El Viajero

Chapter 1: Tower of love

I ate my last spoonful of dinner. I can feel crumbs going in between teeth. I drink my water, bottoms up, to remove the uneasiness from the crumbly feeling. Peas and mashed potatoes. That is our food for tonight. Only peas and mashed potatoes. Mama told me that Sir Ambrosio wished the pantry to be cleaned. My mother did, as a part-time helper, and found an almost expired can of peas. She told me that everything in the pantry must be disposed but she felt regretful wasting the food. It will be expired a few days from now so she asked Sir Ambrosio if she could keep it. He said no, but as she was about to throw it away, she discreetly put it in her jacket and kept it. Now, it is in my tummy, happily turning into something.

This is one of those nights that she bought something from her work for us to have a “decent” supper. I do not know how long this would last but it makes me in deep thoughts. This moments slaps me so hard that reality is this harsh. We could barely eat a proper meal and would almost always end up having to depend of what she will luckily get from there.

I rushed to my bedroom and brushed my teeth. I saw my mother shaking her head after seeing me rushing up the stairs. She gave me a knowing look before I finally entered my room. She is used to it even though she does not know the reason why I am always excited to go in my room. She never asks and I think she assumes that I am a growing man, and a "man" that enjoys his alone time. Partly, that is the reason. I value my privacy especially now that I am experiencing some changes, but the real reason is something I am not ready to tell her yet.

As soon as I am settled, I quickly turned off the light and jumped on my bed. I already changed into a pair of pajamas after coming home from school and was ready to sleep earlier when my mother came and called for dinner.

I closed my eyes and was about to nestle on my bed comfortably when I remembered something.

Oh Darn! I forgot!

I searched for my schoolbag and after finding it under my makeshift study table, I looked for my old model cellphone and texted Jacq.

“Hey dude! Can I borrow some notes from our last subject?”

I failed to chat down because I fell asleep. We will have an upcoming test in Science, and I do not wish to fail. Mother would be so disappointed and would end up grounding me from going out with my friends, but that is not what I am afraid about. It is having to review and study my subjects late at night that makes my mind twirl in despair. I do not wish for that to happen. Late sleep means less time to spend there.

I impatiently waited for his reply but the silence greeted me the whole time. I fought the urge to finally sleep just for his text but I did not receive any reply from him. How can’t he text back? His phone is his life! He cannot even breath with the idea of spending the whole time without it. Maybe he is already fast asleep. Our day, after all, is quite tiring. Our last subject is P.E. We ran around and jumped a few times for that subject, excluding the random running I did for fetching his lunch.

A few moments later, upon realizing that he will never really message back, together with the silence that is too endearing for me that I unconsciously fell asleep.

I woke up in a dark place. It is cold. I can feel the breeze in my skin. I could somehow hear it too. Swishing and swaying things that would come across it--several branches of trees, a door chime, and a sweet sound like of a flute. Then, suddenly, everything shined. I was not able to see for a matter of seconds because of the sudden brightness. Like a total darkness in a dungeon, being a captive for several years and getting used to the gloom and blackness. And one day was thrown off of the cell to meet the blinding sunny day.

I stood up; my foot leading one then the other. I walked with my eyes half open, trying to see the barely visible surrounding. I could still feel and hear the wind, but the sound is slowly fading away. I gasped when I stepped on something, then I just found myself falling. I am falling to a pit of darkness. My mind is twirling as my other senses begin to get stronger. I started smelling something foreign and hearing clanking sounds of metals. I shut my eyes and opened them, witnessing the blinding light I just saw a few moments ago get smaller while still falling, while the darkness is eating me whole. Until no light remains.

I closed my eyes once more, hoping that everything will stop right away.

This is what I hate when I travel.

I opened my eyes and could barely see because of another light. I am trying to fight it off like how I usually do and not long before the blur stepped aside.

My eyes widen, not in shock, but in surprise. Surprised to see this beautiful gigantic thing in my dream. This afternoon, I was busy thinking of what I could possibly dream about later tonight. I daydreamed about fighting sharks head-on as a deep diver in the Pacific Ocean or a famous Rockstar in Hollywood. But I never thought that tonight will be one of the best.

I roamed my eyes around and blink twice in awe. I could feel my jaw dropping because of the great Eiffel tower in front of me. My feet are rooted on the ground as I stare in bewilderment. It stood proud and tall. Like a soldier in a battlefield, fighting for its country.

The topmost part of the tower glimmered. It is like a button enabling me to move forward, and that is when I realized that I am not the only one.