She never dreamt of riding a hot air balloon before.
Kahit naman marami siyang pangarap sa buhay, ni hindi sumagi sa isip ni Cornelia ang ganito. She wonders how her parents will react if they found out that she's flying over a canyon on a hot air balloon crafted by Sandman's successor?
They'd think she's crazy, that's for sure. Baka nga isipin pa nilang kulang siya sa tulog.
'I'd love to paint this moment on canvas,' Cornelia thought, her eyes drifting to the Dreamcaster staring ahead.
Noong mga sandaling 'yon, hindi niya maiwasang mapatitig kay Dave. Nakatanaw lang siya sa malayo na para bang lumilipad din ang isip. His lips pulled tight, almost into a frown. He was oblivious to her stares and bits of sand that clung to his dark hair, now neatly swept on one side. The longer she stared at him, the sooner Cornelia realized that his eyes weren't as dark as the abyss below them.
Dave looked so painfully beautiful that it hurts to know that nobody else knew about his existence.
'What does it feel like to live among the dreamers, Dreamcaster?'
Nag-iwas ng tingin si Cornelia nang mapansing umiinit na ang kanyang mga pisngi. "Malayo pa ba tayo?"
Dave snapped out of his trance and studied their surroundings. Nang maaninag nito ang kabilang dulo ng bangin, bumaling na ito sa kanya. "We'll reach the other side in about 10 minutes. Mukhang wala namang..."
His voice trailed off in silence.
Nang mapansin niyang nakatitig na ito sa kung anumang nasa likuran ng dalaga, agad na kinutuban nang masama si Cornelia.
"Dave, may problema ba?"
He wasn't quick enough to hide the panic that flashed in his eyes.
"Elia, mukhang kailangan nating bumalik. The Land of Nightmares seems to have other plans for us."
Cornelia peeked behind her to see what terrified the immortal. Nang makita na niya ang madilim na kalangitan at guhit ng kidlat, doon na niya naintindihan ang panic ni Dave. But unlike him, Cornelia didn't even try to conceal the fear she felt.
Not when the massive storm clouds appeared to be nearing them faster.
"Normal ba ang ganito sa disyerto? Kung artificial lang ang sunlight dito, same goes with thunderstorms, right?" Sa tono at panginginig ng kanyang boses, hindi alam ni Cornelia kung sino talaga ang kinukumbinsi niya.
"After all the bizzare things that happened to us, wala na akong tiwala sa lugar na 'to. Hold on!"
Pinanood niya pagmando ni Dave sa hot air balloon. Mukhang hindi ito ang unang beses niyang sumakay rito. For a moment, Cornelia was distracted with the thunder that soon followed. Nang sumulyap siya ulit sa kanyang gilid, napansin niyang lumalala ang sitwasyon. The storm clouds were chasing after them, another bolt of lightning in the sky.
"D-Dave...?"
"Alam ko. Just hold on."
'Parang nahihirapan rin siyang kumalma,' isip-isip ni Cornelia. Nang kukunin na niya sana ang banig, bigla siyang nawalan ng balanse nang may tumama sa hot air balloon nila. The impact was enough to shake the entire basket.
"Ano 'yon?!"
Another hit.
This time, Dave almost stumbled into her. Mahinang napamura ang Dreamcaster at hinanap ang pinanggalingan nito. His eyes fell to the other side of the canyon, from where they came from.
"Shit. Bakit sila nandito?"
Cornelia saw them, too. Sila yung humuli sa kanya sa Oasis! 'Golems,' she recalled. Madali silang makita dahil sa laki ng kanilang mga katawang gawa sa bato. Pero paano sila nakalabas ng Oasis?
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...
