Chapter seven: Feelings in dream
"Hugh."
Caelum exhaled sharply, bracing himself against the doorframe.
The hallway materialized before him, dimly lit by the flickering overhead lights. The walls that were once lost in the white void, were now lined with rows of dull metal lockers, their surfaces reflecting the glow of the artificial bulbs. The tile beneath his feet felt cool.
He had done it But.
"Ah, it took everything. Ha-ha huf.."
Caelum's breath was shallow, His limbs ached, his body felt heavy, and a deep fatigue settled into his bones like he had just run for miles without stopping.
But Still...
"The hallway isn't complete yet."
He swallowed hard, rolling his shoulders as he straightened. "just a little more." he muttered, rubbing his face.
His fingers curled as he reached forward again, closing his eyes.
This time, he focused on the depth of the hallway, extending it beyond just a few steps. He imagined the slight flicker of the school's outdated fluorescent lights, the occasional scuff marks on the tiles left behind by hundreds of students over the years. He could hear the distant echo of footsteps from long ago.
Slowly, he poured his willpower into it. And the effect was immediate.
The drain of willpower returned, deep and relentless, draining his strength far faster with each second passed.
Caelum gritted his teeth very hard, pushing past the resistance. the empty void beyond him started bending and folding, morphing to fit the image in his mind.
The hallway stretched further, lockers multiplying along the walls, doors forming where classrooms should be.
As he kept envisioning, His breathing turned ragged. His legs trembled. Every inch of him screamed to stop.
The drain was too fast. His vision blurred. The weight pressing against his skull became unbearable.
But at last he forced the image into reality.
Only when the last flickering light settled into place did he finally let go.
The toll hit him like a sledgehammer.
Caelum's knees buckled. He barely caught himself against the wall, fingers digging into the cold metal of a locker. His entire body shook, his skin clammy with sweat.
"Damn My lungs... they are burning—" He coughed, pressing a hand against his chest. "That was way too much."
His head throbbed, his pulse hammering in his ears.
'I need to leave.'
"Now."
He turned back toward the classroom, stumbling slightly as he moved.
His mind felt sluggish, but he knew what to do.
Just like before.
Caelum took one last look at the hallway he had created—before exhaling deeply and closing his eyes.
'let's go back.'
with the thought, caelum's consciousness was pulled back. As if he was ascending upwards And soon the classroom faded. The hallway blurred.
Then—the dark void returned and soon the world shattered.
The cracks spread like glass breaking apart, swallowing him in a flood of weightlessness.
It all spun around him, the same sensation that had pulled him in now pushing him out.
---
"Pah-"
Caelum's body manifested and collapsed onto the hard floor of his apartment, the impact rattling through his bones.
And his eyes snapped open.
As soon as his senses returned first thing he felt the cold of the wooden floor along with a extream pain.
His whole body bathing in Sweat.
It drenched his skin, soaking through his shirt, leaving his limbs shaking as if he had just survived a nuke of exhaustion.
His breaths came in short, desperate gasps, his chest rising and falling erratically. His mind was still catching up, still reeling from the sudden shift back into reality.
"Its cold-uhg."
Caelum's body lay on the ground straight, sprawled across the floor, trying to convince himself to move.
Slowly—painfully—he turned onto his side. The bed was just a few feet away.
"It feels like its miles away-"
With what little strength he had left, he forced himself to crawl forward. ignoring the intense pain.
Reaching the edge of the bed, he grabbed onto the sheets and pulled himself up, rolling onto the mattress with a weak groan.
The second his head hit the pillow, the tension in his body eased.
His eyelids felt heavy. His body ached, his mind blank. Sleep took him instantly.
--------
-----
The afternoon sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows over the quiet streets. The air smelled of warm pavement and the faint scent of jasmine from a nearby tree.
Caelum walked with his hands tucked into his pockets, his bag slung over one shoulder. Beside him, Aruey strolled with easy steps, her arms swinging slightly as if the weight of the school day had already been shrugged off.
Suddenly aruey stopped in her tracks ."You ever think about traveling?" she asked, breaking the silence between them.
"Traveling what?" And like always caelum was caught off guard.
It was always like this—just the two of them, walking home side by side, their conversation was between nonsense and the occasional thought-provoking remark from Aruey that made Caelum question whether she was just missing some screws in her head or genuinely wise beyond her years.
Caelum continued walking in a slow pace. "Traveling? We just finished a full day of school, i ain't going anywhere ma'am!"
Aruey took a slow ran twords him, nudging him with her elbow. "I don't mean now, dumbass. I mean after we graduate."
Caelum almost coughed. "What kind of high schooler seriously plans that far ahead?"
"This one," she said, tapping her chest proudly. "I've got places I want to see."
He sighed, kicking a stray pebble down the street. "Alright, I'll bite. Where's the first place on the list?"
Her eyes lit up. "Ram Setu."
Caelum stopped walking.
"Ram what?"
She turned to face him, arms crossed, as if she had been waiting for this exact reaction. "Ram Setu. It's a chain of floating shoals that supposedly connected India and Sri Lanka a long time ago."
Caelum looked at her . "And you want to go there?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Aruey exhaled through her nose, looking up at the sky as they resumed walking. "Because it's old. And mysterious. Some people say it's a natural formation, others think it was man-made, but the truth is that. That it was built by an army of undefeated monkeys."
Caelum's look became flat as he continued looking at her. "Right. Monkeys."
Aruey didn't bother looking at him, af if admiring the sky. "It's from the Ramayana. Apparently, the bridge was built by Lord Rama's army to rescue his wife, Sita."
