emerald-notes - Bangtan's ARMY
Bangtan's ARMY

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There Is No Shame In Changing Jobs Or Careers If Your Job Is Causing Trauma Or Stress. You Have Not Wasted

There is no shame in changing jobs or careers if your job is causing trauma or stress. You have not wasted the education or work experience that you have accumulated. You will always have that no matter what you choose to do with the rest of your life.

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More Posts from Emerald-notes

1 year ago

Then why am I crying?

... And I Will Wait For You! {trans Cr. @/haruharu_w_bts}
... And I Will Wait For You! {trans Cr. @/haruharu_w_bts}
... And I Will Wait For You! {trans Cr. @/haruharu_w_bts}
... And I Will Wait For You! {trans Cr. @/haruharu_w_bts}
... And I Will Wait For You! {trans Cr. @/haruharu_w_bts}

... and I will wait for you! {trans cr. @/haruharu_w_bts}

1 year ago

The Other Side - Part 2

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Fandom: BTS Pairing: Park Jimin x OC (Amelia) Genre: Fluff/Angst Word Count: 1.7k Words Warning: Drinking, foul language, mention of kiss, this chapter doesn’t deal with any major triggering issues. Note: (18+) Additional chapters contain heavy angst and sensitive topics. If you can’t handle problematic issues, I advise you to not read any further.

Summary: When Amelia and her bestie have an encounter with the duo (JiKook), they seem to develop a love and hate kinda relationship...

Part 1 - Part 2 - More to Come

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Are we doing business? Or do you hate me? - Danger by BTS

“Do you want a drink?” I asked.

“I would rather have another ice cream.” Tara replied.

I rolled my eyes, “Do you even eat anything other than that?”

Tara was my best friend since grade two. We had our ups and downs, but were never separated permanently until Tara decided to live in the city to attend college. But whenever she came back to town we would hangout like we were kids again. This time, she came to visit the seasonal festival and I was determined to have the best night of my life.

I paid for the snacks and added to the stall keeper, “We’ll have ice cream and Cheetos too.”

“Two bottles of beer, please.” I heard someone beside me. We both looked at each other at once and I wished I didn’t have.

“Hey! Crybaby! How are you? Oh, hi there, Tara! Didn’t know you were in town too. So, you girls were having a little get together or something?”

Yes! It was no other than Jeon Jungkook. Just looking at him made me want to punch his face. I put on a fake smile over my gritted teeth and spoke rather mockingly, “How are you, big teeth?”

Jungkook chuckled and replied, “The bunny’s doing great. Thank you.”

“And so are the Barbies.” Tara snapped before pulling me away.

“Hey! Wait for me.” Jungkook called. We saw him taking his beers and paying hurriedly before sprinting towards our direction.

“Is he serious, right now?” Tara whispered to me in annoyance.

Jungkook whined, “C’mon! We met after a long time. And you didn’t even talk to me at Tae’s party. ‘Cause you were too busy drooling over Jimin.”

“Excuse me!” I asked, offended. Jungkook was really testing my patience.

“Who the hell is Jimin?” Tara asked, unaware.

“I’m Jimin.” Suddenly someone spoke beside us.

I looked at him in disbelief. My immediate thought was that he was perhaps stalking me. But then, I remembered that Jimin was a really good friend of Jungkook. So, it wasn’t unusual that he came to his friend’s town to attend a festival.

“Amelia!” He turned to me with a faint smirk on his face, “We meet again.”

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“So, you’ve been talking about me with Jungkook?” I inquired Jimin as soon as we were left alone. Tara went to the bathroom and Jungkook was taking an important phone call.

“To be honest,” Jimin chuckled, “you’re the only thing I’ve been talking about these past few days.”

Jimin really knew how to flatter because I could tell that my face went red. But it wasn't time to give in to his seduction, especially when I was supposed to be angry at him.

"So, you guys are really having some fun talking behind my back, huh?" I retorted.

