Dreamer

Chapter 00

Wayo Panitchayasawad is ten years young. He wears a thin, red flannel shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows over a plain black shirt, straight-cut faded jeans and white trainers. His brownish hair stands in static, fixed the way he likes it, looking like a character from his favorite animes. He was riding on a train to Chiang Mai with his father from their home in central Bangkok to visit his grandparents.

His Por reads lifestyle magazines and daily papers most of the way. The magazines and newspapers his Por has finished reading are stacked neatly on the seat between them. There is a picture on the cover of an enormous man wearing a powder-blue tuxedo. Wayo rests his head against the window, wishing he had with him his own reading materials to occupy his time. He resigns himself to watching his breath make a cloud on the window. The scenery behind changing in the blink of an eye.

A thunder rumbles overhead and Wayo flinches in his seat. He looks back at his Por who is now sleeping, head falling back on the head rest. He wonders why they had to take the train when they have a number of cars to choose to ride on and drivers to drive for them. He is about to ask his Por when he hears the other snoring, he smiles to himself. Wayo understands that his Por is a busy man and he thanks him for taking time to spend with him, and as he promised, taking him to visit his grandparents.

Sleep isn't what a ten-year old boy would want during this time. He eyes the papers strewn on the seat but decides not to read them. They're boring, he'd rather read his mangas if only he brought them along with him.

Finding nothing of interest to do, he resumes back to watching the trees and houses fade in blurry landscape and watches with eyes wide and animated expression the people and animals outside the train. And then the landscape is slowly enveloped in fogs, soon the fog seeps through the window into the compartment, the cloud blurs Wayo's visions so slowly that he doesn't realize what is happening. His father lost in the haze, no chair, no magazines and papers, there was only him.

He should be scared, but he was not. He was intrigued, that was true. His eyes reflected amazement as the fogs like the ones in his favorite animes surround him and swirl around his feet. Will he fly? He thought.

And he does.

He floats in the fog, for a moment the floor beneath his feet vanished, and then to his confusion he finds himself in a large room, sitting at a long conference table with seven men and four women. At the front of the room is a tall, balding man with a briefcase.

The man stands in his underwear, giving a presentation, and he is flustered. Who wouldn't be? Wayo snickered at the sight of a bald man talking in the front with his big belly hanging over his underwear, almost hiding them.

The man tries to speak but he can't get his mouth around the words. The other adults are all wearing crisp suits, formal and very much like his Por's office garb. They laugh and point at the bald man in his underwear. Mocking him.

The bald man looks around desperately, his eyes finally settling on Wayo at the right corner by the end of the table.

And then he looks at the people who are laughing at him. Their faces contort in their laughter.

His face crumples in defeat.

Wayo realizes the scene isn't funny at all, and he resort to watching each face trying to place names to them. Why were they laughing? He recognizes no one, not even the balding man.

The man holds his briefcase in front of his privates, the contents spilling down in slow motion but never reaching the floor, and that makes the others laugh harder. He runs to the door of the conference room, but the handle is slippery - something slimy drips from it. He tried pushing it and leaning on it, but the door remained shut. He can't get it to open; it squeaks and rattled loudly in his hand, and the people at the table double over. Their voices and laughter echoing endlessly.

The man's underwear is grayish-white, sagging. He turns to Wayo again, with a look of panic and pleading.

Wayo doesn't know what to do. The voices reverberated in his ears and he can't make sense of what's happening. The images played in loop inside his head.

The sounds deafening him, rattles of the door handle, squeaks of the slimy substance, the mocking laughs, the bald man's cries. The papers from the briefcase are still on their descent, passed the non-existent floor and floats below the cloudy surface. The people around the table in endless laughing, they looked like they're not breathing.

Wayo freezes.

The train's brakes whine, and the scene grows cloudy and lost in fog again.

"Wayo!" Wayo's father is leaning toward him. His breath smells of mint and coffee and his hair falls over one eye. "Wayo, my boy. I said, maybe Grandpa will take you to that big lego store. I thought you would be excited about that, but I guess not." Wayo's father sips from his coffee cup and places it back in the small cup holder by the arm rest.

Wayo focuses on his father and smiled. "That sounds fun," he says, even though he doesn't like legos and puzzles. He would rather have figurines and new volumes of his favorite manga. He wriggles on his seat, trying to find a more comfortable position, his jeans crumpling up his thighs and he adjusts them. Looking at his jeans, he thinks of the bald man and scrunches his eyes. It was just a dream.

A weird dream. But weird nonetheless.

When the train stops, they take their bags and step into the aisle, and waited for the people before them to file out. In front of Wayo's father, a disheveled, bald businessman emerges from his compartment.

He wipes his face with a handkerchief, his eyes showing the telltales of sleep.

Wayo stares at the man in confusion, disbelief and wonder.

His jaw drops. "Whoa!" he whispers. Isn't that?.....

The man gives him a bland look when he sees him staring and looks up to Wayo's Por. "Mr. Panitchayasawad! Good morning sir," came his greeting as recognition came to his face.

"Oh! Hey, Bill! Good morning to you too." The two men shook hands and talked about work while making their way out of the train with Wayo holding his Por's free hand. He kept glancing at the man in wonder.

They finally get to the exit and Wayo was still silently observing Bill. "Our ride is here, we'll be going then, Bill. See you on your presentation next week. Don't worry I know you'll do good." Wayo's Por said.

Bill huffed out a nervous laugh, "Thank you Sir. Good day!" He then turns to the taxi stand, before he vanished through the throng, he looked back at Wayo and opened his mouth as if to say something. He catches himself, his eyes displayed confusion and turns back.

Wayo was equally perturbed and dumbfounded, but he was sure. It was the humiliated man at the conference table giving a presentation in his underwear.

He thinks to himself, why would he dream of that man named Bill? "Come on, son. Let's go." His Por beckoned as their service pulled right in front of them.

**********

Dreamer: Chapter 00 - The Bald Man
By: FilousSopo, 1/8/18 - 5:20PM Manila Time

A/N:

The story will jump to the present time after this chapter, this part serves only as a back story. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I had writing it.

Tell me what you think of this story, the plot and what you expect from it.

I'll try to update this as regularly as I can. Promise! 😊😉 (not everyday tho) 😂

Comments, suggestions, reactions are appreciated.

Vote and comment all you like.

Khob khun krub! Thank you! Salamat po!