Dreams and Wonders

Chapter 25

[Cairo Gascon's POV]

I opened my eyes and all I could see were the dining table and Dad eating in front of me. There were hotdogs, eggs, bacon, and rice. My Dad was wearing a polo shirt and was busy looking at his phone while sipping on a cup of coffee. Based on the food on the table and the color of the sunrays passing through our kitchen windows, I can say that we're currently having breakfast. Wait, what? Breakfast? As far as I remember, I was fast asleep on my bed so how did I suddenly get up and sit here at the dining table?

I tried to move my eyes around to see what my mother is doing in the kitchen but for some reason, I cannot navigate my eyes to look in different directions. Nakatingin lamang ito kay Dad na nasa harapan ko. He was talking about something because I could clearly see that his mouth is opening at times and he would look back at the kitchen where my Mom was doing something. Is this a prank? Because I am sure that they are talking but I literally can't hear them. All I hear is pure silence.

I tried to extend my arms ngunit hindi rin ito gumagalaw at nakalapat lang sa aking mga paa.

"What is happening? Am I sleepwalking or something?" I asked myself.

Nakikita ko si Dad na may sinasabi sa akin habang may pinapakita sa kanyang cellphone na balita pero ni isa ay wala akong maintindihan dahil nga wala akong marinig. Pagkatapos niyang magsalita ay tumango ako na para bang may sariling buhay ang katawan ko mismo. Hindi ko ito kontrolado at lalo wala akong magawa kundi manood lamang.

Yumuko na ako at nakatingin sa aking pagkain. Simultaneously, both of my hands moved and grabbed the utensils that were placed on top of my plate. I started eating hotdogs, eggs, and everything on my plate up until I finished all of it. I am still confused as to how I cannot move my own body, how it moved on its own, and how I ended up being here eating breakfast when I should be asleep.

Pagkatapos kong kumain ay tumayo na ako saka binitbit ang pagkain patungo sa kusina. Habang papunta doon ay nakikita ko si Mom na naghuhugas ng pinggan at nakatalikod sa akin. I placed my plate on the sink and she smiled at me. Nakatingin ako sa kanya habang nagsasalita siya ngunit wala akong marinig. Napapansin ko rin na parang nagsasalita ako because Mom stops talking every once in a while saka siya patuloy na naman sa pagsasalita sa akin so I assumed that I am talking as well. I am even more confused now that I realized that I can't hear what I am talking about. Mom and I were talking but I didn't hear a single word.

"What's up with this? Is this some kind of sorcery or something?" I asked myself internally.

The fact that I have no control over my body makes me literally useless here. Nasa sarili kong katawan ako ngunit ang katawan ko naman ay may sariling buhay.

After talking to Mom, she gave me a hug saka na ako nagsipilyo. After brushing my teeth, binigay na ni Mom ang allowance ko for the day and I went back to the dining area where Dad was nowhere to be seen. He's probably done eating as well and is preparing himself for work. I went upstairs to grab my backpack saka bumaba ulit to go to the garage.

Habang papunta doon ay nakita ko si Dad na nakasakay na sa loob ng sasakyan. I made my way into the shotgun seat and buckled my seatbelts. Ibinaling ko ang aking mukha kay Dad as he was talking about something. What's frustrating for me is that what if what their telling me is something important? Bakit ba kasi wala akong naririnig? We talked about stuff but I couldn't hear a single thing. Ibinalik ko ang aking mukha sa harapan as Dad maneuvered the car outside of the house. Nang makalabas na kami ay mabilis na pinaandar ni Dad ang sasakyan and off we went to the road.

On the way to school, Dad was still murmuring about something even though I did not understand a single thing. Sometimes, I could see him laughing and my body would giggle as well while here I am, not understanding anything. When we reached the park of the school, I unbuckled my seatbelt and went out of the car. I looked at him one more time and I waved goodbye as he drove off away from the school.

I grabbed my phone from my bag at nang makita kung ano na ang oras doon, biglang tumakbo ang aking katawan nang napakabilis.

"Whoa! Wait, why am I running so fast-" sabi ko sa sarili ko because I have no control of my body.

Naputol ang aking pag-iisip nang muntikan na akong makabangga ng isang estudyante na may bitbit na malaking kahon.

Nang nakita ko ang mukha ng lalaking iyon ay masama siyang nakatingin sa akin. May mga salita pa siyang pinakawalan ngunit yumuko lamang ako nang ilang beses saka patuloy na tumakbo. I assume that he was probably mad and I apologized.

