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Thursday, December 19, 2002
:: CHAPTER 1 ::
Welcome to the planet Chapter 1________________________________ She looked at her watch, thinking silently what time Michael planned to show up. She'd been waiting for over an hour now and his computing class supposedly ended half an hour ago. She sighed and looked up. The sky was a gorgeous sight, white cotton candy clouds spotting the blueness. Perfect for a good walk, if the sun wasn't shining mightily and reminding each person that it's the hottest thing in the world. She felt a breeze flying by and she turned her face up to feel it against her warm cheeks. Ahhh…that felt good. There should be more of such wind, she said to herself. She looked around at the people around her. Everyone was doing something. How busy the world looked, she thought. As she sat hugging her backpack with her legs folded beneath her on the stone bench, she continued to watch. She saw other students sitting under the umbrella-looking huts discussing homework and chatting away happily. She saw many students going in and out of the front gates, with the Indian guard scowling at them as they passed. Mac Centre had the usual people puffing their lungs out. It seemed entertaining to her that these young people are wasting their lives on nicotine sticks. To think that the raise in prices and rubbish advertising wasn't going to come CLOSE to deterring them. Once a smoker, always a smoker. Jordan stared out her window reflectively as she opened her journal. She felt peaceful and relaxed as she sat on her desk so that she could have a better look outside the windows. Black beasts cawed while they perched on the telephone lines staring back at her as she looked outside. Stupid crows. She tore open the packet of peanut butter cookies and started to munch on them absent-mindedly. And then, she started to write… 1st November 2005 Dear journal, College was crap today. Lectures sucked as usual and my head feels like its going to blow up. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened considering how I'm a walking time-bomb with all the stress in me. *screammss* Did I tell you that exams is only a month away? And my parents keep yakking and yakking…*bawls* Can a lecturer BE so annoying?? Is it even LEGAL for a lecturer to NOT use the time he's supposed to be TEACHING to talk a whole lottashit? Really..if I wanted to KNOW what he had to tell me, I can go talk to a toilet bowl. I'm sure it'll be just as interesting. The weird thing is, what he said seeped in. Very good. I'm now a proud owner of a brain with redundant information such as Mexico has the best abalone like EVER. And statistics is oh-so-important to gamblers. Helloooo…I don't CARE. Jordan rolls her eyes as she taps her pen against her journal. I effing hate today. I wish it was tomorrow. Even yesterday wasn't too bad. I caught a glimpse of Jonathan today. He's always skulking around by himself. Fading away into the crowd. It's hard for me to talk to him, considering how it's so hard to MEET him in the first place. He's like, the master of disappearing acts. I hung around the library like a fool today, hoping that I'd be able to see him again. I don't know much about him and I'm already stalking him. I'm obsessed, I know. All it took was bumping into him at the library lockers, knocking his books onto the floor and one look into his green eyes. We became acquainted then. And ever since, I've wanted to talk to him. I don't even know why I'm attracted to the guy. It's not like he's "special" in any way. He's one of those studious boys that will tell you things that will make you think really hard. Maybe it's his chestnut brown hair that falls into his wonderfully green eyes. Too bad they're hidden by his glasses. I might not notice him on an average day I guess, I'm always in my own world or goofing around with my mates. But there's something in that nerdy look of his that gets to me. How he always looks so drawn and thoughtful. It's like he's always thinking of something…and I wanna know what it is. I always did have weird crushes.And I can't tell Mikey about it cause he'd just laugh as he always does whenever I have a crush on someone. Jonathan being a British exchange student doesn't help since he won't be around after this semester. If I remember correctly, Mikey said the sky would fall when I were to fall in love for REAL. Damnit. The boy's right as usual but what the heck…it's the falling in love that I like. And it's not like they know about it. It's just completely harmless floaty feelings. My dream last night is still haunting me. I was in this big empty space. It wasn't exactly on the outside...but in some ways it wasn't in the inside either. It's just…there. A space with no start and no end…and no walls to show you that there were other things in there with you. It's just bare…and white. And all of a sudden, I see this thing walking towards me. It was just this big shadow at first…with two ears and a big bottom. How a rabbit looks like when it's sitting on it's ass and it's two front paws up. It came closer and closer…and the shadow became smaller and smaller. Too small for a bunny. It was a damn hamster. I