Through The Stars

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“Genesis? Genesis? Genesis?”

I cannot see anything, but I am pretty much sure that the voices I am hearing were voices of my friends.

I started opening my eyes little by little, until I was finally to see some bit of light. I was right, it was my friends, and they are sitting right behind me. They looked pretty much worried, maybe it’s because I was gone for a day.

I tried to get up as I was trying to hug all of them, but I felt a sudden pain in my body and in my head. My legs were also numb, I can barely move them, but I cannot feel them at all.

I am really wondering how my body become the way it is right now, because I can remember that I can pretty move yesterday.

"How did I get here?" I asked them.

"What are talking about? They answered me.

"Do you manage to find the island where I was stuck yesterday?" I added.

"But you never leave this place, Genesis. You were here all the time. What island are you talking about?" Lee Jun said.

"But, I was in there! I got cut on my way up there! Look at my arm! It was badly cut from a rough edge inside a probable cave I think." I said to them.

“That cut if yours was from the field! You were running and all of a sudden you lost your balance and you fall. Your head hit the ground so bad, and your arm was cut from a sharp edge from the field.” Lee Jun said.

“But that was impossible! I was on another island with an old woman! We ate fresh fish from the sea! The sand was real and I can really feel it! I have walked through it, so that’s really impossible!” I said firmly.

“They are telling you the truth, Genesis.” Jinhao said.

“You were asleep for almost two days! You’ve never leave your bed and we are all waiting here for you to wake up.” Lee Jun added.

“But how am I able to go in that place? How am I able to feel the sand and eat the fish when I do not leave my bed?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter anymore; the most important thing right now is your safety! We are very happy that you are back!” Jinhao said.

They hugged me like they never saw me for several years, like a family from abroad. My body hurts I admit, but I disregarded the pain because it feels so happy that we are together again.

I could tell that they missed me so much on how they look at me. They were all happy that I’m back I could tell you.

“So, you guys wanted something to eat? You Genesis, you must be pretty hungry too! That is why you are dreaming of fish while you were asleep.” Lee Jun said while laughing.

Everyone laughs as Lee Jun said those words.

“Come here you jerk! You’re lucky I can’t chase you right now!” I replied while laughing too.

“Hey Lee Jun! why don’t you get us some food to eat!” Jinhao said.

“Sure! I’ll be back in a minute!” he replied.

The others joined Lee Jun as he gets some snacks. Only Jinhao and I were left inside the quarters.

“Hey Jinhao! Those were jokes, right?

“Hmmm what?”

“I am not here all these time, am I?”

“Nah, were not fooling around when we said that you were lying in your bed out cold for almost two days! You really look pale during those times! That is why we are so worried about you!”

“But how is it possible? You know I never lie to all of you. I know when it was real or not and I can tell you, it was real!”

“I even met an old woman in that mysterious island! She was the one who catch the fresh fishes from the sea using her fishing rod! I thought I was the only person in that island, till I saw her catching fishes in the shore.” I said firmly.

“Whoa, that looks sick! And how does this old woman look like, huh?” He asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t have the chance to see her face because it was covered with cloth. It must be some kind of protection from the rays of the sun. Maybe she doesn’t want the sun to burn her skin.” I answered.

“Maybe it’s just some kind of dream or hallucination? Maybe it is because on the strong impact of your fall!” He concluded.

“Anyway, like what I have mentioned earlier, it doesn’t matter to me whether she and that island are true or not, all that matters for everyone is you are already safe right now.” He added.

“And uhmm, I just want to say thank you for uhh, you know, saving my ass back there. But you know, upon seeing you unconscious for almost two days, I felt guilty after all. Like, I should be the one in your situation right now; you should be happy right now! You should be enjoying!” Jinhao said while trying to hold back his tears.

I smile and said, “There’s no need to sorry! It’s alright; you are like a brother to me! I would do it for you even for a hundred times!”

Then, he didn’t prevent himself to be emotional. He jumped out of my bed just to hug me again. He’s like a silly but loving kid stuck in a body of a grown man.

