[M] cassettes (i), aortas (ii (1/1)

“That which is dreamed can never be lost, can never be undreamed.” ― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake Luyoon. Susica. Chentoria.cassettes (i), aortas (ii), & buckets (iii) cassettes (i) "Back in the day, we had these. They're a whole lot more beautiful than those gizmos— what do you call them again?""CDs, Mom.""Hm. Well, nothing beats a cassette. Especially this one."Yoona looks down at the cassette sitting in her hand and wonders if the poor little rectangle is trembling because it is anxious to be played or because it senses that it's once again in the unstable terrain of shaky fingers; maybe both, she decides.Before she knows it, she can't remember how to use the cassette player, and realises just how suffocated her audio shelf must feel, stocking a population with a ratio of sixteen CDs for every cassette. Her mother would probably have a heart attack.But you can't have two heart attacks if you don't survive the first, her mind whispers.Yoona almost falls to her knees. She feels someone picking her up and realises that she actually did fall to her knees. "Shh," the person says, and their voice sounds familiar but right now Yoona can't place a face to it. She just knows—vaguely remembers, really—that the voice and face are dear to her."Shh," the voice says again, and Yoona thinks, Luhan.It's only when she looks up at him that she realises she's crying. "I-I have three cassettes," Yoona sniffs, collapsing into his chest the way a tide folds onto the shore. "And I can't even remember which one was her favourite.""We could listen to them," Luhan suggests softly. "Maybe if you hear them one by one, you'll remember which one was your mother's favourite."His words only make her sob harder. "But I don't remember anything except her voice. I can't remember how to use the player," she says miserably."Well, I guess you're in luck," Luhan replies, shifting into a more comfortable position, then, in one fluid movement, lifts the both of them to their feet. "Because I do." Ten minutes later, Yoona manages to smile as she watches Luhan write the label of the second cassette tape on a strip of sticky-backed white paper. The first rectangle is sitting near his elbow, labelled, For when you're sad. Now, the second is done; it reads, For when you're happy."Done," he says, gathering the tapes. He's about to push them towards her, but then he sees that she's already looking at them; her hands are tucked into her pockets. Understanding, Luhan stands and pulls her back into his arms as if they hadn't parted the first time, a sixth of an hour ago.They begin to circle slowly to the rhythm of the song in the background—the third tape is playing; her mother's cassette. ***aortas (ii) Sometimes Junmyeon wonders where in the human heart would be the best place to store the memory of someone's voice, or the way your loved one's smile stretches just enough to dimple their cheek. Maybe the aorta, he thinks. Lots of space there."Maybe the reason why it's the largest artery in the body is because it needs to make room for storing the pieces of your other half that you keep for yourself," he wonders aloud at breakfast one morning, so engrossed in his train of thought that his freshly brewed mug of coffee is teetering at a dangerous angle from his daydream-loosened hand."Storing the pieces of your other half..." Sooyeon raises an eyebrow; she wears the intellectual pants and belt in the relationship, and he's always been the apron-wearer. "Really? Like what?""Like..." Junmyeon's mouth slackens as his train of thought chugs faster, thinking up a reply; unfortunately, so does his hand. He doesn't even notice the mug slip