From Dream's End to Life's New Beginning

Time continues to march on, name after name is called, and one by one they are invited into the interview room. Previously, we had filled out several forms provided to each applicant and handed them back to the attending officer after filling in our personal data and the questions inside. All that remains now is the direct interview.

I sat growing more anxious and nervous waiting in the waiting room alongside several other people who might be feeling just as uneasy. My body felt fatigued, my calf muscles ached, even though I tried over and over to fly, I just couldn't do it. Ten minutes passed and suddenly two security officers rushed into the interview room, speeding past our waiting area. They came out dragging someone I remember was just recently called in for the interview. That person seemed to be in a state of panic, crying and yelling as they were forcibly removed by the officers. I was shocked seeing this, not understanding what was happening. Another name was called and another person entered the interview room. Taking a risk, I turned to someone seated behind me, "What was that about?"

Was it because they weren't dressed appropriately? I suddenly felt sweaty; my clothes were far from neat, and my shoes felt uncomfortably hot.

The blonde-haired man I asked looked at me dismissively, "They're Dreamers. Several have been like that since earlier."

"Dreamers? What power is that?" I replied.

He smirked, "They're just dreamers, with no special abilities, but they want to become BtP members. Like the one just now, he will soon be blacklisted and will never be able to enter BtP for the rest of his life. They're lucky they aren't made into 'rabbits' for daring to deceive BtP."

A heavy feeling overcame me; my face surely turned pale. His brown eyes stared into mine, and I noticed a mocking smile on his lips.

"Are you a dreamer?"

"Me? No," I replied immediately.

"So, what's your special ability? I hope you're not another dreamer," he warned, showing me electric sparks dancing between his fingers, "Or I might just give you a shock if you start screaming embarrassingly like that person."

My eyes widened seeing the electric sparks play between his fingers. No one in my village could do that. After staring in awe, I swallowed, "No, I'm not a dreamer. I can fly. And I won't scream like that," I responded spontaneously even though I began to feel insecure and doubtful.

Perhaps I would scream, but I wouldn't cry like that.

Before the man could reply, a name was called, and he quickly stood up to enter the interview room. He glanced at me, wiggling his index finger as a warning. My heart raced uncontrollably. Cold sweat dripped from my palms.

"What if I can't fly during the interview?"

Both of my cold hands covered my face as I tried to think hard.

"Or maybe I can only fly in dreams. I... I..."

Instantly, I tried to calm myself and attempted to fly again. No result. My mind raced; I thought of fleeing and returning when I could truly fly.

Maybe I should just leave now.

As I was about to leave, a voice called, "Jaime Hunter!"

"Jaime..." a blue-uniformed officer beckoned, and I nodded instinctively, "Your place is here."

I hesitated between the exit and the interview room. I remembered I had no money left, not even for food. Reluctantly, I followed the officer into the interview room, my body shaking with fear.

My heart almost dropped, I had no other choice but to work at BtP and above all, my money was gone. I had no provisions and it was impossible for me to return to my hometown. I have nothing left!

"Gi...give me a chance," I said quickly, immediately concentrating.

"Please leave now, we don't have much time," those words started sounding impatient.

I clearly still wanted to try, I can clearly fly. I must fly.

But one of them pressed a button on the table and said, "Another dreamer, please come immediately."

I quickly looked at the supervisor. "Give me another chance," I screamed loudly, desperate and scared, "Please..."

They ignored me and only looked at the next sheet, preparing for the next person. My unacknowledged plea made me truly desperate, and I stepped forward, banging on the glass window facing the supervisor, "Give me another chance, I can truly fly. You have to accept me. I can fly!"

I suddenly remembered that if I failed, I would face the black list and never be allowed in again. This is truly a nightmare.

Am I going to let all my dreams shatter at this moment?

Two officers I had seen earlier who had pulled out the previous dreamer now entered and each grabbed one of my hands intending to pull me out forcibly. My hand moved quickly and I punched one guard in the face, knocking him down with a bleeding lip, and hit another in the face, causing him to double over with a bleeding nose. My body ran back to the thick glass window. "I can fly!!!" I shouted loudly, I was desperate and hit the glass as hard as I could, tears forming in my eyes.

Three BtP-uniformed individuals behind the glass didn't even glance at me, and suddenly two new guards arrived, hitting me with a wooden baton on my ribs, disabling my legs, and pulling me out of the room by force. I struggled with all my might, refusing to let my dream shatter. This dream was all I had, the last thing I could hope for in my life and future.

"Give me a chance, I can fly," I shouted again, almost shedding tears if I hadn't held them back as hard as I could. Nevertheless, I was forcibly dragged out by the four officers, out of the interview room and through the waiting room. I kept trying to resist and shouted pleas. A man playing with electricity in his hand smirked at me and said, "I knew you were a dreamer and you're even crying." The electricity in his hand suddenly grew larger and struck my face and body. I felt a huge jolt of pain, my face went numb, my tongue drooped and my body felt stiff, unable to do anything. I felt pain, frustration, anger, shame, sadness, and it all mixed together. I was powerless, restrained by the four officers, helpless as I was dragged all the way. Until I was thrown forcibly out of the BtP gate.

Just as I landed on the ground, one of the officers whose lip was bleeding from my punch, took out his wooden baton and hit my cheek hard, shouting, "Bastard!" His colleague with the bleeding nose kicked me hard in the stomach with his hard leather shoes and pulled out his gun to point it directly at my forehead.

"Click, Bang..."

