DREAM, OLD FRIEND

 "Hisao"

 "Hisao"

 "Hisao, wake up."

 "Hisao, please wake up."

 As Hisao slept, a voice called out, urging him to wake up. Slowly, he tried to open his eyes and was dazed to see a beautiful young lady sitting before him. Her beauty left him stunned. The lady is dressed in a white gown and a white hijab that covers her head. Her fair skin and black eyes make her look radiant. She has a sweet fragrance, like a rose, but not the same. The scent is very light and delicate, making it difficult to describe, yet it's enough to attract and make him fall for her.

 "Thank goodness you woke up Hisao. I'm so worried about you. I thought I'd never make you wake up. How do you feel now? Getting better?" When she saw him wake up, she smiled brightly, and it made him so stunned by the lady's beauty that he couldn't even speak when she smiled at him again with such a sweet smile. 

 "What is it? It is something on my face? Why did you look at me like that? You made me blush!" The woman felt embarrassed and turned her face away from him. Her face turned to be red like a red pau. 

 "I'm sorry. Who... who are you? How do you know my name?" He became so curious about who the lady was sitting beside him.

 "Me? You don't know me? I thought we'd do know each other once we met. Like a zing electricity, I guess. You know you do hurt me now. How could you not know someone who will accompany you for the rest of your life? You see Hisao, I'm your soulmate." The lady felt very sad because he didn't recognize her. However, the lady responded to his question with a bright smile.

 "What?? You are my soulmate??" He felt shocked and found it hard to believe after hearing what the lady said. He became more curious about what the lady just talking about. 

 "Why? What's wrong? You don't like it?". The woman was offended by his response.

 "NO! NO! It's not like that. It's not what I mean. I mean, of course... I do... I like it and feel so happy you want to be my soulmate. But I can't believe what I heard just now." Hisao answers awkwardly. 

 "Why? Is it because I'm too ugly for you?" The lady attempts to tease him when she feels fun teasing him by pretending to be sulking. She turned her body from him like she really sulked with him. 

 "No! No! I don't mean that. I… I only can't believe that someone who is a beautiful angel like you will be my wife…wife." Hisao blushed as he tried to compliment her beauty with his hand behind his head because he was too embarrassed to admit her beauty but suddenly he was stunned to find himself in an unfamiliar place. The place resembles a vast, endless garden adorned with exquisite species of flowers and tall trees bearing various kinds of fruits. The wild animals there are gentle, and the mountains are magnificent and captivating, but you won't feel exhausted climbing them. There are also different types of rivers with unique water, such as milk, wine, chocolate, and even strawberry milk. Plus, they say the wine river is very special because you can drink as much as you want without getting intoxicated. It truly looks like a heavenly place.

 "Where… where are we?" He was curious and asked the lady where they were. Suddenly, he realized they were sitting under a large tree with beautiful flowers and fruits on every branch.

 "This is our land." The lady replied shortly while she suddenly stretched her hand up and one of the branches of the tree with an apple on it went down close to her hand, after the lady picked the apple the branch went up back to its place. He feels so amazed by what he saw just now.

 "Our...Our land?" After the lady replied, he felt a mixture of surprise and curiosity towards her answer.

 "Yes, it is our land." The lady replied with her beautiful smile.

 "Is this place a heaven? Am I already dead? Or am I dreaming right now? Because what I remember is I was so drunk and I was on my way to go home then suddenly, I woke up by your side." Hisao suddenly feels uneasy with this place and has a lot of questions in his mind to ask the lady, especially what her name is and who she is.

 "And you actually are covered with full of blood, cuts, and bruises, right? Don't worry, you are not dead. How can I let you die before you meet me, but the truth is right now, this is your dream." After hearing all those questions that lady smiled with a little laugh. The lady replied to his question with a giggle. He became more and more curious about how the lady knew about his situation. 

 "Does that mean all of this is not real? And you are not real too? Is it even this place that is not real? Does it mean all of this is not real? I must be so drunk that I dreamed of a magical place like this." Hisao put his hand on his head, he felt disappointed when he knew this was only a dream.

