Bad Dream

Ichiro suddenly wakes up from a bad dream. It seems so real that he arrived in the Philippines in 1941. He still can't believe that his imagination has gone wild. Going to another country can be crazy sometimes. He's not here to invade but to make their country prosper.

As an engineer, he wanted to build heavy-duty highways and bridges for everyone. He suddenly remembered the bridge that he took yesterday. It's not on the GPS that's why it might be the reason why he had that wild dream. He can't imagine being a soldier instead of an engineer.

The lights suddenly went on and he realized that he was not on the site. There are other men around him. It looks like the garrison from the 1941 invasion. How can he end up in this place and time? The men around him immediately got up and started to get dressed in their uniforms.

"Ichiro, get ready! We're going to attack this province now." The guy besides his bed said with urgency in his voice.

That's when he recognized him from yesterday. It's Yoshi, a friendly soldier from 1941. How can he go with them for the invasion? That means that they will be going to war. He can't get killed this time or he may not be able to go home. He needs to pretend that he's sick!

"I don't think I can go with you guys. I don't feel well, I think I'm sick!" He started his drama and hoped they would buy it.

"Why now? The commander will not be happy about it." Yoshi replied who is already in his uniform and ready to go.

"I can't fight in this condition. Go ahead without me!" He said and pretended to have a terrible stomach ache.

Most of the soldiers are already gone from the barracks. Maybe he can just escape this place once they all leave. He's still trying to think of what to do when the commander gets inside. This is when he will be able to use his acting talent. There's no way he can go to war without training.

"What's going on here? It's time to attack!" The commander shouted which made him scared for his life.

"Commander, permission to speak. He can't fight with us. He's sick!" Yoshi informed their commander.

"Awww…"He tried his best to act as if he were in pain. 

" Let's leave him here! Soldier, you're on your own. Let's go!" The commander seems to buy his acting.

Yoshi and the rest of the soldiers went ahead with the commander. Ichiro felt relieved that he was not shot for being weak. During these times, they will kill anyone who can't fight. Maybe the commander thinks that he's not worth it. 

He's thankful that he's not from the family of samurai or he's already dead before this. The soldiers didn't make any sound since they were planning to invade this province. He looks out the small window from the tent to see if they are all gone. Maybe he needs to wait for a while.

Bang...bang...bang…

Gunshots disturb the quiet morning. It sounds like the war has begun. Ichiro went down to the ground to avoid getting shot. He needs to get away from this place before something bad happens. They are invading Bataan province. Of course, there will be shooting and casualties.

It seems that the Filipino guerillas are fighting their soldiers. That explains the gunshots since they are fighting back. He saw that the Filipinos were only fighting with their jungle bolo. That means that they will be doomed when they get shot. He runs away before seeing dead bodies.

I went out to look for Conrad. Maybe we can sort things out. We can't be fighting each other before the war. It's almost morning and I hope that they haven't attacked the garrison yet. I need to talk to him and stop him before he does something stupid. There's no way he will survive this war!

I noticed that the grass is moving a lot. Maybe the guerillas are already on their way to the Japanese camp. I don't hear anymore what will happen to me. Stopping this war may sound ambitious. Instead, I will just stop Conrad from dying. I don't want to lose him in this fight.

Ichiro is now running in the tall grass field. Maybe he can get away from the fighting and just leave this place. He doesn't know how he can get to the present time but he will figure it out. It will be bad if he gets caught in this war. All he wanted was to build tall buildings, amazing bridges, and roads.

As he runs away from the garrison, he seems to see a figure of a woman. Maybe he's hallucinating. Why will a woman be out here when there's a fight going on? He ignored the fact that he was seeing her clearly the closer he got. Maybe she's the way for him to go back to the present time.

"Is that a man?" I asked myself.

There's a man who's running away from the Japanese garrison. Maybe he's scared to fight along with his fellow soldiers. He looks Japanese even from afar. Although it's not Yoshi or the commander. His face is not familiar. Maybe he's a recruit from Japan. I have to wait for him.

"Help me!" Ichiro tried not to shout.

Even if he's seeing a Filipina, maybe she will help him. He may look like an enemy but he's not part of it. Once he reaches her, he needs to explain that he's not one of them. He just wants to go home and forget about this like a bad dream. How far will it take for him to get to her?

"Who are you?" I asked the stranger in front of me.

He seems to be too scared to even talk. It was my first time seeing a Japanese soldier who was afraid of me. They are nice and friendly towards me but not scared. Maybe he's a recruit and doesn't know what to do around here. I let him catch his breath and waited for him to speak.

"My name is Ichiro. I'm not an enemy. Please, help me!" He tried saying it all in one breath before collapsing.