Happy Ever After
Photo by: Jhoan Cobacha
I had a dream last night.
I dreamt of a small apartment.
It was old.
The wall paint was almost gone.
And in the middle, was a big, rusty slide.
There were two others with me in the room.
Aleli, who stood beside the slide.
And JT, on the far end of the room.
I was about to take one long, cold and silent slide.
JT said: “good luck”.
And I took a puff on Aleli’s cigarette.
Then I slid away.
Ironically, Aleli doesn’t smoke in real life.
Just before I reached the bottom of that rusty slide, I felt my set of lower teeth.
They became instantly crooked after that first slide.
Then, I took another down ride.
And another.
And another.
And another.
And then finally, after my last one, my set of lower teeth went from crooked to gone.
All of them.
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Then I woke up.
It all made sense to me now.
How I lost my teeth.
How the walls and that old apartment were old.
And why the slide.
+ + +
I remembered about an old local belief.
When you lose a tooth in your dream, someone will die, or had just died.
And this hit me.
She is really gone now.
+ + +
Aunt JC, I never knew you that much.
But I believe my Dad, your brother.
I believe him every time he tells me about you.
Lucas never knew of you.
But he will.
On how amazing you were.
On how generous and loving you were.
On how great you were.
So great.
So long.
Farewell.
Send us your love, a piece of your strength and God’s mercy on our birthdays.
Tell us one day what it’s like being up there.
This cold earth will always long for your warm heart.
You will always be remembered and missed.
You will always be loved.
You are now reaping what you have sowed.
Enjoy that happy place.
More happiness awaits you.
