Yume

It was a cold August night at the Atacama desert in Chile. The Perseidas meteor shower filled the night sky. Hundreds of meteors tore through the heavens leaving blazing colorful trails of red, blue, green and yellow. In the backdrop, the stars observed the light spectacle, scattered as always in their constellations and nebulae.

And beneath this famously awe-inspiring extravaganza, lied a man, widely known as an unremarkable fellow. His name was Richard.

Being widely known as unremarkable is quite the impressive feat, but Richard did not care about that. He had no talents, and considered himself average by every measure. When he played sports at school he was not the first to be chosen for any team, neither was him the last. He didn't have impressive grades but always guaranteed passing mark. Even at video games, he was always able to compete, yet he wielded no records or trophies to his name.

There was one peculiarity to this man, however, he had an unhinged, unquenched curiosity. Due to that, he became a phenomenal learner. That alone could have caused someone to stand out, but that was not the case for Richard. As his driving force was his curiosity, he always lived the same cycle, like when he tried his hand at handball. He started out terrible, but became curious, he studied the sport deeply, and practiced intensely. In months, he was chosen to play in the school team. He played and did well in the first competition. And the following month, he only practiced the mandatory hours and never got much better. Richard did like handball and sports, he just had satiated his curiosity. Because of that, he never excelled at anything.

This time, however, it felt like he found his calling. Richard had just graduated in Physical Engineering when he was invited to study Astronomy at a laboratory in the Atacama desert in Chile. As he had nothing to abandon, no remaining close relatives, no friends and no lovers, he accepted straight away. For the next six months, he spent his life at Laboratory 255-B, mostly isolated from the world. He only received supplies and a call from his professor each fortnight, for all else, he was alone.

And, in his laboratory, Richard did feel very lonely, but not sad. He was calm, and excited about his research. He did feel a lingering emptiness, however it kept mostly silent, hidden by his drive.

Yet, that fated August night, Richard did something different for a change. He decided to do something his heart was asking for, even if he didn't understand it. He went outside to observe the Perseidas meteor shower. Instead of simply studying, he decided to see it, to experience it, to try to feel it, to try to feel something in his life. Just like those so called dreamers did.

Confused but accepting, he listened to his heart. He got his futon, put it on the cold harsh sand and lied down for hours, observing the sky get torn by the lights of thousands of stars blazing through the atmosphere. He was astonished and deeply relaxed. He also felt a yearning for something, something else, something he felt he never had, something real. For a second, he wished, he truly wished for something real to live his life. He was trying to put that wish in words, as he always had, but his thoughts got looser and harder to grasp as he fell asleep.

Richard opened his eyes in an expansive field of yellow flowered trees, lying on the dirt. He rose and started to wander in the golden forest. He blinked and flying in between the trees were small purple, shining birds, which adorned the greenish sky. These birds were crying and they shed purple tears. One of them fell into Richard's hand. He felt it cold and saw it shining as a pearl and put it into his pocket. As he took it all in, the wind started blowing, and he thought he heard a voice whispering: "the truth is closer to you".

Bewildered, Richard kept wandering. Suddenly, herds of sheep appeared running in between the trees, releasing sparks: blue, orange and yellow. Some sheepdog also appeared herding the sheep. They looked at Richard and started barking. He hesitated to continue. Despite that, the wind repeated: "you seeker of truth, go forward". His curiosity surpassed his fear and Richard started running and the dogs chased him. He leaped dozens of meters above of all the sheep and made it to the other side.

Richard found himself at a clearing in the forest. There were statues of four people in the edges of the clearing: they held a crown, a book, a sword and a crystal, and all of them were handcuffed, but looking at the distance. In the center of the clearing was an altar with a statue of a lion eating an eagle facing the sun. As he approached the altar, the statue was covered in shadows, that appeared from nothing. As he hesitated, the wind blew stronger and the voice clearly stated:

- "Oh seeker of truth, all you want is finally within your reach. Open your eyes, believe, embrace, and give yourself to the world" - Trembling, he slowly held out his hand, drove his arm deep into the shadow and touched the statue. He felt an energy blasting through him and fainted on the spot.

When he woke up, Richard found himself on a green field, the sky was a bright blue and the sun was at its zenith. Confused, but accepting of reality, he rose and started walking.

The field was sprawling, the wind was mild and a few trees were scattered along a dirt path, he intuitively followed. Richard craved to know what was on the end of the path.

A few minutes after, he noticed a shaking of the ground beneath him and saw the trees balanced a bit. The sound of heavy footsteps started to fill his ears and he was walking faster. The footsteps got nearer and nearer until he saw from the trees a figure emerging. It seemed like a man, but it was 3 meters tall, sporting ragged clothes and a club as long as its arm. Richard shivered as the giant noticed him and said:

- "Hello, small fry, are you feeling lost?" - Richard understood very well what the giant's malicious smile meant and ran on the opposite direction. The giant followed him and without effort was getting closer.

- "His steps are colossal, I have no chance" - he thought, but went on through. His heartbeat and breathing felt so loud they almost deafened the giant's steps. As Richard was getting desperate, the giant stroke the ground near him with his club, breaking his balance. Richard fell on the ground, turned around as quick as he could and adjusted his glasses. The giant was at club striking distance. He laughed and shouted:

- "This was a terrible game of tag! Now, please be kind and don't die in one hit, will you?" - he moved his torso and arm to prepare his strike, when a high pitched voice broke their focus:

- "Why don't you pick someone who can stand a fight?!" - both Richard and the giant turned to face the origin of the voice. It came from a girl. She was short, fair skinned, with long brown curly hair flowing in the wind. She wore a white dress covered by a sophisticated scarlet and black jacket with lots of details and black, imposing boots. And, in her hands was a longsword with a gold hilt and a shining silver blade, pointing down. It was a sword fit for a king. The giant turned at her and shouted:

- "And who is this ant trying to challenge me?" - she answered:

- "A wretched creature like you who attacks unarmed men does not deserve to know my true name" - she paused and smiled - "I am the last thing you'll ever know." - The giant laughed and said:

- "Well, I do have one manner or another, my name is Goliath and be prepared to die!" - Goliath opened his arms and ran in her direction. The girl in red stood still, until the giant got close to her. He prepared his club with all his body and went for a horizontal strike. At the same time, the girl leaped back, avoiding the attack and landing gracefully. Richard was amazed, he never saw so much force in attack, and much less someone move so fast and so precisely.

The angry giant again used all his body to prepare another attack, this time going for a vertical strike with all his might. As his club descended, the girl stepped to the side at the last moment, and jumped on top of his club. Before Goliath could react, she had reached his biceps, and with another jump to the side, cut his throat.

Goliath fell, leaving the field in silence. The girl stood tall before it, her clothes, her skin, and her sword had not a drop of blood. Richard was in awe. Impressed, he could not help but admire her figure standing so regally.

After a brief rest, she sheathed her sword, turned and went to him. She got close, leaned towards him and extended her hand:

- "Are you hurt? Are you lost? Do you need help?" - Richard was still. He was a scientist and even then it was hard to accept the facts unfolding before his eyes. The field with yellow trees, then this field, then the giant, then this girl. Worse than that, he felt that grabbing her hand was something important somehow, not something fleeting, but a decision which would bind him for a long time. As he breathed, she said: - "Hey, can you talk? I want to help, but I don't have all day!" - with this pressure, Richard thought to himself:

- "Holding a girl's hand is nothing crazy compared to the things I've done today!" - he held her hand and she lifted him up.