"You are indeed fun to talk about, I won't lie, but…"

I didn’t let him continue whatever he was going to say next. "Listen, I'm not interested in wasting time with you. I don't know why you'd approached me that night. I don't know what Jungkook has been telling you and whatever you're telling him in return. All I know and want you to be clear about is that I’m done encountering you. If you still don't let go, you'll have to deal with Taehyung."

Jimin laughed at my speech which only added fuel to my anger. "Well, one thing is true, then.”

“And what’s that?”

“You complain a lot to your brother, like a cry-baby."

Had it been Jungkook, he would have earned a slap across his face by now. I breathed out through my mouth to avoid doing something stupid. But someone spoke loudly beside me, "who the hell do you think you are, speaking like that to my best friend in front of me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Jimin was yet again cut off.

This time, Tara angrily started to rant, "our night's already ruined. Thanks to your asshole friend. Now don't get me started on you. Don't even think you have any chance with my girl just because you're…"

"Tara," I immediately interrupted, "let's get going. It's no good fighting with them. We should know better since our previous arguments with the other asshole."

"Yeah, whatever!" Tara turned along with me.

"I'm staying in town for a few days." Jimin yelled behind us as we were walking away from him. "Don't hope to never see me again. 'Coz who knows! You might."

I grunted in frustration while  Tara asked, "want me to go back and kick him in the balls?"

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"Why do all the good looking guys have to be assholes?" Tara sighed one day.

I raised my eyebrows, "which assholes are you referring to?"

"Whom do you think?"

"Umm…" I thought for a while, "I know for once, Jimin is attractive and also, turned out to be an asshole like his friend. Who else do you mean?"

"I mean," Tara replied, "his friend that you just mentioned."

If Tara had said that she was pregnant, I would have been less surprised.

"What the hell, dude!" I couldn't mask my disgust, "How can you find Jungkook attractive? I knew your taste in men was trash but him?"

"Oh, thank you very much." Tara argued, "Mind you, I didn't say he was attractive. I only said 'good-looking'. And I believe I added that he was an asshole. So, he doesn’t really fall under the men of my taste. By the way, aren't you the one attracted to assholes? As far as I know, it wasn't me who made out with one of them."

I was flustered by her reply. "Hey, that was… a mistake. I was… I was drunk." I stuttered.

Tara started to laugh. I couldn't believe she was bullying me for kissing Jimin. Maybe, I shouldn't have confided in her everything. Especially the part where I said I actually enjoyed making out with him.

"You're mean!"

I stood up and walked out of my room to the living room only to find that Taehyung was having a blast with his friends. And the friends in question are none other than my life long enemy, Jungkook and my most recent crush, Jimin.

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Turns out Jimin was a sneaky bitch. Somehow he managed to manipulate Taehyung into thinking that it was his friendship that Jimin was after all along and he had nothing to do with me. He also added that there was a girl in his city that he was seeing. Taehyung didn’t seem to have any problem with being friends with him since he didn’t pose an immediate threat of becoming someone closer to me. Now, my brother was having the time of his life chatting with the two people I couldn’t even bear to talk with.

Both me and Tara listened to all the bullshit for a while and then decided it was time to leave. “We’re going out!” I said to my brother, “Want me to get you something?”

“Nope!” His reply was short.

“Well, enjoy, I guess!” I muttered under my breath and headed out with Tara.

“Wait!” Jimin ran out of the house behind us.

Tara moved in between and asked, “What do you want?”

“I wanna talk with Amelia!” Jimin replied casually.

“Why?” Tara pressed further, “Isn’t it Tae whom you’re after?”

Jimin looked irritated, “Can you please give us some space for a moment?”

“What do you need a space for? I thought you had a girlfriend. Why? Aren’t you loyal?” Tara kept on going.

“Are you just going to enjoy this?” Jimin looked at me helplessly.

I simply shrugged my shoulders in reply. Jungkook came to his rescue. “Hey, Tara! Wanna know what the whole college is talking about?”

Tara’s face went red, “Jeon Jungkook, I swear I’m going to kill you if you did anything funny!” And she stormed away inside the house along with a smirking Jungkook.

“Hey…” Jimin started but I cut him in between.

“Is there anything important that you wanna say? If not, please go bother someone else.”

“You didn’t even let me start!” he pouted.