I literally feel like I am competing with superhero Flash for who's the fastest because I could feel my feet barely touching the ground. Na para bang lumilipad ako sa bilis ng aking pagtakbo patungo sa room. Wait, maybe I am already late? I realized after all this time.

I feel like the stomps of my feet can be heard from all over the school campus but then again I don't know because I can't hear anything, not even my own breathing.

Nang makarating na ako sa aming room ay napasandal ang aking kamay sa door frame ng aming pintuan. I could see that my body was rising up and down habang nakayuko so I assumed that I was very exhausted from all that running.

After a couple of seconds, I slowly raised my head to face my classmates and my eyes focused on a girl looking intensely at me. Before I could even figure out who she was, biglang dumilim ang lahat ng paligid ko hanggang wala na akong makita.

I suddenly opened up my eyes as I sat straight up from the bed. Tumingin ako sa paligid ko nang nakita ko na nasa kwarto ko pala ako and that I can finally move my body on my own. I could feel my chest rising up and down as I jumped off of my bed. Nakatayo lamang ako doon habang nakasapo ang aking isang kamay sa aking noo.

"It was all just a dream," sabi ko habang na-realize na panaginip lang pala lahat iyon.

What a weird dream. And a cliffhanger at that. I couldn't even see who that person looking at me was before everything went black.

To clear my head off, I grabbed my body towel and immediately went to the bathroom. I took a hot shower to clear my mind and freshen up my body dahil malamig masyado sa aking kwarto. After taking a bath, I went out of the bathroom and wore my school uniform. I fixed my hair and lastly sprayed perfume on my body just enough na hindi masakit sa ilong sa mga makakaamoy nito.

I went downstairs as the smell of bacon and eggs penetrated through my nose. I could feel my stomach rumbling kaya naman dumiretso na ako sa aming dining area habang nakasalubong ko rin si Dad na papunta na rin doon.

"Good morning, Dad," bati ko sa kanya.

"Good morning, Cai," bati niya naman sa akin habang inaayos ang kanyang sinturon.

We both made our way to the dining table at tinawag na kami ni Mom para kumain na ng agahan.

"Good morning, Mom," sabi ko sa kanya habang siya naman ay nasa kusina pa.

"Good morning, anak," sabi niya pabalik galing sa kusina.

Dad and I sat down habang ako naman ay takam na tamak sa pagkain na nasa harapan.

As I was about to start eating, inilabas ni Dad ang kanyang phone at may binabasa rito. I looked at him at muntikan nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang napagtantuhang ganito ang nakita ko sa aking panaginip. Dad in front of me, the food on our table, and Mom doing something in the kitchen. I was about to get up and freak out when my Dad suddenly started speaking.

"Cai, if you have any problems regarding school stuff, you should always tell us. Huwag ka mag-iisip na hindi kami makikinig sa 'yo," sabi niya habang nakatingin pa rin sa kanyang phone.

Ako naman ay nalito sa sinabi niya.

"Okay, Dad. Pero bakit po kayo napasabi ng gano'n?" tanong ko naman sa kanya. Dad and I usually don't talk about serious topics like this first thing in the morning.

"Because of this," tugon niya pabalik habang pinapakita ang headline na nasa kanyang phone.

Tinignan ko naman kung anong nakalagay na headline sa phone niya at nanlaki na lamang ako mga mata ko.

15 Teenagers were Admitted to the Santa Luca Hospital Due to Stress and Academic Pressure

Tinignan niya ang reaksyon ko saka nagsalita, "I haven't read the full article yet. But I don't want you to experience what they have gone through," he said to me sincerely.

"Yes, Dad. Kung mahihirapan man ako sa school ay sasabihin ko kaagad sa inyo ni Mom," I assured him.

I am very open to my Mom and Dad when it comes to my academics. I never lie to them about my grades since they know that I am doing my best to maintain good marks in school activities. What they want is that I get to enjoy my youth and at the same time not neglect my studies. This is one of the reasons why I love them so much as parents and I couldn't ask for more because they are more than enough for me.

Napaisip ako sa headline na nabasa ko kanina. Those students must've been at their lowest points because it led them to the hospital. I can't imagine what they have been through but I really hope that they come out of the hospital safe and sound.

"Good. We don't want you to handle the pressure alone. Nandito kami ng Mom mo," paalala niya sa akin.

"I understand, Dad," sabi ko naman pabalik sa kanya.

Nang matapos naming pinag-usapan iyon ay nabalik na naman ang isipan ko sa panaginip ko kanina. Is this just a coincidence? What is happening to me?

