The Great Awakening

"Oh! You're referring to my dream!" Triggs said.

Vega smiled as she nodded her head.

"The lady in my dream… She also told me about this event - a massive shift that will happen."

"Did she tell you anything else?"

Triggs tried to remember more about his dream, 

"She also told me that someday, people will start to listen and open their eyes. I didn't understand what she meant by that."

Vega chuckled,

"The Great Awakening - the time wherein the masses will wake up to their true power. The age when the veil will be lifted and the hidden truths will be revealed in front of their eyes."

Curiously, Triggs asked, "What are these hidden truths?"

"That you are more than what you believed to be," Vega answered. She added,

"The things you see and experience in this world are not but just a small fraction of what really is out there."

"I - I don't understand."

"You will - someday. As I said, 'divine timing'."

Silence filled the room for a while.

"Psh! So cliche!" Monty blabbered. "Can we skip the cringe part now?" 

Then, he asked Triggs, "So? Are you joining or what?"

"Sorry… But I think I still can't answer that right now," Triggs replied.

"It's okay, Young Lad. You don't need to pressure yourself," Vega said.

"There are still a lot of things I need to consider…"

"Don't worry, Triggs. We understand you," Lae consoled.

"I'm sorry… But I think I'm overstaying now… I should go home now. My sister might notice that I'm gone."

"Welp, okay," Vega replied. 

Then, she called out to Lae, "Lae! Why don't you give this Young Lad a 'Word'? So he can come back whenever he decides to."

"Will do, Lola Vega."

"Young Lad," Vega uttered to Triggs with a heartfelt voice. 

She continued,

"Feel free to come back whenever you feel it. Although you're still not officially part of our group, know that you're always welcome here."

 Calla followed, "Yes! From now on, we'll treat you like you're one of us!"

Triggs was throbbed by the warm statements. He nodded with a genuine smile.

"So, are you ready to go now?" Lae asked.

"Yes - sure."

"OPERBA!"

A portal opened in front of them.

"One more thing, Young Lad," Vega uttered just before Triggs and Lae could enter the portal. 

"The Lifting of the Veil - part of it is also uncovering uncomfortable truths. The mission of our group is to assist other people in this upcoming transition."

She explained further,

"But of course, there are forces that are not aligned with our goals. If you join our movement, be prepared - crossing paths with them will be unavoidable."

"I understand," Triggs responded with a nod.

 "Well… I guess it's one thing you need to consider in your decision. I hope to see you again!" Vega's farewell.

Lae and Triggs entered the Portal.

Triggs finally came back to his room.

"You're home now - safely, as we promised," Lae said to Triggs.

"Thank you, Lae."

"Oh! Before I forget… I'll teach you how to use an Incantation."

Triggs suddenly felt excited. "Nice!"

"But please be careful! You can only use this once. It's a one-time Incantation that would open up a Portal back to our Base. Use it when you finally come up with a decision."

"Okay!"

"I'll write it down. Do you have a pen and paper?"

"Ok, wait…"

Triggs went to the desk beside his bed. He brought out a pencil and notebook from the drawers of the desk.

"Here."

Lae grabbed the pencil and notebook. She started writing the words 'UNO MODO'. She returned the notebook to Triggs after that.

Triggs tried to read the words, "U… UNO…"

"Hey! I just told you! Be careful! You can only use it once."

"Oh - yeah, right! I'm sorry. Hehe."

"It's okay," Lae replied. "Well then… I guess that's it. I hope this is not the last time we meet."

Triggs nodded his head.

"OPERBA!"

A Portal opened again.

Lae bid her farewell, "See you, Triggs!"

"See you."

Without further ado, Lae stepped foot at the Portal and left the room. The Portal closed.

Triggs stared at the words written in his notebook. After a while, he returned the pencil and notebook to the drawers. 

He lay flat on his bed and spent the night thinking about the new knowledge he had learned from the group. 

He stared at the ceiling as he recollected his experiences that day. 

…

…

…

The next morning, inside a classroom,

"Hey, Triggs! What score did Mr. Santos give to your project?" one of Triggs' classmates asked.

"Uhm… He still hasn't checked mine yet," Triggs answered.

