One day, there was a 10 year old boy who opened his eyes and found himself in a grassland. Everything looked so beautiful. The sky looked so clear with blue and the land was so green with grasses. As the boy titled his head up, a giant blue whale swam above him in the sky. The whale was so big and had a colorful blue body like stars in the sky at night. Its fins created some auroras as the whale kept swimming away from the boy as its track. It's almost like the whale could swallow the whole city in a single swallow. He grabbed his head to prevent his hat from flying away as the whale swam away from him.
"Woah…That whale is so huge. And that's so beautiful." Said the boy with dazzling eyes.
The boy stood up and began to walk around the grassland without any direction. His eyes kept looking at everything around him. The view was beautiful, the land was separated and the landscapes were mixed as if common senses didn't work here. The bubbles kept appearing from the ground to the sky. A rainbow formed in the sky above him, and the birds were flying through the rainbow. The clouds were fluffy and white, and the land was painted with green grasses and colors from the flowers. This place was really like a dream land.
On his left, there was beautiful scenery with a tall mountain and a sun behind the mountain. On his right, there was a moon above the clear, blue sea with the moon reflection above the water. And last, in front of him, there was a village with many houses made of wood on a hill.
"Why is there a moon and a sun at the same time?" The boy asked while tilting his head aside and put his fingers under his chin with curiosity.
Anyway, the boy continued to explore the place by heading to the village, hoping he would meet somebody there. He jumped the river and used the rocks as his footing to get through the river. Every step he took was full of joy, like a kid who has a new toy. Unfortunately, the village was more far away than he thought, but that didn't make him give up from heading towards the village. Every obstacle he stepped with full of enthusiasm as if nothing could stop him from what he wanted.
He jumped forward and raised both of palms into the air and screamed, "I'm finally HERE!!"
His face formed a big, wide smile as he laughed for his achievement. He was such a ball of energy, always making fun of anything. His tone was so cheerful and so innocent. His smile was so pure as well, almost he was the sun in the middle of the day.
After he was satisfied, he began to walk around the village and looked around to search for any person in the village. Strangely, there was no life form in the village. The boy kept searching and searching each house, but he was unable to find anyone.
Finally, he gave up on searching, there was nothing in this village. Even the houses were all empty as if the houses were only for the outer appearance. He lay on the ground and stared at the sky as he had nothing to do. Feeling bored, the boy closed his eyes tightly, but he suddenly heard a voice inside his head.
"Rio?! Can you hear me?! Can you help me get out of here?!" A girl's voice was heard by him, seeking his help as if she was in danger.
The boy was surprised and then he opened his eyes, snapped out from his sleep and woke up on his bed. The boy quickly sat on the bed and fell silent, feeling dazed after a weird dream. He found himself at 16 years old right now, looking at his own hands in confusion. Of course, it was just a dream, he thought to himself. But the dream felt so real even for him, the feelings and the touch, he remembered all of it even after he woke up.
"What did that dream mean?" He muttered at himself as he fell in his own thoughts, wondering about the dream that he just saw a few seconds ago.
He put his fingers under his chin and frowned. He tried his best to solve the dream by himself, but the dream was a fragment. He didn't know about what happened next in the dream. After a while, the door let out a soft crack and slowly opened, then a boy's voice came from the door.
"Ah, I know you're still on the bed. Hurry up or mom will get mad again, brother." Said the 10 year old boy from the door frame.
He looked towards the boy and his face slightly softened. He replied to the boy with a kind voice, "I know, Alex. Just tell her I'm going over there now, okay?"
Alex sighed then said with a tired tone, "I'll appreciate it if you tell her by yourself, you know?"
He chuckled a bit then stood up from his bed and began to walk to the stair. He yawned and walked towards the kitchen with a lazy manner. He was completely tired by the dream, but he was wondering why that dream drained his energy so much. It's almost like he was in the dream by himself and felt everything with his own body.
A woman's voice called him from the kitchen with a gentleness and kindness tone in it, "Rio! You better hurry or you'll be late for school, you know?!"
Rio looked at the clock and his eyes widened in surprise as the clock struck at morning, 7 am. He snapped out of his thoughts and started moving his body in a hurry towards the bathroom.
"Mom!! Alex!! Why don't you wake me up sooner?!" Rio yelled at his family for his own clumsiness.
Alex yelled back at him with an annoyed tone by raising his voice, "I wake you up many times, you know?! How many times do you think I came to your room this morning?!"