The sound of a gunshot exploded right next to me, grazing my ear which immediately began to bleed. My ears rang, drowning out any other noise. I lay still, watching another officer restraining the one with the gun and shouting at me, "Leave now before he kills you!"

My courage was shattered. I've been used to fighting since I was a kid, but with guns, I didn't know what to do. I knew if that shot had hit my head, I would've been dead. My legs trembled, and my courage had truly vanished. With trembling and fear, I started to run, or rather crawl quickly away from there with the help of my hands, clearly with a pale face, trembling body, and my soul felt like it was leaving my body.

I don't want to die.

Running far away from the BtP building, I collapsed and lay on the grass beside the asphalt road. Catching my breath. My dreams were shattered, I was penniless, my backpack was empty, my dignity was lost, and my courage hadn't returned. My body still trembled with fear, anger, embarrassment, and I felt lost.

A car sound came from the BtP's direction, startling me, and I immediately got up and walked to distance myself from that building. The car sped past me, and all I could do now was walk the streets, pondering my next move. I was aimless and lost in unfamiliar territory with a bruised face and nothing of value left.

Night was approaching, the sky was turning red. Waves crashed loudly, birds returned to their nests, and I walked the vast streets alone.

Nowhere to return.

A pick-up truck passed by me, then stopped about 20 meters behind and slowly backed up towards me. The window rolled down, and the driver looked at me, "Young man," he called.

I paused and looked at him.

"Where are you headed on foot? There's not a single house for 50 kilometers?" an elderly man asked, studying me intently.

I couldn't answer because I had no idea where I was going. He looked at me for a while as if sizing me up, then gestured, "Get in the back; I need help unloading those bags of cement later." I glanced at the dozens of cement sacks and then at the elderly man who looked back gently, "What are you waiting for? Hop in."

I climbed into the back, and the truck headed back towards BtP's headquarters, but before reaching it, turned left into a construction site where some workers were cooking dinner on a small gas stove. A few of them approached the truck, and I helped unload the cement. After we were done, the elderly man handed me a large note, "Take this for your work, and if you have no other purpose, work here. They need young men like you. I've spoken to the contractor."

I took the money silently and looked at the elderly man. He just smiled gently and headed back to his truck, "You can ride with us if you're going to the city."

The night sky was dark, and I had nowhere to go. Even the city was unfamiliar to me. But here, at least, I saw a place for me. A place where my life's gears could fit and turn to have some meaning.

The next day, I became a construction worker. The job was familiar as I had worked in construction back in my village. The pay was decent, and I was given a place to stay in a worker's tent. Due to the remote location, many workers stayed onsite. I was praised for my hard work, which helped mend my bruised ego. For almost two months, I participated in the construction of some buildings.

For weeks, I was haunted by nightmares, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fly again. I often found myself looking at the starry sky at night, reminded of my village. During the day, I'd see BtP members smiling, which saddened me. I couldn't fly; I was just a chicken dreaming of being an eagle. I was no superhero; I'd never be able to fly.

With a heavy heart and full acceptance, I tried to swallow the bitter truth and fully accept my situation. It took quite a while and a few tears shed before I could come to terms with it and focused on doing my job to the best of my ability to be accepted among the construction workers.

After all, dreams might shatter but life must go on. It would be terrible to be left stranded by them once the job is done since I no longer have a purpose.

By the time the Master's house and Kafe Eve were finished, and I was about to move on to the next construction job with the other workers, Master suddenly asked me if I was interested in working for him as a waiter, considering I was much younger than most of the workers. And Master needed young energy. Without a second thought, considering my desire to shift from manual to mental work, I felt relieved at the idea of a job that didn't require hours of physical exertion. Besides, construction work is uncertain; sometimes there are jobs and sometimes not. Having stable employment was my hope. Moreover, Master was the one who brought me here when I was lost.

I owed him.

I promptly accepted his offer and Master took me to an old gardener's house about ten kilometers from Kafe Eve. The house was nearly uninhabitable but with leftover construction materials and other items from Kafe Eve's construction, I worked on patching the roof holes and putting up its beams.

In the initial weeks, I assisted Master in moving household items from their old house in Melodistria to the new house behind Kafe Eve. I went shopping for Kafe Eve necessities and did all the heavy lifting as instructed. Madame took a liking to me and gifted me many of her old kitchen appliances to use at my place, while Master allowed me to keep most of his old books, primarily about beverages.

Finally, when Kafe Eve was ready to open, I had found a new home for myself, a leather couch, a bed, and some clothes. I remember taking a deep sigh of relief when I finally found a place to settle and a fresh start for my future. Master hoped I could be a bartender under his guidance, which I gladly accepted as I believed it to be a better job than farming or other manual labor. Not to belittle farmers or manual workers, but I found working indoors with legendary air-conditioning much more enjoyable than working under the scorching sun.

Master taught me the basics of being a waiter and also a bartender. Madame taught me how to cook Kafe Eve's menu, and from then on, I read a lot and practiced my body movements, walking, smiling, and hand techniques for mixing drinks. Hoping I could perform at my best and not get fired, because if I were to get fired, I would have nothing left. This was my only path to becoming something better than a rough guy with my limited education.

On my first day working at Cafe Eve, I had to hike to reach it due to the lack of public transportation. This continued for about a month until I received my first paycheck and successfully bought a bicycle. After saving up for more than a year, I daringly bought a used motorcycle. Even though the bike was old and not luxurious, it was of great service to me. It accompanied me through the scorching sun, rain, and storms. Thanks to that bike, I didn't have to pedal 45 km into the city to buy books or other supplies.

I loved it, my only faithful companion in my solitude.