A boundless meadow, golden sunset, winds blowing. . . the scent of soil and grass. I can feel the grass under my face, dew touching my cheeks and fingertips— I realized I am lying on the ground.
"Where am I?"
Pinakiramdaman ko muna ang paligid bago tumayo. "This familiar feeling. . ." Kinapkap ko ang sarili ko mula ulo hanggang paa. "Am I in a dream?" tsaka ko inikot ang aking paningin nang masuri ko ng mabuti ang paligid.
I knew it.
This familiar scene, although this is the first time I've been to this place, I think I've seen it before. All the more reason to believe that this is a dream. A very pleasant one at that.
Naglakad ako sa malawak na damuhan. I don't know where to go, I just wandered the endless field filled with nothing but grass and a bunch of dandelions. A very common setting in almost every book I've read.
No— wait. . . I just remembered where this is! It's a scene from that book. But why does it seems like a replica of my imagery of that particular scene? Or perhaps I'm mistaken, but book-wise, it should've looked different.
"Well, I don't mind it this way. I just hope this won't turn into a nightmare," I mumbled to myself. It's nothing to worry about, anyway. This is just a dream.
I continued to wander the field hoping to find something. To my surprise, I did. In a distance, I saw a lone tree standing at the top of a hill. As I got closer, I noticed a silhouette of a middle-aged woman sitting in silence under that tree.
"Hello?" pukaw ko sa atensiyon nito. Agad din namang nabaling ang paningin nito sa kinaroroonan ko nang marinig ang boses ko.
"You've come," she sounded as if she was there the whole time, waiting. Hold on a minute, did she just talk?
"Um. . ."
"Come sit here," utos niya sa akin abang ako ay nanatiling nakatayo 'di kalayuan sa kaniya. "Don't hesitate."
This is the first time someone has ever talked to me in a dream. Or maybe I'm just overacting things. Is it normal to have someone in your dream talk to you like a normal person would? It feels strange.
"This doesn't feel like a dream at all," I murmured to myself. But the silence made it enough for her to hear it.
"Anything wrong?" It made me feel more uncomfortable. Pakiramdam ko parang naabala ko pa ang katahimikan niya. "Don't worry, I don't mind. I'm just here to see the view," she said as if she was trying to clarify my overwhelmed state of mind.
Ang awkward. Gusto kong magsalita pero parang walang lumalabas na boses sa bibig ko. The atmosphere is just light, but that's the reason why it feels a little bit odd. Normally, no one would be able to converse with me like this because I can't control a thing in my dream. And her reactions seemed spot-on. Is this really a dream? Weird. Everything goes on so smoothly. There is absolutely no disturbance, as opposed to an actual dream when the scenes shift periodically until the dreamer loses control and the dream develops into a nightmare. But this, the pacing is just. . . like a stream flowing into the ocean in utmost serenity. In other words, there is consistency.
What else might it be if it's not a dream? But it feels that way, undoubtedly.
"Um. . . do you know where this is?" Finally! Nagawa ko ring magsalita.
"Oh? Have you no idea?" I nodded in response to her question. "I see. You're oblivious of the fact that this is your memory sphere, eh?"
Memory sphere? "What is that?"
"Come, sit beside me and I shall elaborate further," she instructed and so I did as I was told.
Up close, I can only see half of her face. She's wearing a hooded white cape. Her skin is pale, she has a long nose, and her lips are blood red.
"A memory sphere is like a repository of your past. It is where you keep your memories as it acts like a warehouse which is only capable of keeping them. Take this scenery for example," She raised her hand and pointed around. "I believe it's part of your history, a long-forgotten sanctuary you always visited in the past," paliwanag niya sa mahinahon at katamtamang boses.
"But this is a scene from a book I always read, how could you say that?" I reasoned out. And if this scenery is part of my past, why is she here? I grew up in an orphanage. I have no such recollection of this place to begin with. If this is a memory sphere, then this memory does not belong to me. Not in the least.
Nakumpirma kong panaginip lang talaga ito dahil doon. A place as beautiful as this couldn't possibly be existing. Let alone be part of my past. Basta ang alam ko ay ito ang imaheng lumabas sa imahinasiyon ko pagkabasa ko ng senaryong iyon. Mental image, kumbaga.
