Mac

I’ve been dreaming of home for three straight nights now. And not just home, it’s always in the town plaza right across our grandma’s house. The first one, I was dancing in the rain with my cousin Erika. We were in our underwear. The second, we were listening to this creepy guy doing lame-ass street magic. The third, there was some kind of street party. All the townspeople—everyone we knew—gathered at the town plaza dancing, doing what seemed like exercise stretches, sitting at the fountain, just walking about. Even Brent and Bianca (our old childhood friends and neighbors who are now in the States) were there.

But the weird thing about this last dream is the presence of a boy. I don’t recognize his face, but he was handsome. His name was Mac. He was sitting by the fountain with a bunch of kids, and we were passing by talking about something (I’ve forgotten what). Whatever it was, this seemed to have touched a nerve because he suddenly butted in with a really irritated voice. I don’t know if I’d do it in real life, but I answered back as curtly, and we were soon having a verbal faceoff. This ended with me walking away (with my escapist tendency with arguments) and him following behind. Apparently, he wasn’t finished arguing. I’m desperately trying to remember what the topic was, but all I can recall is that he said, “You don’t know because you’re not a teacher.”

I remember feeling appalled at the statement, and I looked at the kids he was with (one looked like my second cousin Ken). I told him, “We’re teachers too you know!” And now I forget who I was with during that time. Probably college friends. So we ended up laughing and walking toward the street where I grow up. We stopped at the store that one of my godmothers own. He suddenly put his arm around me, and I held his hand and felt warm and alive. We then went inside my godmother’s backyard to have a drink. Then his father arrived and joined us. He later told me that he was one of my dad’s closest friends. I don’t really remember what happened next, just that Mac and I stared at each other until I woke up.

And this morning, I really feel a little more alive. Probably because of that dream, because I got a good night’s rest (fever’s gone, thank God), because my mom texted me last night. Oh well, at least there is a reason for me to smile today.