 "No, I'm real. This place is real too." The lady negates Hisao's thought that all of this is not real.

 "What do you mean? You said this is all my dream." Hisao feels suspicious when the lady says this place is real.

 "This is your dream, but me and this place is real in your future one day." She replied and smiled at Hisao. 

 "In my future? One day? We'll meet in the future in real life. Is it true?" Hisao suddenly felt so excited when he heard the news.

 "You are a very clever man. You understand my explanation very quickly. However, it has one condition you need to follow." When she saw Hisao's excited reaction, the woman giggled. However, the lady tells Hisao that there are conditions he must follow so they can meet in the future.

 "Condition? What is the condition? Tell me." Hisao is asking what he needs to do to ensure they can meet in the future.

 "MAMA!! DADA!!" Suddenly, Hisao heard a children's voice calling for their parents. He searched for the voice and out of the blue he was greeted by a beautiful and cute four children, two boys and two girls who hugged him and the lady he was with.

 "Mama. Dada. What are you both doing here? Let's go play!" One of the boys pulled the lady's hand and invited Hisao and the lady to join them in playing.

 "Mama? Dada? Is this our kids?" Hisao wonders why the kids calling them their parents.

 "Yes, this is our kids." The lady giggled while she answered Hisao's questions and put the boy who pulled her before on her lap and hugged him while another girl lying on her other lap.

 "Why dada? Are you okay? Do you have Alzheimer's until you can't recognize us? You are so weird, dada." Suddenly, while he was still so stunned and confused by the situation, one of the girls sat on his lap while poking his cheek with her index finger, and another boy suddenly felt so sleepy and slept on his other lap. The girl who poked his cheek before looked so sulked with him while looking at him and inflated her cheeks like a pufferfish, wondering why her father didn't recognize her. Her face becomes red when she sulks. Cute like her mother.

 "I'm sorry, darling. I promise I'll remember you for the rest of my life. Your face looks like a red pau when you are sulked." Because the girl is too cute, Hisao can't resist the urge to squeeze her cheek. That time, he felt he already knew the girl and called her a red pau. The lady just smiled and giggled when she watched the girl and her dad teasing each other.

 "Hisao, we are your future. However, to have us you need to fullest the condition." The woman interrupted the teasing between the father and daughter to explain the condition he needed to achieve his desired future.

 "Oh, condition. I almost forgot. What is the condition?" Hisao began to feel curious again about the requirements the woman said.

 "Always look for the truth of your life and never give up until you meet us again here. If you do, we'll meet again and live forever, but not in your dream anymore, in reality." The lady explained to Hisao and smiled at him to cheer him up.

 "Is that it? The truth of life? What does that mean?" Hisao doesn't understand what the lady means of the truth of life.

 "You will understand one day while you looking for it. Don't worry." The lady does not explain it. Plus, she wants him to look for the meaning behind it.

 "See you soon, Hisao." Please promise me you will look for it until we meet again at this place." The lady waves at Hisao and gives her last goodbye to him.

 "I will! I promise!! Don't worry!!" Hisao nodded his head indicating he agreed with her.

 "BYE, DADA!!" The four kids came close to their mother and also said their goodbyes to their father. Suddenly, after the last goodbye, Hisao felt sleepy again, and his vision became blurry and dark.

 "Hisao, Oi! Hisao, Oi! Oi, oi, Hisao!" Hisao heard someone call his name, but he couldn't see where the voice was coming from. He searched for the source of the voice, which he thought he recognized. In the darkness, Hisao continued his search until he saw a light coming from the direction of the man's voice. He followed the light to find the man who had called out to him.

​ "Hisao, Oi! Wake up! How much longer do you want to sleep? Hisao, Oi!" That voice, he knew that voice very well. Hisao's best friend since childhood is Shimizu Yuuma. Hisao opened his eyes and saw his best friend, Yuuma, in front of him.

 "Yuu... Yuuma? Is that… you? What are you doing here? What are you doing in my dream?" In a delirious state, Hisao wonders what Yuuma is doing in his dream when he suddenly touches Yuuma's face.

