I had the same classes, which led to me having classes alone, but after today, I would be leaving the cold lonely corner of Oakland Highschool behind.

***********

My stepmother, father and I board the plane to Korea later in the afternoon. They were both discussing business plans and had been for hours now. I sigh as I put my headphones in and turn up my music. I doze off while traveling to where all my worst memories come from, where I lost my mother. The flight goes by quickly, and soon we land in  the country's capital, Seoul. My stepmother and father get in their car but order me a taxi to take me home separately. I am left standing with my luggage as my father and stepmother race to a meeting.

What a great way to welcome me to Seoul.