The Dream

Exactly remembering her dreams was tantamount to impossibility, but one day, Martha woke up in a rare case. Her eyes opened and met again the real world, yet an inexplicable emotion aroused within her being: the feeling of having something to find. While pulling her blanket, she could vividly remember a four-line verse.

"In the midst of turmoil void of felicity,

There lives a pen that bleeds the ink of tranquility.

No one can behold how tall the words do stand

Unless your voice will act as the hand,"

she uttered as she tried to recognize what transpired in her dreams last night.

Unfortunately, it was all that became clear and exact. She couldn't trace the scene that led her to encounter the verse. Her feet stepped towards a purple backpack, which she used every time she's going to school. She opened it and grabbed a pen and paper, then wrote the words down before those vanished in her mind.

"Martha! It's already 7 AM. Get up and take a bath, or else you'll be late again," shouted Cristina, her mother, while knocking at her door.

"Yes mom, I'm already awake. I'm gonna go out now," replied Martha.

It was Monday, another school day when the classes and lessons waved at her. It seemed like a typical day, but she felt like there's something unusual.

After taking a bath, she wore her uniform. She then faced the mirror and saw a girl-becoming-a-lady.

"Time flies really fast," she thought while combing her long and shiny hair. "...but why am I still like this, hiding inside my shell?"

In her fifteen years of existence, Martha held no confidence in herself. She thought that she didn't have the potential to excel, and couldn't be someone worthy of admiration. She was just going to school because her mother wanted her to.

"Forget about it, Martha. It's not your mission, and especially, not your purpose of finding reasons behind everything," she told herself, referring to the verse she dreamt of.

No purpose, no mission — the description she always thought of herself. Despite that, she had been attending classes and doing things like what a typical child does. It's because she felt like had no choice but to go with the flow of life.

"Bye mom! love you! " Martha then kissed her mother, after packing her things up and preparing to go to school.

"Didn't forget anything?" asked Cristina, as she had been making sure that Martha's absolutely ready.

"Yes mom, don't worry," replied Martha.

"Take care, Martha. I love you, too, my dear. Listen well to your teachers and grasp every lesson in order for you to succeed in life," advised Cristina to her daughter. She had been always giving Martha motivations as what she wanted was her daughter's clear and prosperous future.

While walking out their small, wrecked gate, Martha just draw a smile on her face. It was not repaired because her mother's money was not enough for such expense.

After a while, she faced another gate — but this time, it's a high, silver-plated gate. It was the school's gate. She then entered and went to her classroom, looking down.

"Hi, Martha! How are you?" asked Jilliane, her friend and seatmate.

"Hello, Jil! Hmm, I'm always fine," Martha grinned.

Jilliane continued "By the way, have you bought the book that Ms. Yssa assigned?"

"Oh Gosh!" Martha's eyes expanded as she exclaimed. "I forgot about it. That was not in my task list".

"Hey girl, keep calm," Jilliane laughed. "Our Philosophy class will be in the afternoon, so you still have time to buy it during lunchtime."

"Will you a..." Martha paused and didn't complete the question when Jilliane already answered.

"Of course, yes! I'll accompany you in buying the book. After we eat lunch, let's go to the bookstore."

Martha's happiness was visible in her face. Along with her mother, Jilliane was one of the people who flashed enlightenment in her gloomy perception.