​ "Are you still drunk or are you gay now, Hisao?" Yuuma felt annoyed by Hisao's questions and touch.

​ "Errgh… I think so. My head felt so dizzy and I'm not gay. It has been a long time since I saw you, Yuuma. Where have you been?" Hisao wonders where Yuuma has been after a long time, they have not seen each other since they finish the university. Yuuma did not answer Hisao's questions. He just continued with his cleaning after Hisao made a mess with his puke.

 ​ "Where… where am I?" Hisao suddenly realizes that he is not in his room or his house.

​ "You already realized it? Haaa... This is my house." Yuuma Sigherd answered Hisao's question.

​ "Your house? No wonder it is so clean." Hisao was impressed by how clean Yuuma's house was than his own house.

​ "Why? Is your house still like shit like your room when we were in university?" Yuuma sarcastically asked Hisao how messy his room was when they were at university.​

 "What?? No!! Of course not!! You're so mean Yuuma" Hisao feels insulted by Yuuma while covering himself with a comforter.

​ "Haha… Whatever, dude, here's your soup to make you feel better." Yuuma passed the chicken stock soup he made by himself to Hisao to get him rid of the hangover.

 "Oh, Thank you Yuuma. You're the best." Hisao wakes up from the bed sits on the bed and praises Yuuma for how good he is as his best friend.

 ​"So, what are you doing there? Why do you sleep in front of the convenience store?" Yuuma sat by his side and started asking questions to Hisao, wondering why he had been so drunk and sleeping in front of the convenience store.

​ "Convenience store? I've been sleeping at the convenience store?" Hisao feels wondering about what Yuuma is questioning him.

​ "You don't remember? You sleep like a pig in front of the convenience store." Yuuma is sarcastic again to Hisao.

​ "PUUFF… WHAT?? ME?? SLEEP LIKE A PIG?? IN FRONT OF THE CONVENIENCE STORE??" The soup Hisao had drank sprayed on Yuuma's face and he was very shocked about his condition when Yuuma found him.

 ​"YAA!! YOU LIKE A PIG!!" Yuuma felt annoyed with Hisao when he suddenly yelled at him and sprayed the soup he drank on his face.

​

​ "WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME??" Hisao felt annoyed back to Yuuma who suddenly yelled at him.

​ "YOU ARE THE ONE WHO YELLING AT MY EARS FIRST!! STOP SHOUTING!! I'M JUST BESIDE YOU!!" Yuuma told Hisao to stop shouting at him.

​ "Oh, okay. I'm sorry. So, did I truly sleep like a pig in front of the convenience store?" Hisao whispered in Yuuma's ears.

​ "Ha… Why are you suddenly whispering? Yaa… You're supposed to be lucky because I'm the one who found you. If not, maybe someone will kidnap you and make you a real pig." Yuuma sighed heavily and taunted Hisao again.

​ "Yaa... right. I'm the lucky one." Hisao has been sarcastic to Yuuma.

 "I don't remember… I don't remember that I have been going to the convenience store. What I remember, my boss told me to take a rest because I almost destroyed his company because of my attitude. I went to the bar to have a drink and try to release my stress. Then I suddenly appear here with you." Hisao tries to remember what happened at that time. Yuuma doesn't respond to it thus he just gets up from the bed and walks out of the room.

​ "Are you hungry? I want to make a dinner." Yuuma asked Hisao whether he was hungry or not because it was time for dinner now.

​ "Dinner? Wait, how many days did I sleep?" Hisao wonders how many days he has been sleeping.

 "Two days" Yuuma answered the question shortly.

​ "Two… two days??" Hisao is shocked at how he can sleep that long. 

​ "Is that because of the wine that I drank that time? It might be the wine is too strong." Hisao thought that the wine he drank at that time was too strong and made him unconscious for two days.

​ "What are you doing? Are you not hungry? Hurry up. Help me cook if you want to eat." Yuuma told Hisao to get up from his bed and help him to cook dinner.

​ "Oh, yeah. I'm coming." Hisao got up from his bed and out of the room to help Yuuma make dinner after a while they did not eat together.