14. The Gem

14. The Gem

“Ta-da!”

A perfectly beautiful transparent stone. Held in my tiny paws, the stone, with its appearance like a diamond roughly cut, refracted the indoor light into seven colors, showcasing its beautiful form.

Looking at it, I felt a dizzying sensation, as if I might fall right into it. Perhaps because it was given by a fox that’s good at mesmerizing others, the stone also seemed to mesmerize people.

I thrust the stone forward more confidently so Sister could get a better look.

“How is it, pretty, right!”

It seems to be the prettiest among all the stones I’ve collected so far. Just looking at it makes me feel good.

“It is pretty… but where did you get it?”

“A fox gave it to me!”

“A fox?”

That’s right. That fox was a relatively smart fox among foxes that know about giving and receiving, and it gave me this pretty transparent stone in return for the fish I gave it. It was a perfect transaction, exchanging items according to each other’s needs.

Sister took my stone. Then-

“Huh…?”

“Whoa.”

The stone gradually faded to a grayish color, and soon it became just an ordinary gray stone.

My eyes widened, and my tail puffed up with a “Kkang!” What happened to my stone? What on earth?

“No, Seol-ah, that…”

“Sob, sob….”

The stone died. I don’t know why. But the fact that it died remains unchanged. Tears welled up. It was such a beautiful stone, and though I had it for a short time, I had grown quite fond of it.

Did the fox trick me? Maybe. It might have enchanted the stone to make it look pretty and then sold it to me.

However, at this moment, the sadness of the stone’s sudden death filled me more than the anger towards the deceitful fox. It was supposed to be my second treasure, right after my precious number one treasure, my picture book, but so futilely….

“Sob, sob… Sob.”

“Th-this, why… I didn’t do anything… S-Seol-ah.”

Sister waved her hands around in a flustered manner. But even if she did that, the dead stone wouldn’t come back to life. All that remained in Sister’s hand was just a gray, ugly stone. The transparent, sparkling stone had become no different from the ordinary stones found when digging snow.

Sweating profusely, Sister handed the gray stone back to me, trying to comfort me. But what use was that? The stone I cherished was no longer there!

The pain of loss was too great. Tears flowed down my cheeks.

But I have to endure, right? Because I am a cool wolf, an adult. I’m used to this, so I can endure….

“Huh? Huh? S-Seol-ah? The stone…”

“Sob… Yes…?”

Sister, flustered, pointed to my hand holding the stone. I wiped my tear-soaked face and looked at my hand with my now-clear vision.

To my surprise, a transparent stone was in my hand! Just like when I first received the stone!

“Huk….”

The stone came back to life!!

My mouth fell open. As if I hadn’t been crying moments ago, the corners of my mouth started to rise towards the sky. My tail wagged furiously, scattering white fur everywhere.

This will make cleaning up later a chore, but right now, I’m too happy to care about the consequences. Scatter, tail fur! Convey my joy!

While I was covering the world in white, Sister gently took the stone from my hand. Then, surprisingly, the stone began to turn gray again.

Crackling, my tail stiffened. My body froze.

“Th-the stone died again…?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Sister took my frozen hand and gave me the stone again. To my surprise, the stone became a transparent, sparkling stone once more. Seeing that, my tail started wagging again.

“It seems like it only becomes… um, pretty when Seol-ah holds it.”

“Really?”

“Look.”

Sister took the stone from me again. The stone, now gray, became beautifully transparent again as soon as it was in my hand, as if nothing had happened.

“Huk!”

What a fascinating stone! It’s not just pretty on the outside; it even has an anti-theft system!

I smiled, holding the stone. Though invisible, I was probably smiling foolishly.

“But Sister, what kind of stone is this?”

“Huh?”

I know that Sister sometimes secretly picks up ice or stones. She finds pretty stones and gives them to me. It’s not just Sister; other adults do it too. They seem to hide the fact that they pick up stones from children, but my excellent senses don’t miss it. Ahem.

Seeing her pick up stones like that, Sister must know a lot about stones.

However, the answer from Sister was also a question.

“I don’t really know either? This is the first time I’ve seen something like this.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Should we ask Father when he returns?”

