The Son
This story was inspired by a true event. All the characters' names were altered to maintain privacy.
He found himself in a desolate wasteland, with nothing more than rocks and dirt all over the place. The sky was purple, and the lands were the reflection of similar colors. Clouds ran pass him over his head at a very high speed. A cold wind ruffled his brown hair. For a moment there, it seemed all too familiar, this place. Andrew could've sworn he'd been here. Suddenly, the numbness of his arms wore out. He felt as if he was wrapping his arms around something heavy. He moved his eyes from the horizon down to his hands, and found himself cuddling a baby. He was covered in blue cloth, and he felt cold. The baby had a face as pale as a ghost, and eyes shut lifeless. Andrew was shocked to see what he was holding, and had already begun waking the baby. After a few moments of trying and without luck of getting the baby to stir, Andrew lowered his ear to the baby's chest. He had to make sure.... that the baby was dead. In an instant, Andrew felt a sudden surge of emotion towards the baby. Holding the baby even tighter now, Andrew dropped his knees hard onto the dirt, and let out a cry that touched the ends of the world.
Shocked, Andrew quickly sat up straight from a sleeping position. He was already gasping for air, as if drowning. Throwing his eyes around him, Andrew found himself in the darkness of his own room. He pushed the hair stuck all over his face away, only to find himself sweating profusely.
'That dream. How many times has it been already?'
'Who's that baby?'
The clock struck 10 am, and the school canteen was already being filled with monsterous amounts of students rushing down for recess. Andrew was already sitting on the green chair made of stone, a few feet away from where the rows of long tables and benches began to stretch across the canteen hall. It was a cloudy day, just like any other day at that time of the year. A girl, clad in their usual light-blue pinafore uniform, was holding a can of fizzy drink and scanning the area. Apparently, she was looking around for a friend. Across the hall, two boys were walking carelessly with the two bowls of noodles they bought, having almost knocked over a couple of other school mates rushing over to grab a bite to eat. They were laughing out loud while recalling the prank they played onto the new teacher who'd just started teaching in their class. All 300 students going about their mindless chatter and clatter sounded almost like white noise to Andrew, who was in total oblivion now.
Too many times had he come across this dream. They were repetitions of the same event, yet each time seemed almost too new in the dream.
'Was it true that I have been dreaming the same dream for a week now? Or is it just this one dream, in which I dreamt to believe that I've been dreaming this event for the past week?'
It suddenly became more complicated. Maybe it was the first time he'd dream of this baby. And in the dream, he made himself believe that he'd been dreaming it for a long time.
'But what if..'
"Dude!" a cry came from afar, and the voice's owner mighty familiar.
Andrew pulled his head over towards the voice, and found Jay pacing closer. Jay was wearing a girls' school uniform, with a white collared shirt undernearth a light blue pinafore dress. She was holding a half eaten ice-cream in her right hand, and would occasionally stick it into her mouth to prevent the tropic weather from completely disintegrating her dessert.
" What's with the gloomy face?" she carried with her a cheerful and bubbly face. Andrew looked up at her not knowing what to say to her, or whether or not to say anything to her in the first place.
" Nothing," he shook his head.
" Nothing?" She was already lowering her head close to his, as if trying to dig information off his eyes.
" Your eyes don't tell the same story."
Suddenly, he remembered all the details of the dream too clearly. Before, everything was so vague. He remembered trying to recall the dream during his math class by forcing himself into sleep a few times. The cold of the desolate wasteland, the chilled wind constantly piercing his bones, and the baby lying cold in his arms.
Jay was already sitting next to Andrew, swinging the two legs she had that couldn't reach the ground under the bench.
" Jay."
" Yeah."
" There's something I need to tell you." He realised that there was something he wanted to test out: to know if the dream he had was really a repetative event, or was it just a one-time thing.
" I had a dream.." and he retold the whole event in the dream, the baby and how he was emotionally attached to it. and how he had a feeling he dreamt the event before.
Jay just sat in awe, currently already sucking on the ice-cream stick. She then nodded her head.
