Thursday, September 30, 2021

LITERARY: "Glint of moonlight" by: Isela Ingrid Pabunan

 

An unusual dream that wasn't like any others. It seemed real but at the same time artificial. Difficult to comprehend yet easy to understand. How could I feel strange like this? Words that came from an unknown person but sounded familiar to someone I knew. Monotonous and calm voice that I ought to hear from my father. Yet why? He was already resting and could not bother us anymore—maybe it was the last wish for me to fulfill? Only God knew why. If only dad knew how I wanted to hear his voice more than once before he passed. Not a paranormal occurrence yet an unexplainable experience. How could I believe it? It might be the effect of stress. Furthermore, I've been doing my boundless tasks since yesterday. Just when was the time I'm free to rest? Well, I was sleeping just now yet it felt like it wasn't at all. Maybe dad murmured things to me so I could avoid stressing things out. However, it added more strain. If I told this to the newscasters, would I be famous? A sigh escaped my lips and suddenly thought that I needed to finish my projects ASAP. Before I could even get out of bed, my body froze for some reason. Tears escaped my eyes without realizing. I sat up straight to quickly wipe it away before someone would even dare to enter my space. My mind drifted to conclusions when I couldn't pinpoint why. It felt like a stiff and chilly wind wrapped its imaginary arms around me for less than a second. I couldn’t think of any words to describe it anymore. It felt like a wave of nostalgia and something ridiculous at the same time. I was left dumbfounded when I'm supposed to finish my tasks. I abruptly got back to my senses when someone burst open the door of my room. I sat up straight and looked at who was at the door just now. Only to find my beloved friend. When did she even learn to knock whenever at somebody else's house? Felt like a sign to teach some manners.

"Hey my favorite! I'll finish your tasks. Go to rest and listen to mama!"

When she became my mother anyways—I stood up to protect my unfinished ones but even before I did so, she already had it. Now I've started to speculate that she's a lost sister of Flash—

"I said go to bed and..." She blabbered on and on with her scolding. My ears were ringing from her screams.

"Can you lower your voice? I was resting, and you just barged into my room. Please leave and quit bothering--"

She slammed the door shut before I could finish, taking my assignments with her. Instead of going back to sleep, I went to the kitchen instead.

"Mom, where's Lei--" I stopped in my tracks when I smelled my favorite food prepared by my mother.

"Oh, your friend? She left with your assignments. I was going to ask her if she wanted to eat with us, but she said she had things to do."

I've always thought of her as a nuisance, but she proved me wrong. This is the first time she's helped me, or she could be messing it up even more. Whatever, I didn't want to do the tasks anymore. I'll remember to thank her later. The smell of the freshly baked bread sent me to heaven. Nothing was better than mom's cinnamon roll. Just by the scent of the caramelized sugar and warm cinnamon, I shrieked with excitement. Without a doubt, I helped mom pour the hot glaze on top. Silently, I dipped my finger in the glaze to taste it, when I suddenly forgot it was still hot. Mom smacked my head hard when she noticed I dipped my finger but I got away quickly to relieve it in cold running water from the tap. A thought popped out to ask mom what I dreamed about.

"Mom, you know, while I was resting earlier, I heard an unfamiliar phrase. It goes like 'Look back fondly on how beautiful the moonlight is.' That's all I heard then I felt like I was somewhere unfamiliar." Mom stopped in her tracks and looked at me with wide eyes. She suddenly asked.

"Where or from whom did you hear that?"

"It sounded like a man in his 50s, and a man who seems to have a calm and monotonous voice. Also, a man who I don't know If I knew."

I answered with a lie. If I said it directly that it was dad, she would react that it would be impossible but then—

"Sounds like your dad."

I agreed unconsciously, which made her give me a ridiculous look.

"You told me you didn't know who?"

Sweat rushed from my forehead until it got to my chin. Cat got your tongue? Yes, uh no, maybe. Mom went to wash her hand and I was left thunderstruck. I thought of drinking water to calm my frightened brain down. I looked ludicrous in front of mom. How childish.

"Do you want to roast marshmallows later tonight?"

I agreed and continuously sat down by the kitchen stool to eat. It felt great scrolling through my phone while eating my comfort food. My happiness was immeasurable just by the sight of baked goods. Mom really made a lot, more than a dozen. I savored all the contents of my plate until the last portion as if it was only made for me. Hours passed, and I noticed it was almost sunset. I ran out and sat outside the house to look and took pictures of the sky. Magnificent indeed. Seconds, minutes and hours went by, it was time to roast marshmallows. I marched to the backyard excitedly, I saw mom preparing marshmallows and some other condiments for our night. We arranged our seats and chunks of wood for the campfire. It was already around 6:30 when we finished setting up. Our conversation started and it was mostly how my school was at first, but then mom brought up the topic about the voiceI heard in my rest earlier.

"Are you sure that it was all? Nothing else that you heard?"

I nodded in agreement. Silence engulfed us. The leaves swayed as the wind howled through the night. Such harmonious things. It was starting to get chilly, so mom told me to get warm blankets from our drawer.

As soon as I came back, I saw mom looking up above. Tilting my head, my jaw dropped. Never in my life, I saw the night sky as transcendent as what I'm looking at now. The full moon was set against a black-to-navy gradient, with the night sky so clear that you could nearly see every crater. The moon loomed enormously, shining bright light and encircled by an ethereal radiance. Our blankets almost fell from my arms, gladly mom caught it. We sat back with our blankets and continued to watch as the moon and stars sparkled with amusement.

"Look back fondly on how beautiful the moonlight is and remember, I'm always here with or without your side watching you in peace. That's the whole saying."

I got confused when my mom told me that. I've never heard a poem so attractive and simple, yet could make you smile and giggle.

"Maybe dad’s intention was to show how splendid the moonlight was?”

I never got a response so we just continued our sight-seeing and I felt so much happiness in my heart. How could something sound mysterious, resulting in something not so serious.

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