stared at this hamster which by the way, was clothed in such a funny way. It reminded me of Reepicheep from the Chronicles of Narnia. Except, Reepicheep was a rat. It was rather big for a hamster, probably of the giant breed Or maybe it was a guinea pig in disguise. It was dressed in a tunic and mini tights to put it's tiny back paws in and oh Lord, a BELT. A belt on a hamster. If I didn't despise rodents, I'd have thought it was the cutest thing I ever saw. I told myself, if this thing started talking to me, I'd scream. Whaddaya know…it spoke.. It spoke in this raspy yet manly voice which surprised me to no end cause I was expecting a squeak. That's how a rodent should be. They should SQUEAK. And it looked so solemn. So solemn that even if I wanted to scream, I couldn't, cause I was both fascinated and curious. And then a thought came to me, what if the place was FILLED with hamsters. Oh, hell, I'd DIE. Anyways, the hamster introduced itself. I know this sounds crazy, journal, but just BEAR with me, alright? "My name's Jesper. I come from a land that the average human such as yourself rarely goes to or should I say, experience, in its true form. It is the land of dreams galore. It's the place where every single soul's dream is kept alive and if you were here…you wouldn't just experience your own. You'd see the dreams of others...the thoughts of others while they are asleep. Dreams are the very essence of your souls. They are the things that keep you alive at night, in the mornings, and even the afternoons when you take your naps. And they can be the death of you as well." "It is my pleasure to welcome you to our land." The hamster actually BOWED at this time. I just stood staring at the hamster. Jesper looked at me with it's teeny beady black eyes and I THINK it smiled at me. If you could call it a smile, I mean. It's mouth just sorta stretched, making it look rather sinister. "I see you're skeptical. Do not worry. It is not the first that I've gotten such an expression on a face of a mortal such as yourself. But be known, that you are special. For even being able to come here, it takes someone of GREAT imagination and will." "Are you real?" I said while continuing to stare at it incredulously. "As real as you think YOU are," it replied. I bent down and reached out to touch it. I actually poked it considering how much I despised lil rodents. *Ugh* I said to myself even BEFORE I touched it. But when I did, it felt real. It had soft brown fur and it didn't flinch when I touched it. "Are you satisfied now?" it said. "Ehm, yeah, I guess. What am I doing here? Why AM I here?" I stood up and looked around. Again, I saw nothing to answer my questions. If this was a land of dreams, people sure are having really boring dreams, I thought to myself. "You are one of the chosen ones. One of the mortals who will help us find the true king of dreams. There are 3 of your kind but you are the first to arrive. I understand that you will turn 18 in 2 days. That is partly the reason why you have been chosen. There will be an eclipse on the day of your birthday just as it had happened on the day you were born. And the other 2 are born of the same birth date and time as you. Be warned however, that this is a task as dangerous as it would have been had you been awake. You are here to look for our King and in the process, you might lose someone of great meaning and importance to you, or even your own life." Jordan re-read what she had written with sweaty discomfort. It wasn't this vivid as when she had tried to tell Michael about it. Now that she's putting it on paper, it hardly seemed that it happened to her. This dream was coming alive again as if to remind her that her dream was real. Jordan felt a chill as she felt a pull of her pen towards her journal and continued to write more. HOW FREAKY IS THAT???? A hamster is telling me all this weird things. I almost fainted, I swear! I mean, this is crazy talk and I was getting the heebie-jeebies just by listening to him!. And here I am, writing into you like I, well.., like I BELIEVE in it. And the weirdest thing is, I think I'm beginning to. "Uh, I'm finding it a little hard to understand," I said. "It'll sink in. Eventually. The people need you and the others to find our King. And he must be found. In 30 days from your birthday, our King has to take his throne. If we do not find him, the land of dreams would disappear as you and I know it. And that would be a very, VERY bad thing," Jesper said gravely. "But I don't know anything about this place OR your people. And honestly speaking, you're freaking me out. This WHOLE place is freaking me out." As if on cue, the whole place just darkened, and I screamed. From the bare white place it was, it became pitch black and it felt even emptier than it was before. Obviously, I wanted to get out of the place and I started to run. "Believe, my child. This place is anything and anywhere you want it to be. It is a canvas to which your dreams are painted on. And it is now painting your fear," Jesper called out from behind me as I ran. I ran and ran. With my eyes closed. They wouldn't have been any good if they were opened anyway… And then I woke up… Dreams scare me now. I wonder if I'll