Banished Divinity: Learning to be Human

While Human Sera was circling around Jeahyn like a hungry vulture, her usual ritual.

Jaehyun rubbed his arms. "I should go. It's late."

"Will you be okay?" I asked.

He looked at me. At Minjae. At the house behind us, with its warm lights.

"Yeah," he said. "I think so."

"Jack was lucky," I said.

Jaehyun blinked. "What?"

"To have you. To be loved that much. That's... that's not nothing. That's everything."

Jaehyun stared at me for a long moment. Then his face crumpled—not into sadness, but into something softer. Something like gratitude.

"Thank you, Sera," he said. "For listening."

"That's what friends do."

He nodded. He turned. He walked away slowly so Minjae could catch up later.

Minjae watched him go. "He'll be okay," he said. "He's stronger than he looks. Most people are."

Minjae turned to me. "Today was fun."

"Parts of it." I sigh.

"The pizza part?" Minjae chuckled. He seemed to chuckle more today.

"The pizza part was acceptable." I nodded in agreement.

"The claw machine part?" Minjae raised an eyebrow.

"I have blocked that from my memory." I sighed in defeat. "A warrior must know when to retreat and forget a failure that is not worthy of remembrance."

“The tet-ti-bo-ki ?” Minjue chuckled.

“I refuse to have that set in my mind. I have released that memory and experience into the abyss of lost souls.” I spoke firmly while I held the purple dinosaur tighter as if I was protecting it from the death trap tet-ti-bo-ki.

He grinned. "Same time tomorrow?"

"I am busy tomorrow. I have to stare into the void and contemplate my existence while studying for my exams."

"That sounds boring." Minjae laughed.

"Existence is boring. That's why I have to contemplate it."

He laughed. "Goodnight, Sera."

"Goodnight, Minjae."

He walked away quickly to catch up with Jaehyun, his hands in his pockets, his shoulders relaxed.

Human Sera floated beside me, watching him go.

"He's not so bad," she said.

"You said he was gross."

"I said he was gross for ME. For you... he might be okay." Human Sera rolled her eyes.

I looked at her. At the ghost who had been my companion, my tormentor, my unexpected friend.

"This was the best human experience I have ever had," I whispered.

"Really?" Human Sera beamed.

"Really." I looked up at the stars. "A good human experience day."

Human Sera smiled.

I walked inside.

---

Mum was waiting in the hallway. Dad was pretending to read the newspaper. Mina was sketching at the coffee table.

"How was it?" Mum asked.

"Acceptable," I said. "It was acceptable."

Dad lowered his newspaper. His eyes were red. "Did he try anything?"

"No, Dad."

"Did he hold your hand?"

"No."

"Did he—"

"Daniel," Mum said, "let the girl breathe."

"I AM BREATHING. I AM BREATHING VERY LOUDLY SO EVERYONE KNOWS I AM BREATHING." Dad was ranting loudly.

Mum sighed. She picked up her bright pink comfortable slipper.

Dad went quiet.

---

Moo Moo was on my pillow, waiting for me. His little green body curled into a ball, his antennae twitching in his sleep.

I climbed into bed after a good shower. I pulled him close.

"Goodnight, current me," Human Sera said from the window.

"Goodnight, ghost me." I said back.

"Sweet dreams."

"I don't dream. I'm a celestial being."

"You dreamed about chocolate last night. I heard you moan."

"That was a nightmare.. Dreaming about it is torture."

"Whatever you say." Human Sera rolled her eyes and turn back to look at the moon.

I closed my eyes.

The purple dinosaur sat at the edge of my bed, its plastic eyes reflecting the faint moonlight through the window. It was just a stuffed toy—cheap, mass-produced, won through a combination of Minjae's skill and my complete inability to operate a claw machine. But it reminded me of the fun I had earlier. The frustration. The laughter. The way Minjae had grinned when he handed it to me, like he had just won something more important than a stuffed animal.

The song still played in my head. That old melody from the record shop. It hummed softly in the back of my mind, a ghost of a memory I couldn't quite shake.

And somewhere, in the distance, I heard Minjae's laugh. Jaehyun's voice. The echo of a day that had been strange and sad but yet it was wonderful.

This is what it means to be human, I thought.

Not the battles. Not the powers. Not the cosmic significance.

Just... this.

Pizza. Ramen. Claw machines. Friends who cry. Friends who defend. A purple dinosaur won by a boy who laughed at my failure. A song that had outlived the girl who played it.

This is acceptable.

I smiled.

And I slept.