12 A Separation

Tonton felt sad. He did not know why but he was certainly sad, almost in the brink of crying.

"There you are!" Jamie boomed from his side.

Tonton looked at his friend. He looked young, like four or five years old.

"Why don't you want to see?" Jamie asked.

"I don't understand," he replied.

"Please, try to. I will only be gone for a short time. It's just two months. After that, I will be back here."

He kept staring at Jamie. He thought, 'What is happening here?'

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Slowly, Jamie walked towards him. He spread his arms and hugged his friend tightly.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "I will be back very soon."

To his wonder, Tonton started crying. He could not help it.

"Don't forget me," he implored. He did not expect those words to come out of his month.

"Silly, but I won't."

With a wave of his arms, Jamie said goodbye and left Tonton alone. Gradually, Tonton seemed to remember the event. They were young then and Jamie left for two months to spend his summer with some cousins.

Tonton went back inside his house. He was very lonely, enough that he opted to sleep off his sadness. He laid on his bed and covered himself with blanket.

"This is all just a dream," he reminded himself. "I will just sleep, and once I wake up, I'll be back to reality."

Succesfully, Tonton slept. No sooner, he rouse. Again, he was transported to a new place so it was not reality yet. It was his school and it was night time.

From the corner of the sky, a blazing light appeared. It moved fast and seemed to strike the school.

"It's the falling star!" he exclaimed.

Reflexively, Tonton ran, trying to get himself away from the scene. He opened the school's gate wide and ran again. He did not look back, fearing the things he might see. However, he was certain that the falling star was near as the light behind him grew stronger, trying to engulf his shadow and all of himself. In a split second, the bright radiance overtook the school. Tonton screamed hard.

He curled on the ground and covered his ears. He screamed again but the light explosion had already ended. Instead, there were gunfires around him. Laser blasts splashed everywhere and the supposedly dark night glowed with blasts and madness.

"Where am I?" Tonton asked himself. "Am I back in the war?"

Tonton crawled on the ground. Indeed, he was back in the war he had been into during his previous dream. He was also in the forest, tree stumps and sticking roots made his struggle even more difficult. He was wiser now and he kept his composure as he looked for a safe haven.

Finally, he found a large tree away from the war zone. He hid behind it and rested himself. This dream was more exhausting than the last. He was too tired that he slept fast behind the tree.

Somebody shook him and Tonton jumped out of his seat.

"Hey, Tonton," Bogart said, "you have been sleeping soundly for one hour already."

'I am still in the dream?' Tonton asked himself. He looked around and they were in the school canteen. It must have been afternoon because their table was empty, except for wrappers of Bogart's sandwich and a bottle of orange juice.

"You look really tired," Kiko said.

Tonton was about to say something when a loud explosion happened outside, followed by loud screaming from the students. Immediately, they ran outside and struggled along the way because the ground shook, as if some big feet were stomping the school.

They gasped at what they saw. A gigantic jellyfish-like creature was hovering over the school. The monster was red-black in color and its creepy tentacles were randomly picking up the children which it ultimately fed into its heavily-teethed mouth.

"Let's get away from here!" Jamie shouted.

Quickly, the boys dashed, trying to get away from the school. However, a tentacle reached them and picked Bogart by the foot. Kiko and Jamie grabbed him, attempting to release him but the monster was too strong. With one sweep, its tentacles lifted the boys in the air and instantly gobbled the boys.

Tonton cried in shock. He knew it was only a dream but it felt too real. He crouched on the pavement and cried louder while the screaming around him continued.

Gradually, the noise subsided and an eerie silence enveloped Tonton. He sat up straight and found himself at the back of a stone building. It was like the marketplace from his previous dream. Faceless people were busy around him.

He strolled and after a while, he encountered the familiar couple. They entered what seemed to be a tent. Curiously, Tonton walked and hid behind the tent cover but he could clearly hear their conversation.

"We need to do this," the man begged. "This is the only way."

"I'm afraid," she said. "Let's leave together."

"You know I can't. I must hold off the guards first."

"We can't get separated."

"This is only temporary. I will follow you and be with you as soon as possible."

"I'm not sure I can do this."

"You can, Elena. You are the bravest woman I know."

The woman collapsed into his arms and sobbed. Tonton closed his eyes and analyzed the meaning of his dreams. Things seemed to be random but somehow connected. As to how, he did not know. It was like a big jigsaw puzzle; all the pieces were there but he could not simply put them together.

When he opened his eyes, Tonton was back in Subangdaku. He was standing in front of the old haunted house. He dreaded the house since the accident few years back.

It was night and it was silent, save for the crickets and the crawlies. The sky was dark except for a few stars. It was new moon and the skies must have blocked most of the stars.

Fear crept into Tonton. The haunted house was ghostly but something else made his hairs stood. A big star suddenly appeared from the sky. It grew bigger with each second. Tonto's heart leapt for it was not just a star. It was a falling star.

"Coming," a voice whispered into Tonton's ears.