Dreams and Wonders

Chapter 14

[Sydney Paralejo's POV]

"Bakit nga, anak?" May nakipag-away ba sa 'yo?" she sincerely asked.

"Wala, Ma. Kasi..."

Pinigilan ko ang aking sarili para magpatuloy na magsalita. Should I really tell this to her? Won't she freak out and think that I am starting to get crazy?

"Kasi ano?" tanong niya nang hindi ko matapos ang aking sinabi.

If she does freak out after I tell her the story, she will only probably say that I am seeing things. That it is completely impossible for it to happen, which is true but not in my case since I experienced it myself, and she might suggest that I need to seek medical help. Or worse, it might only lead to her overthinking of my mental health which will further affect her work. I don't want that. Instead, I immediately thought of an alternative to make it sound like a joke.

"Pinatawag agad ako sa guidance office," I acted as if I was feeling down.

"Guidance- ano?" biglang tumaas ang boses ni Mama nang marinig ang salitang iyon. "May nakipag-away na agad sa 'yo? Sino 'yan sila ako bahala diyan-"

"Joke lang, Ma, wala talagang nangyari," pagpuputol ko sa kanya.

Weirdly, I laughed at my joke to make it sound legit and props to myself because the plan worked and I made her believe in me.

"Ay naku, anak ha, 'wag ka magbibiro ng ganyan. Kinabahan ako sa 'yo," huminga siya nang malalim saka nagpatuloy sa paghihiwa ng mga gulay at spices sa mesa.

"Joke lang 'yon, Ma. Sige po, magbibihis muna ako," sabi ko habang tumatawa saglit at dumiresto na sa kwarto.

As much as I want to tell everything that happened to my Mom, I don't want to risk her overthinking about what's going on inside my head because even I, myself, don't know if it was actually true, or if I was just hallucinating the whole time.

Nang nakapagbihis na ako ng kumportableng damit ay lumabas muli ako sa kwarto at pinuntahan si Mama. She was busy cooking our viand and so I prepared our utentsils on the table. Kumuha ako ng tig-dalawang baso, kutsara's tinidor, at plato. Nilagyan ko na rin ng tubig ang pitcher saka inilatag ito sa mesa. My Mom asked me if I could wait in the living room at sumunod naman ako. Natawa ako sa mga gameshows sa telebisyon kasi usually, sa ganitong oras ay puro na gameshows ang pinapalabas. I am not really a fan of watching TV but I do watch some news in it.

Habang nanonood ay bigla akong napasinghap ng napakasarap na amoy. Napatayo ako nang tinawag ako ni Mama galing sa kusina. I entered the kitchen and the food on the table looked so good. Along with it ay isang pitcher ng mango juice. Mom really knows all of my favorites. Napanganga na lamang ako sa tuwa and as I looked at her, she was smiling at my reaction.

"Kain na tayo, anak. Bumili ako ng juice doon sa kanto at isang ice kanina kasi mapapasarap ang kain natin ngayon at naisip ko na mas sumarap pa kapag may juice, diba?" masayang sabi niya habang nilalagyan ng juice ang aking baso.

"Oo, Ma. Sobra. Pero itong luto mo, Ma, ha. Ang ganda ng pagkasandok tapos nilagay pa talaga ang mga kalabasa sa gitna. Sign na ba to na magkakarinderia tayo?" tugon ko.

Seriously, though. Mom's cooking skill is not a joke and I can attest to that. If she wants to have her own karinderia, I will support her all the way.

"Bakit naman hindi, anak. Diba? Kung papalarin tayo, paghihirapan ko talaga 'yan," pangako naman niya.

"Kakayanin natin 'yan, Ma. Hindi man ngayon pero balang araw," I promised her.

"Ikaw talaga, anak. Sige na, kumain na tayo," sabi niya habang tumatawa.

Habang kumakain, we talkedabout how my day went. I ended up telling her about Chloe and how she acted in front of me. My Mom showed pity for me but I assured her that what Chloe did will be the last of her stunts toward me. I will never let myself be under her gaze ever again and neither to everyone inside that classroom. Ipapakita ko sa kanila na hindi ako madaling apihin, that I am more than that. I did not tell her about what happened in the library, though, because I still need to observe, etc.

We also talked about how her day went. Since Mom doesn't have a stable job and a stable income, patuloy siyang pumapasok sa mga iba't ibang raket na nakukuha niya. Most of the time ay ang sinasabi niya sa akin ay sa paglalabada. Kaninang umaga, sabi niya ay pumunta siya doon sa kapitbahay namin kung saan siya palagi naglalabada. Pagkahapon naman ay nasa bahay lang siya at nanonood ng TV.

We very much enjoyed our meal together and I couldn't ask for more. Some people, especially our neighbors, tell us that we will not live long enough without my father kasi walang maghahanapbuhay. Buong tapang ko siyang sinagot na ang Mama ko ay ang nagsisilbing Papa ko na rin. I don't want to see my father again unless it's in a 'life or death situation' and my Mother is on the line because I'd just end up beating his face. I want to thank my Mom for staying strong all these years and her strength gave me the strength as well to continue striving in life.

Nang makatapos kaming kumain ni Mama ay busog akong nagpahinga muna sa aking upuan. Mango juice is the best. I could feel myself wanting to sleep already, but of course, I am in charge of washing the dishes. After a couple of minutes, sinabihan ko si Mama na pwede muna siyang manood ng TV habang naghuhugas ako ng plato. After washing the dishes, pinuntahan ko na siya sa sala at sabay kaming nanood ng telebisyon. Dumating ang alas diyes sa gabi and it was time for us to turn the television off and go to sleep.

I said good night to my Mom and went to my room afterward. Sinara ko ang pinto at nang humarap ako sa aking kwarto ay tulala kong tinignan ang aking kama. The book said something about dreams and if my memory serves me right, it said something about dreams turning into reality. If what was written in the book is true, does that mean whatever my dream will be tonight will come true as well? No one knows. And there's only one way to find out.

I don't want to sleep. But my curiosity is killing me to the bones so I climbed up on my bed and laid down comfortably. Noong una ay ilang minuto akong nakatingin sa kisame, hesitating whether I should close my eyes or not because I don't know if my dreams will be a tragedy or the opposite of that. And if it is bound to come true, if ever my dreams tonight will turn into a reality, I just hope I will be dreaming of something good.

Nang makaramdam na ako ng antok ay napapikit na ako ng aking isang mata ngunit pinilit ko itong buksan. I was fighting for my life as my body began to feel sleepy but I ended up closing both my eyes after a couple of seconds and eventually made my way to dream land.