He let that sink in for a moment before sighing. "You would be interested in something like that."
"You can say that, its like one of the most holy places on earth!"
"I'm saying that like you randomly threw a historical site at me like it's a weekend trip."
Aruey shrugged. "Why not? The world's full of places we might never get to see. Might as well try to dream a little."
Caelum fell quiet at that.
She had always been like this— looking beyond the horizon, while he barely planned past the next week. It wasn't that he didn't have dreams, but she made it sound so easy.
Like wanting something was enough to make it happen.
They walked in silence for a while, the only sounds being the soft rustle of leaves and the distant hum of a passing car.
Finally, Caelum exhaled, shaking his head. "Alright. If we're seriously someday doing this hypothetical travel thing—what would we even do when we get there?"
Aruey took a second to asnwer. "dummy. We will Figure it out when we arrive."
He groaned. "na im not going, bye."
"Hey if you dont come, I'll put a sleep medicine in your food and drag you there~."
He sighed again but couldn't help the small smirk tugging at his lips. "Yeah, yeah im so scared."
As they neared the crossroads where they'd eventually part ways, Aruey glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "You really wouldn't want to see the world at least once?"
Caelum hesitated.
Then, without looking at her, he muttered, "Maybe."
Her smile widened. "That's the spirit."
And just like that, the conversation drifted, swallowed by the familiar rhythm of their footsteps against the pavement.
-----
It took around ten minutes for caelum to reach his home after saying bye to aruey.
He pushed the door open, stepping inside as the familiar scent of home washed over him.
"I'm home, Mom."
His voice carried through the house, but it wasn't met with any real response.
From the hallway, he could see the soft glow of the television lighting up the living room. His family sat together, eyes glued to the screen, immersed in whatever show they were watching.
His mother turned her head slightly, barely looking at him before saying, "Lunch is in the kitchen pick it up and eat. Everyone else has already eaten."
That was it Just a casual statement, as if he were a tenant in his own home.
The small smile on his face faltered.
'Can't you at least wait for me?'
The thought came unbidden, creeping into his chest But he said nothing.
He dropped his bag by the door, slipping out of his shoes before making his way to the bathroom. The sound of laughter from the living room followed him down the hall.
---
The water was cool against his face as he splashed it over his skin.
He looked at himself in the mirror, watching the droplets trail down his cheeks before reaching for a towel. His reflection stared back at him.
After drying off, he headed to the kitchen.
A plate sat on the counter, wrapped in plastic. He peeled it back, revealing a simple meal—lukewarm rice, a side of mixed vegetables, and two small pieces of fish along with meatballs.
"It isn't bad alright." He muttered to himself in a low voice.
But It just felt like leftover. Like something meant for someone who wasn't expected to be home on time.
He sat down at the table, picking up his spoon. The first bite of rice tasted normal enough, then he took a small bite of the fish.
"Too much salt. Sigh."
As he ate the weight in his chest made it harder to swallow, His fingers clenched against the edge of the plate.
The lump in his throat tightened.
He normally didn't feel much as it was normal—but the pressure building and the familiar ache that he had long since learned to push down. Came like a hit
"Not over this, no way. Never."
his vision slowly blurred as he suppressed his urge to let out a cry.
"God-dammit, i hate salty fish."
He lowered his head, gripping the spoon tighter as he forced himself to keep eating.
He didn't stop eating as a line of tear rolled down his cheeks. Not until there was nothing left.
---
"Aaahh. Just go to hell"
Caelum's eyes snapped open in Darkness.
The ceiling of his apartment stared back at him, its familiar cracks and shadows grounding him in reality.
A slow exhale slipped past his lips.
" Just a dream."
He turned his head slightly, spotting the faint glow of his bedside clock.
3 AM.
After looking at the time he just lay there, staring at the digits as if they held some kind of answer. " What is wrong with me these days."
Then, without anymore wortd, he closed his eyes again. And let sleep take him once more.
That night caelum slept deeply, to the point he was in a state hibernation...
----
Ding-dong.
Caelum's face scrunched in irritation.
His body screamed at him to stay buried under the blanket, but the relentless doorbell had other plans.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
"I'll kill you whoever you are...."
His body begged him to ignore it. He was warm, comfortable, whoever was at the door clearly didn't understand the sacredness of morning rest.
But the ringing didn't stop.
Groaning, he cracked one eye open and turned his head toward the clock on his bedside table.
9:00 AM.
"Are you kidding me? Again?" he mumbled into his pillow.
"Did eveyone in this area go mad?" It wasn't the first time his sleep was sabotaged by someone in the morning.
'Who in their right mind thought it was acceptable to harass someone at this hour?' His sleep schedule was already a disaster, and now some lunatic was making it worse.
Reluctantly, he threw off the blanket and dragged himself out of bed. His limbs felt heavy, his mind foggy, but the sheer persistence of the ringing forced him forward.
As he staggered toward the door, a bad feeling gnawed at the back of his mind.
"I swear, if this is some salesman—"
As the thought came to his mind, caelum already got a bad feeling about this.
His instincts had never failed him before. With a long sigh, he yanked the door open.
And-
The donation girl, Iris. Was standing with bright smile
The same black-and-white dress. The same oversized chest on the hourglass figure. The same polite smile that somehow made him feel like he was being recruited for a cult.
Caelum stared at her.
She stared back.
His fingers tightened around the doorknob.
"...What," he finally said, voice flat, "do you want again?".