Erdvesgaiar Blog Systems Kibikilogy-Giraffilogy Institute

Chapter 3 - Look Back Every Once in a While

“Whoa… I guess passing this test leads me to the ceaseless projects and assignments I’ve witnessed Ate brawled with.

Indeed. Ever since Ate sojourned at the white, half-ominous and half-heaven dormitories of that school, she mostly came home over the weekends only to do the flooding assignments or projects she has to conquer by Monday. I have already seen her fight the drowsiness of 3 o’clock in the morning or battle the overwhelming statistics of her research. I already knew what hardships would come, or maybe would intensify even more. Shall I have to endure the same? This test answers that.

                There was still considerable time to spend waiting for the tests to officially commence, so we decided to stay at one of the ghastly but friendly-seeming halls of the school, facing the vast quadrangle which reduced my previous school’s open grounds to one-fourth. But still therein lies memories dating back to my little-more-than-an-infant’s days. Soon the floodgates of my memories opened, engulfing me in a familiar world.

                I was approximately three and a half years old back then, in my shining white polo and brown shorts, wondering what it feels like to be left alone with complete strangers, and separated from the people whom you only apparently knew – family. My mom walked me to the last room of the two-storey building, which hung a wooden but painted sign above its door.

                “Nursery” the sign said, but I had absolutely no idea what it meant.

                “Ready?  This is it.” Mom looked down on me, smiling as if something big was about to happen. I nodded, with no exact expression on my face.

                She opened the door, and what I saw was a completely new dimension. There were about fifteen children; a third of them was seated patiently, another third was crying to no end, and the last was clinging to their dad or mom’s arms, as if a crocodile was about to bite them. They looked like me in the manner that we were wearing the same clothes, except for the ones who had longer hairs than usual, which wore umbrellas from the waist downward to the shoes, except for that they had no frames, but had weird patterns of colors.

                “Hi there! What’s your name?” An adult stooped down to me, wearing a shirt with circles on the middle and shorts that did not separate into two parts, reaching down a little below her knees, and had the same color as the shirt. They were familiar-looking to me, since I’ve seen my mom and my lola wear those, only with different colors.

                I did not say anything. Then I looked up to my mom. She took up the cause and talked a while again with her.

                “ Okay. Sit on those blue chairs. Pick whichever you want.”

                I looked up to my mom again.

                “Go ahead. I’ll be here for a while.” She said in a small voice.

                I went ahead and sat on the nearest untaken seat, beside one of the children who was crying. I looked around while there was nothing yet to do. Half of the room was seemingly dark, half was lit by a bright tube stuck in the ceiling. I wondered what was its difference from the square lights that also lit our house at night. There was a large box leaning on the wall which was divided into four more wide boxes. Posters of what seemed letters and numbers to me took different forms of inanimate objects and animals. But most notable was the green rectangle that hung on the front wall, with white marks and dashes on it. When there was nothing else to look at I focused my eyes on my mom and the adult who talked to me earlier, switching my eyes between them interchangeably.

                Soon the parents were walking out of the room, each waving their hands or hugging their children, especially those that were already screaming at the top of their breaths. My mom just walked up to me end gave me a brief lecture of what I should do. I just nodded and said “yes” repeatedly. Minutes have passed, all parents were gone, and only the single-colored adult was the only adult left with us. A gushing flow of mixed fear and suspense crept to my throat.

                She then explained that school was a place that we were about to spend the next seventeen or so years of life. Well, not entirely all of our lives, but at least half of each days of our lives. Also, she was called a “teacher,” the one who makes us learn things feasibly. Next in her course of actions was to have us say our names one after another.

                “Kyle… Mark Vincent… Paolo… Charlotte…” The names flowed, punctuated by shyness or the weakened sobbing of my fellow children. And not long enough, it was my turn.

                “And you-“

                The bell pulled me out of that world and returned me back to the sight of the quadrangle, realizing it was already time for the test. The students were walking here and there, and into their respective classrooms.

                “I know you can do this. Right?”

                “Yeah, yeah. Let’s see what I can do.”

                “Alright. Do your best.”

                I nodded. Walking to my room was not a difficult task, compared to the test I was about to make. I somehow knew how to go there. The proctor asked for my name, then pointed at my seat. I walked to the seat with confidence, excitement, and fear altogether, fighting each other with no definite end. The sun illuminated the mundane board, highlighting the writing on it.

                “Tantegel National High School First Screening Exams.”

               

Part 2 - Wake Up

Part 2 – Wake up

“A dream. Just a dream…”

As I alternately closed and opened the lids of my eyes, I have apparently found my self between and betwixt subconscious fantasies and reality. Every now and then I fought myself, or rather, the part of myself that kept on pulling me down to delusion. But then, one startling sound took away all of my struggle and made that pulling force calm and vanish – it was the very alarm ringing of my watch, returning back to me after its first attempt to drag me from my dreams. I reached for my watch, eyes still stuck into darkness, but senses into full vigilance. Hence, I pressed the usual combination of buttons necessary to make the constant – well, not eternally constant, but temporarily constant – ringing come to a halt. Stretching came next, as I eventually made my eyes open steadfastly, but still staring at darkness – it was still early. The dawn.