Quite strange, yet this dream is beautiful. I would like to stay longer if I could. But a dream will always remain non-existent. The dreamer will eventually have to wake up and forgets about it shortly after. No exception, this one included.
The only thing that never leaves your memory upon waking up is the nightmares. They stick like glue and won't disappear so easily.
"Maybe. But someday, you will remember. I will be sitting here in this lone tree, waiting for you. . . " sandali siyang nahinto sa pagsasalita at tumingin sa akin habang ang mga mata nito'y nagsusumamo. "please come back sooner, Alice."
Hindi ko naintindihan ang kaniyang sinabi. Nang subukan kong tanungin siyang muli ay bigla na lang siyang naglaho na parang bula. Sumunod ang puno na kung saan siya nakasandal kani-kanina lang.
Alice. Yan din ang tawag nung nilalang na nagpakita sakin na nanggaling sa libro. Sino ba si Alice? Napagkakamalan lang yata nila ako, eh. Wala naman akong alam sa mga pinagsasabi nila, at mas lalong wala akong naintindihan.
Nabalik ako sa reyalidad nang maykaramdam ako ng mahinang pagtapik ng malalambot na kamay ni Marreanne sa magkabila kong pisngi.
"Aeriah, okay ka lang? Kanina ka pa tulala," nag-aalala niyang tanong.
"What's the matter?" segunda naman ni Quilya.
What was that? How long have I been daydreaming? Bigla nalang kasi akong napadpad sa isang lugar na akala ko'y panaginip sa hindi ko malamang dahilan. Paano nangyari iyon?
"Aeriah?" akmang yuyugyugin pa sana akong muli ni Marreanne nang inawat ito ni Krein.
"She's awake," giit niya rito.
Right. We were in the middle of something. I can't believe I spaced out. How did that happen? It just weirdly came out of nowhere.
"I'm sorry. May naalala lang ako sa librong ito," ani ko. "You may not believe it if I were to tell you, so don't bother asking," dagdag ko pa. Well, totoo naman. Hindi na kami bata upang mamangha sa mga ganoong bagay. I might get laughed at. They won't believe me if I tell them I met a realm guardian before.
"We will," Quilya firmly said. "tell us," utos pa niya. "We won't laugh at you, alright?"
Napayuko nalang ako. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang sasabihin. Magsasalita ba ako? Sasabihin ko ba ang totoo? Ang totoong hindi kapani-paniwala? Kahit nga ako ay hindi makapaniwala, eh.
Isang beses lang naman 'yon nangyari. Hindi na siya nagpakita ulit matapos ang gabing iyon.
"I only have one task,"
Pagkatapos niyang sabihin ang mga katagang iyon, mabilis siyang nawala sa paningin ko. Pero hinding-hindi ko malilimutan ang huli niyang sinabi.
"That is to bring you back to her when the right time comes. I should bid my farewell for now. We'll meet again,"
"Alice."
Kahit hindi kapani-paniwala, pakiramdam ko ay totoo ang mga sinasabi niya at halata sa boses niyang seryoso siya doon.
I just don't want to acknowledge it, but a part of me believed. Naghintay rin ako kung kailan siya babalik, pero hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin.
"Tell us, Aeriah. We're running out of time," rinig kong utos ni Krein.
I have no idea what they're on about. Why would they want to know? What's the point? And what could they possibly get from it? There's no relevance. I just don't get it.
"Listen, I really don't know how to say it to you guys. At hindi ko rin ito kayang sabihin sa inyo. Pero kung gusto niyo talagang malaman, bakit hindi niyo muna sabihin sa akin ang dahilan kung bakit?" Hindi ko alam kung tama lang ba ang sinabi ko, pero sa tingin ko ay naibahagi ko naman ng maayos ang aking saloobin.
"Right. We should've explained it to you first. So let's get to business. This realm will be conquered by the evil forces of the dark realm. They are finally making their move, and we must hurry back. Aeriah, the task given to us is to bring you back to the kingdom alive."