I frowned at his words, “Your pretense of being a cutie ain’t gonna help you now.”

Jimin turned serious and asked, “What’s up with you? I can’t seem to read you right. One minute you’re so into me, the next minute you won’t even look at me? Is Tae the matter?”

“Nope!” I answered truthfully, “It’s you! You’re the matter.”

“Will you at least tell me what I did wrong since the last time we met?” Jimin asked gently.

I thought for a while before saying, “Why do you even care? I’m only an inside joke between the two of you.”

Jimin started nodding his head as if he just realized something very basic, “So, Jungkook’s the matter, huh?”

“No!” I denied.

“Oh, dear!” Jimin laughed, “Do you realize how long it had been since you were in school? Seriously? Are you still holding a grudge over those silly fights you had with him? Are you still that petty?”

I huffed in annoyance, “Go on. Tell me more about what else he had told you about me.”

“Nothing but all the good times that he had with you.” Jimin said with a smile.

“Huh?”

“Amelia!” Jimin shook me by the shoulders, “Jungkook always talked about you and Tara as if you were his only friends in high school. Yeah, he mentioned the fights and all. But at the end of the day, he still considers you his friends. The time when I confessed to him about you, the only thing he said was that I was diving in for some adventure. And it wasn’t even said in a bad way. He really ships us with all his might.”

I kept blinking at him in disbelief. Surely, Jungkook wouldn’t talk all nice about us let alone calling us his friends. What is Jimin trying to do here?

At that time, Tara came out yelling at Jungkook behind her, “Grow up, rabbit faced!” 

“After you, bitch!” A boiling red Jungkook yelled back at her.

Tara took my hand and pulled me away from the house. “Just ignore him. He’s a bit upset, you know!”

“What did you say for him to act like that?” I asked.

“Nothing much!” Tara shrugged, “Just reminded him how desperate he was.”

“Desperate for what?”

In reply, Tara just let out a laugh.

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1 year ago

Finally, the whole story...

Why Did I Fight With Jimin-hyung?We Were Trainees. I Personally Dont Think My Puberty Years Had Hit Me
Why Did I Fight With Jimin-hyung?We Were Trainees. I Personally Dont Think My Puberty Years Had Hit Me
Why Did I Fight With Jimin-hyung?We Were Trainees. I Personally Dont Think My Puberty Years Had Hit Me
Why Did I Fight With Jimin-hyung?We Were Trainees. I Personally Dont Think My Puberty Years Had Hit Me
Why Did I Fight With Jimin-hyung?We Were Trainees. I Personally Dont Think My Puberty Years Had Hit Me
Why Did I Fight With Jimin-hyung?We Were Trainees. I Personally Dont Think My Puberty Years Had Hit Me
Why Did I Fight With Jimin-hyung?We Were Trainees. I Personally Dont Think My Puberty Years Had Hit Me
Why Did I Fight With Jimin-hyung?We Were Trainees. I Personally Dont Think My Puberty Years Had Hit Me
Why Did I Fight With Jimin-hyung?We Were Trainees. I Personally Dont Think My Puberty Years Had Hit Me
Why Did I Fight With Jimin-hyung?We Were Trainees. I Personally Dont Think My Puberty Years Had Hit Me

“Why did I fight with Jimin-hyung? We were trainees. I personally don’t think my puberty years had hit me yet, I was really young at the time. Jimin-hyung, as the second youngest, was putting a lot of effort into watching his behavior. Was it during practice? Or was it just because of the way I spoke? I honestly don’t even remember how I used to talk. But it got to a point where even angelic Hobi-hyung would get angry at my way of speaking. My way of speaking on a normal basis wasn’t bad. I’m the type that gets a little riled up, so the guys warned me many times because of that. That’s probably why Jimin-hyung called me out separately, to talk about it. I felt very… So, I knew what I did wrong. I instinctively knew, because of how I was acting. But, because I also have my pride, I felt like there were parts that I was right about. As I was talking to Jimin-hyung, I got angry. I got angry and Jimin-hyung got angry.”

