A beautiful and enchanting planet—such was Rania's first thought when she started dreaming that repetitive dream of hers. At first glance, she thought it was their planet, Earth, but after observing for a few minutes as her body flew adrift in outer space, she noticed a few differences. The landmasses and regions weren't the same, the waters looked sparklier than usual, and the skies had a subtle iridescent glow.
For some reason, in her dream, she was looking at the planet from the outside as if she somehow gained powers to breathe and survive in outer space without any protective gear like what astronauts wear. She could even zoom in the view like a camera just by thinking. Funny how her imagination worked was the first thing she told herself. Though what's more interesting was how vivid it was for her, especially the experience when she came inside the planet.
Curious, Rania suddenly found herself standing on bluish grass, inside what seemed to be a forest filled with different colored trees and peculiar-looking flowers. As she thought, it really wasn't their planet. The plants, animals, the sky, and all other things looked so different. There were even lands floating in the sky! And on a closer look, not only were lands floating but there were also people flying as they pleased as if it's the most natural thing in the world!
'There's no way this is Earth. Am I somehow dreaming about a game I played before? This whole place looks like a fantasy world. Hmm, I should probably lessen my playing time.'
Then, while she was busy thinking of dozens of reasons why she was somehow having a weird dream, the ground she stood on suddenly shook terribly. The plants and trees started to wither, followed by the animals and other creatures falling one by one on the ground. The clouds began to darken, and the seas roared. Soon after, a huge cyclone formed, and the volcanoes erupted. What's worse, the people living there started dying one after another.
The next thing she knew, she was back in outer space. From there, she saw the planet shake terribly, and great darkness covered its once iridescent glow. Wherever the darkness touched, life died. In just a snap, what once looked so magical became a rocky, fuming, collapsing planet covered in darkness. After that, it started to crumble. Slowly, it disintegrated in the air turning into dust until every speck was nowhere to be seen. Just like that… as if it never existed in the first place.
"Haah!" Rania gasped awake from her dream. "Hahh… Hahh… Hahh…" She panted hard, and sweat formed in her forehead. Wiping it off with her hands, she embraced herself, trying to calm herself down.
Somehow, that dream always left her heart beating so loud, her body shivering and sweating profusely, and her lips dry. What's more irritating was how she didn't know what it meant—if it was real or just a fraction of her imagination, and what was it that she was supposed to do? Why did she keep dreaming about it every year on her birthday? And most of all, why was it that… her heart always ached seeing that planet crumble? She didn't live there. She didn't even know what it was, where it was, or if it even existed in reality. But then, the dream was too vivid for her to ignore. Because of that, she would often pray to God for hours after dreaming, asking Him to tell her what it meant and what she needed to do, only to hear silence in return.
At times like these, Rania would turn to the voices she named Rose for the gentle one, Lily for the playful child, and Iris for the wise, old woman.
"You all see the future, right? That's why you always warn me or tell me important things," Rania said, trying to talk to them through her mind. "Since you know, can you please tell me what the dream is about? I'm not sure if I can survive the anxiety of thinking a planet out there is dying, and I don't know what to do to help. Or if I can help. Or if it's just my imagination playing tricks on me. But then I would keep dreaming about it. Why? Please, can you tell me anything? Anything at all?"
Yet, no matter how noble Rania's intentions were—to help an unknown planet—she never got the answer to her questions. Even the voices would remain silent whenever she asked them about it. Well, at least until...
"Today," the old woman, Iris, responded, much to Rania's surprise. She only ever heard her seven times, starting from her childhood up to that moment.
"Yes, Ms. Iris?"
A soft sigh could be heard from the old woman.
"Remember to be strong and take heart."
"Huh?" Rania got confused. "What do you mean? You didn't answer my question. Will something bad happen?"
"…"
Not hearing any more response, Rania sighed deeply. It was still before dawn, and she was already wide awake from a simple dream and unanswered questions. If curiosity could kill, she would be dead by now. Trying to brush her thoughts off the matter, she carefully got out of bed, afraid to wake up Lailee, who on second glance, wasn't on the bed anymore.
