"That's a wild idea," Mr. Lucero said. "Theoretically, it may not be possible since a meteor can be so hot that it burns anything on its path, including its own content."
"An Earth life will be burned for sure," Jamie offered his opinion. "But we do not know for an alien life. It might survive the heat."
"Or might not as well," Mr. Lucero objected. "Besides, we do not if there are really aliens or some life outside our world."
"Some superheroes are not from Earth!" somebody shouted.
Immediately, the class laughed at the idea. Mr. Lucero was amused that these kids would be so interested with meteors and aliens. At the same time, he could not really fuel their curiosity. He did not want them to be bothered by the recent event in Subangdaku.
"Are there anymore questions?" he asked.
Just then, the school bell rang. It was time for the next class. Mr. Lucero packed up his things and the next teacher occupied his seat. The rest of the day was both fun and exciting for the students. Despite being too crowded in the room, they enjoyed being sitted together with new faces or ex-classmates. Almost everyone participated in the class discussions.
"Today was really cool," Kiko concluded. It was already five in the afternoon and they were about to go home.
"I could not agree more," Bogart concurred. "Will we still be classmates tomorrow?"
"I don't think so," Jamie answered. "All classrooms had been checked already and the scientists had found nothing."
"So we will be back to our old schedules."
The boys sighed. Slowly, they boarded their bikes and began their ride home.
"You are still quiet, Tonton," Kiko observed. "I don't think you are okay."
"You were about to say something earlier today when Mr. Lucero suddenly showed up and started class," Bogart said.
"And we forgot about it later," Jamie added. "What was it about?"
Tonton stopped pedalling his bike, and so did the other boys. They were already a good distance from the school, and just almost nearing the haunted house. It was another cold afternoon but their sweats were evident. They looked at Tonton and waited for him to say something.
"I am not actually feeling alright since the explosion two nights ago," Tonton began. "I am not sick but something really awful is bothering me."
Tonton momentarily fell quiet. The silence was broken by the flapping of wings by a passing flock of sparrows. The silhouette of the dark brown birds against the dusky sky was like a classical canvass painting. The three boys looked up and their gaze followed the direction where the birds were heading, leaving Tonton with his contemplation, head bowed and hands shaking.
"Can you still remember what happened to each one of us right after the supposed collision?" he finally continued.
His friends nodded their head. Bogart elaborated, "We lost consciousness. It felt like we were sleeping."
"And then we dreamt," Jamie continued. "They were not really dreams, but more of memories."
"Yes, ours were like memories," Kiko said. "But you said yours was about the future."
"Did Tonton really said that?" Bogart asked.
"Not really like that, but it was something like the future. I heard him say future."
"Yes, I remembered as well," Jamie supported Kiko, then turned to Tonton. "I heard you but we were really scared that time that we lost track of everything."
"Yes, you are all right," Tonton answered. "I also had memories in my dream but something else appears. It was like somebody else's memories came into my dream."
"That's unbelievable!" Bogart exclaimed. "How can you have someone's memories?"
"I don't know. I kept seeing the same people unfamiliar to me so I think those memories were owned by another person."
"So where is the future?" Kiko interrupted. "They were still memories, although those were not yours."
"That's the puzzling part," Tonton said. "Apart from those memories, I saw something that may happen in the future. I saw a war but people were blasting lasers that can cut down trees."
"I also dream of laser beams sometimes," Bogart chuckled. "It's just normal for kids like us to have that kind of dream. We like fighting games."
"But Bogart, this is different. It felt so real, it was like some kind of warning. I can sense they must have meanings. They were not just some random memories or dreams. And they keep coming back. Last night -"
"What?" Jamie cut him. "You dreamt about those things again?"
"Yes."
"I haven't. I only had my dreams two nights ago. And they did not come back."
The other two boys also consented with Jamie.
"But mine has come back. It came to torment me again last night."
Tonton began to sobbed. Immediately, his friends walked towards him and encircled him with an embrace.
"Tell us about your dreams," Jamie said.
Slowly, Tonton described to them everything he had dreamt for the last two nights. He did not leave out anything; instead, he provided as much details as he could remember. He narrated the events and conversations of the couple who kept appearing in the dreams, as well as the laser wars, the falling star, and the gigantic jellyfish-like monster.
They must have talked for a long time because when they had finished, it was already dark. The sky was now enveloped with darkness. Only the faint glow of few cute stars illuminated it. Random sounds from crickets and crawlies were heard everywhere.
The boys thought about the dreams Tonton shared to them. The significance of some events were too vague and difficult to understand, while others were scary, just like the meteor and the monster.
Once again, the sparrows sprang into the night air, filling it with echoes and sounds of their restless wings. The boys could not entirely see them in the darkness but they knew they were just near them.
"These birds are acting weird," Kiko commented.
When the birds were gone, they looked at Tonton. They could sense their friend's uneasiness and so they tried to comfort him.
While they were in a gloomy mood, a small bright light was seen steadily moving from the top corner of the sky. It was moving towards Subangdaku....