woke. | II

alex

It took us a while, since we were just fumbling around the day before. But soon we found the little clearing where there's a pond surrounded by trees and ferns. It's a little different from the rest of the landscape, which makes it stand out like a sore thumb. 

"Danny-boy!" I yelled and he turned to look at me with surprise. 

"How'd you know?" He asked. 

"She followed the yellow brick road." Hady supplied. 

"No, no. I meant to ask how did you know what my family called me?" 

"Gee, it doesn't take a genius to go from Daniel to Danny." Like I said, I just can't help myself. Sometimes it throws people off and they distance themselves from me. But those who don't automatically proves themselves to me that hey, they might be worth knowing. Like Daniel. He gave a little smile and said, "Well, no. I suppose it doesn't." 

It is my belief that people who are able to break eggshells instead of tiptoeing all over them are authentic and sincere. Unapologetically themselves. 

"So, where's the spooky twin?" I asked and he didn't even miss a beat, "I'm not sure. Sometimes she doesn't show till I'm about to leave." 

"Yeah?" I asked, "Must be the time difference." 

We sat in front of Daniel who was seated on a flat boulder and made ourselves comfortable. 

"Danny, huh?" Hady asked softly. 

"Yea, Dana couldn't pronounce my name when we were little so it kinda just stuck." 

"What's your name for her?" Hady asked and I snorted, "Like Dana is such a mouthful." 

"Actually," Daniel began, "I sometimes call her D." 

That shut me up. There's something about how reverently Daniel speaks about her that makes it hard to disrespect. 

"How's she like?" See, I said I could be sensitive at times. When the situation requires. 

This elicited a deep sigh from him, "How do I even begin? She is like a princess straight out of a fairytale and I'm not saying this because I love her, I'm saying it because it's true. I have never met anyone kinder than she is. She considers everyone, and it doesn't feel like she's sacrificing anything in spite of it. Quite the opposite. She makes you feel like you're doing her a favor by doing what you want. Because seeing other people happy genuinely made her happy." 

What could you say to that? I was speechless. He either put her on a pedestal, or she's some kinda bullshit saint. But I didn't say anything. I let Hady take the reins because she's better at being nice. 

She reached out her hand and took his, "I'm sorry you lost her." 

Straight to the heart of it. I never understood why people said they are sorry when they learn someone's passed on. I could feel the deep regret Hady put into those five words, but why would people feel sorry or regret for something that wasn't their fault? It just didn't make sense to me, and still I stayed silent, unwilling to ruin the moment for them. 

"I haven't," Daniel said after a while, "Maybe there's a way out for her." He paused for a while and since we didn't say anything, he explained, "I have this theory that if it's real for the three of us, it must be real for the rest. And even those in eversleep. If we could come here, maybe she can leave." 

"I'm not sure it works like that," I began hesitantly, "But let's not rule everything out at this point. I mean we hardly know anything!" 

"Alex's right. Don't hope for too much," When they locked eyes she continued, "But don't lose hope either." 

"Okay you two, I'm going to go look around." I enunciated my words so carefully it would be impossible for them not to get the hint. 

I started by standing by the edge of the pond and peered in. It was murky and there were no fishes I could see. Then I started walking along the edge, just to see where it goes. But I didn't get too far. When I looked back I can still see their two figures hunched together, immersed in conversation. I'm sure if I yelled, it'd scare the both of them. I smiled at the thought and peered back towards the front. 

The  vines draping from the trees by the pond looked like a curtain and through it, I can see a larger body of water. The pond we sat by was just a little inlet! I walked around the mess of trees that prevented me from continuing on the shoreline. It was like a jungle over here, trees growing in a tangle as though to create a barricade. But finally I found a little window between the vines and leaves and trunks, the vision that greeted me was breathtaking to say the least. 

The dusty pinks of the sky ran together with a midnight blue and deep indigo, sparkling with a million stars in the sky. This must be how night looks like without light pollution. I marveled for a moment before calling out to the two, to no avail. 

I ran back and saw them still engrossed in each other so I screamed. 

Hady was the first to react, she jumped up with a hand to her heart, looking comical like a bad drama. Daniel started, but all he did was sit up straight. 

"What the hell, Alex?" 

"I was just testing." I teased, "You two were so into each other I could have died, right here." I walked to a spot beside them, "Right at this very spot, and neither one of you would have noticed." 

"That's a lie," Daniel said, "You could be dying on top of us and we wouldn't even flinch." 

I cracked up, "You see! He admits it!" 

Hady began to blush, "What did I do to deserve the both of you? You're both sick, with a sick sense of humor!" 

I plopped myself down beside Daniel, beside a large tree and grinned at Hady. 

"Do you deny it?" I challenged. 

I could see Hady preparing herself mentally before saying, "No. I agree. You could be beating us with a stick and still we wouldn't hear you." 

I let out a little cry of glee and grabbed a small stone and inscribing on the tree beside me. 

d+h

I looked at my handiwork and glanced at them for their approval. 

"Maybe with a little heart around it." Daniel suggested, and Hady turned an even deeper shade of red. 

"Right backatcha!" I turned back to the tree and continued. 

"You really shouldn't encourage her like that." Hady said quietly and I tuned them out, focusing on the scribble instead. 

Dana showed up just a little before sunrise. She pointed at my art and gave a little giggle. I couldn't hear her, but she covered her mouth and her shoulder shook, so I'm assuming. We told her that tomorrow we were going to explore the place, and to meet us earlier if she could. I was the first to leave, but I was also the first to come back. 

And at our tree, I was a question mark hastily added beside the heart. Heart pounding, I sat down and waited for the others to show.