Beginning Beyond The Horizon

The biting cold wind blew by, and the three Tanzanies entered the unknown. With the light from the orbs to their left, they continued toward the unknown source that glowed in the dark and hummed at the same time. 

As Yul, Abrafo, and Michio approached the pond area, they noticed the humming is getting louder and orbs are gettering brighter, and the lights getting brighter. The three Tanzanies slowly approached the pond as quietly as possible and hid behind three trees. They slowly poked their heads out from behind the tree and saw five golden peacocks surrounding the small tree, and their jaws dropped in shock. 

The five golden peacocks moved five steps to the left, five steps to the right, five steps back from the tree, bowed, then walked five steps forward to the tree, turned around and shook their outstretched tails, making a loud sound. With a rustling sound, almost like a drum, their tail tips release light energy into the air around the shimmering green tree, and then they repeat the process as the humming continues. 

Michio whispered, "This might be something that U-ri would want to see." 

"I know, it's so magnificently beautiful," U-ri whispered behind Michio. Michio was startled and was about to scream, but U-ri quickly covered Michio's mouth. "Shh!" 

Yul looked beyond Abrafo and found Hajime hiding by the tree next to Abrafo. When Hajime saw Yul's eyes, he knew immediately that Yul was angry with him. 

  Abrafo looked at Hajime and said, "You are going to get an earful from Yul after this." 

Hajime whispered, "I know that's why I'm with you and not with Yul." 

Abrafo scoffed, "Oh, then I am your shield now, right? I think when it comes between your husband and I, my friendship is worthless." He looked at Hajime with a mocking tone. "Don't blame him for using military rules on you." 

Hajime said, "If he dares, I will fly away with my eagle." 

After the peacocks finished their dance, they flew to the branches one by one, bit a golden berry from the tree with their beaks, and then swallowed it. The golden peacock flies into the dark sky. 

Abrafo turned to look at Hajime and said, "I believed you ate the wrong berry." He teased Hajime with a smile. "No wonder you're in so much pain." 

Michio looked at the paper talisman in his hand without any reaction. He said, "We're not dealing with any ghosts. My spell didn't detach anything. There must have been some unexplained natural phenomenon that was making that humming." 

Hajime quickly stood up and rushed out of the hiding place. 

Yul said angrily, "Hajime..." He quickly chased after Hajime. 

Now that Hajime and Yul had been exposed to unknown circumstances, the other three had no reason to continue hiding, so they also came out of their hiding places behind the trees and grass. 

Yul grabbed Hajime's arm angrily. "You shouldn't be here," he said frantically. 

Hajime said, "I understand. If you have anything to say or educate me, let's wait until we go back to the house." 

Michio asked, "What are you going to do?" 

Hajime said, " I thought about it, and since it's not a ghost, it must be an enchanted place that was created by nature. I don't know about your culture, but according to the Chinese." 

Abrafo asked, "The what?" 

Hajime said, "The Chinese are people from China. Never mind, it doesn't matter." He suddenly realized that he was no longer in his own world. "Anyway, for the Chinese, they believe that the peacock represents divinity, beauty, power and status." He looked on the ground and found a golden feather, so he squatted down and picked it up. "I believe everything we heard were not ghosts but rather mesmerizing moments that only nature can explain." 

Yul said, "That's how it is in real life too. That's the beauty of nature; there are things in the world that we can never find answers to for certain phenomena created by nature." 

The five Tanzanies stood a few yards away from the shining green tree, and as the night wind blew through them, the tree began to hum again, its branches rustling as it hums when the wind blew through them. 

Michio stuffed the talisman back into his inner robe and said, " Well, that solves our mysterious female hum." 

U-ri asked loudly, "Could this place be an unknown place?" 

Yul said, "I don't think it was the place, but the tree." 

Hajime asked, "What is an unknown place?" 

U-ri explained, "In Tangzang, unexplained places are called unknown places. I have read articles about magical and mysterious places. Sometimes these places are harmless, but some places are dangerous." He looked at the other four. "But based on what we witnessed tonight, I believe this place is safe. Like Yul mentioned, it's not the place, it's the tree. Ever since that tree grew here, peacocks have been coming here to perform their ritual dance, release their energies to help the tree produce fruit, just like we water our crops." 

Hajime said, "It makes sense. Peacocks eat golden berries to keep their feathers golden." 

U-ri said with a smile, "Exactly." 

Michio said, " "Since the peacock ate that golden berry, its feathers stay golden. Let's try it too. Maybe our hair will also turn golden." 

Abrafo, Michio, and U-ri quickly backed away towards Yul, leaving Hajime standing alone a few yards away from the tree. Abrafo looked at Hajime and said, "Be our guest and take the first bite." 

Hajime looked at the four people standing behind him. "What a bunch of losers," he scoffed. Hajime stepped forward and his arm was grabbed by Yul. "Well, I've already experienced death once, and I don't think this time will be any different." Hajime forcefully, pulling his arm out of Yul's grasp. 

Hajime walked to the tree, picked up a golden berry and stuffed it into his mouth. He swallowed the berry and found that nothing had happened to him. He did not experience any pain or burning sensation. 

