Chapter 78: Chapter 78

I fell asleep right away after I placed my head on my pillow. And maybe because I had been under a lot of stress lately, I didn’t have a deep sleep. Dreams started to float in my mind, troubling my usual dreamless sleep.

____

The Tough Five

Ara: Girls, listen. I met a friend today. She said she has a friend who offers an accounting job in

Japan. Would you mind telling me if you are interested?

Julie: Really, girl? Tell her I’m interested. How much is the rate?

Ara: Speaking of rates, OMG! Higher than you can imagine. I’ll send the details to your email.

Vilma: That’s great, Ar. You may use the experience in applying for another job in the future. Could you send me the details also?

Ara: @Vilma, sure. Right now.

Stacey: The Tough Five should go. How’s that, ladies?

Yen: I’m in!

I then saw myself squealing with my friends as our feet touched the ground on the runway. We posed for groupies and laughed all the way until I saw the five of us on Shin-Kōbe Ropeway.

The Shin-Kōbe Ropeway is a Japanese aerial lift line in Kōbe, Hyōgo. The line links Shin-Kōbe Station and Nunobiki Herb Garden. And while the airlift ascends, you can enjoy the panoramic views of the  Nunobiki Waterfalls. And if it's not too foggy, you can view Kobe's neighboring Rokko mountain chain.

Then the scene changed into a residential area where I saw myself sitting on a couch. A man whom I recognized as Mr. Williams then hurried towards me and pulled me into a tight hug.

“Jakara, my child, I’m so sorry for losing you. I did everything to find you, but I couldn’t.”

I smiled awkwardly and protested, “No, sir. I’m not Jakara. My name is Yen.”

“No, darling. You are my child, and your name is Jakara Blue Williams. Here, look at this.”

Mr. Williams then picked up a folder on a glass center table and showed it to me. I felt a sudden spread of fine tremors all over my body, urging me to cry. I couldn’t understand what I felt, but I felt comfortable in Mr. William’s embrace. He felt like a real father to me at that moment.

I opened the folder, and I found a DNA Test Report and an authenticated Live Birth Certificate. Remembering my delayed registration certificate, I looked at the registration date and found out that it was seven years earlier.

“Don’t you know, baby, that you look like your mom?” Mr. Williams said. He broke into a smile and got lost in his thoughts for a moment.

He took out his wallet and pulled a laminated photo of a woman who indeed looked like me. I couldn’t deny that the woman in the photo was indeed my mother because I was indeed a younger replica of her. And aside from that, I couldn't find any resemblance between my parents and me.

“How does this happen?” I asked, my voice already cracking. “I grew up with my parents! How come they aren't my parents anymore?" I cried so hard that Mr. Williams gathered me in his arms again.

____

“Yen, Yen, what’s happening?” I opened my eyes to Zed’s vigorous shaking of my arm.

Staring into him, I furrowed my brows, wondering if Zed was still a part of my dream. I felt hot tears trickling down the side of my face, and I realized I was crying. There was also that sore feeling in my heart, confirming that I cried hard. I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand and sat up, giving Zed a questioning look.

“Am I an adopted child?”

“Yen, wake up! Is it really a bad dream?” Zed replied, thinking that my question was still a continuation of my sleep-talking.

“I’m awake already,” I said, smiling, but then I asked, “Zed, how did I become an adopted child?”

Running through the scenes again in my mind, I couldn’t help myself but cry again. So, Zed sat down beside me and pulled me into his arms.

“Stop talking nonsense. That’s just a dream,” Zed said.

“But it seems so real. The scenes are detailed and continuous.”

“It happens to all of us, but it’s still a dream. So don’t get affected by it.”

I then recalled what Nang Zabeth, the old woman who scared me at the beach, told me. She said I was the daughter of Maria. I should find her. I couldn’t believe I lived in too many mysteries.

“Go back to sleep. It’s still three,” Zed’s voice broke into my thoughts. But how could I sleep with this thing bothering me?

“I’ll give you a massage,” offered Zed, and before I replied, he already took my hand and began running the tips of his fingers at the side of my right palm.

I lay down on the bed again, and Zed worked on my shoulders,  then to the sides of my scapulae. I felt so good at the strokes of his fingers that I started to get sleepy.

“Lie on your stomach. I’ll give you an effleurage.”

I did as Zed told me, but before I lay prone on the bed, I took off my one-piece night dress, leaving only my panties. Zed then applied some massage cream onto my back and started stroking my back in circular motions.

Since massage was always therapeutic for me, I drifted off to sleep again. And no sooner than I lulled into unconsciousness, another dream floated again.

____

“My honored guests, family, and friends, I would like to present to you tonight my long-lost daughter, “Jakara Blue.”

I then walked through the blue-carpeted aisle towards the man who claimed to be my father. His warm smile lit his face, and I could tell that he was indeed happy. He hugged and kissed me on my forehead as soon as I reached him. And facing the audience together afterward, I smiled and made a slight bow.

“Ladies and gentlemen, shall we give a round of applause to Miss Jakara Blue Williams, the heiress of Quicksend Remittance, Incorporated," the man of the ceremony announced.

I smiled and walked towards the lectern. Then my eyes fell on the gorgeous man I spotted among the audience. It was Kim. He also looked at me and smiled. Then, I noticed that he wore a navy-blue tuxedo that matched my satin evening gown. It looked like we had a bespoke couple outfit.

The scene in my dream then changed, and I saw both of us kissing inside an office. Suddenly, the door opened, and a man appeared in the door frame, holding a bouquet in his left arm.

“What do you mean by this, Jakara!” He smashed the flowers into the floor and hurled a finger at Kim.

“Why him, Jakara?”  He suddenly barged into the room and approached Kim,  pulling his collar.

Scaring the wits out of me, I pushed him away from Kim, and exclaimed, “Go away, Josh. You have no right to harass him."

“Is this the kind of man you have chosen? You’ll pay for this, Jakara!”