"And by the way I forgot to tell you one thing."
There was a slight hesitation in Rosa's voice, and he got it that she was up to no good now. She was definitely going to throw a bomb on his head. The next moment and the expected happened.
"So, actually, I won't be going with you there."
Zhang Yong's eyes went wide, and he yelled at the top of his lungs, "WHAT?"
"Shhh...! Lower your voice. Everyone will come running here if you yell like that."
He realized what he just did and immediately bowed his head down a bit, feeling guilty.
"Sorry." He whispered, and then again, his mind went to those words of Rosa.
"But what do you mean that you won't come? How will I be able to do this all alone?"
Rosa sighed as she said, "Look, even if I were to go there with you, I still wouldn't be of much help, so it's better if you go alone."
"No! NO! You can't do this. Go with me. Please! I am not that strong. I will die the very moment I get there."
"Don't worry, you will be able to take care of yourself, and I am not allowed to go there with you, so stop whining. End of the discussion."
Zhang Yong lowered his head as if he was pondering on the matter. His hand combed his hair, and soon he started to pull the hair with frustration. Rosa rolled her eyes at this behavior.
"I think…." She paused for a minute and gave Zhang Yong a look before saying, "You need to grow up."
"What. Do. You. Mean?"
Rosa shrugged and started to fly here and there again.
"I will leave you alone now so you can prepare yourself and think about your life there. Hehehe."
"Ahh." Zhang Yong growled in frustration, but before he could say anything, Rosa herself cut him off with a "Bai-bai."
His eyebrows raised, but before he could stop her, there was a little light, and just like that, she vanished.
"What the heck? What does she think of herself? She just gives me orders like that and drops new types of bombs on me, and then she just disappears from here."
He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down, but it looked like he couldn't be calm in his life anymore.
"What did I ever do to deserve this? Why do you have to test me in these challenges, which I am sure I will fail?"
He looked up towards the ceiling with a worried look on his face.
"Will I ever be able to complete myself now? Will I be able to live?" He asked those questions to himself, hoping that a voice would come out and comfort him.
He badly wanted his mother; he wanted to lay on her lap and tell her how cruel this world is; it won't even let him live peacefully.
"Mom…. Miss you…."
A lone tear escaped his eyes before he again fell into a deep slumber thinking about his upcoming life…
The sunlight was bright even in the icy cold. Zhang Yong felt a little cold even though those bright sun rays were kissing his cheeks.
"Ahhh! Who removed the curtains. I am still sleepy."
He groaned and rubbed his eyes through the back of his hand.
"Ahh why?" Slowly he opened his eyes.
He took a moment to shed the sleep from his brain, to allow the visions of the night to give way to the day, to move from that which he created on a whim to things more fixed and real.
In a few minutes he was able to greet the sunlight, to see the colours as bright as the backlit images of cinema screens. He blinked his eyes countless times so he would adjust.
For now he let it come with the subtleness of a gentle dawn and let his doze underwing. Finally he opened up her eyes completely while still rubbing his eyes. He raised a diminutive hand to the brilliant sun rays.
"Huh? Why is the sun just above me?" He asked himself when he realized that he was laying directly under the sun and in an open area.
He sat there on the bed as he scratched his neck.
"Where? Where am I?"
He was finally looking at his surroundings and then only he realized where he was.
"What the heck? I remember sleeping in my bed."
He looked here and there with horror before getting up from the bed.
"Is this a dream again?"
He took a step forward and now he finally was able to see every thing clearly.
Upon the forest floor lie trees of yesteryear, fallen in storms long forgotten. The seasons would have been harsh, stripping away the bark and outer layers, yet rendering them all the more beautiful.
They have the appearance of driftwood, twisting in patterns that reminded Zhang Yong of seaside waves; even the colour of the moss is kelp-like.
They are soft, damp, yet his fingers come away dry. Zhang Yong tilts his head upward, feeling his hair tumble further down; the pines were several houses tall, reaching toward the golden rays of spring. Birdsong came in lulls and bursts, the silence and the singing working together as well as any improvised melody.
"Wow! This is so beautiful. This is definitely a dream."
A new smile paints itself upon his freckled face, those dry lips semi-illuminated by the dappled light.
Before he knew it his feet had begun to walk, body and mind both on autopilot. He took each and every step cautiously.
"This is heaven." He couldn't help but exclaim looking at his surroundings.
After a long time he finally felt relieved.
"I am liking this dream."
He was walking there like he was the king of the jungle, like that whole land belonged to him and him only.
Crashhhhh…. Bangggg...
Zhang Yong immediately halted in his steps, "Uh" He was now standing still, he didn't even dare to move or utter a single word when all of a sudden he again heard the voice. "Wahhhh."