"Although the berry is as hard as rock, they have no taste and don't cause me any pain," Hajime said, turning to face his friends as the men laughed. His heart sank at the sight of their laughter and the expressions on their faces. "What?" 

The four of them continued to laugh, seeing that Hajime's skin color and hair had turned golden, the same color as the five peacocks. The four people did not tell Hajime what happened but continued to laugh. Their laughter echoed in the night. 

Michio suppressed his laughter and said, "You..." He cleared his throat. "You should take a look at yourself." He couldn't hold his laughter anymore, pointing at Hajime and laughing loudly. 

U-ri could finally take a breath and walked towards Hajime with a giggle. He said with an amusive look on his face, " Since the trees behind you are all glowing, why not go to the pond and look at your reflection." He lightly patted Hajime on the shoulder. 

Hajime looked at the four of them madly, then walked towards the pond. As he bent down to look at his reflection, he saw golden hair fall from his shoulders and fall in front of his face. He quickly grabbed a handful of his hair and found that his hair was no longer white, but golden. So, he quickly looked into the pond. When he saw his reflection, his heart almost stopped. 

Hajime turned around and said, "What's wrong with me? Why am I like this?" He looked at his friends who were still laughing at him, which made him even more angry. "I sacrificed myself for all of you to taste this berry, and now no one care about my wellbeing, but all four of you are laughing at my plight." 

Abrafo stared at Hajime and suddenly said, "I know how to solve our financial problem." 

Michio asked, "How?" 

Abrafo said, "We are going to the village and exchange Hajime's hair for money." 

Hajime said, "I refuse." 

U-ri said, " Remember, without money, we cannot continue our journey." 

Hajime said, "How about each of us eat a golden berry and cut off our own hair in exchange for money?  I am not the only one who knows how to use money." 

The four men hesitated. 

Abrafo said, "What if we eat it and instead of turning our bodies to gold like you, it kills us?" 

Hajime said, "How do you know if you haven't tried it? I believed those peacocks were nothing special, they were just ordinary peacocks." 

U-ri said, "Fine... I'll give it a try." He walked to the tree and picked a golden berry from the tree. He put it in his mouth and swallowed it down, but U-ri's color remained the same. "I think it only works for Hajime because he's a mage. It doesn't work for ordinary people like us." 

Hajime started to worry, wondering how long the color on his skin would last, or if his complexion would stay golden. He looked at the people behind him and asked, "You don't seem worried about me?" 

Michio shook his head and said, "We don't. You just switch to gold and that's good for us because right now we don't have gold." 

The four of them returned to the house and sat around the small fire pit. After Michio shaved Hajime's head, he collected all the hair on the ground and put it together on a piece of cloth. 

"So, how do you sell Hajime's hair?" Michio asked. 

U-ri said, "I don't know yet, but we'll figure it out." He looked at Hajime. "Don't worry, your hair will grow back before long." 

Hajime said, " You'd better not mention my hair unless I throw all the coins, we earn from selling it into the well." 

"Alright... alright, we promise never to mention this," Abrafo said, trying hard not to laugh. "Your bald secret is safe with us." 

U-ri said, "Let's go to bed. Tomorrow I will think of a way to sell your hair." 

Hajime said, "Well, I can't sleep anyway, so I'll just keep watch and you all can go to sleep." 

Yul asked, "Are you sure?" 

Hajime said, "Yes, you go to bed. I'm fine by myself." 

Hajime watched the four people lie down to rest. He looked back at the long golden hair on the ground beside the fire pit. He picked up a strand of hair, only to find that his hair had hardened, almost like soft iron to the touch. He looked at the strand of golden hair. 

"I know what to do," Hajime said with a smile. "No matter what world we live in, business usually runs smoothly because of women." 

Hajime recalled his past life and read something about how to make hairpins. He picked some hair and started making simple hairpins. 

"What are you doing?" Yul said, sitting next to Hajime. 

Hajime said, "I'm making hairpins for you and U-ri to sell them in the market tomorrow." 

"Hairpin?" Yul looked at Hajime. "What kind of hairpins do you make?" 

Hajime turned to look at Yul and said, "Butterfly hairpin for beautiful lady." 

Yul asked, "Why do you talk like this?" 

Hajime said, "I'm not saying these words to you. I'm just teaching you how to sell these hairpins so we can have money to continue on the road." He grabbed a few more strands of hair. "Repeat after me, this hairpin looks so beautiful on you." He grabbed a finished hairpin on his lap and fixed the hairpin on Yul's tied hair. "Wear this hairpin in your hair makes you look extremally handsome." 

Yul looked at Hajime and asked, "You think so?" 

"Uh... uh..." Hajime stared into Yul's eyes. "I...I... I think so..." He looked away. 

Yul picked up a strand of hair and said, "Teach me how to make a hairpin." 

Hajime turned to look at Yul with a smile and said, "Okay, let's start from the base. Just roll it up like this." 

U-ri slowly opened his eyes and stared at Yul and Hajime who were sitting by the small fire pit helping each other. He sighed happily in his heart: Love is like a wildflower; it often appears in the most unlikely places. He smiled and closed his eyes.