" And you wanna tell me this so that you can confirm with me the next time that your dream was not just a one-time thing being believed as a series of similar deams?"
Andrew just nodded.
" OK. As long as you believe that this will work, I don't mind playing this game with you."
' A game? I hardly think having a series of similar twisted nightmares of a baby I think I'm kin with would qualify as a game!" he thought. Nothing left his mind though, since Andrew himself didn't quite believe his own story and theory.
Jay jumped off the seat suddenly and threw her ice-cream stick aside.
"Let's go for a smoke," she suggested while looking at Andrew.
'Why not. I could use a couple right now.' Andrew nodded to her and they went off the canteen grounds.
The school bell rang, and it was already time for the students to return home from a whole day's studying. School boys rushed out of the compound as if been released from their cages into the free world, while the girls are already catching up with today's gossips. Andrew was walking out of the compound with his head stuck to the sky, now turning grey and gloomy. It might rain tonight. Jay beside him was chatting away on the cell phone, planning for tonight.
"Hey, you wanna catch a movie tonight? Or do you want to go karaoke?" Jay looked at Andrew for a reply.
He stared back at Jay, stoned for a moment. It is Friday today. "Movie."
"Okay. Hey, Andrew wants to watch movie. So we'll meet up with you at nine at One Utama, k?"
"Okay, okay. I won't. Haha......" Jay's voice was already fading away from Andrew's ears, along with the noise of the busses, cars and students chatting.
"......Daddy...."
The once dead and lifeless eyes of Andrew suddenly came wide open, looking around for the owner of that voice.
'Who said that?'
"Dude."
'Answer me. Who are you?'
"Andrew!" Jay yelled out at him. He looked down at her.
"Pick me up at 8, okay. I have to go now. My mom is waiting outside."
"Okay, okay. I'll call you. see ya."
Jay waved as she rushed over to the silver Proton Wira waiting for her along with other cars and busses.
'Daddy?' Andrew replayed the voice in his head, as he got onto the bus that takes him home.
'
He found himself in a desolate wasteland, with nothing more than rocks and dirt all over the place. The sky was purple, and the lands were the reflection of similar colors. Clouds ran pass him over his head at a very high speed. A cold wind ruffled his brown hair. For a moment there, it seemed all too familiar, this place. Andrew could've sworn he'd been here. Suddenly, the numbness of his arms wore out. He felt as if he was wrapping his arms around something heavy. He moved his eyes from the horizon down to his hands, and found himself cuddling a baby. He was covered in blue cloth, and he felt cold. The baby had a face as pale as a ghost, and eyes shut lifeless. Andrew was shocked to see what he was holding, and had already begun waking the baby. After a few moments of trying and without luck of getting the baby to stir, Andrew lowered his ear to the baby's chest. He had to make sure.... that the baby was dead. In an instant, Andrew felt a sudden surge of emotion towards the baby. Holding the baby even tighter now, Andrew dropped his knees hard onto the dirt, and let out a cry that touched the ends of the world.
Shocked, Andrew quickly sat up straight from a sleeping position. He was already gasping for air, as if drowning. Throwing his eyes around him, Andrew found himself in the darkness of his own room. He pushed the hair stuck all over his face away, only to find himself sweating profusely.
'That dream. How many times has it been already?'
'Who's that baby?'
The clock struck 10 am, and the school canteen was already being filled with monsterous amounts of students rushing down for recess. Andrew was already sitting on the green chair made of stone, a few feet away from where the rows of long tables and benches began to stretch across the canteen hall. It was a cloudy day, just like any other day at that time of the year. A girl, clad in their usual light-blue pinafore uniform, was holding a can of fizzy drink and scanning the area. Apparently, she was looking around for a friend. Across the hall, two boys were walking carelessly with the two bowls of noodles they bought, having almost knocked over a couple of other school mates rushing over to grab a bite to eat. They were laughing out loud while recalling the prank they played onto the new teacher who'd just started teaching in their class. All 300 students going about their mindless chatter and clatter sounded almost like white noise to Andrew, who was in total oblivion now.
