Chapter 3 DARE TO DREAM

Lionel

Dusk arrived before we knew it. Michael and I gathered some fire-woods and arranged it to make a bonfire to scare wild animals away and stay warm in the night. I had packed and stole some food and fruits from the orphanage home. I threw an apple over to Michael. He caught it happily and started munching on it, we ate some of the bread and reserved some for later.

"Just for how long did you plan this Lionel?" Michael asked jokingly after seeing all the things I had packed".

I laughed out loud holding my stomach.

"Michael, I planned this overnight and I made sure it was today that I'd set out" I replied.

We both smiled at each other. I looked at Michael again

'I couldn't ask for more, Michal was more than family to me' I thought within myself.

We munched on the fruit and bread joyfully because we never got to eat this amount of food. We felt so luxurious tonight. We cracked jokes, played our favorite games with our hands. Along the line we were both feeling sleepy, we set our bag pack as our pillows as we were about to sleep. We laid on the floor, as we looked up to the sky.

"Lionel?."

"Yes Michael?" I responded.

"I want you to know that I got your back anytime at all cost, I LOVE YOU LIONEL,"

"You're sounding so cheesy right now, Michael," I said, chuckling lightly.

"I know I am," he said, chuckling. "But I just had to let you know,"

"I want you to know that you can lean on me anytime, I live today because you were with me from day one of my life. You can say you were not there when I was born but let me tell you, life made sense when I entered into that orphanage home and met you. I live because of you and I'd die for you" Michael said.

I sat up to look at him, I was dumbfounded at the words he was spewing out. What could possibly make him say such kind of things?

"Michael!!!!........" I called out to him. There was no response, I stood up to check him and then I found out he was fast asleep already.

I felt a shiver down my spine and I wondered and wondered why he said all that till I drifted off to sleep. The warmth of the fire and the comforting presence of Michael lulling me into a peaceful slumber. In my dream, I found myself in a strange, ethereal realm. A figure, cloaked in shadow, suddenly materialized before me.

"You have awakened," the figure said, its voice a deep, resonant hum.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice filled with curiosity and fear.

"I am the guardian of this realm," the figure replied. "You have been chosen."

"This realm? Where am I?"

"Chosen for what?" I asked, confused.

"This is the realm between the earth and the underworld, the ones who create the balance," The figure said.

"You have been chosen to wield a power that's far beyond your imagination," the figure explained. "A power that can shape the world, or either destroy it."

I was bewildered. "What power?" I asked, my voice filled with disbelief. "I'm just an orphan boy, who doesn't have anything going well in life,"

The figure smiled, a knowing look in its eyes. "Not anymore," it said.

"You're the champion of this realm and successor of the previous herald,"

"Previous successor?" I asked, curious to know more. "What happened to the previous successor?"

"With time you shall know,"

"But for now, the world needs you now, more than ever,"

As the figure spoke, I felt a strange sensation, a tingling in my fingertips. I looked down at my hands, and to my astonishment, they began to glow with an ethereal light. They were what you would call magical, they were out of this world or rather the world that I know of.

I was terrified and excited at the same time. What was happening to me? Was this real, or was it just a dream?

Before I could ask any more questions, the figure vanished, leaving me alone in the ethereal realm. I tried to use my newfound power, but I was still too inexperienced. I stumbled around, accidentally creating small explosions and manipulating objects with my mind.

I woke up with a start, my heart pounding. The dream was still vivid in my mind, the feeling of power still lingering in my fingertips. I wondered if it was a sign, a glimpse into a future that was yet to come.

The next morning, I woke up with a strange sense of excitement. The dream I had last night was still vivid in my mind. I couldn't shake the feeling that something extraordinary had happened or is about to happen.

I turned to look at Michael, who was still fast asleep. I hesitated, unsure of how to share my experience with him. Should I tell him about the dream, or should I keep it to myself?

In the end, I decided to confide in him as soon as he woke up.

After a while, Michael woke up scrubbing his sleepy eyes.

"Hey, Lionel," he greeted, I turned to look at him.

"Hey, Michael," I replied.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked him.

"Yes I did, what about you?" He asked looking at me.

"I had the strangest dream last night."

Michael stirred and opened his eyes. "Oh yeah? What was it about?" he asked, yawning.

"Well, it was weird," I began, hesitating. "I was in this strange place, and I had this power... I could control things with my mind."

"Oh wow, slow down," he said

"You mean to tell me that you were controlling things with your mind? Really?" He asked.

Michael raised an eyebrow, a look of disbelief displayed on his face. "You were dreaming about being some kind of magician or something?" he joked.

I shook my head. "No, it felt real. Too real."

Michael looked at me seriously. "Maybe it was just a dream, Lionel. Don't let it get to you."

"I mean that's why it's called a dream, we are both poor and we are orphans we might as well just dream about getting so rich we wouldn't have to depend on anybody ever again," he said, chuckling lightly. He wasn't taking me seriously right now. I don't blame if I were him, I wouldn't take him seriously but then.....

"But..." he interjected before I could even continue what I wanted to say.

"It's just a dream, right now we need to focus on finding your father," he said, cutting me off.

"Right, yes, my father,"

I nodded, trying to convince myself that he was right. But deep down, I knew that something extraordinary had happened. I had to find a way to understand what was going on.

I walked a bit far from him, it was pointless explaining it to him, it would be strange if I had a certain kind of power within me. I'm not sure I'm ready for that just yet.