I closed my eyes... Finally, a chance to catch up with my sleep... And then it starts to feel strange... a thin mist covers everything that I could see.. I don't recall dreamland to look like this... Then again, dreamland does change its appearance from time to time... The mist clears... and I find myself in a sepia colored environmnet of my old grade school building...
The Pilot
I saw a kid run past me... He was wearing a pair of khaki shorts, a white polo shirt and leather shoes... He was... laughing... full of dreams... and he was holding a toy airplane in his hand... He turned around and waved at me...
"Who are you, mister?" he asked. I couldn't help but smile... Such innocent and naive nature... too gentle... and too trusting..
"A friend." I replied. I couldn't help but to think that this was who I was so long ago... all those long years ago... "Let me guess... you want to be a pilot?"
The boy nodded his head and showed me his toy airplane, built with love and care. Again, I couldn't help but smile... I started to walk with him around the school grounds.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I don't know yet.."
A mist then engulfed me again. And it disappeared as quickly as it had seperated me from the little boy... The environment is now colored... akin to an old photograph from the 80s... And now I'm walking down the halls of my old high school building... nearby, I see a lone figure standing by the windows, staring at the clouds...
The Dreamer
Approaching him, I noticed that he was wearing almost the same uniform as the kid... only this time, the khaki shorts was replaced by a pair of black pants. And he was wearing glasses. While he has a faint smile on his face, one could sense the air of sadness around him... One could sense that he had just been through a mental and emotional torment of sorts.. And then he spoke: "Where have you been?"
I choked on my reply: "I beg your pardon?"
"Where did you run off to when I was a little kid? I was about to ask you another question when you suddenly disappeared." I realized that this was the kid that I met earlier. I was speechless... and he continued speaking.
"The second you left me, a group of boys showed up and stole my plane. They threw it and crushed it. And they have done so to every last one of my endeavors... Ridiculing them... Belittling them..."
With his true friends far and few in between, it was evident that his dreams were the only form of escape that he has... And as I sought for words to console him, I was surrounded yet again by a mist... Moments later, the mist disappeared... and I found myself in the familiar environment of my college school grounds...
The Romantic
I saw him from afar... He was smiling... he was with friends... and a love that stirred in him a fire and an urge to live on and not just survive the challenges... They were holding hands... Exchanging sweet glances... I was tempted to approach him and say hi but I stopped myself... It wouldn't be nice to disturb him in his moments of joy... And as the mist envelopes me again... I couldn't help but smile at the scene... And as the mist gave way again... I found myself in the middle of an urban environment at night...
The Wanderer
I was standing face to face with him... An older, more mature version of the first three people that I encountered... His soft and gentle features have hardened a bit... He was wearing a pair of slacks and a long-sleeved midnight blue polo that was rolled or folded up to his elbows. The smile that he used to have was already gone...
"It's been a while..." he spoke...
"I couldn't agree with you more.." I replied... "What happened? Why are you alone now?"
"I came, I saw and I got my backside kicked a couple of times." was the reply.
"It must've been rough."
"It is..."
"So what are you up to now?"
"Wandering around... Looking for my dreams that had disappeared..." There was a tinge of bitterness in his voice... I couldn't really fault him after being forced to give up many of his dreams...
"You sound like you've almost given up." I said.
"Almost," he replied "is right... But I don't buy the idea of just wandering around aimlessly... Yes, I am a wanderer... But I am wandering around, looking for my dreams..."
"How sure are you that you will find them?"
"From the way things are looking up, I'd say that I'm pretty sure about it." A gentle smile formed on his face as he saw something far away. I turned to looked at the source of his smile and I saw a woman with a charming smile approaching us. And then a rather heavy hand tapped on my shoulder. It was the young man that I was talking to. Standing right beside me, it was evident that he was trying to keep his poker face on.
"Do me and the three other fellows a favor, will you?" He began "When you wake up, don't forget to continue fulfilling the dreams that we reminded you of. We grudgingly gave up ours so that you may eventually fulfill the dreams that are really meant for you... for us..."
And with that, he walked towards the lady and I slowly found myself waking up back in reality... with a gentle smile formed on my face...