“Hey, looks like we’re all getting emotional here, ey?” Lee Jun said while laughing.

“Here’s the food, fellas! We should begin eating now before us all get emotional here, shall we? He added.

Our other friends started to come back one by one with their own food at hand. Before eating, we decided to offer a prayer for my safe return.

All the food they bring was totally delicious. It feels like I haven’t eat them for a long time, even though they are just ordinary meals of cadets every day.

I did not hold myself back from eating a lot. I ate those foods like there are no tomorrow for me to eat. I didn’t mind everything; I just focused on finishing my meal.

“Hey Gen, take it easy haha! There is still plenty of food for you to eat! Calm down, you tough dude!” Jinhao said while laughing.

We all laugh upon hearing those words from Jinhao.

“Hey, don’t tell her that! These foods are for her!”

“Don’t hold yourself back, Gen. You can eat as much as you want. We’ll get you more if it isn’t still enough.” Lee Jun said.

“I’m sorry; I just can’t hold myself back from eating these foods. I don’t know if they changed the ingredients of these foods or am I just hungry?” I said while laughing.

We exchanged toast for my safe return and we didn’t do anything but to enjoy our reunion.

”So, why don’t you tell us something about the so called ‘island experience’, Genesis?” Lee Jun asked.

“Yeah! We are pretty much excited to hear that story of yours, Gen! We are pretty sure it’s a good one!” everyone said.

“You sure you guys want to hear my story?” I asked them hesitantly.

“Yes!” everyone shouts.

“Okay, but first, let me make myself clear. I don’t want any interruptions okay?”

“Sure, Gen!” everyone said.

“This is how it goes; I woke up in a narrow dark place, probably a cave. I suddenly saw a light source from a distance, so I decided to get there for me to be able to see my surroundings.”

“On my way to the light source, I suddenly cut myself from a sharp edged rock. After few minutes of crawling in that narrow path, I was finally able to get out. I felt some unique sensation on my foot, a sensation that I haven’t feel for a long time. When I looked at it, I was right, the sensation that I’m feeling is caused by sand. Yeah, you’ve heard me right; I was able to walk through real sand.”

“Because of too much excitement, I didn’t manage to hold myself back from exploring the place. I was able to find tall coconut trees, where I took my break. I saw a clean sea too! Its water was crystal clear, but I didn’t have the chance to enjoy it; because my goal during that time was to find a way back here to Galaxias for all of you guys.”

“I started searching the place back and forth, just to make sure that I didn’t miss any spot. I have searched the North, East, West, and South direction of the island, but I found no way out. I think I was able to do 17 or 18 turns for each direction, but I ended up nothing.”

“As my body gets tired and as the sun prepares to set, I decided to take my rest and go back to the trees where I took my break earlier to build my camp. As I approach near the trees again, I saw another person catching fish on the shore with a fishing rod.”

“I didn’t waste any time, I ran towards that stranger and approached her. She was literally kind and sweet, she reminds me of someone.”

“I decided to invite her to join me in my camp for me to be able to know her. She accepts my offer without any hesitation. We walked towards my camp with her carrying her rod and I carrying the basket filled with fresh fishes from the sea.”

“I started to set up a fire for us to be able to cook the fishes. She lets me finish all the fishes she have caught earlier. She said I need it to regain my strength gradually.”

“After eating, I asked her if she knows a way on how to get out of that island. She didn’t give me a concrete answer after all, instead she told me to close my eyes already and start taking my nap. I could tell that she has a lot of wisdom too, I can pretty much tell on how she converses with me. Also, her statements are somehow deep, and some of them are not understandable if you would just take it literally.”

“I started taking my nap, few minutes passed, I opened my eyes and I couldn’t find her beside me anymore. I thought that she’s just nearby getting some stuffs, so I closed my eyes again. When I woke up again, I am already here together with all of you guys.”

“That’s it people, I know it sounds crazy but that was the truth.” I said firmly.

Suddenly, a voice behind me speaks from out of nowhere.

“Well, that sounds pretty tough and interesting.”

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