Too many times had he come across this dream. They were repetitions of the same event, yet each time seemed almost too new in the dream.
'Was it true that I have been dreaming the same dream for a week now? Or is it just this one dream, in which I dreamt to believe that I've been dreaming this event for the past week?'
It suddenly became more complicated. Maybe it was the first time he'd dream of this baby. And in the dream, he made himself believe that he'd been dreaming it for a long time.
'But what if..'
"Dude!" a cry came from afar, and the voice's owner mighty familiar.
Andrew pulled his head over towards the voice, and found Jay pacing closer. Jay was wearing a girls' school uniform, with a white collared shirt undernearth a light blue pinafore dress. She was holding a half eaten ice-cream in her right hand, and would occasionally stick it into her mouth to prevent the tropic weather from completely disintegrating her dessert.
" What's with the gloomy face?" she carried with her a cheerful and bubbly face. Andrew looked up at her not knowing what to say to her, or whether or not to say anything to her in the first place.
" Nothing," he shook his head.
" Nothing?" She was already lowering her head close to his, as if trying to dig information off his eyes.
" Your eyes don't tell the same story."
Suddenly, he remembered all the details of the dream too clearly. Before, everything was so vague. He remembered trying to recall the dream during his math class by forcing himself into sleep a few times. The cold of the desolate wasteland, the chilled wind constantly piercing his bones, and the baby lying cold in his arms.
Jay was already sitting next to Andrew, swinging the two legs she had that couldn't reach the ground under the bench.
" Jay."
" Yeah."
" There's something I need to tell you." He realised that there was something he wanted to test out: to know if the dream he had was really a repetative event, or was it just a one-time thing.
" I had a dream.." and he retold the whole event in the dream, the baby and how he was emotionally attached to it. and how he had a feeling he dreamt the event before.
Jay just sat in awe, currently already sucking on the ice-cream stick. She then nodded her head.
" And you wanna tell me this so that you can confirm with me the next time that your dream was not just a one-time thing being believed as a series of similar deams?"
Andrew just nodded.
" OK. As long as you believe that this will work, I don't mind playing this game with you."
' A game? I hardly think having a series of similar twisted nightmares of a baby I think I'm kin with would qualify as a game!" he thought. Nothing left his mind though, since Andrew himself didn't quite believe his own story and theory.
Jay jumped off the seat suddenly and threw her ice-cream stick aside.
"Let's go for a smoke," she suggested while looking at Andrew.
'Why not. I could use a couple right now.' Andrew nodded to her and they went off the canteen grounds.
The school bell rang, and it was already time for the students to return home from a whole day's studying. School boys rushed out of the compound as if been released from their cages into the free world, while the girls are already catching up with today's gossips. Andrew was walking out of the compound with his head stuck to the sky, now turning grey and gloomy. It might rain tonight. Jay beside him was chatting away on the cell phone, planning for tonight.
"Hey, you wanna catch a movie tonight? Or do you want to go karaoke?" Jay looked at Andrew for a reply.
He stared back at Jay, stoned for a moment. It is Friday today. "Movie."
"Okay. Hey, Andrew wants to watch movie. So we'll meet up with you at nine at One Utama, k?"
"Okay, okay. I won't. Haha......" Jay's voice was already fading away from Andrew's ears, along with the noise of the busses, cars and students chatting.
"......Daddy...."
The once dead and lifeless eyes of Andrew suddenly came wide open, looking around for the owner of that voice.
'Who said that?'
"Dude."
'Answer me. Who are you?'
"Andrew!" Jay yelled out at him. He looked down at her.
"Pick me up at 8, okay. I have to go now. My mom is waiting outside."
"Okay, okay. I'll call you. see ya."
Jay waved as she rushed over to the silver Proton Wira waiting for her along with other cars and busses.
'Daddy?' Andrew replayed the voice in his head, as he got onto the bus that takes him home.
'
posted by shawnixate at
2:57 AM
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