Another classmate whined, "Damn it! I'm so nervous!"

"Don't worry, Bill. I read your project; it's quite interesting. I'm confident it will get a good score," Triggs said to console his classmate.

"Uhh… But still!" Bill uttered with a shaky voice. "Didn't Mr. Santos say that our score in this project will greatly affect our final grade in this subject?"

"Really? He said that?"

"YES!"

Triggs looked at his other classmate and saw him moping in the corner.

Concerned, Triggs asked, "Denz!? What happened to you?" 

"Mr. Santos gave me a score of 70!" Denz uttered. "I'm doomed!"

Triggs and Bill were surprised.

"W - What!?"

"Is it really that bad!?"

"I don't know! I did my best in this project!"

As their conversation continued, the professor in the classroom called out Triggs' surname.

"Mr. Celestial!"

"Op… It's my turn now," Triggs uttered. 

He grabbed his project from his bag, preparing to present it to his professor. "Wish me luck, guys," he said to his friend.

Triggs walked to his professor who was sitting at the desk in front of the classroom. 

He politely handed over his project: a book made up of bond papers stacked together by a yarn and a sturdy colorful carton serving as its hardcover.

"Hmm… good presentation…" Mr. Santos mumbled as he turned the book up and down, left and right, top to bottom as if he was a detective examining a piece of evidence.

The professor turned to the first page and started reading.

"Mmm - hmm… nice... okay….. Uh-huh…" Mr. Santos' mumblings as he scanned the project.

Triggs was getting a bit tense as he watched his professor critique his book.

Moments later,

"Okay! That was a good read!" Mr. Santos stated. "I didn't know you're a good writer, Mr. Celestial."

"Th - Thanks, Sir!"

"The writing is good, you used lots of elements to convey the emotions of your characters. Your writing style is also unique - in a good way. The plot is great and the ending is thought-provoking. Good job, Mr. Celestial."

"Thanks, Sir!" Triggs responded with a smile on his face. 

He was starting to get confident that he would get a good score.

"However!" Mr. Santos immediately followed. "This story won't sell."

Triggs' smile was immediately replaced with a wrinkled forehead. "Si - Sir?"

"The story was too deep and the plot was too depressing - most people aren't interested in complicated stories," he explained.

He added,

"The story also lacks cheesy elements that casual readers want. Overall, this story is not for the masses. Therefore, this doesn't have a chance to be a bestseller."

"Wh - what!?"

"I'll give you 75... Okay, plus 5 for the good story structure."

Triggs was ultimately disappointed.

"Sir!? You'll give me a low grade just because you think it won't sell!? That's absurd!"

"Tell me why it's absurd, Mr. Celestial."

"Why would you put our works in a specific standard? What happened to creative freedom? Why are you confining our talents in a box?"

Mr. Santos chuckled. "I'm just giving you a taste of reality. When you get out of college, you'll discover that reality doesn't care about your creative freedom." 

"Huh!?"

"Try pitching that story to a publisher, or your boss if you decide to work in a corporation, then you'll find out that you need to appeal to a certain set of standards expected from you."

Triggs bit his lips as he tried to hold his frustration.

Mr. Santos continued, "Be grateful that I'm preparing you for the real world."

"You're preparing us for what exactly?"

"Compliance, Mr. Celestial. Compliance is everything. If you don't fit in, you're hardly relevant in this world."

Slowly, annoyance started to slip out of Triggs' mouth,

"You'll see…"

"Are you saying something, Mr. Celestial?"

Triggs chuckled like a crazy person, "What you said might be true right now, Mr. Santos. But someday, you'll see that it won't need to be like that anymore."

"What do you mean, Mr. Celestial?"

"Once the shift happens, the people will finally wake up to their true potential! Everyone will realize that we don't need to fit in and comply with what society expects of us!"

The professor was baffled by what he was hearing. 

Triggs continued,

"Soon, we'll realize that we can be different but still be significant in this world! It won't be too long… it is coming! THE GREAT AWAKENING!"

As Triggs finished his monologue, a deafening silence banged the room. It lasted for a while. 

"TO THE GUIDANCE OFFICE! NOW!"