In the evening, at the dining table, three of us were discussing what to give grandpa as a gift on his birthday.
"How about an antique vase?" Rosaria suggested.
"I don't think Jacob's grandpa would like to have a vase. But the idea of an antique is agreeable. He is indeed fond of antiques." Uncle Greg was right. Grandpa had a hobby of collecting antiques. He was a VIP customer at every auction house in the city. His house was like a museum of antiques.
As the two of them were sharing their opinions, I was lost in my own thoughts. Even though I forgot about the dream for a while, I remembered that in the end we went along with Rosaria's suggestion to give my grandpa an antique vase.
"What do you think, Jacob?" Rosaria asked.
"About what?" I didn't quite follow what they were talking about after Rosaria mentioned the antique vase.
"Rosaria insists on the vase while I think a painting of a sort will be more appropriate. What about you?"
"There is only a week left before the birthday. Finding a suitable painting might take a while. On the other hand, finding a vase would be much easier. I remember grandma asked grandpa last year to build a flower garden in their backyard. So, giving a vase as a gift would be more appropriate."
"I'm glad that you are going with my suggestion, but the way you put it is a bit off the point. It's your grandpa's birthday, not your grandma's."
Truth be told, I was still obsessed with the dream. I just wanted to follow through what happened in my dream to see whether the aftermath was the same as the one in the dream or not.
"I know what you meant. But as an antique, it will interest grandpa, and as a vase, it will be useful to grandma as well."
"If that's how you are going with it, then I have no objections. There will be an auction held the day after tomorrow at the Camberton Auction House. How about we go there to try our luck?"
Uncle Greg's proposal to go to the auction was genuine. But the name of the auction house was the same one we went to in my dream. We also bought the vase from that auction. It's already a coincidence hearing the same name, and it would be worrisome if the next events were the same.
We agreed with Uncle Greg's proposal. At the auction, everything unfolded as it did in my dream. Even the vase we bought was an exact replica of the one from my dream, a bronze vase with a carving of cranes on both sides.
At that point, I told myself, "Maybe... maybe it wasn't just a dream."
I myself found that idiotic. But that was the only conclusion I could come up with. Going through the same thing twice was more tiring than it was shocking, as it was supposed to be. I decided not to think about it anymore.
"I will just go with the flow," I said to myself.
On our way home, Rosaria noticed my unusual behavior.
"What are you thinking? Was the vase not to your liking? You are too quiet, which is not like you at all."
Her sudden inquiry brought me back to reality. Otherwise, I might have still been thinking about the dream.
"I am not worried about the vase. I am just feeling a bit tired. That's all."
I wasn't lying when I said I was tired. I regretted coming to the auction. The thing that it made me realize was something I wished I had realized later.
Sometimes living without knowing some truth is better than living with knowing them. My situation was exactly the same at that time.
"It will take a while to reach home. If you want, you can lean on my shoulder."
"Thanks."
Saying that, I leaned on her shoulder. This wasn't the first time. When we were on a journey, I would usually lean on her shoulder and fall asleep. It had been a while since we didn't go anywhere for the past couple of months. Even in my dream of the future, I experienced the same feeling many times. After I fell asleep on her shoulder, she would run her fingers through my hair. Whether it's in that dream or in reality, that was the only thing I would never get tired of.
"We are here. Get up. It's better to sleep on the bed than in the car."
Rosaria's statement disrupted my nap. Why do I feel like I would have been happier if we had been stuck in a traffic jam?
After freshening up, both Rosaria and I were in the living room.
"So, what's got you worried? You were absent-minded throughout the auction."
"If I say I have been through the same experience that I had today in my dream as well, will you believe me?"
"Are you still hung up on your dream? You don't expect me to believe you, do you?"
"If I were you, I wouldn't believe me either. But it feels so tiring. It's like watching the same movie twice repeatedly without a break."
"That sure is quite awful. I am sorry for not being able to do something to make you feel better."
"That's not true. You listening to my bullshit is more helpful than you can realize. If I were to keep it all to myself, I might feel a lot worse than what I am feeling now."
"No matter what you have to say, if you ever need someone to listen to you, you should know that I will always be there for you."
"I will be counting on you then."
I didn't know what else to say.
"By the way, as you said you have been through what's going to happen in the future. What if we do a little experiment?"
I was shocked to hear her suggestion. She might be serious or she might be trying to cheer me up.
"And how do you suggest we do that?"
"As we all know, when it comes to the birthday of the members of the Rothschild family, there are four factions: The older faction which is your grandparents, The younger faction which is you accompanied by me and my dad, The master faction which is your father, and the mistress faction which is your mother..."
What Rosaria said was a tradition that had been passed down from generation to generation in the Rothschild family. We didn't invite outsiders to our birthday parties. The butlers and the maids were also considered a part of our family.
The Master and Mistress faction focuses on the family business. The older faction's job is to give advice when needed. Lastly, the younger faction's job is to live up to the family's expectations and shoulder the responsibilities to carry on the family business.
"...So if you know what's going to happen, then you know what gifts your mom and dad will give to your grandpa, right?"
What Rosaria was trying to say is also something part of the tradition. When the birthday of a member of a faction comes, the other three factions present three different gifts which are kept secret until the celebrant opens the gifts himself. And the faction whose gift is more appealing to the celebrant wins. It's just a family game. Like the vase we bought. My mom and dad didn't know about it. And what they bought is also kept secret from us.
But if I were to recall what happened in my dream then I would know what they will bring if my dream was real. Rosaria's suggestion was really appealing. It also gave me a way to prove myself that I was right.
"That's a wonderful idea. Let me think. Dad will bring a jade pendant, a matching pair for both grandpa and grandma. And mom will bring a cane made from blackwood with a platinum handle. There's a lion carved on the handle."
"That's too detailed. I guess we will find out if your dream is real or not soon enough."
As much as I would like to prove that I was right, at that moment I really wished that I would be proven wrong. Because if I were to be right then It would be more tiring to me than it would be shocking for Rosaria.