"No. This is just a coincidence," I said to myself.

Inalis ko na muna iyon lahat sa aking isipan and ate my breakfast instead. I tried to remain calm habang sinusubo ko ang kanin sa aking harapan.

After eating my breakfast, tumayo na ako at dumiretso na sa kusina kung saan naghuhugas si Mom ng pinggan. Napahinto ako sa aking paglalakad nang napansin na nangyari rin ito sa aking panaginip. I tried to brush the thought off my mind at pumasok na sa kusina. Inilagay ko ang aking plato sa sink as habang nakatingin naman si Mom sa akin. Ngumiti muna siya bago nagsalita.

"I heard what you and your Dad talked about a while ago." Ngayon ay seryoso na ang kanyang mukha. "Lagi mong tandaan 'yong sinabi niya, Cai, ha?"

"Opo, Mom," tanging sabi ko habang tumatango.

Ngumiti naman siya ulit at ako naman ay nagsipilyo na rin. After that, I grabbed my bag upstairs and went to the garage since Dad will be sending me to school. Nang nakasakay na ako sa shotgun seat ay napagtantuhan kong totoo ngang naging totoo ang aking panaginip kagabi. Why, though? I believe that this is not just a coincidence because everything that happened in my dream also happened earlier as I was preparing to go to school. Ang kaibahan lang ay naririnig ko ang mga pinagsasabi ko pati na rin ang mga sinasabi nila Mom and Dad sa akin.

Though, I am still not fully sure if this is a coincidence, there's only one thing left to prove it. Based on my dream ealier, tatakbo ako ng napakalakas mamaya patungo sa room and I don't even know bakit basta-basta na lang tumakbo ako sa aking panaginip. Nagsimulang ang mga kakaibang pangyayaring mga ito kahapon sa library. Bigla kong naalala ang libro na aking binasa bago nangyari ang lahat sa library. Sa pagkaalala ko, the book said something about dreams. Tsaka kakaiba rin 'yong napanaginipan ko kanina.

May kinalaman ba ang librong iyon sa panaginip ko kanina?

I snapped out of my thoughts when Dad asked me if I was okay. I replied that I was fine at tuluyan na kaming umandar patungo sa aking paaralan. Habang patungo doon, minsan ay magbibiro si Dad kung may crush na ba raw ako sa school and I said that I don't have a crush sa room namin. Although, hindi ko sinabi sa kanila na kaklase ko pa rin si Chloe because they knew what happened between me and Chloe lalo na si Mama. When I was at my lowest after we broke up, Mom was there to comfort and cheer me up. Basically, all of my problems ay sinasabi ko sa kanila dahil hindi ko kaya 'yong sarilihin ang mga problema ko.

Nang makarating na kami sa eskwelahan ay lumabas na ako sa aming sasakyan. I waved my Dad goodbye habang pinaandar niya ang sasakyan patungo sa school.

Out of instinct, kinuha ko naman ang aking phone sa bag at nang makita ang oras doon ay napagtantuhan kong 20 minutes late na pala ako. Equivalent noon ay absent kaya naman agad akong napatakbo patungo sa hallway ng school. Halos hindi ko na matapakan ang sahig dahil sa bilis ko and then only I realized that my dream actually did came true. Kaya pala ako tumakbo nang napakabilis dahil late na ako sa klase ko. While running, bigla kong naalala na muntikan na akong may makabangga kaya naman noong paliko ako ay dinahanan ko ang aking takbo.

Tama nga ang aking hinala dahil may estudyanteng may bitbit na malaking kahon ang dumaan sa aking harapan. Unlike in my dream, hindi siya nagalit sa akin dahil nakapaghinto naman ako sa tamang oras kaya dumaan na lamang siya. Nang malapasan niya ako ay tumakbo na naman ako. I ran as fast as I can towards our classroom at nang nakarating ako sa pintuan ay nakaramdam ako na para bang hindi na ako makahinga. I could feel like my legs were about to give up kay napsandal ako sa pintuan with my head down para makahinga ako nang maigi.

I was still thinking about how my dream earlier came true.

Itinaas ko na ang aking ulo nang itinawag ng guro ang aking pangalan nang ilang beses.

As I raised my head and faced my classmates, a pair of eyes caught my attention. Ito 'yong nakita ko sa aking panaginip kanina and I gasped when I realized who it was. She had the same reaction as me as well.

"Sydney?" sabi ko sa aking isipan.