Since she sweated a lot, she took a bath before heading out. It was Friday, and she still got work in the morning, so she had to go. On her way out, she was greeted by everyone in the church and orphanage with a big cake and cute singing voices from the children. Her eyes widened in surprise. She did not expect that.
"Wait a minute—Is this why you asked me to sleepover?" she asked, turning her head to the guilty Head Pastor who looked exactly how you would imagine Santa Claus minus the long, white beard because his' was way shorter.
"Ho-ho-ho! It seems that I have been found," he replied with a laugh so contagious that everyone started laughing as well.
"We are aware that you're always busy on Fridays to the point you don't even care about your own birthday!" Lailee butted in, shaking her head. "So, we decided to prepare a little something before you go."
"Awww… Thank you so much! You're making me cry," Rania replied but she was already crying buckets. "You didn't need to prepare this much. I'm fine with just a greeting."
"No way! If we don't, you'll forget it's your birthday," the other pastor jested. "You're too workaholic. You should learn to take a breather now and then."
"Aye! Who in the world forgets yer own birthday? I dun forget ma birthday. Tsk, this child. Ye always tell us t' take care of ourselves but look who's forgot'n about herself?"
"What? I do take a break from time to time. I go to my favorite coffee shop—"
"A vacation is what we meant," Lailee corrected her.
"Oooh, I see."
"I knew it."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
And so, they ate and celebrated merrily that morning. The little children even prepared a cute performance for her despite their sleepy appearance. She appreciated all their efforts, and her heart was touched so much she kept on crying. By the time the sun rose, she had to bid them a sad goodbye since she needed to go. With much reluctance, they all hugged each other and waved their hands goodbye. Then, Rania got in her car and drove to work.
"I should have filed a leave and spent the day with them. I'm so stupid," Rania whispered to herself while driving. "I'll check my calendar again and see when it's okay to file a vacation."
With the exception of her dream, Rania's day had been perfect from morning till she got off of work. The clear blue sky and the falling leaves from maple trees that dressed the sidewalks on fire created the perfect contrast. The breeze quietly kissed her cheeks and in every kiss was a slight shiver for her but not as harsh as it was during winter. The owner of Starr's Café even gave her a free drink paired with her favorite cake as a treat for her birthday.
Soon enough, Rania's shift ended, and Zeid fetched her from outside their company in his rather luxurious sports car—a Mercedes-Benz. Like a handsome model, he leaned his back on the side of his car while he waited for Rania. Passersby couldn't help but stop and try to steal a picture of him from afar. His cinnamon brown hair looked silkier and redder due to the light of dusk. His green eyes turned brownish combined with the orange tinge of the surroundings. But his blue shirt and white suit stood out from the fiery background. And most of all, his smile that could render everything else in a blur.
"Babe, I'm here. Where are youuuuu?" Zeid cutely texted on his phone, with matching emojis of cute puppies at the end.
A few seconds in and a reply from Rania came.
"I'm in the lobby now. I can see you."
At these words, Zeid beamed with joy, and little dimples could be seen on his cheeks. Like an adorable puppy wagging his tail, he gazed towards the lobby and tilted his body from left to right, trying to eye Rania from the crowd. Once he saw her, he smiled all the more, making the other employees that were getting out at the same time as Rania giggle at his captivating smile. A few of them even tried flirting and approached him, only to be ignored as he walked past them and went to hug his beloved girlfriend.
"Baaabe! I missed you!" Zeid pouted as he embraced Rania tightly.
Surprised by him acting so cute in public, Rania chuckled. A tall man like him, with lean muscles all over his body, fawning over her like that—it was funny to look at. And sweet.
"I missed you, too, babe."
Zeid kissed her cheeks then sprinted for a second to the car to get a bouquet of blue roses from inside. Smiling handsomely and giving the flowers to Rania, he leaned towards her, wanting to get a kiss as a reward for his good deeds. Rania laughed at him and shoved his face gently. As much as Zeid was okay with PDA, she was the complete opposite. Instead, she got inside the car and smelled the flowers, leaving Zeid pouting. But then he just brushed it off and went inside the car and took off.