A Dragonfly's Dream

Chapter XXVII- The Letter

The letter

I felt as though everything was going well. But not too far away he was looking at me sadly. Something was troubling him.

Then, we were at the school bus. He sat beside me.

I said,"Hi", but he was so serious and he didn't say a word.

Rod playfully ruffled his hair. "James is now all grown up!"

Annoyed, James brushed off his friend's hand. Then, he went back to the front seat and started scribbling on a piece of paper.

When he finished writing, he passed by, and dropped a letter on my lap.

.........

If I had a choice between a park and a beach, I'd choose the beach on any given day. But parks ranked high up there too. When I was a kid, I loved playing at the swing and feeling the rush of excitement as I swung high up in the air. At times, I simply sat on one of the benches and watched people pass by. Sometimes, I'd pat other people's dogs.

That day, I visited the small park near our old house in Manila. In reality, it was quite ordinary. It was really no different from any other parks I had been to. But it held so many memories that, somehow, it felt like an old friend. I had gone there to seek comfort since I was a kid. There was this certain swing I had sat on perhaps a gazillion times, and it took me to highs and lows repeatedly until I outgrew it. As the years went by, I replaced the swing for this little bench which was hidden from general view as it was shrouded by several trees. That part was always cool and shady.

So on that day, which was a day I would never forget, I sat on that bench, and simply enjoyed the peacefulness around me. The fact that I was surrounded by numerous trees made me feel sheltered.

It was a windy late afternoon. There were not many people at the park that day. There were a couple of kids playing at the basketball court not too far away, but other than that, I had the entire place mostly to myself.

Perhaps it was just because I liked being alone, that it didn't sit well with me when people watched me day in and day out. And being a natural people pleaser, it was quite a heavy burden to have to fulfill other people's expectations all the time.

But in solitude, I could be anyone I wanted to be.

A couple of dragonflies flying together caught my eye. As I looked closely, I saw that they were actually mating in the wind. Then, I saw another pair flying, doing exactly the same. Sensing a pattern, I looked around me and gasped. The place was in fact, filled with hot and horny dragonflies!

Other than the fact that I was in the middle of dragonfly motel, another realization hit me. Apparently dragonflies had it so much easier. All they had to do was to send some kind of biological signal and voila! That solved all their love life issues. Why did it have to be so hard for human beings? Why did it have so be so hard for me in particular?

"Is this where you go to when you want to hide from the world?"

I turned to where the voice had come from. James was leaning on one of the trees that protected my spot. He was wearing a plain white shirt and jeans. He looked ever so casual and fresh. It made me feel like I wanted to hug him.

I nodded. "Yes, you can say that."

He sat down beside me. He looked very much alive. I knew I was the only one who could see him.

"It's unfair, I'm the only one who gets older." I joked, as I looked at him. He still looked as though he was still in his early twenties, which was his age when he passed from this world.