1 year ago

Death Before Water And Life After It

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'The Avonlea Story Club'

Story no. #02 Inspired by prompt: “There was a legend about the well in the garden.” Time Duration: 1 May, 2023 - 31 May, 2023

Word Count: 2.6K Words Warning: horror elements, mention of illness, injuries, deaths etc.

Summary: Spending the summer vacation with an ill grandma in a remote village turns mysterious...

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I attempted to write down a rare experience I got to have while I visited my late grandma’s village. The story I am about to tell is no ordinary tale. It is, in many ways, unbelievable too. So, I would rather let my readers decide upon believing it.

It was the summer of 2017. My grandma was diagnosed with a deadly disease and the doctors feared that she wouldn’t make it till the next year.  I had a long vacation of two months from school. I didn’t have any plans either. At that moment, my only desire was to visit my grandma for the last time on her deathbed, even though it was said that she couldn’t recognize anyone.

It was the very first time I sat foot in that remote village. I had expected a lot from it since it was located far away from the city. But in reality, nothing about the village appealed to me. It was just an ordinary village with ordinary people.

My grandma didn’t come to greet me. When I went to meet her, she didn’t even bother to look at me. I could tell by looking in her eyes that she was in pain. But as always, my sweet grandma didn’t want to burden anyone with it. I spent three days in the house without getting out for once. Within these three days, I had constantly sat beside grandma and talked to her in hope that she might recognize her youngest granddaughter at some point. But that didn’t happen.

Finally, it was the fourth day when I got bored of playing offline games on my phone. Since the network connection wasn’t the best at that place, I decided to take a look at my surrounding areas. Like I had mentioned before, the village had nothing interesting to enjoy. There was no place for sightseeing.

After some minutes of aimlessly walking around I came to a stop near what looked like a ruin of an old garden. I spent a minute or two looking at its broken gate. Then I finally went in. Once again, I was disappointed after finding nothing but a bunch of wild plants growing all around the place.

There was an old well at the far corner. I felt like I should go and check it before I left the place for good. As I walked towards it I felt uncomfortable and strange. I remembered I was all alone in an abandoned garden with no house that could be seen or people that could be heard.

Yet I couldn’t turn back without a close view of the well. It was as abandoned as the garden itself. Vines and roots grew all around it. The huge stones had cracks. When I peeked inside I was shocked to see water that hadn’t dried out yet. I could see my reflection perfectly in the black water inside.

I was about to go away when I heard someone behind me. There was a little boy sitting on the ground, his back leaning against the well. 

How come I didn't notice him in the first place?

He wasn’t wearing much clothes than necessary, I guessed it was because of the hot weather. He was dirty from his head to toe. I went closer to check on him. I found out that he was humming a tune while scratching his ankles.

“Hey!” I called him, “What are you doing here, all alone?”

He quitted humming at my intrusion and glanced at me for a moment. Then he looked down on his ankles and started to scratch them again. I felt an urge to stop him from doing that. His feet looked swollen and red.

Instead I asked, “Where are your parents?”

“They died… long ago,” he answered in a low voice.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that!” I went closer to sit in front of him, “Do you live nearby?” There were no houses in sight that could suggest his home. But I still looked around for any sign of life.

In reply, the boy looked at the well behind him for a moment. Then, he looked at me and asked, “Are you a foreigner?”

“No. I came from the city.” I replied.

“So, you are a foreigner!” he stated. This time with a thrill in his eyes. So, I nodded my head in defeat. Maybe he considered everyone apart from the villagers a foreigner.

“You shouldn’t do that.” I said, indicating his merciless scratching.

“It’s okay!” he smiled at me, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

I studied his face for a while. Even though it was dirty, I could tell that the boy was really beautiful. He had big doe eyes with long eyelashes. His small mouth looked really cute when he smiled. Also, he had the kind of smile that makes others do the same at its sight.

So, I automatically smiled back at him.

“C’mon!” I stood up, “I’m going now. You shouldn’t be here all alone. This place is giving me the creeps.”

“You’re going away already?” the boy asked. The smile on his face was gone. His big eyes were filling up with tears all of a sudden.

