4 TRICKY VISION

Stiff in bed once again, thinking back to her dream a while ago. She covered her face with her pillow, squeeze it tightly, and bit it as she squeals for almost a minute. Earn her to gasp for air after.

The room is dark; of course, Thea and her roommates agreed to sleep lights off. Skipping the alarm clock, she crawled her palm to feel the cell phone in her hand in its usual place. Eyes barely open with blinding lights as Thea glanced over the screen of her cell phone. It's 2 AM yet, and she should be going back to sleep. That's her plan.

Trying for the second time to close her eyes, deciding to sleep, but sometimes, some part of her never really cares and does things independently. She finds herself beaming unreasonably.

Times runs fast, as fast as four AM is here in a blink. Thea hasn't gotten back to sleep since two. The silly, cute sensibility over the feeling of warmness making her insane, unhealthy. Now, She needs to move up, back into the world of boring reality.

*****

Thea's never been tardy, but this time, inspiration overflowed; she arrived at the store an hour earlier. She may be dizzy, but her perspective makes her feels like a gorgeous flower that is blooming all the way, with her sweet and loopy grin, staring over the open parking lot in deep reverie. "You're secretly beautiful... beautiful ..beautiful" At the back of her head, those words he says keeps rolling over and over. Her stomach flutters again in ecstasy, made her slowly recognized the physical reaction produce by that specific emotion.

"It's almost time. Let's go?" Mercy pats her from the back. She failed to notice her, being deeply engrossed with her thought.

On their way to the booth, Mercy, with a raised eyebrow, looks at her suspiciously.

"What?" Thea noticed Mercy, acting the way she is.

"Are you dating someone already?" She pops the question straight to her face without any hesitation. Well, of course, she's Mercy; besides her being so comfortable around her, she's born snoopy and forward.

"Huh?!" Thea blurted as she titters, thinking about her seriously considering possibilities regarding Thea on dating with somebody. She can even hardly see herself in that situation. Never for reality, she's never been wooed in her 20 years of existence. "Well, I wish!" Thea says, rolling her eyes.

She is deciding not to take the jeepney going home since she's aware that traffic can be worst over the metro highway. There's a massive road repair taking four of the six lanes. She believes that the bus is better this time since it's route will be on the coastal road. A very long line of passengers waiting for a bus ride, almost making her regret her decision, but she's already there, and there's nothing else she can do.

At last, for almost an hour on the line, she found herself comfortably seated near the bus door. The polluted city air and standing in line that long is exhausting. That indeed makes her wish to live in boondocks or even backwoods, as long as with him the man in her dreams.

She's so drained that she hasn't noticed her head tilted and eyes shut, fall in slumber.

*****

Catching her breath as it seems to be an endless run. Not paying attention to her swollen barefoot, Thea instantly whisks to the side as a hanging dead branch of a tree tries to hamper the route she's about to take. Few meters away, she can have perceived another blockage, and it's a trunk of a fallen tree. So, as fast as Thea can, with full force, she gallops over it. Finding the track clearer now, she sprints to chase that thing she's pursuing or wait--. How can she be sure it isn't she that is being chased?

Slowed down, confused, planning to backtrack. But what if something or someone is hunting her. Why is she even running? Anxious as she turned her head back and forth, scanning the formidable surroundings. She heard some crackling sounds or maybe the dry leaves on the ground as someone's stepping on them. "Who's there?" She has never been uneasy at the moment, thinking about who it could be.

Something sweeps in the air. Traveling unbelievably fast, from behind one tree to another. Just like a dart arrow. Noticeable yet invisible.

"Ouch!" Thea shrieked just as a tingly, stingy feeling as being pricked restrain her. Discern by the numbness that slowly pervades her body and somewhat taking away her vision, her consciousness.

A distinguishable as mellifluous music of an orchestra. That's how Thea can describe the sound of the voice which awakened her, saying, " How are you, my princess? Are you okay?.." Her eyes may still be close, but she can guess he's talking to her by the ear, with his lips just a few centimeters away from her earlobe. She can feel his breath as so as the tingling sensation, maybe by stirred airwaves or by his words.

Her mind is active, fully aware of everything occurring, but her eyes deciding to sleep. Seem so weak that she can suspect whatever it is that pricked her has some poison in it or anything making her infirm. Oh, why these eyes never cooperate? How she really loves to see the owner of that sweet voice. She tried harder to open her eyes the second time. Relatively, it shows a hazy vision of a man and soon is getting clearer and clearer. And as she expected, she's gazing again at the most bewitching face she'd seen in her entire life. The blue eyes as clear as the sky, the Roman-shaped nose, thin lips, and the impleaded chin making him more charming.

"Are you okay?" As his giving her an anxious and examining look. His hand moving from her face down to her arms, scanning her physically. Thea opens her mouth but can hardly utter a word. Her heart beats wildly, suddenly erratic.

"I... I think I'm okay?" At last, she has spoken. Thea's response soften his expression makes him look calmer.

*****

"Hey!" A man's voice saying it coarsely.

The current situation starts to sink in her awareness. She realized that she'd fallen asleep on the bus.

She winces and suddenly mindful after the degrading act of waking up with her head in a stranger's shoulder. A stranger who now glowers at her.

"I'm sorry!" She apologized, embarrassment embedded her, and look fast the other side, trying not to look back at him again.

Few days after the humiliating experience inside the bus comes another common day of her life. She didn't have much inspiration. He didn't come up; he didn't visit her, well, just referring to her dream obviously. This past day she began to descry the feeling of being incomplete, not seeing him in her-out body experience as if deprived by nature's gift of happiness, longing for something that she didn't even use to recognize. Because maybe even just in her dreams, he makes her totally happy and outright.

After her shift, she decided to drop by the books store. She needs to prepare, or at least buy anything she may need for school. After this, she decided to take the public jeepney to ride home since it is more accessible.

As expected, traffic is much worst. Gazing around the sidewalk and at the scattered passengers who are waiting for a ride. Her eyes glued suddenly to a rear view of a very familiar physique. What a big resemblance of the man she had been with, of course, only when she traveled to the world of dreams. She snickers at her every thought. Her playful mind entertains her, especially during tedious times between traffic.

Truth is said; however, numerous times we dreamed, we always woke up from it. Nothing is forever. And reality as it is, whether we like it or not, there's a big borderline between the two that's deliberately separate them. This means because his just a dream, surely it can never be him. Just simply because he's far from being real, he's just a product of my weird imagination. Thea's contemplation about reality indeed turned her into an anguish position.

Her stares still on him, the view entertains her, making her happy. The next scenario is a real mind-blowing when he turns his head towards her, unveiling his handsomeness. With mouth widely agape as wide as her popping eyes. She blinks her eyes twice, no, I think three times or more to confirm the truthfulness of her eyesight. Still, it is him, the man she always thought, who can only be visible in her dreams.

"No, this is just part of my imagination, and my eyes are just trying to trick me because of my obsession." Her puzzled mind is trying to oppose.

Her ride starts moving as her eyes still in him until he fades in the distance.

Arrived home, remained mystified; she pushes her bag inside the locker, takes off her shoes, climbs up to her bed, and even forgot to drop by the cafe to get some dinner. The befuddlement takes away her body's acknowledgment of hunger.