"Hindi ko maintindihan, Marreanne. Ano ba 'yang pinagsasabi mo?"
"Like I said—" Quilya cut her off.
"Let me handle this, Marreanne. She won't get it if you do it that way." Napayuko si Marreanne sa sinabi nito sa kaniya. Ngayon ko lang siya nakitang ganito ka seryoso. She never acted this way before. Just what in the world is going on?
"Aeriah, I won't laugh at you. None of us will. I promise. So please, will you tell us what you saw back then?" Her voice is calm yet full of authority. I can't help but feel uneasy.
"But—"
"I promise, Aeriah. None of us will." All of them nodded at me in assurance. Wala akong magawa kundi mapahinga ng malalim.
Alright. Here goes nothing.
"I was alone that night, the only thing I had in me was this book. As I flipped it open, it shone so brightly. It felt as though something was unsealed. And that light turned out to be something I didn't expect I'd be able to witness," ani ko. Huminga muli ako ng malalim bago nagpatuloy. "It was a unicorn. An entity from another world, and her name was. . . her name was. . ." I couldn't remember what was it. It sounded so different from any human language. "I'm sorry, I don't know."
"That's all we need, Aeriah. I am grateful for your assistance. What you saw was a real thing, I assure you," she said while tapping my shoulders as if saying 'you've done well'. "Now, let us proceed with the plan. Lady Kreziana, if you please,"
"Alright." Sandaling nangibabaw ang katahimikan sa buong paligid. Napansin ko rin ang pagdilim ng kalangitan sa labas. Nagbabadyang pumatak ang ulan. Maya't-maya pa ay nakakarinig na rin ako ng pagkulog. "We, the Riessevilles are a family of mages from the same realm as the beast of singularity you saw that night."
Mages?
"We were given a task to find Quilya and you, and bring you both back to the kingdom safe and sound. But we couldn't do it right away. The portal to our world was sealed by high-level binding magic which stops us from returning as soon as possible. However, over the years, we have found out this magic has a weakness. It only happens once every ten years, when flowers start to blossom. The seal weakens, thus making it vulnerable. But it's only time-limited. And we're running out of time."
Kingdom? Magic? Seal? They can't be serious! Although I don't see any reason for them to lie, I just can't bring myself to believe such a thing instantly. And I don't see any reason to not believe, either. What the hell is this?
"So what are you guys going to do?" tanong ko nang makabawi sa pagkabigla sa aking narinig. "I don't think I can cope with anything right now, but if you tell me it'd mean danger if we don't make a move right away, I would voluntarily go with you." I trust them. They're the ones who took good care of me and gave me everything when I have nothing. They are also my family, despite not being blood-related.
I think this is my chance to make it up to them. But I don't know in what way am I going to help.
"The path that leads to the portal is just in front of us," wika ni Marreanne.
"Where?" I looked around only to see nothing. Binalik ko ang tingin sa kaniya at tsaka ko lang napagtanto na naka turo pala ang daliri nito sa akin— no, sa hawak ko.
"In this book?" paninigurado ko, baka nagkamali lang ako ng pag intindi.
"The beast of singularity came from that thing. So the answer should be clear to you by now."
"R..Right."
But how are we going to access the portal that was sealed inside this book?
"You do it, Krein," Miss Kreziana commanded, to which he responded with a slight nod.
He put his hand in the air with his palm facing upward, closed his eyes, and began chanting a spell.
"O' the golden chains of light, heed my purpose." A magic circle appears right above his hand. "The flowers of fate blooms, may the blossom be your foe's bane." At the center of the circle, a star slowly forms.
This energy. . . he is condensing a great amount of mana into the spell?
"Binding reversal: spring song."
After that, the book began to float midair. And just like that time, it's flipping the pages itself like it had life on its own. When it stopped, a bright light blinded us all.
This warm light.
"Let's go, Aeriah," Quilya offered her hand and I immediately took it without having any second thoughts.
"We're going back."
The light has faded, and a golden door as huge as a dining table is now in front of us.
I don't know what awaits me on the other side.
But. . .
"This is home, right?"
"It is. Our home. And we're about to protect it."