“Aww, don’t cry.” I said, giving him my hand, “I'm not leaving you. I’ll take you to your home.”

“I can’t go.” he shook his head.

“Why?” I asked, rather astonished at the bold reply coming from an otherwise soft spoken little boy.

The boy retreated to his previous position. He continued humming the tune and scratched his ankles as well. I tried convincing him to come with me for some time. He started to completely ignore me.

I checked my watch. It was past lunch time. I knew grandfather was probably really angry by now because he doesn’t like delaying meal times. So, I told the boy to go home early and not to come to the place again. I had to leave him alone by the well.

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I had almost forgotten all about it. But another meeting reminded me of my encounter with the little boy by the well.

I laid awake in my bed. The little boy sat at the furthest corner from me. I stared at him for some time, watching him scratch his ankles and humming the familiar tune.

When our eyes met, he let himself smile. "You're awake!" He stated.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I came because you didn't come to see me again." He replied.

"Did you wait for me?" I asked.

The boy nodded.

"Where?"

"Why? By the well in the garden!"

"Didn't I tell you not to go there alone?"

The boy laughed at me, "But I live there, silly."

I didn't understand him. Suddenly I remembered I was sleeping and I hadn't really woken up.

How could I tell that I was dreaming?

"Oh no! You're gonna wake up now, aren't you?" The boy pouted his lips.

"How do you…" I couldn't finish my question. I was already awake. And as I checked, the boy was gone too.

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I couldn't make myself go back to sleep again. It was already dawn. So, I walked around the house. I heard my grandma calling me from within her room as I walked past it. My eyes grew larger.

She remembered me!

"Oh, granny. My lovely, granny." I sprinted inside her room and hugged her.

"When did you come, my love?" She asked, a sweet smile on her lips.

"Almost a week ago."

We talked for some time. Grandma said that she felt a lot better and was so happy to see me. She wondered why mother didn't come. I said she was very busy with her work. I lied because I didn't want to worry her about mother's health. And I knew she wasn't the type to get hurt when someone couldn't manage their time. It is a cruel world, after all.

At some point, grandma was reminiscing about the old times. Long ago when she was young and not yet married. She used to live here, in this village, at that time. She talked as if her memory of her childhood was just a few days back. I felt like she had forgotten me at some stage and mistook me for her best friend of childhood instead as she talked.

At one point, I asked her about the old garden. I asked if it was in use at her times. She looked at me with dreadful eyes, "don't speak of it. Don't you know, it's a forbidden place to walk in?"

"Why is it forbidden, Grandma?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, dear!" She suddenly started to laugh, "I keep forgetting that it's you." and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Grandma," I called, "Please, tell me about the garden. I wanna know."

"It was a long time ago. Even before I was born. There was a legend about the well in the garden." grandma spoke dreamily.

"What legend?"

"At the time when the first gypsies came to settle down in the land, it was a barren one. No river. No rain. Nothing. Nobody knows why the river gypsies chose to live in such a land after years of floating in water. But they struggled against this land. It wasn't habitable for life at all. They decided they'll excavate a well. After months of labor they did it too. But it was only a matter of days  before the water dried out after the well was built."

"Why?" I asked as grandma stopped to take a breath.

Grandma nodded, "it was a cursed place. Everyone in the village had dreams about the well afterwards. An unknown entity would visit them in their dreams and ask them to negotiate with it. The negotiation was a human life in exchange for water.

"People were scared. They forbade everyone to go near the well. They decided to leave the place for good. Some of them even ran away from home in fear. But the nightmares didn't stop. The entity was hungry for human life. Finally, it got what it wanted.

"A little boy of a lonely mother wandered off to the well one day. When he returned home at sunset, both of his legs were found being chained. The mother walked along the long chains only to find that it led inside the very well her people had built. The more they pulled the chains, the more it grew in length, coming out of the dried well. No blacksmith could damage the chain, not even a little scratch could be made on it.

"The villagers started to see a different version of their same old nightmare. The entity now asked them the life of that little boy only. Then, started the gossip.

