Umatake na naman ang giant octopus.
He quickly ran towards the cabinet and forced it open. Doon niya nakita ang dalagang may nakapulupot na tissue paper sa buong katawan na parang mummy. Cornelia wiggled against their constraints. Nakahinga nang maluwag si Dave at agad na inalis ang nakabusal na basahan sa bibig nito.
"Kamusta naman dito?" He joked.
Cornelia glared at him. "Maayos naman, walang ipis, malinis... Now, can you please get me out of here?"
Dave smiled and quickly pulled her out of the small space, just in time before the ceiling rattled.
"Mukhang mas nagiging agresibo na ang kaibigan natin," he commented while helping her out of the deadly tissue paper. Nang makakawala na si Cornelia, mabilis niyang hinila payuko si Dave.
CRASH!
The tentacle almost hit them as it swept towards the wall, crashing into the glassware. Ang masama pa nito, aksidenteng natagay rin ng galamay ang satin bag na inaayos kanina ni Dave.
"Tsk! So much for food and water..."
"Okay lang 'yan. Nakapag-impake na rin ako kanina ng dadalhin natin sa biyahe," she said. Doon lang napansin ni Dave ang maliit na sako sa gilid ng counter katabi ng mapa. Ang nakakatuwa pa rito, may abstract drawing pa gamit ang uling. No doubt, Cornelia's artistic side kicked in. "May kailangan ka pa ba?"
Mabilis na napansin ni Dave ang bahagyang pamumula ng dalaga nang mapansing magkalapit lang ang mga mukha nila. The way her eyes widened and her face shied away to the side made him smile. Hindi niya maintindihan kung bakit parang palagi na lang self-conscious si Cornelia.
Mahiyain? He doubts.
'With a face and a personality like that, wala siyang dapat ikinakahiya. She can easily attract any man's attention.'
As quickly as the thought appeared, Dave composed himself and answered, "Sasabihin ko sanang 'laptop ko', but as you can see, mukhang 'di na rin natin kayang i-salvage." Sabay turo niya sa sirang gadget sa sahig. At ngayong naisip na niya ito, Dave silently wished that his laptop in the Land of Dreams is still intact.
Ang masama nito iisa lang din pala ang laptop niya sa dalawang dimensyon tulad ni...
"Coco."
Nang banggitin niya ang pangalan ng cactus, nag-iwas ng tingin si Cornelia. What an odd reaction. O baka naman wirduhan lang ito sa nagsasalitang cactus?
Another crash.
This time, almost half of the kitchen was destroyed. Napabuntong-hininga na lang si Dave, lalo noong maalala na naman niya ang mga sinabi ni Morpheus. Kung totoo man ito o hindi, this doesn't change the fact that he needed to get out of here and resume his duties as the Dreamcaster.
Kung hindi, baka wala na silang maabutang Waking World pagkalabas nila sa Land of Nightmares.
"Tara na."
Hindi na nagreklamo pa si Cornelia nang hinila niya ito sa kabilang bintana, bakante sa mga atake ng octopus. They wasted no time and jumped off the window sill. Thankfully, nasa ground floor lang ang kusina kaya agad silang sinalubong ng disyerto sa bakuran ng palasyo.
'That's what you get for creating a palace in the middle of nowhere!'
At nang makita na nila ang nilalang na kanina pa umaatake sa kusina gamit ang mga galamay nito, Dave and Cornelia stopped in their tracks and marvelled at the horrific scene.
A giant Pacific octopus stared back at them, almost two-thirds the size of Sandman's palace.
Octopus + disyerto = malala pa sa bangungot.
"Paano ba nagkaroon ng octopus sa disyerto?" Dave was beyond confused. Sanay na dapat siya sa mga ganitong pangyayari, but this took craziness to a whole new level!
Sa kanyang tabi, natawa na lang si Cornelia. "Well, I guess this place isn't called the Land of 'Nightmares' for no reason! Mabuti pang umalis na tayo bago niya tayo gawing sushi."
*
Kinabukasan, hindi na nag-abala pang pumasok ni June.
Ala-sais pa lang yata ng umaga, kumakatok na siya sa bahay ng mga magulang ni Cornelia. When he realized the time, he was about to walk away and apologize later this afternoon when the door suddenly opened.
"June? Anong ginagawa mo diyan, hijo? Halika, pumasok ka."
Sa kanyang gulat, hindi daw pala sila nakatulog buong magdamag.
Noong una akala niya nagiging mabait lang ang mga ito, but when he spotted the dark circles under their eyes and the lethargic movements, June quickly felt sorry for the couple.
'Insomnia?'
Gusto niyang isipin na normal na epekto lang ito pagkawala ni Cornelia, pero habang tumatagal, nagiging malinaw na sa kanya ang misteryosong problema sa Eastwood.
Lahat sila ay hindi makatulog nang maayos.
"May kinalaman rin kaya ito sa pagkawala niya? Maybe this isn't just a coincidence," June concluded and recalled the anonymous caller's words last night. Hindi niya alam kung bakit, pero agad siyang nakaramdam ng kaba at takot sa mga nangyayari.
Kaya siguro siya bumalik sa kwarto ni Cornelia.
Kaya hindi na muna siya nagpaduwag sa ideyang ini-invade niya ulit ang privacy nito. Still, he silently hopes that she'll forgive him after all this is over. A few moments later, June took off his backpack and started examining the floor again.
Naroon pa rin ang buhangin.
Walang bago.
He sighed.
'Bakit kailangang mawala ni Cornelia?' June felt the pressure building up inside his chest. Huminga siya nang malalim at inalala ang lahat ng mga kaganapan bago biglang naglaho na parang bula si Cornelia. Pilit inalala ni June ang bawat detalye. And goddamn, it pained him to remember her smile and all those years of loving her from afar.
Just when he was about to stand up and take his leave (and apologize to her parents for the sudden visit), may kung anong pwersang nangumbinsi sa kanyang manatili sa silid na 'yon...
*
A few minutes later, he was already on his way out of the house.
Nagmamadali at kabado.
"June? Tara, kain ka muna---"
"H-Hindi na po, tita. May klase pa kasi ako. Salamat po!"
Noong umagang 'yon, sa kabila ng aroma ng bagong-lutong sinangag at umuusok na kape, naiwang nagtataka ang mga magulang ni Cornelia sa biglaang pag-alis ni June.
---
BINABASA MO ANG
✔ Dreamcaster
Fantasy"I am a Dreamcaster." "But you don't have any dreams?" "Does it matter?" He challenged. She glared back. "It does." After his mentor's retirement, tuluyan nang pinandigan ni Dave ang kanyang mga responsibilidad bilang isang Dreamcaster. As someone w...
