The Gifted: New York

The Dream

The thirty-minute drive down the road did hit different. What was once crowded during the day became quiet as night spread its wings of darkness, silencing the world, putting them to sleep. It was ironic that the city that bustled during the day had slept in silence. Daybreak had not come as we reached the airport. There, I saw Ross waiting. Taking out our luggage, he took the car keys from Erwin. He then bid us a good journey, took the car and left.

We barely saw anyone there as we checked in, and as we reached the waiting room, it was still 5 a.m. The lights from the launchpad dotted the ground. Erwin looked out for the flight for the both of us. I then slept soundly in Ed's arms, snoring with my mouth gaping open.

---

When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was in a dark room, covered with white marble, the tables and chairs were white, the clothes I wore were white, the lamp was white. Everything was just... white. On the middle of the room, I saw a black orb, it spun on its own on top of a white, rectangular counter. I blankly walked towards it, and then touched it.

Soon, I was then transported into another room. It looked like an old radio room, with a vintage radio by the corner, and all sorts of devices with knobs and buttons that I didn't know how to use. I then looked around. There was a symbol of the rebellion hung on the wall facing the glass outside. Opening the door, I smelled a rather pungent smell, and realized that I was in the sewers. There was an arc on top of the room. I then zoomed out, and realized I stood on an old studio. The place looked eerily familiar, just much dustier. I then saw the badger crest of the Rebellion again hung near the door.

Soon, I found myself stepping out of the studio into the woods, by the creek which Reese and I used to play. I saw my childhood self and Reese running down the creek, under an ancient stone bridge, following the creek until we reached a small watershed. When I touched the water, it turned black and blacker as I stepped in deeper. I was then sucked into the void, dropped into a room, completely inversed of the first room, which was all white. It's now all black, with a white orb in the middle. I then walked towards the white orb that spun in the middle. Before I knew it, I fell down the darkness, into the light of the airport. It was sunrise. I saw my body and Ed's below. As I entered my body, I jerked out of shock. Ed and Erwin were just as surprised as I was. 

---

Sunlight filled the room, and more people were in the waiting room. People of all ages, from the infatns to the elders filled the room throughout. I then heard the announcement that we're supposed to board the flight right now. 

"That's our call. Let's go! I need to talk to both of you, and I know what we're supposed to do in New York." I said.

"That's kind of crazy, but Ok, let's see what we have to hear." Shaking his head in disbelief, Ed stood up the chair and exchanged puzzled looks with Erwin.

As we boarded the plane, sorted out the luggage, and took our seats, I took out my notebook from my pocket, and began drawing what I saw in my dreams. I sketched everything as I remembered, and Ed tried to figure what I tried to say about those drawings. 

"If you may come to think, I think in our apartment that we're about to move in, there is a secret compartment, which my dad used to run the Rebellion's radio station. I then followed a river or more of a creek, which I remembered from my childhood and ended up in a watershed."

"What about those inverted rooms?" Erwin asked. I didn't have any clue why they started and ended the scenes in my dream too. 

"So there was only a table, some chairs and a counter with an orb spinning in the middle?" Ed clarified. 

"That's about it. I don't know why they appeared, but usually, if they did, they have a sort of hidden meaning, or something I had to do, perhaps something we'll have to encounter later on."

The flight was enjoyable. It was a clear morning as the sun rose. Clouds dotted the small houses and rivers. In the plane, we then debated about the meaning of those rooms, but eventually we gave up without being able to draw any conclusions, so we'll have to wait and see. Those rooms itched my mind, and I couldn't get them off my head. 

We then played all sorts of online games on the phone with Amanda, Sarah and Mandy, apparently they couldn't sleep and talked with us through Discord as we played Among Us. I then stepped into the aisle to bring down the banana breadloaf for the three of us on the plane, and I brought down my hot water. We laughed our heads off playing the game, and finally, they caught me being the impostor. There were all sorts of language used, from Chinese, Filipino, and Hokkien when we sweared. Anything but English, because there are kids.

We had a jolly good time and my fever got better during the flight. Maybe it's because I was stressed out that I began to see things. Who knew that some time with friends and good food was all I needed to get it off me? During the second half of the journey, I had the same dream, but it was reversed, and I woke up undisturbed. 

I was surprised and relieved for sure as I had not slept so well for quite a long time like I did just then that I had to see therapists. Suddenly, a cold chill ran down my spine, my fur stood on end, and tingling sensation crawled through my skin as I grabbed to reach the baggage as we touched down. I saw nothing strange or unusual, that's for sure. 

Whatever that dream tried to tell me, it was definitely omnious. My gut had a feeling that this is not over yet, and eventually, I had to face whatever truth was waiting for me out there into the Big Apple.