Revolution: Genesis (Published)

Chapter 2: Veiled

AZURA

"Have you ever had a dream you were so sure it was real? What if you were unable to wake up from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?" Morpheus once asked Neo in the Matrix.

With that, countless different questions could be formed in many minds. For example; if you were so sure about your dream state then why does the moment you wake up feels like a big splash of ice water on your high temperature body that leaves you shaken? How about, you know you're dreaming yet you are unable to open your eyes from the deep slumber? How must that feel? What if you see a nightmare and only your death is the key to waking up? Does that mean you have a sense of how it feels to die? Or maybe when you do wake up, you forget all about your dream. You know you had one, but you don't remember what it was. It can probably happen when your dream feels as though a lifetime happened in a split second. But have you ever thought that your dreams were just a form euphemism given to visions just so no one loses their cool doubling over what they saw? What if you try to change your actions hoping for different results which in the end are the same as what was predicted? Of course it could be that future is never certain which is why it may also be that half the things you dream about are always just that, dream. But that could also be because your choices differ from what you saw, changing the course completely.

*'*'*

I woke up as my alarm beeped over and over again. Hitting my hand to stop it, I rubbed my eyes deeply exhaling. I realized I had perspiration trickling down my forehead and felt uneasy because of the dream I just had. But as time went by, the details of it started to distort. I could remember the main objective of it: don't use the book, but even that was slipping away. I looked at the wall clock right in front of me, high on the wall.

6:02 am.

It was quite early but I was a morning person, and also a healthy one so I had to get going for my morning run. But first, I needed to clean my room. It was a habit ever since I could remember. I always had a thing to organize stuff and put them on their respectable positions. My younger brother, Maxwell, from whom I was around two to three years older, called me a "Clean-Freak" because of it.

Successfully cleaning up my room, I went towards my closet. I wore my navy blue yoga pants, a white sports shirt with a navy blue jacket and a beanie along with my white sneakers. Plucking my headphones in my ear, and playing the first song from my playlist, I jogged down the stairs and out of the house.

Since no one was up yet, it was rather quiet. My mother worked as a manager in a local restaurant so she didn't have to worry about the usual nine-to-five. Instead, she had leniency over the time but that never stopped her from waking up early. Of course I always beat her to it but she often would wake up right after I would.

Max, however, loved his sleep. He wouldn't trade it for the world. And knowing that school wasn't starting for the next two hours, he gladly slept until absolutely necessary to get up and ready. He did like to keep himself fit but his ways differed from mine. It wasn't something to complain over because I loved my peace and silence at this time of the day. Besides, during this time only a few or no souls were running about, like me. The Dolphin Square was quiet this early in the morning but the breeze causing the gentle rustle of trees always sent a greeting filled with love.

This town was magical in its own way. It made everyone feel like they belonged. It didn't matter if one was new or a native, none would ever feel out of place here. Even the hardships weren't enough for one to miss the potential of this place.

It never got old to watch the scenic roads and houses pass by. They were identical but every house held its own style which was enough to sense the difference. The people were polite as well but everyone usually kept to themselves. Only one or two families were known for their large noses that tried to meddle with others' business.