in between the lines

a thing called

There was a story passed through ages in the form of a myth, it goes like this:

Hearsay that there is a bond, strong enough to bind, secret enough to never be known. It coils and it seeps, deep into oneself till it rearranges souls. It may appear inside dreams, rooting itself into the very essence of anybody who has emotions like tidal waves. And this bond, this connection-like thread is the guide to the other half of a heart. A thing called soulmate.

It had been planted in her brain ever since childhood. Her sister would tell her stories, good or bad, about love or death. Risa was particularly enamored to know that people do believe in such a concept; there'll be one person that would fit into your life, belonging like no other.

Maybe because it was her nature to relish these types of ideas. Her young mind thought it was fascinating, wala namang mawawala kung maniniwala. And so she believed. Probably too much that at the age of 10, Risa started dreaming.

She was dumbfounded at first, but the dream seemed too real to be untrue. Risa woke up panting that night, even creating a buzz inside their household. She could remember her mother saying it was bangungot, but it wasn't. The dream was far from becoming a nightmare.

Weird as it sounds, ten years later, she found herself dreaming about the same thing, the same feeling, and the same person.

Some of her friends had said there might be a possibility that this 'dream' is currently happening in a different timeline. Multiverse, parallel universe, all foreign words she willingly ignored thinking those dreams she had was just a product of pure coincidence. She was graduating college with a degree in social sciences, she had no time to process such a happening.

Then came her thirties, she had kids, a stable job, and a prospering love for her country. Again with the same dream, though it was more vivid than the one she had ten and twenty years ago. She couldn't let it pass this time, so she remembered three things she constantly saw. A huge crowd in front of her, her name signed on various items, and an unfamiliar woman wearing a light pink polo shirt.

Her time as a journalist was surely something to keep, but she felt like she needed to do something more. She enters her forties running for a position in the government. Sometime during those years, she dreamt about the exact thing again. Truly it wasn't some weird conjunction anymore.

3/11/13
yes, your sked here is mar 21. .see you! good luck ;-)

Risa reads with a heavy sigh. Funny enough, the woman who sent the reply looked exactly like the one inevitably appearing in her dreams.

She thinks the universe is playing a trick on her. She believes it is.

—

2016

The fifties, quite scary thinking about it than actually living to feel it. Fifty years, like a tipping point, perhaps a milestone for those who radiate optimism. For Risa, however, it was a moment of introspection driven by of course, the recurring dream.

It appeared a day after her 50th birthday. Unlike her previous dreams, this one was more exhilarating, will all the inaudible chants she could remember and the growing crowd in front of them. She was used to rallies and events, but the ones in her dreams were novel. If it hasn't happened then it will, eventually. Same thing, same feeling, same person. How is she supposed to say it's a pure coincidence when the woman appearing in her dreams stands in front of her?

"Cong, by any chance, will you run for the highest position?" she breaks the ice. "Ibig kong sabihin, after mo pala mapanalo ang pagkabise."

"Wow, sa 'yo pa lang panalo na ako," the vice presidential candidate joked. "Sabi ko sa mga bata last na ito."

Right, how could she conclude that? Sure, there were huge crowds, people asking for her signature here and there, but there were no signs of pink nor the broad spectrum of its shades.

"Fair enough. It's difficult naman din ang ganitong set-up for them, right?"

"I know, sen." Leni agreed, fixing the collar of her yellow shirt. "Bakit mo natanong?"

Risa deeply sighed, looking at the eyes of the person eyeing the people who attended their rally. "Wala, I just had a weird dream, nothing much."

"Dreams? Minsan talaga ang lakas nila makareal-life ano?" Leni asked.

"Sinabi mo pa. Nakalilito tuloy kung mangyayari ba o hindi," she replies. "Pero hindi naman daw nagkakatotoo."

"Gano'n ba? Minsan na nga lang ako nanaginip, nagkatotoo pa," Leni says, interrupted by her staff waving their hand to give her a signal to get ready.

"It happened?" Risa asked again.

"Oo, I dreamt about the waves of yellow here," Leni answered, implying that dreams are indeed, real. Known for her tendencies to be overly rational, Risa didn't expect her to say those words.

Leni stands up to finally meet the crowd. "I also dreamed about this din," she says before taking the mic and rushing to the stage, leaving her staring as Leni's figure starts to get smaller.

Then tell me, Leni. Do you dream about me too?

—

2022

"Maraming salamat po!" Risa thanked the crowd. Safe to say people still trusts her given the results of the previous survey. She was thankful for that as serving six years as a senator has been quite productive, but she figured she could do more.

The fight was more difficult now, needing more allies they could garner.

This time, Risa is absolutely sure the dream was capable of becoming somewhat real. Same feeling with the same person. Shades of pink everywhere, signatures, and a woman in pink. She needed to dream again, to not wait for the remaining four years to dream of the same thing. She wanted to be sure, sure that the event transpiring right now are the same event planted on her dreams.

"Sen, hindi ka pa uuwi?" The rally ended a little late than usual. Due to that, they were the only ones left on the tent as some of their staffs are having their own chitchat outside the premises.

Risa was particularly uncomfortable with this. Over the years of knowing each other, she may have developed a not-so-platonic feelings toward the older woman.

"Ikaw ba, VP?" she asked the question back. "Dapat umuwi ka na, maaga schedule mo bukas."

Leni chuckled at that, probably recalling something that has happened before. "Ikaw naman ang may alam ng sched ko ngayon."

Of course she knows, and no, it's not because she was told but because she frequently asked for it. There was no chance for their friendship to turn into something more nor their connection to dive deeper that what it is intended for. So, the least she could do is know her whereabouts, to ask her simple things and remind her that someone is still looking out for her.

"Alala mo pa pala ang twitter reply. Sorry, I remember I was being loud because I was narrating the dream I had."

"You mean the one who keeps appearing every ten years?" Leni inquired, moving the monobloc chair closer to her. "Alam mo, nagkakaganoon din ako minsan."

"Really? Was it scary?" Risa asked her, helping her move the chair faster. Leni sat comfortably and crossed her legs as if ready for their usual late night talk.

"Ha?" Leni asked, leaning forward to hear her clearly.

"Panaginip mo kako, Veep."

"Ah, hindi naman nakakatakot because you were there," Leni says with a smile. "I dream about you, too, Risa."

—

free from workloads (for the night) now why did twitter glitch and like those tweets from years ago -_-