The rain pierced through the hollow stems of the bamboo canopy where droplets trickled down like small ants following a trail to their prey. He watched them fall so slowly wherein time for him felt still. He curled up in his blanket as he tried to avoid the wretched flowing of water that seemed to imitate the falling of his own tears. He could hear the deafening sound of voiceless apparitions in the atmosphere. The floor boards creaked and bellowed as he stood up to find that he was alone in the empty halls of his apartment floor.
There was nothing but emptiness, no one but himself.
The man walked around trying to look for any signs of humanity. There was none but a small, little mouse, searching for scraps of food. He named it Fred.
“Where are your friends?” the man asked Fred who quietly ran away.
He kept walking, searching for signs of life only to find that life has already gone. He walked the empty streets of the old busy highway. Cars were stained with blood, spewing like sewage to the bay. Their doors ripped open by force like some devilish being abducted its passengers. Street lamps fell broken to the floor. Glass windows, shattered into pieces. There were no bodies, no evidence - nothing.
“What could have caused this? When did this happen?” the man asked himself already knowing that no one would answer.
Silence befalls his bewildered state of mind. He turns toward his reflection showing the image of a very different person.
“That’s me?!” he asked himself frantically. “What happened... why am I so.... NO!” He cried out.
He was different in his eyes. An unbelievable change he could not accept. His skin was wrinkled, sagging like noodles. Eyes, bloodshot, as the red moon shined down on him. Teeth were missing from his mouth, countable with two hands. The body showing signs of malnutrition and deprivation, hungering for nutrients. Legs were as thin as two well carved pieces of wood. His hair was white, glowing under the rays of the moon. He was old, very old in fact. There was no doubt he had no idea of his slow deterioration. His fit, masculine body has already left him. He was as frail as a leaf, hanging onto its stem.
Old and alone, he had no point in living. He gave up on life. He wanted to die that night, thinking of throwing himself off the old footbridge that stood between him and a new land. The moment he started to give up hope, the land suddenly rearranged itself by some unknown force; swirling, twirling, surreal. The colour of the night sky, meshed with the dark earthy colours of the land. Water turned into whirlpools of suffocation. Light turned into darkness. Suddenly, the man fell flat on the floor – confused and unconscious. When he woke up, he saw himself in his room, staring at the ceiling; beads of sweat trickling down his face.
“What just happened?” he asked himself.
Dazed, he stood up and tried to find his way to the bathroom. He washed his face and saw his image in the mirror.
“I’m myself again!” he exclaimed.
His wrinkles have all gone. Smiling, he saw no missing teeth; they were as white and perfect as pearls. Stunned to see his image, he couldn’t help but check his body. It went back to its original shape; fit, masculine and young.
“It was so unreal” he said to himself. “What was that I saw? Was that the future of humanity? Was I being shown my own future as well?” he continued to ask.
With these questions in mind, he couldn’t help but think about that vision - The Dream.
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