The Universe In Her

Five: Pluto

"Help me! Mommy.. Daddy! Mommy! Ahhhhhh!"
"Please, please save my daughter. Don't let her die."

I saw myself crying in my dream. I was in a place surrounded by people, I remember that I cannot breathe. I remember crying for help. It was so heartbreaking and I remember thinking that maybe I was going to die.

I gasped. I woke up to find myself sweating and crying.

"Miss, are you okay?" The guy beside me asked with worry in his face,

"Yes. I just feel a little bit nauseous. Thank you."

I heard him call one of the flight attendants and asked for a water.

"Here, have some water," he said as he slowly handed me the water.

I looked at him and just smiled before drinking the water.

I composed myself. I cannot remember anything. It's torturing me inside. I feel suffocated. I reached out to my necklace because somehow it comforts me, it's the reason why I keep this. When I found out that Nate tried to throw this away, I went raging. This is just one of the things that reminds me to be strong.

After a 15-hour flight, I finally arrived in Tasmania.

"Finally, I'm away." I grabbed my bags as I walked out of the airport, I immediately saw Ian walking towards me.

"Hey there, Gab. How was your trip?" he gave me a peck on my cheek as he reached out to help me with my bags.

"Ahhhh, Ian. I've missed you. I'm fine, how are things going with you?" The reason why my mom insisted is probably because of this, our family is really close together and Ian has always been there with me and Jessica.

"Great, everyone's waiting for you now. I've missed you too, little Gabby," He said as he patted my head. This guy is just sweet and funny, I used to like him during grade school but that's just because he kept on giving me my favorite cookies every break time. I laughed at the thought.

"What? Did you miss me that much?" Ian sheepishly smiled at me.

"In your dreams," I smacked him a little.

"Ahhh, you poked my heart," I tried to control myself but I burst into laughter.

"Seriously, Ian? Is that still your thing?" Can't help but to smile and it's good. It's been a long time since I've felt this way.

"Yes and I know you find it cute."

"I hate to admit it but yes, but don't get your hopes up, lover boy."

We kept on teasing each other until I bumped into somebody,

"I'm sorry," I found the voice was somehow familiar so I looked up to see who he was.

"Oh! It's you! I haven't really expressed my gratitude. I'm really thankful for your help..."

"Daniel, my name's Daniel. No problem, I realized I had to help you right away," He smiled before he walked away..

Meanwhile, Ian looked at me with a very curious eyes which was a very funny sight.

"I'll tell you when we get home."

During our drive, Ian and I talked about everything that we missed with each other. I got so indulged that I didn't realize that we finally arrived in his home.

"Oh! Gabrielle's here!" I immediately heard Pauline's voice.

"Pauline!" I ran towards her, I missed her so much. Ian's family is like my second-family.

"Oh dear, you've grown so beautiful," Ian's mom, Jane gave me a sweet peck on the cheeks.

"Thanks Auntie and you are still glowing." I winked at her, my heart is full and I feel happier here, it's just that I got closer to Jane more than my own mom, I find it lonely but later on I just let it be.

"Okay everybody, let's all get these bags inside," And that's Romeo, a very funny and caring dad.

"Hey there young lady," he said as he approached me.

"Ahhh, I've been receiving a lot of hugs and love from everyone today," Everybody laughed, oh how I love this.

They helped me carry my bags inside and I went into the guest room. While I was fixing my things, Ian went inside.

"Knock knock." He looked at me, okay I know this look so much,

"You have a lot to tell me."

I raised my hands up as a sign of surrender,

"Ugh, I knew it. Okay fine. Just let me finish this okay?" I thought I can get away from explaining things but come on, it's Ian and worse, if Jessica knew all about this, she wouldn't stop nagging me about it.

"Okay, what do you want to know first?" I said as I lay down in my bed, I looked over at Ian to find him peeking at my necklace. I tried to hide it, since, the day I got this necklace I haven't told anyone about it except Jessica. Later on, I got caught up with life that I forgot why I have this one. Ian feels a little bit jealous because I treasure this more than the one he gave me.

"Don't worry, Ian. I always keep the bracelet that you gave me. You helped me a lot when I was feeling down at that time," I said and he just smiled at me.

He cleared his throat and I saw how he tried to compose himself,

"Who is that guy and what were you guys talking about?"

I knew it. This guy is always curious about any guys who talk to me, just like Nathan. Yes everyone, I am surrounded by overreacting protectors.

I gathered my breath and sighed,

"You're just like Nathan," I glared at him for a second and he smiled, "Well, as you have heard that was Daniel. I don't know him at all. He was seated beside me and he helped me when I..."

I closed my eyes for a few seconds, opened it and looked at Ian, you can see how much he is worried about me, "I... I dreamed of it again, Ian. I haven't seen it for years and it's all coming back again. I don't know why."

I tried to compose myself but I can't fight back, I didn't realize that a tear slowly fell down my face. Ian immediately sat down beside me to give me a hug. Even though I don't say it out loud, he knows.

My heart aches. I am scared.

When I was young and I heard about the news about Pluto, it made me think if it ever felt lonely. Come to think of it, it exists far away from the sun. How can the universe be unfair? A dwarf planet they say. But that's not what I think. It might be smaller than the rest of the planets but I believe that Pluto is relentless. It probably hurts and most of the time, it makes you feel alone but I want to fight for this. I want to fight for the truth even though it's hard to find.