dream about Jesper again tonight. Good day, journal. With that, Jordan closed her journal, her palms sweaty both from the eeriness of anticipating something that she's not so sure she wants to anticipate and from grasping the pen too hard. She glanced at her watch and it showed 5.15pm. She jumped down from her desk and stretched. Cookie crumbs fell off her as she did so and she made her way to the bathroom. **************** That night…she dreamt again. Jesper was the first thing she saw the moment she stepped into the land of dreams. But there was someone with him this time. He had his back towards her, standing beside Jesper. Looking around the place, which was bare beyond imagination. It was Jonathan. Jordan stood, glued to the floor. And her cheeks colored a vivid pink as he stared at her. It seemed ironic meeting him here…especially since she just wrote about him in her journal that afternoon. He smiled at her. Jesper said, "This is Jonathan. I have a feeling you two are already acquainted?" "Yes, we are," Jonathan said. Jordan just smiled weakly. "Right. Well, there is another girl that should be on her way here. She must be sleeping late tonight. You kids nowadays, the older you get, the less sleep you seem to be getting," Jesper said. Jordan and Jonathan laughed. "There's a lot of things to do in the night, you see," Jordan said, while winking at Jonathan. It seemed comforting to have him there now. Even though he was the last person she expected. The place didn't seem so scary when she had a familiar face to look at. "Yes, I understand that technology is the thing that keeps you youngsters awake. What do they call it? The internet. And the television. Time-wasters they all are, especially when you can be creating beautiful dreams." Jesper tutted. Finally, a squeak-like sound! "Ehm, yeah." Jonathan smiled sheepishly at Jesper. "Can you please explain to us further about this whole thing?" he asked. "I will, i will…once the other girl arrives. But like I told Jordan once before she woke up, think of this place as a white canvas. And on usual nights, you'd be painting your dreams on them." "So why is it so bare right now? I mean, we are dreaming right now yes?" Jordan voiced out this time. "Well, yes, but I am controlling the dream that you both are having right now. And I chose the original state of this land. For example…" With that, Jesper rubbed it's paws together and blinked once. Both Jordan and Jonathan stood still as the world around them spun and changed into a beach. The spinning left them feeling dizzy and Jesper eyed them with glee. The beach was a very quiet one. It was nearing sunset and the waves lapped against the shore noiselessly. There were no birds in the sky but the view was spectacular. It was so peaceful…and there was a comforting breeze. All three of them were standing in the middle of the shore. Jordan smiled to herself…she can taste the salty beach air. It's been ages since she last went to a beach…and she was enjoying this place wayyy better than the original state. She didn't realize she was barefooted until she curled her toes into the sand. She laughed in spite of herself when she realized both Jonathan and Jesper were staring at her. "Do you understand what I meant now?" Jesper asked. Jonathan and Jordan nodded. And she added, "I wouldn't have freaked out as much if you brought me here in the first place." And she grinned at Jesper. *************** The arrival of the new girl…. Kayla was a girl of Indian-Portuguese parentage who lived in the northern parts of India. She had skin the color of your morning cappuccino, gorgeous brown eyes, thick and long, straight black hair that was highlighted in light brown and such a smiling mouth. And just like an Indian, she was the sort that couldn't shut up. She was unutterably the most friendly person that neither Jordan nor Jonathan has ever met and they warmed up to her immediately. It amused them to hear her speak so fast in that Indian slang of hers. Her words seem to roll off her tongue like a bullet train that had no stations to stop. "Oh good heavens, I thought I'd never go to sleep…I was tossing and turning on my bed…you know…and ever since I saw you, darling Jesper, oh goodness, you're SO adorable.." while patting Jesper on the head with one perfectly manicured finger and continued, "I've been wanting to come back here and help you find your king, oh yes, he has to be found, I'm sure…I tried reading a book to make me fall asleep… It was Lord of The Rings, you know…by Tolkien, SUCH a boring book I tell you, never knew why all those people are crazy about it… I watched the movies you know…wayyy better…darling Legolas, I see HIM in my dreams sometimes, you know…and oh, Jesper, how does the king look like? I'm sure he'd look like Legolas if we all willed him to be, and oh, look!… we're not in that ugly white place, I love beaches…beautiful places they are, I went to Hawaii once and it took all my breath away, anyways, it took me 5 pages of that ridiculously wordy book and *plop*, I was asleep like a baby, and here I am!" Kayla grinned cheerfully while clapping her hands gleefully.
Posted by born2smile at 03:14 pm |
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