"Natura, artis magistra." -Latin Phrase
Nature, the mistress of art.
"Man, I still can't believe you're finally going to the con." Eddy said, smiling as he sipped on his bubble tea.
"Me too... It seems too surreal. Like I don't deserve it or anything..." Brett said, also unbelievably stunned.
"But you deserve it." Eddy remarked.
"I know... That's why I said like." Brett replied, taking a sip of his own bubble tea.
They say down on the available bench. They were at the conservatorium taking a tour. Brett said he wanted to familiarize himself with the campus so that he wouldn't be lost on his first day.
"It's a nice place, yeah?" Brett started.
"Very. I like it..." Eddy said, admiring the campus.
"I still can't believe you're one step closer to living our dream together." Eddy said after a long and comfortable silence.
"Me too. I still can't believe I got in." Brett said, smiling at Eddy.
"Once you're in college you'll be too busy for a high schooler like me." Eddy said, as though a younger brother would say to their older brother that's about to leave home.
"You say that as if you're my little brother." Brett said, chuckling lightly. "We've been over this, Eddy. You're always my best friend and college won't change that." Brett added to reassure Eddy.
If only I could be more, I would have tried. Brett thought but did not say. He was careful enough to not let the waterfall of love confessions slip through his half-open mouth. His tongue acting as a reservoir of emotions.
"We'll be okay, okay?" Brett coaxed.
"Okay..."
"Let's go home?"
Oh, to say that in another context for you, Edward Chen.
"Let's." Eddy said as they walked back to the bus terminal.
- - - - -
Brett is in a familiar room again. For the fourth time this month, he's in the same room that isn't modern. It seems as though he's a professor because he was teaching them play the violin.
Weirdly, the words were naturally spilling from his mouth. As though everything about the dream had happened before. A bit like deja vu but it seems too real. He even played the violin quite well, even if there was no chin rest or shoulder rest.
He saw someone so familiar in the corner of the room. The boy was really quiet but Brett knew who this was. It looks so much like Eddy. He was about to reach out to Eddy but he cannot control the dream. It was like he was just watching in a third person point of view but he was speaking the words perfectly, without missing a beat.
The class comes to an end and Eddy was approaching him. Everyone was leaving the room but Edward stayed behind. Brett noticed this and gave his attention to the younger man.
"Mister Yang, I have an inquiry." Edward said, hearing his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
"What is it, Mister Chen?" Brett asked, his face and voice remaining emotionless.
"If it's fine with you, can I have after subject practice with you? If I you have time, that is." Edward said, scratching the back of his neck.
"I am glad that you have asked, Mister Chen. I would happily help you, just come here after your lessons with other professors are done. I do not know why but you are the first one to ask for one on one coaching with me." Brett said to him honestly.
"Sir, I have seen you play and I knew that you would be a great mentor for my playing. I aspire to be a soloist one day and I want to follow your footsteps." Edward said honestly.
"Is that so, Mister Chen? To be quite frank, you should not follow my footsteps but create your own. You have the potential, you just have to work on a few techniques." Brett told him, patting his shoulders a bit.
Brett felt the shock of electricity run through his entire body. Even in this dream, Eddy had a hold of him? That's quite unfair. He does not speak of it. Well, more like he cannot speak. He has these thoughts as an outsider of the dream but he cannot interrupt the flow of it.
"Thank you for the opportunity, Mister Yang. I really appreciate it. I have to get going now, though." Edward said, smiling at the older man.
"You're welcome, Mister Chen. I expect you tomorrow. Be ready because if you really want to be coached by me, you have to be prepared." Brett said, voice steady but less monotonous.
- - - - -
Brett doesn't know where this dreams came from but it seems as though he has no control over them. It was so foreign but he didn't want to overthink it. He's been having these dreams ever since he was a child. It seemed like a normal childhood.
One time he was crying because he dreamt of the time his mother was gone. It was like he was growing up alongside of his dreams. This was the first time he met Eddy in his dreams though. And he was named Edward? God, that sounds so old.
He felt a headache ripple through him as he tried to sit up. His heart was beating out of his chest. He still felt the electric shock that he felt in the dream and it's all so bizarre. It seemed that Edward had the same effect on his dreams the same way Eddy did in real life.
He would just refer to Eddy in his dreams as Edward so it wouldn't be confusing for him. God, why is this headache of his is so piercing? Mama Yang went up the room and checked up on him.
"You okay, lah?" She asked as she saw Brett's face down on the pillow.
"My head hurts so much, ma. I don't know why this is happening to me." He replied honestly.
"Aiyah, you're just saying that because you don't wanna go to school." She taunted but by the way Brett groaned, she knew something was wrong.
Brett didn't respond but tried to stand up. He stumbled but mama Yang let him back to bed.
"How did you get the headache? Were you up all night again?" She asked, massaging Brett's temples.
"No..." Brett croaked out weakly.
"Well, any weird dreams lately?" She asked and Brett for quiet at that.
"How did you know?" Brett asked, opening his eyes and looking up at his mother.
"I knew I should have taught you and Alexander this earlier..." She said with a sigh.
"Taught us what, ma?" Brett asked, very confused.
"When I was about 13, I started having dreams that seem harmless. I told my mama about it and she told me that our dreams were our past life. Of course I didn't believe her. I was 13 and I thought it was false. Up until I met your father... It was a strange meeting but it seemed as though I knew him already." Mama Yang said, laughing lightly at the memory.
"How did you know it really was him from your past life?" He asked, still not catching up with the newfound information.
"He didn't have the same name nor the same face but my would begged me to be with him. In a way, you could say that we're really soulmates. I'm not sure of everyone has the ability to dream the same way we do, but at some point in their life, they would dream of how they met their soulmate." Mama Yang replied.
There was a comfortable silence between them until she spoke up again.
"Who did you meet in the dream, Brett?" She asked.
"Mama, I'd rather not say..." He said, quite scared.
"It's Eddy, isn't it?" She asked.
Brett was dumbfounded but nodded.
"I knew the day would come, Brett. Don't worry too much about it. Just because he's your soulmate it doesn't mean you're going to be together." She said nonchalantly, but deep down she was convincing Brett more than herself.
The words hurt Brett deeply but he didn't show it to his mama. He doesn't want to disappoint her so he just closes his eyes and agreed. No matter how much it pains him and cuts deep in his chest. He will never say it out loud.
"I know, ma. It's okay. I'm okay. Just a bit shaken up but nothing I couldn't handle." He replied. "Thank you for telling me, ma. My head still hurts, though. Could I just sleep it off again?" He added, trying to make it sound convincing.
"Yes. Just rest, my son." She said as she walked out of his room.
Brett was crying the moment she left. He knows it's harmless but it still stung. It was an open wound and salt was poured over it. He will never be with Eddy Chen and that fact hurts.