Chapter 43

A Brewing Heat

Beyond all the light that glowed in the darkness, I sat beside one of the few lamp posts in the corner of the road. I glanced above and a starry sky welcomed my eyes. Wispy strands of clouds hung overhead, glimmering against the full moon of November.

“Hey, Arthur! We’re leaving!” A familiar voice called, prompting me to turn around. I saw a few friends from work, each one holding a bottle of beer in their hands as they stood behind my car.

I stood up, beamed at them before walking over. Yet, my body felt heavy. Everything slowed down as my sight blurred. I blinked a few times, even wiping them with the back of my hand. But when I opened my eyes again, a blinding light came into view. A loud horn echoed. The street that was once dead silent now showered with a deafening sound. I tried to run, yet my body refused to move as though gravity wanted me dead today. I simply wobbled as my friends screamed in horror.

For a quarter of a second, the pain overwhelmed my body, and the next moment, I heard faint and chaotic sounds. Different voices I didn’t recognize. Footsteps. Sirens. Gasps, from myself?

With my eyes barely open, I saw quick snippets of wild movements, blurry faces, and blood… Blood? I moved my hand, slowly, then I felt a cold liquid on my palm. Is it my blood?

Multiple hands touched me. I didn't know how many. I couldn’t count. “Aaargh!” A long and hard groan escaped my mouth when the same hands moved my body.

The nightmare of pain swallowed me as they came from everywhere that I didn’t know what truly hurt.

Darkness insisted on trying to claim me.

I fought it… but soon, I eventually lost.

Once I woke up, I instinctively shut my eyes again for a moment. A sharp bright light hung over my head, illuminating the dark room that smelt of antiseptic. I hated it. Even as a child, I always hated that smell. And then a familiar sound - a stable beeping sound - caught my attention. I knew exactly what it was, but for some reason, I wanted to see it. Perhaps, to assure myself that I wasn’t dead.

However, moving didn’t come off easily. Plastic tubes from above and below revealed themselves, attached to different parts of my body. My left arm was encased in a cast, while my left leg was lifted and suspended in the air. I also felt a hard case around my neck which made it harder to look around. And when I was finally able to slightly tilt my head, I saw Lolo Renato and Lola Clarissa sitting on the couch while sleeping.

“Fcfhdwdfcmniwbfs…” I tried to speak but what came out was incoherent words. But in that instant, Lola woke up and rushed to my side. Her sudden movements also arose Lolo who vanished as soon as he got up, leaving behind a few words that he’d call a doctor.

“Arthur, apo? Do you feel alright?” Lola asked, tears beginning to flow below the rim of her eyes. “Does it hurt anywhere?”

As much as I wanted to say that I was, the words betrayed me. Even if I wanted to convey my thoughts, that I mostly felt numb everywhere, my lips wouldn’t move the way I wanted them to. Then suddenly, as two people entered the room, my consciousness began to slip away a second time. I didn’t fight it this time. I was tired. Extremely tired. And before I knew it, darkness claimed me once again.

I was finally able to talk after a few days. It might seem extremely long for my grandparents. But for me who was mostly asleep during the days that passed, I felt like I was living a dream. Every time I fell asleep, it almost seemed like hours passed in a blink.

One time I opened my eyes, the smiling faces of my Lolo and Lola surfaced above me. “You have a visitor, apo,” Lola said. “We know that you must be dying to see her.”

The door faintly creaked and my head automatically snapped in the direction. “I’m sorry, Arthur,” the woman that entered said. “I was stuck on a business trip for a few days. But I rushed here as soon as I landed in the airport…”

I swallowed a dry gulp, my mouth and throat dried. My lips trembled as tears streamed from my eyes like a waterfall. “Claire?” Her name was the only thing that I could mutter and it was so low because I never realized that I had been holding my breath.

Claire dashed towards me. She parted my hair gently. Her brows rose into a frown. “Babe, why are you crying? Do you feel hurt anywhere?”