But apparently, the knowledge – or maybe, the familiarity – that came to me during the dream faded from existence. I no longer missed the sunset, and her presence never seemed real to me anymore. I did not even know who she was now. It was like the dream only gave that familiarity to me in the actual dream to enjoy it, but that familiarity was not really there in reality.

My watch rang again. Turns out I only snoozed the alarm. That ringing gave me my next impulse, and my next realization as well:

“Oh no. I totally forgot. I’m supposed to take the interview today at my new school.”

Having said that, I staggered for a moment, staring into blank space, and immediately jumped off the bed with this sudden burst of energy and stimulus, as if I’ve awakened to the smoke and heat of the flames of my burning house.  But it was not my house that was burning, but my head. “I’m going to be late, I’m going to be late,” I said to myself in silence, blasting my face and mouth with cold water, and running down to devour my breakfast.

“Thanks, mom.”

“Say another word and I’ll come right there and take away your b-fast.”

“Yay, ma. Really helps for the interview.”

In unbelievable minutes of time I managed to empty the plate.  I then quickly took my ten-minute bath that almost seemed like half an hour to me and drilled my teeth with the ever-helping toothbrush and put on my old uniform, as required by my new school. I then thought to myself for a second why did my new school require its contestant enrollees to wear their elementary school uniforms. I was about to enter the world of high school, not to mention that my possible next school only chose the eligible to walk its road through the next level. The rule was this: whoever passes its two mind-draining examinations and manages to impress its teachers with your knowledge through the dreaded interview gets to study in the school. I already struck down the first two obstacles with remarkable difficulty, and am not sure at that moment if I had some more carbohydrates and ATP’s to break down the next one, with my mind still stumbling into thoughts of that peculiar dream.

As soon as I got myself equipped to  face the Trojans, my mother got herself equipped as well, but not to fight blade to blade, rather, just to speculate my victory or utter failure. We stormed out of the house without leaving much disturbance In the house and immediately walked to the next stop – the jeepney stop. Clad in my uniform, the darkness of the sky still coated the surroundings, but the interview is not until eight in the bright morning. The logical reason was simple: the school is two hours away from our place, thus leaving me much time for my egotistical debate – or, put simply, my thoughts on that dream. Who was I with? What does she have to do in my life? Why did I miss being with her so much? Who was she?

But as I delved into the deeps of my mind, the jeepney had already come to an abrupt stop. I realized that the sand timer had already turned upside down. I recognized the place where I was in immediately, for I have been here occasionally to visit my sister, and recently to take the said mind-draining tests. The air had become cooler, as much as the place is elevated from the much more urbanized city part of the region. There I was, standing in front of the seemingly old but actually new edifice – the grand but humble white porch of the school, surrounded by trees that rustled its leaves by the breeze, and by students that looked with full ambition and optimism in their faces, while mine was not as optimistic as theirs. The sun also shared their optimism, shining its never-ending solar luster, and imparting its brightness on all things that it shed its rays. I went in anyway involuntarily boasting my old school with my uniform, walking with considerable confidence with my mom taking each step with me as we passed the banner that printed the school’s name.

“Tantegel Science National High School”

To be continued

*Note: title is actually As the Kibiki Road crosses the Giraffi Freeway. I forgot to put the "the" between "crosses" and "Giraffi" haha...

Part 1 - The Sun Goes By...(experimental novellete, title stated in the category)

The sunset. I have always admired the mesmerizing sight of the far-off yellow globe setting on the endless horizon, adding a darker tint of orange and red unto itself as it descends, while never sacrificing its ever-shining brightness. More to that runs the faint, caressing cool breeze that tries to lift up the piling emotions of anyone that passes by, but in my case this afternoon, I am not just passing by. I am simply sitting here, facing the waters that radiate the sun's light and the sky's soft burning shade, even more pulling me to the dreaminess of the picturesque sight.

I must say - no, not by obliging command, but by plain will of heart - that I have desired to see this wondrous moving image once again, here, in the same place, at the same time of the morrow. But, to be honest, there is one more reason, or shall we say - cause - that surprisingly overrules and augments this melancholic joy of sight. That is, though I may blush as I let go of the words, her presence.

But methinks that it is a cause not to be blushed of, for I see no necessity in doing so. After all, friendship is the only bond that exists between us.

The wind continued to touch our existence, whispering vague words that only amounted to gibberish. But all of those melted away as I started to speak.

"It's been almost three years."

“Yes.”

“Things have changed. I never expected you to grow up like this.”

“Never expected this to happen before, either. Or shall we say, ‘again.’ But it’s very real.

“I know. Let’s just go through the details later. It’s too early. You know what?”

“What?”

“I still know your whole name. That includes your middle. How’s that?”

“Silly. Let’s hear it.”

The first word of her name almost budged out of my tongue when suddenly a peculiar ringing sound flooded the whole experience. Little did I know I was now seeing a pitch-black world enclosed in the very closed lids of my eyes. However a minute ago brought me to almost complete and compelling reality, I Immediately realized that

“Ah. It was just one of those weird dreams about her again. Who is she anyway? And what was that all about?”

to be continued