The Dissolving Flower

Kabanata 3

A DECISION FOR AN AMBITION

"ASTER, anong gagawin ko?" he asked as he slid his body on his white, soft matress. Inabot niya ang unan na nasa ibaba ng kaniyang ulo at binato sa sahig.

Pinulot naman ito ni Aster at ibinalik sa kaniya. "I don't know."

Napaismid siya. Marahas niyang hinawakan ang malambot na unan na itinapon niya at tinitigan itong maigi. Kung puwede lang sumigaw at magreklamo ang unan, ginawa na nito dahil sa higpit ng kaniyang pagkakahawak. Muli niya itong tinapon sa direksyon ng sofa kung saan naroroon ang mini salas, sampung metro ang layo mula sa kaniyang kama.

"Oh, spells of the mighty broken tree!" he blurted out, though he didn't know what it meant for it was only a saying most of the S-genes spouts when in distress.

Mas lalo lang siyang naasar nang kinuha ulit ni Aster ang unan at muling ibinalik sa kaniya. Hinablot niya ito, nagtalukbong sa kumot at nagkunwaring umiiyak.

Ano ba kasing puwede niyang gawin? Hindi naman siya makapapayag na hindi siya magiging Dragon Chief. Hindi puwede! Bata pa lang siya gusto na talaga niyang maging chief. That was his dream, but his dreams didn't just end there.

He dreamed for the sake of his other dream.

After knowing what and where his Dragon stone was earlier, a sudden flow of waves flushed through his veins. Instead of feeling concerned, he somehow felt relieved. Relieved that he finally had a reason to capture the ambition he had been hiding for a long time.

For the first time, he was thankful that a person's emotion could be hidden from others. Because if it couldn't, he might have already received a burning smack from her mother.

"Master?"

"Yeah?"

"Is this really important to you? Mamatay ka ba kung hindi mo matutupad ang pangarap mo?"

Inalis niya ang kumot at nilingon si Aster na nakatayo sa kaniyang gilid. Mapanghusga niya itong tinitigan. Hindi siya sigurado kung seryoso o sarkastiko ba ang tanong nito.

"Really, Aster?" Umupo siya sa kama at bumuntong-hininga. "Siyempre, hindi ako mamamatay. But I can't just let go of my dreams."

"You're too ambitious."

"I am and I'm not planning to just keep those ambitions as mere ambitions. I am going to make it my reality, Aster." His hands formed into fists as he remembered how his ambition started.

The Mythrians or S-genes, had a 1000-year lifespan. No one could die above or below that number, except for two factors. First, if they fell ill, caught an incurable disease, or killed. Second, S-genes possessed a self-destruction spell, if they ever decided to end themselves for whatever reason, may it be boredom or lack of will, they could end their life any day they wanted.

In his case, Lis had never been bored. He had always a vision in his head he promised to turn it into reality. His dreams were the ones keeping him alive for four hundred and fifty years.

"Mamatay ba ako kung hindi ko matutupad ang pangarap ko? Of course not! But giving up now even if I know I can do better is just worse than my death. I can't live with that."

"I don't understand." Tumingin si Aster sa kaniya. "Those 'dreams', are they worth it?"

"Someday, you'll understand. Dreams may be subjective, but one thing is for sure . . ." He gave him a small smile. Instead of feeding him the answer, he said, "When the time comes that you have found your dream, try hard to keep it and make it happen. Once you do, tell me if it's worth it, Aster."