Lost in the Dream

Part 1: Secrets of the Past

Gideon

"If I could pick the best brother, just know I'll always pick you."

°°°

"You know what happens to kids when they don't follow their older brothers?" I asked Koa who's pretending to not hear me when he's just sitting beside me.

"I don't believe in what you say, Giddy." he mumbled.

"Those kids who don't follow their brothers were visited by the boogeyman at night. Do you want to know what happens to them?"

Koa kept a straight face but he started squeezing himself to me, making me smirk. Koa is only five years old. I'm two years older than him but I look tall for my age. Koa, on the other hand, still looks like he just turned three last month.

Maybe because he doesn't want to take a nap whenever Mom told us to. He doesn't listen to anyone. You need to scare him for him to listen to you.

Mom is working at our aunt's Cafe so it's always just me and Koa. I don't know where's our Dad since it was years ago when I last saw him.

Mom always cries whenever we mention Dad and it breaks my heart to see her like that. Since then, I made a promise to not ask for Dad anymore so Mommy won't cry.

Now, Koa is throwing a fuss, telling me he saw Dad. I don't believe him. He's still a baby when Dad left. I doubt if he knows what our Dad looks like since Mom kept all his pictures.

"You're a liar, Giddy." Koa whispered.

He's pouting when I glanced at him.

"What makes you think I'm lying?" I probed.

"Because you always do that when we're playing. Yesterday you told me to draw you with your eyes close but you just slept on me."

His tantrums made me laugh. I scratched my head and wrapped my arm around his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, okay? You drew me so long I fell asleep. I won't lie to you from now on, alright?"

Koa is already asleep when Mom arrived. I was sitting on the porch waiting for her.

She kissed my forehead and pulled me for a hug like she always does whenever she comes home after work.

"Why are you still awake? Where's Koa?" she asked as she put the groceries on the kitchen island.

Our house is not that big compared to the one we used to live in three years ago. I'm not complaining because I like this better. Koa and I can play everywhere and no one will get mad.

We used to live in a very big house before Koa was born. It's so big I'm afraid to roam around because I might get lost. Plus, Dad doesn't want it when I play around the house.

"Koa is insisting he saw Daddy." I blurted out.

The tray of eggs slipped from Mom's hand causing the eggs to fall and break on the floor. Mom's face turned pale like she saw a ghost which gives me goosebumps.

She grabbed me by the arms, her nails digging deep in my skin. The soft smiles she always wears disappear. The woman in front of me right now is nothing like my Mom.

"M-mommy...it hurts." my eyes started to water.

It must've snapped her back to reality because she pulled me for a hug.

"I'm sorry, Giddy. Mommy didn't mean to hurt you. We're not safe here anymore. We need to leave. We're leaving tomorrow."

My brows creased in confusion.

"Where are we going? Why aren't we safe?"

"You might not understand it right now because you're still young. You have to trust me, Giddy, alright? You're a big boy now so you must protect your younger brother, mmkay?"

"You said I'm still young and then you'll call me a big boy. You're quite confusing, Mom." I pouted but Mom just chuckled.

Hearing her laugh makes me smile. All I want to do in this world is to make her happy.

...

Just like what Mom said, our clothes are already packed when I woke up. She instructed us to move faster, leaving me no option but to drag Koa to the bathroom.

"Where are we going?" Koa asked me when we got into the car.

Mom is still on the phone so we patiently wait for her.

"I don't know but Mom said we'll like it there."

Mom is anxious when she gets to the driver's seat. She looked at us through the rear-view mirror and forced a smile.

I smiled back at her to let her know that I trust her.

The car ride is long. I've dozed off many times and whenever I wake up, we're still on the road.

"Are we there yet, Mom?" I asked when I woke up.

Mom glanced at me and smiled faintly. "Just a little bit more."

I don't know where we are but we stopped in front of an old building. Mom is in a hurry when she helped us out of the car.

"Listen to me, Giddy and Koa." she squat so she can meet our eyes. "No matter what happens, you have to hide, yes? No matter what happens don't get caught. Bad people are coming after us. You need to protect each other. I'll be the one to come and find you but until then you need to hide. You're good at that, yes?"

Fear started creeping out of my body.

Something is wrong.

I don't know what it is but something is wrong.

"Mom..." I reached for her hand but she shakes her head.

"You have ten seconds to hide. I love you both, okay?"

Before I can complain, Mom pushed us, leaving me no option but to hold Koa's hand and run.

"I'm afraid, Giddy." Koa said as we continue to run.

"Everything's going to be alright." I smiled at him.

Then a loud sound of a g*n filled the air. I closed my eyes and tighten my hold on Koa's hand.

Or maybe not.