School had ended for the day, and as usual, Shin, Leana, and I hung out together. It was our thing now—we'd go explore new places and talk about random stuff.
"Hey, Doon," Shin said, swinging his backpack over his shoulder. "You think third grade's gonna be hard?"
"Yeah," I replied without hesitation.
Leana, who had been quiet, suddenly puffed out her chest. "Pfft, hard? Please. I'm ready for anything." Over the past few months, Leana had become a total tomboy, always acting tough around us. She even stopped hanging out with the other girls.
Shin rolled his eyes. "Okay, Leana. Since you're so confident, why don't you show us some of these cool places you're always bragging about?"
Leana smirked. "Fine. But it's not just any place. It's… a scary place. We have to go through a dark forest to get there. But if we make it, we'll see the most beautiful night skies you've ever seen."
Shin raised an eyebrow. "A scary forest? At night? Are you trying to get us eaten by a bear?"
I laughed. "Let's go! What are we waiting for?"
That night, we all snuck out of our houses and met at the edge of the forest. Leana was already there, looking smug.
"Ready to see the great valley of skies?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah, let's just go," I said. "Shin, did you bring a flashlight?"
Shin held it up like a badge of honor. "Of course, I did. It's not like I'm scared or anything."
The second we stepped into the forest, the air got colder, and everything went quiet—too quiet. Suddenly, we heard a low, creepy noise.
"OooOOooh…"
Shin froze, gripping the flashlight so tight his knuckles turned white. "W-what was that?!"
I shrugged. "Probably just the wind."
But then we heard it again. "OooOOooh…"
Shin screamed, "Okay, I'm out! I'm going home!"
"No way," I said, laughing. "We came this far. I want to see it and show my mom the beautiful skies. I even brought a camera!"
Shin groaned. "Fine. But if we get eaten, I'm blaming you."
As we walked deeper into the forest, Shin started mumbling about how dumb this idea was. Leana, being Leana, couldn't resist messing with him.
"ROAR!" she shouted, jumping out at him from behind a tree.
Shin yelped, tripped over a rock, and fell flat on his back. "Leana, what's wrong with you?! I almost died!"
I couldn't stop laughing. "Come on, Shin. Toughen up!"
"Are we there yet?" I asked Leana, still giggling.
She pointed ahead. "Just past that bush. Get ready."
We pushed through the underbrush, and suddenly, the trees opened up to reveal a vast, grassy valley. Above us, the night sky stretched wide, glittering with more stars than I'd ever seen.
"Whoa," I said, stunned. "It's… beautiful."
"See? Told you it'd be worth it," Leana said, grinning.
"Let's take a picture!" I said, pulling out my camera. The three of us huddled together, laughing as I snapped a photo of us with the breathtaking sky in the background.
When I got home, Loom was waiting for me by the door. "Big brother, where did you go?" she asked suspiciously.
"Somewhere beautiful," I said, trying to act casual.
"Um, what?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
I showed her the picture of the valley. Her jaw dropped. "You didn't take me with you?!"
"Of course not. You're too young."
Just then, my mom walked in, her arms crossed. "Doon. Did you sneak out again? I told you to stay home!"
I gave her my best innocent smile and showed her the picture. "Look, though! Isn't it amazing?"
Her face softened. "Oh my god… You didn't invite us to see the view?!"
"Next time," I promised.
"Next time," she said, shaking her head with a mix of frustration and awe.