✔ Through Alternate Realities

Capitulum 03

"EVAN is still alive in other realities."   

Mel felt the urge to pinch herself just to make sure she didn't accidentally fall asleep earlier.

'Oo...baka nakatulong lang ako kanina. This is just a nightmare! A very bad yet creative one,' she thought.

Siguro naman may mas matinong paliwanag ang mga nangyayari ngayon, hindi ba?

Kasi kahit anong isipin niya, ang hirap maniwalang may misteryosong lalaking bigla na lang sumulpot sa kanyang apartment at sinabing buhay pa ang boyfriend niya. And let's not forget that part when he mentioned something about "other realities"!

Pagak siyang natawa.

"Hahaha! What's next? Sasabihin mo ba sa'kin kung paano pumunta sa alternate realities para makasama ko ulit si Evan?"

Hindi naman natinag si Link at naupo pa sa gilid ng kanyang kama. He patiently waited for her to stop laughing. Ilang sandali pa, seryoso itong sumagot habang nakatitig pa rin sa kanya.

"Yes, that's exactly why I'm here."

Napailing na lang si Mel. Mas lumakas ang kutob niyang nananaginip lang siya ngayon. Pinagsabihan na siya dati ng mga kaibigan niya. What were their words again? Ah, yes... "Mel, nandito lang kami kung kailangan mo ng kausap. Wag kang magkukulong buong araw sa apartment mo dahil baka tuluyan ka nang mabaliw."

Nakakatawang isipin na naaalala ni Mel ang bilin nila sa kanya, pero hindi niya ito sinusunod.

Ever since Evan died, she started isolating herself because it was too painful to face reality.

Hindi pa nakatulong na iisa lang ang "circle of friends" nila ng kanyang boyfriend. Mas masakit dahil tuwing nakikita niya ang mga ito, bumabalik lang sa alaala ni Mel ang mga araw na magkakasama pa sila sa mga outing at selebrasyon.

That's what memories do sometimes---they cut open the wounds you try so hard to heal.

"Makikinig na talaga ako sa kanila. Crap. This dream is too realistic!" She mumbled while pinching herself.

Pero makalipas ang ilang minuto (at ilang beses ng pamumula ng kanyang balat) wala pa ring nangyayari. Masakit. Teka, normal bang nasasaktan sa mga panaginip? Pwera na lang kung...

"N-No... No no no no no! T-This can't be happening!"

Natatakot niyang binalingan si Link na prente na ngayong nakaupo sa kanyang study table. He sat like he was already comfortable there. Nakangiti lang ito sa kanya.

"It is, and I can assure you, this isn't a dream. This is reality...your reality. Kaya kung gusto mong makita at makasama ulit ang 'Evan' na nabubuhay sa ibang reyalidad, stop being so skeptical, Melinoe. I'm here to help you."

Naningkit ang kanyang mga mata. Kung kathang-isip nga ang lahat ng ito, she wanted to give herself an award dahil sa creativity. Ganito na ba siya kadesperadang makasama ulit si Evan? Did her broken heart construct a hallucination as vivid as this one?

Melinoe sighed.

There's only one way to find out...

"Paano?"

Umalis si Link sa study table at iminuwestra ang laptop na ilang araw na niyang hindi ginagalaw.

"Travelling to the alternate realities can be done through different mediums. Ang pinaka-recent option na ibinigay ni Tadhana ay sa pamamagitan ng teknolohiya. It's the easiest way. In fact, this is the only way humans can access the alternate realities---pwera na lang kung officer ka ni Tadhana, but that's not the point. Ganito: una, syempre, kailangan mo ng laptop o computer..."

This is crazy!

But, of course, Melinoe is even crazier for opening her laptop.

'Full battery pa. Ilang araw ko na bang ini-snob ang laptop na 'to?'

She can't remember.

Hinintay na lang niya ang instructions ni Link.

"Okay, now, I guess you already know this: may iba't ibang commands ang isang computer, at sa bawat command, may katumbas ito sa keyboard," he stated.

Mel nodded. Napag-aralan na nga nila ang computer short cut keys (or "computer codes", as she would often call them) noong nakaraang taon sa computer subject nila.

Ctrl + A, selects all text.

Ctrl + X, cuts text.

Alt + F4, closes current open program.

Shift + Del, deletes programs or files permanently.

"Pero ano naman ang kinalaman nito sa pag-travel sa alternate realities?" Mel wondered out loud.

Ngumisi si Link, "May ginawang special computer command si Tadhana, Mel. Nagbigay siya ng isang code para makapaglakbay ka sa ibang bersyon ng reyalidad."

"T-Talaga?"

"Yup! Tadhana kept it a secret since he doesn't want to risk having a million humans going in and out of alternate realities. Pinapahalagahan pa rin namin ang balanse ng mundo, syempre. Katulong niya ang mga officers na kagaya ko. Every action has its consequences. Now, back to my tutorial. See that cursor?" Link pointed to the white arrow on the screen.

"I-tapat mo sa pinaka-gitna ng screen...ganyan! Very good."

She felt stupid.

"What's next?"

Link stood behind her and leaned closer to whisper in her ear.

"To find your happiness through alternate realities,
Believe it will happen, and press 'Alt + RLT'!"

Alt + RLT

...is the computer short cut code to travel to an "alternate reality"?

Hindi alam ni Mel kung dapat ba siyang ma-impress o matawa. Pero sa kabila ng lahat ng ito, namalayan na lang niyang nakapindot na pala ang kanyang daliri sa "Alt" key. She then started tapping the keys R, L, and T, one at a time.

Walang nangyari.

Scam.

"I can't believe I just wasted my time."

"Instead of believing you wasted your time, try to believe that it will actually work. Tingnan mo ang computer screen at mag-concentrate ka," Link almost scolded her like a teacher would to his student.

Dahil dito, wala nang nagawa si Mel at sinunod ang kanyang sinabi.

She stared at the monitor.

This is crazy, yes. But somehow, a part of her wanted to believe it's real. Siguro nga, masyado na siyang desperadang makita ulit si Evan at masyadong na siyang nade-depress kaya pinatulan na niya ang kabaliwang ito. But in her heart, Melinoe was still longing for him.

'Kung may pagkakataon ngang magkita tayo sa ibang reyalidad, handa akong maniwala, Evan... Handa akong paniwalaan ang kahit ano.'

Because Mel knows that in any version of reality, her heart belongs to him.

And that's when it happened...

Unti-unti, napapansin niyang nagwa-warp ang imahe sa kanyang monitor. Isang puting kawalan ang pumalit sa kanyang harapan. The white light got brighter and brighter as Mel instinctively reached to touch the screen.

At nang madampi na ang kanyang mga daliri sa monitor, tila ba hinigop na siya ng isang vortex papunta sa ibang lugar...

Papunta sa ibang reyalidad.

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