A barely audible snicker echoed behind her. “Don’t worry, Claire,” Lolo said. “My friend has already reassured us that he’s alright. He’s probably just too happy to see you…” Lola also laughed briefly before they excused themselves out of the room.

“Is that true?”

I couldn’t answer right away. I still couldn’t believe that she was alive. “Can… you-” I stuttered, my voice refusing to come out. “Can you hold my hand?”

She grimaced for a second before she smiled and held my hand. Then I felt it, it’s warmth. I even squeeze it firmly, to wipe away all my anxiousness.

“I couldn’t believe you!” She said, pressing back my hand playfully. “I was so happy that you finally proposed to me before that trip. And guess what?” She pouted. “I got a call saying that you were caught in a terrible accident as soon as I landed. Do you know how I feel? Do you know what happened?” She burst out laughing. “I. Began. Crying. While. Presenting. My. Proposal.”

I laughed too, but it disappeared as soon as she showed a sorrowful stare.

“Don’t die on me, Arthur...” She leaned in and kissed my forehead again. “I don’t want to be a widow before I even get wedded,” she added with a teasing tone, and so we shared a laugh for a while.

“I have a strange dream, Claire,” I said, in a low and serious voice, once we settled down. She curiously looked at me, not saying a word, her eyes encouraging me to go on. “It may be hard to believe… But in that dream, we were not together. You married another man who killed you afterward. I was very heartbroken, so I got drunk and died in an accident.”

“Wait…” She frowned which gradually turned into suppressed snickers. “Doesn’t that sound like a plot for a tragic romance novel? Maybe you just read too much of that genre.”

I joked a grunt. “We both know I’m not fond of those. Besides…” I paused. “The story didn’t end there. I remember that I was reincarnated in another world too… A magical world at that.”

Despite my utter seriousness, Claire was unable to suppress her laugh anymore. “What was that? I think you’ve read too many fictional books.” She cleared her throat. “It’s a dream. And what’s important is that you are alive… I am alive.” She raised her right hand, showing the diamond ring that rested on her ring finger. “And we’re finally getting married!”

“I guess…”

“C’mon, Arthur…” She beamed a reassuring smile. “Do you still remember when we talked about dreams… back when we were in college?”

I slowly shook my head, and Claire joked a hiss.

“They say that dreams are the embodiment of our deepest wishes and regrets,” she began, the words resonating in my head as if I truly heard them before despite my inability to remember when. “But it isn’t good to dwell on things we couldn’t have or change.”

Claire smiled, and at that moment, I suddenly felt a heavy weight under my eyes. My vision began to blur. Then my grandparents appeared. They said in unison, “Move forward, Arthur. Grow stronger, so that you won’t repeat the same mistakes. And wherever you go, whatever happens, we will always love you…”

I gasped, tears streaming on my cheeks.

My father also emerged out of nowhere. “And do you already forget, Arthur?” He said with his low husky voice. “The reason you tried so hard… very very hard to forgive me, you said,” the echo began again, now mimicking my voice. “‘I don’t want my father to live in regrets. I want him to move on and be happy.’”

They all smiled, saying, “Move forward, Arthur...”

“I am, Lolo, Lola, Dad, Claire...” I said one last time before I dived into the abyss—

Arthur found himself inside a dark room once he woke up. His eyes were half-open. He was trembling immensely. He tried to get up but failed. His small body barely had energy left. He remembered his dream, yet he couldn't form a single coherent thought about it. He was too nauseous. He heard different noises from outside but he couldn’t understand what they were. His eyes also shut themselves as soon as he tried to fully open them.

A strange heat then began to ignite from his heart. It felt so hot that he let out a horrifying howl. His hands clutched his chest, his fingernails sinking deep into his skin. As it subsided, the hem of his faltering consciousness also let go.

Thus, Arthur returned to the land of dreams - perhaps, this time, it would claim him for all of eternity.