Glimpse of Reality

"Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light." — Brené Brown

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A pale young man in a deep slumber suddenly moved, burrowing his head into the fluffy pillows. His long white lashes quivered as a crystal-blue eye slowly emerged. However, his brows frowned from the dim light shining directly on him, momentarily blinding his vision.

Gradually adjusting, a clear image of an old white ceiling appeared. A faint sigh escaped from his pouty lips, while resignation was written on his once serene face. His eyes closed without even a second. 

He grumbled, "Why did I dream about this again? A room at that—." His brows furrowed in doubt. He took a second look at the surroundings, but attentively this time. The bed creaked when he weakly propped himself on the bed, making the whole thing seem realistic.

"Very detailed this time, huh," he deprecatingly commented.

He was lying on a warm bed with a wooden bedside cabinet and a towering dim lamp beside it. On his left, there was a small white sofa in front of a wall window covered by a black-out curtain. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him, offering false hope.

The white haired youth slowly sank back into the bed, overwhelmed with misery. 

Just as he was about to close his eyes for good, he began to notice that the room was unlike his usual vivid daydreams. If his memories were accurate, he had never been in such a place before.

He cautiously supported himself to rise from the bed, but he slid down the floor, fortunately, with the soft pillows and thick blanket cushioning his body.

"Ouch—" His voice stifled, as he realized something. The pain did not rouse him to reality.

A hopeful plea gradually spread inside his weary heart, while it frantically pounded from the anticipation. The man anxiously searched for anything to validate his speculation until he saw it.

His gaze locked on the curtain gaps. Ignoring the commotion he caused, he just moved towards the light. In his usual dreams, the man saw nothing outside the window. It was as if his imaginations and dreams were limited inside the house and beyond that was just darkness.

But things were different this time.

Suddenly, the man gasped in pain as blood streamed from his left hand. The dextrose drip attached to him had been removed abruptly. He instinctively applied a manual pressure, in hopes that the bleeding would recede, but his gaze was on somewhere else.

"S-sun," he tiredly whispered. A tearful smile appeared on his enchanting face, revealing his faint dimples.

However, he progressively went deadly pale and grew drowsy with the immense blood loss. A bone-thin hands stretched towards the sky and playfully traced the edges of the celestial body. It was perfectly spherical, positioned at the center of the sky, like a proud giant.

His reddened eyes added more vulnerability to his frail figure. After being trapped in darkness for so long, the view of the day, which he had almost forgotten, elicited the bottled-up sorrow. 

Like a madman, he greedily captured various colors of the world around. "Y-yes, green for leaves."

For a long time, darkness was his only companion, but gradually, he began to resent it. He blamed himself, the people in his nightmares, and everyone for imprisoning him in an endless slumber he never wanted.

His eyes seemed to stop blinking the whole time. Actually, he genuinely did not want to close them. He indulged on the delicate smell of trees, the rough surface of the window tickled his fingers, and the warmth of the bright sunlight. 

"Th-this is real, right?" he wondered, unable to shake the fear of waking up again if it was merely a dream.

He vaguely remembers his identity as though someone erased some and preserved a few memories for him to relish.

He recalled waking up and subconsciously aware of the duration he had been in that place. The youth basked in cold liquid, but could miraculously breathe. Unfortunately, his muscles were flaccid, unable to grant him warmth through shivering against the low temperature of the liquid that penetrated my bones.

However, one miraculous day, he was transferred to lay inside a soft material, covered with a cozy blanket providing me with a long sought warmth.

In other words, he could feel, but couldn't see, hear, or move. He was trapped inside a paralyzed body for 10 years, and now, he is free.

After a minute—or an hour?—the sun began to hide behind the clouds. The sky was filled with the pink hue of the golden hour when a sense of disorientation suddenly crept into him. His surroundings turned wavy and blurry.

Before he knew it, he was already lying on the ground, desperately gasping for air. He must have fell so loudly that someone suddenly ran inside the room and rushed to help me get on the bed.

Disoriented, he heard, "--von!"

The figure started reprimanding him while in tears. He affectionately kissed his face, like a father would to his beloved child, and continuously uttered something. It was a bizarre sight, but the youth couldn't hear his pleas. 

Amidst the terrible noise, he caught a whisper of someone familiar.

Yet again, he was in the dark.

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Pane, clad in his lab coat, scooped Devon into his arms, pressing multiple kisses to his delicate face. "Thank you for not leaving me," his voice choked with emotion.

In fear that he would never see him wake again, the man hastily yet carefully tucked him inside a warm blanket. He concentratedly connected a new intravenous line to his child and performed a blood transfusion. 

For years, he has been the only one who took care of Devon, determined to wake him up from a deep coma. All the doctors from the outside declared his child was in a persistent vegetative state—or even brain-dead and should be freed from any suffering.

All tried to dissuade him, to make him give up. Even his family thought he was mad for persisting, but Pane's resolve never wavered.

Devon had been his source of strength, and he would not surrender. Determined to protect the youth, Pane decided to isolate himself from his family and constructed a villa safeguarded by an invisible barrier.

Pane was renown for his great inventions and discoveries, yet when faced with Devon's state, his skill seemed inadequate. Despite his perceived failure, Pane did not relent in his efforts to preserve Devon's body. He was resolved to shield him from the darkness, even if he knew he will be hated in the future.

A few days ago, a gigantic storm suddenly entered their base and wreaked havoc.

The wild winds almost knocked down the panels above their habitation— a bad omen. He had to check if there was any problem that should be mitigated. The machines sustain Devon's life, and without them, he will most likely perish.

However, what he saw when he glanced outside the windows revealed a more alarming issue.

The barrier, usually robust, had gotten punctured by floating, colossal debris. Massive creatures continuously hampered the solid protective layer brought by the roaring dark winds. Seeing the storm's destruction, he rapidly went upstairs and fixed the barrier.

Pane quickly remedied the damage and successfully reprogrammed the layer. The perforation was slowly shrinking, when a small streak of dark light suddenly entered the minuscule retracting gap.

At first, he was in a daze at the sight of it spreading onto the wires, but then his eyes widened in horror. "Devon!"

He rushed to check the control area of the villa to find and contain the eerie streak of light. But the signals received were erratic, as though someone was interfering with his plane. Without any choice, he ran to the kid's room, ignoring his knees which were about to collapse.

He could not imagine what he could do if he met a lifeless child once he opened the door. Pane, a sturdy man, wavered as he turned the doorknob and cautiously entered the room. He slowly looked up and gazed at the bed, but it was empty.

Panic surged as he agitatedly looked to look around and saw his silhouette against the window. He caught sight of his child standing against the afternoon sun, gazing intently at the light.

The storm was gone outside, and only the light was left, heralding the awakening of Devon. His silver-white hair sparkled, as the golden light shone down his way.

Pane cautiously walked towards him, fearing that everything was just a figment of his imagination.

Suddenly, the kid collapsed to the ground. "Devon!"