"The boy was an illegitimate child. His mother was not a very welcomed person in the community. They lived almost a separated life. Maybe the entity chose wisely. Maybe they should abide by its rule. Maybe the boy could be sacrificed for the sake of all.

"But the mother was a mad woman. She wouldn’t give up on her only gem. She would rather her son lived with the chains around his legs forever. The child cried. He cried all day and night. He said that his legs itched. And as he scratched them again and again, the skin had peeled off and left him wounded.

"'Mama, it hurts.' The boy pleaded with his mother to get rid of his shackles. But nothing could be done for his aid. The villagers, at one point, stopped even trying. The herbal remedy his mother gave him was useless.

"'Let me go, then.' The boy pleaded again. His mother denied.

"Finally, the boy decided for himself. When his mother would be asleep, he would go to the well again. He would ask the well what it wanted from him. And so he did. Nobody heard of the little boy anymore. Someone said that the boy had jumped off to the well himself. But nobody knew because there wasn't a body to be found.

"Since that day, there hasn't been any scarcity of water from the well. The well never dried off after. A beautiful garden grew around the land. No-one had any more nightmares. The gypsies finally overcame another adversary that was the most challenging in their community life. They lived happily ever after."

Grandma finished her story and looked at me with a smile.

"But Grandma," I spoke, "this isn't the type of story that ends with 'happily ever after'."

"Why not?" grandma asked, "the villagers, in fact, did live happily."

"What about the boy? And his mother?"

"Now," grandma stated, "they weren't the hero of my story, were they?"

"You've got a point," I said, "But don't you think that the boy could be the most tragic hero if it was said from his perspective?"

"He could be." Grandma thought for a moment, "Why don't you rewrite it in your own words then? Maybe you can do him some justice."

Before I left grandma for breakfast, I asked her one last question, "since everything is resolved, why did you say that it was a forbidden garden in the beginning?"

"Because, darling!" She looked at me as if it was so obvious, "the little boy can still be seen roaming around it."

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I went to the garden that day. It was obvious what grandma told me was just a legend. And a legend can be a lie. Or at least partially. Maybe there was an incident of a boy's drowning. Maybe the nightmares originated from the collective superstitious belief of the gypsies. Or maybe, just maybe, there was an entity involved.

Whatever happened a long time ago, I could never know them for sure. I could only assume the story from my perspective and my beliefs in particular superstitions. But I didn't feel like I could rest till I saw that little boy again and demanded some kind of explanation. It might sound a little crazy to the readers but my mind couldn't make out any reasonable explanation of the boy's peculiar behavior at the moment.

I waited from morning till noon. But he didn't come. I didn’t know that some terrible news awaited me at home other than the fear that grandfather might be mad at me for missing another lunch.

Grandma was no more. My sweet, lovely grandma. The grandma who had talked with me just this dawn. I was told that the servant found her dead when he went to serve her breakfast. I almost didn’t believe it. But I accepted at last as we all do eventually.

I stayed till the funeral was over. Then I immediately packed everything to leave the place. I didn’t think I could stay at the house without feeling my grandma's presence.

But before I left, I had to solve something within myself. I had to see the boy again. I went to the garden for the last time. And as expected he was already waiting for me.

"Why didn't you tell me everything beforehand?" I questioned him, "Didn't you want me to know?"

"You know because I showed you." The same old smile on his face.

"But why me, of all people?"

He walked towards me and placed his cold hands on mine. It was the only time he had really touched me. He said hopefully, "You'll let them know, won't you? They'll finally know."

"Know what?" I asked, a little confused.

"The truth!"

I didn't understand him wholly that day. After years it somehow dawned on me. The little boy wanted the world to know. Not just the legend of the well in the garden. But the little life it took that made it possible.

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Author's note: The story is inspired by a folktale my grandma had long ago told me that originated from her hometown. It was about how a pond was excavated and a child's life was offered for it to contain water. There are many versions of this story. The story is really memorable to me and honestly, I still get chills whenever I think about it. I made some changes to the plot to match the given prompt. I don't know if I could do it any justice. But I'm glad I made an effort to preserve one of the less known folktales of my country.

P.S. The country is Bangladesh…


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1 year ago

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