I thought Sister knew everything, so I was surprised she didn’t know the identity of this stone.

“Yes!”

Is Father talking with Uncle Polar Bear? No, it might be over by now. Since the bartering was nearing its end, it wouldn’t take Father long to return.

In that case!

“Sister, read me a book!”

“A picture book?”

“Yes!”

I put the sparkling transparent stone back into my tail and took out a picture book instead. I had flipped through this picture book countless times since I was little, so it was worn and tattered, but it was still my most cherished treasure, number one.

“Okay. Come here.”

“Yes!!”

I ran towards the sofa, following Sister’s tail.

——

“Mmm….”

In the snowfield, one wolf, two wolves, three wolves jump over the fence. Mother seems to be beckoning from the sky, and then, with a “Udada-da” sound, wolves swarm in and smash the fence.

Yes! Break down the fence! Nothing can stop a wolf!

Wolves howling “Awoo.” Suddenly, I, who had joined the pack, also howled along. Dudu-dudu, I run across the snowfield. It’s amazing. No one would know how much I wanted to run freely like this.

And jump!

My face gets buried in the snow!

“Kkang!”

“P-pu-puff… Seol-ah, are you okay?”

“It hurts….”

Where am I?

I see the sofa where I was reading. I also see the log walls and the stove.

It seems I had dozed off while reading with Sister. As a result of rolling off Sister’s lap and hitting my head on the floor, I had to groan in pain, clutching my throbbing head.

I said to Sister, who was barely holding back her laughter.

“Don’t laugh… Hmph.”

“But Seol-ah was so cute when she was talking in her sleep. What dream did you have?”

“A dream about becoming a wolf!”

“A dream about becoming a wolf?”

“Yes!”

It’s strange, isn’t it? I’m already a wolf, but I had a dream about becoming a wolf. As I mumbled this, Sister’s mouth twitched, and she avoided my eyes.

“Sister?”

“Ah, no. Nothing. Father came back earlier, so should we go ask about the stone now?”

“Yes!”

I ran to the living room in an instant and saw Father sitting on a plush chair. I jumped and tried to bump my head on Father, but Father noticed me first and picked me up.

“Seol-ah.”

“Father, I have something I want to ask right now!”

“What is it?”

“This!”

Speaking rapidly, I moved my big fluffy tail out from under my legs, and then pulled out the transparent rainbow sparkling stone from within. The stone in my hand was, as expected, emitting a beautiful, sparkling light.

“Do you know what kind of stone this is?”

“Isn’t it a gem?”

“What kind of gem is it?”

It certainly looked like a gem. But what I wanted to know was what kind of gem it was. I looked at Father with sparkling eyes. Father let out a hum.

“Father doesn’t really know. What do you think it is, Seol-ah?”

“Huk!”

This is it. The method to block endless questions stemming from a child’s curiosity. Asking the child back. But I’m not a child; I’m an adult. Such tricks won’t work.

“I don’t know! I asked Sister too, and she doesn’t know either.”

“Is that so? Hmm, if it’s a gem… Cheol-su would probably know in more detail.”

“Uncle Cheol-su?”

Uncle Cheol-su is the skinny man who lives several houses down the street. That he knows a lot about gems is something I’m hearing for the first time.

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll go… Kkang!”

“What time is it? Where are you trying to go? Go to sleep for today, and go tomorrow.”

My tail, which was about to head straight for the door, was firmly caught by Father’s hand. In the end, my grand expedition ended in failure from the start, and I was only able to leave the house the next morning.

“I’m going, Sister!”

“Yes, please don’t stray onto another path this time. Understand?”

“What do you take me for? I’m really going now!”

Sister, with a look of extreme concern, emphasized “please” and received repeated confirmations from me. Honestly, there’s no need to worry so much.

It was snowing quite a bit outside. The wind was also strong, making it a little difficult to open my eyes. Unable to bear Sister’s worry, I put on so many layers of clothing that I felt plump and started waddling towards the house several houses down where Uncle Cheol-su lived.

With “several” houses attached to “next,” there’s no need to mention the distance. And the momentous first step.

“Kkang!”

I fell.