She hates her pimples.
Alam naman niyang "normal" lang ito sa mga tao, especially with humans who just survived adolescence, but a tiny bit of her wants to protest. Baka nga para sa iba "maliit" na issue lang 'to, pero kung magpapakatotoo si Cornelia, her not-so-flawless face will always be her biggest insecurity.
How can other girls her age pull off the glassy skin and dewy look?
"Ano kayang sikreto nila?"
"Ano?"
"W-Wala."
Damn. Did she just say that out loud? Nakalimutan nga pala niyang nalalagay sila sa sitwasyon na baka hindi na rin siya makabalik sa kabihasnan a.k.a. Waking World. To make matters worst, she's still stuck here in the Land of Nightmares with this Dreamcaster who she doesn't know if she can trust or not.
Nang sumulyap siya kay Dave, doon niya napagtantong nakatingin pa rin ito sa kanya. It would've been less intimidating if not for the fact that he was actually walking while keeping his eyes on her!
Agad siyang na-conscious at nag-iwas ng tingin na parang turistang pasimpleng nagsa-sightseeing sa disyerto sakay ng isang camel. Medyo naging awkward ang katahimikan sa pagitan nila, kaya napagdesisyunan na lang niyang magtanong.
"Yung kausap mo kanina---umm..."
Dave already understood what she was trying to ask. "Si Morpheus, a demi-god and a pain in the ass. Sorry kung sa ganoong paraan mo pa siya nakilala," he sighed in defeat. "But to be honest with you, hindi ko rin naman alam na kakailanganin ng introductions. Hindi ko rin alam kung paano niya tayo nasundan kanina."
'Honest? Sana nga nagpapakatotoo ka na lang sa'kin,' Cornelia couldn't help but feel a tad bit hurt...
Dahil anupaman ang gawin nito, hindi pa rin maalis sa isip ng dalaga ang tungkol sa mga salitang binitiwan ni Coco (at ni Morpheus) kanina. If Dave has no intention of leaving her here for good, hindi ba dapat ay naging mas open ito at ipinaliwanag sa kanya tungkol doon? Why does he need to pretend he didn't know anything about it?
'Siguro nga gagamitin niya lang ako para makaalis dito. I wouldn't be surprised, ako naman talaga ang dahilan kung bakit kami napadpad dito.'
"Elia, anong iniisip mo?"
She snapped her attention back to the Dreamcaster. Bakas ang pag-aalala sa mukha nito. Dahil dito, hindi na rin niya naiwasang ngumiti.
"Wala. Iniisip ko lang kung bakit hindi na lang niya tayo tinulungang makaalis dito sa Land of Nightmares. Demi-gods are suppose to be powerful, right?"
Tumango si Dave kahit na mukhang hindi pa rin ito kumbinsido na 'yon talaga ang kanina pa tumatakbo sa utak ni Cornelia. Nonetheless, he answered, "May limitasyon lang din ang kapangyarihan ni Morpheus. Plus, demi-gods are more powerful in the Waking World. Pakiramdam ko ginamit niya ang nightmare stone kanina para makapag-teleport sa palasyo. It must've cost him a heck load of energy to do so."
That explains a lot.
Kanina noong mag-isa sa kusina si Cornelia, hinanap niya ang mga kutsilyo sa drawer. She felt the need to have some kind of self-defense weapon especially since the Land of Nightmares doesn't seem to like her much.
Being unarmed in a dangerous realm is suicide.
Sa huli, nakahanap siya ng carving knife (which she smartly tucked inside her dress) pero huli na noong mapansin niya ang isang nightmare stone doon. Before she could break eye contact, biglang yumanig ang lupa at sumalakay na ang higanteng octopus sa bintana. Her screams of terror were then quickly silenced when Morpheus appeared behind her.
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...