Rio talked back at him as he turned on the shower to take a bath, "One time?!"
Their mother shook her head and spoke with a fondness in her tone, "He came to your room three times this morning, you know?"
Rio stopped in the middle of his action for a while with a shock, letting out a soft "ugh" from his mouth before continuing his bath. After a while, we quickly ran away from the bathroom to the kitchen and sat on the chair in a hurry. The breakfast was prepared so well on the table, ready to be enjoyed. Though, there was no time to enjoy the food right now. Rio quickly dug in the breakfast but got choked with his full mouth.
Their mother spoke as she handed him a glass of water, "Slow down, Rio. You're really clumsy, you know? Why don't you follow Alex's example?" She turned her gaze towards Alex who was sitting and eating in calmness.
"Again? I'm definitely older than him, you know? I'm the older brother here." Said Rio in a defensive tone.
Their mother chuckled then spoke with a teasing tone, "But you're the most childish one here, you know? Just like your father." She patted Rio's head then ruffled his hair.
"Hey! Stop that! I just tidied my hair a few seconds ago, you know?!" He swatted her hand away gently from his head.
After a little banter, Rio and Alex began to walk from their house to their own schools. Rio occasionally glanced at Alex to make sure nothing happened to his own little brother in the middle way to their school. Even when he didn't look like that, he was such a good big brother for Alex. Some people in the city greeted them with a smile on their faces, and so they were. The city was bathed with yellow sunlight, the air felt so warm, and the city looked so beautiful with the clear sky. This place was different from the dream, but it wasn't that bad.
In the middle of their way, a teen boy's voice was coming closer to them, "Rio! Long time no see!" Then the source of the voice put his arm around Rio's neck.
"Niel, can you stop doing that every time we meet? That's so annoying, you know?" Said Rio with a slightly annoyed tone.
Niel replied while he kept pulling him towards himself, "Don't be so rude, pal. We're always together, right?"
Alex chimed in between them with a soft and shy tone, "T-then, I'll go first, brother."
Rio nodded slightly and gave him a slight warning, "Be careful, Alex. Don't run, okay?" He patted his head a few times before letting him go.
Niel teased Rio with a slight scoff before speaking, "Such a loving brother as always, huh? And Alex seems shy as always."
Rio put his palm at Niel's cheek then pushed him away from him then said, "I'm not a loving brother, okay? It's normal for the older one to worry about their younger one. And yes, he's always shy as always, agreed."
Niel just laughed beside him and continued walking towards the entrance of their school along with Rio. They have a little chat and have fun about their daily lives, about their hobbies, about what they did during holidays. In the school, they sat on their own seats as the class began. Rio's mind was unable to stay focused at the lesson and always went back to thinking about the dream this morning. His eyes were becoming heavier and heavier, each thought as if his eyes had weights. The teacher's voice was disappearing each second and went deaf in his ears. His palm on his chin made him more comfortable with the position as he kept wondering about the dream each passing second.
A bubbles' voice was heard in his ears as he closed his eyes and a girl's voice from the dream appeared again, "RIO!!"
Rio opened his eyes in surprise, but it was too late. The whiteboard marker was already in front of him, thrown by the teacher from in front of the class. Rio tried to avoid the marker, but he eventually got hit by the marker right on his forehead. He knocked back a bit and fell from his chair after the marker got him.
"OUCH! THAT WAS HURT!!" He said to himself while rubbing the point where the marker hit him.
The teacher stepped in front of him and started towering over him before speaking with an upset tone, "Rio, please pay attention to the class or you'll know what happened."
The fear was running through his spine, the intimidating aura was real. She was indeed a killer teacher. Rio quickly cursed under his breath for not paying his attention to his killer teacher's class. His face was getting paler and paler in every single thought about what she would do to him. The other students fell silent, unable to chime in or laugh at him, even no one dared to see the teacher. But some students were laughing silently at Rio who got scolded by the teacher.
The teacher spoke to him with a firm tone while walking back to the front of the class, "Rio, please come to my room after the school."
Rio replied with a guilty tone, "O-okay, Miss." Then he muttered under his breath softly, "Oh, I'm gonna be cooked." He sat back on his seat and made sure to pay his attention this time.
He could hear the students' laughter and chatters. But after the teacher swatted her own palm with his ruler, the students' laughter felt like a lie. It suddenly subsided and turned into a silent room with a thick atmosphere. Eventually, the teacher was in front of them and started her class again, leaving the class in silence. No one dared to look away or did anything else in her class, no matter how small the task was.