salvaging anna, juan and ted

all of them dreamt of the same thing at certain points and times of their lives.

they fall continuously in a seemingly bottomless abyss that changes colors, patterns, colors and music. oh yeah there’s definitely music as they fall down the void. it’s like opening the temper trap station at pandora- the music is supposed to calm you but it yields an effect of wrapping sadness to your core.

it’s like the same dream they all had while they were younger.

it happened at times when they were possessed with fever.

anna, 7, was lying in full of sweat at the bamboo bed from their province. juan, 18, was wrapped in a blanket during his first time at prison. ted, on the other hand, collapsed in a birthday party of his crush. he was 9. they all experienced the same dream. falling.

as they fall, they see gargantuan shapes and creatures falling with them. there are elephants, rhinos, dinosaurs, huge colored blocks of squares, circles and balls of light.

eighteen years later, they all dreamt at the same time, but this time, it’s slightly different.

anna or anne, as her friends would usually call her, saw herself as the one who first extends a hand and an ear to the people around her. people loved and adored her for this. she consistently reaches out, calls, consoles people, hear them and do favors for them partly, so she could get the affection in return, and partly, because that’s just her nature. on e day during spring, she was blindfolded, kidnapped and raped. they cut off her hands and ears and then placed the decapitated parts in a blender. they made her drink the blended body parts. they tied her up, and pushed her in a cliff. weeks passed and people gets pissed at her absence and failure to reply to their calls. she falls down the seemingly bottomless abyss.

since juan was born, he has always been the heavy kid. he wears size 38 jeans, eats a lot of rice and noodles, and usually carries a lot of baggage on his back. discounting the weight of all the fats from his body, the mass of his packs of inherited baggage could outweigh a room full of thousands of sumo wrestlers. he’s a funny guy. but no matter how he tries to take life lightly, he’s just heavy and in one way or another, it influences the people around him. although sometimes along the way some kind hearted souls would try to help him carry some of his loads, he would always refuse it. yeah, he feels kind of bad that he’s heavy but he will feel worse if his weight is put upon people. one day, when he was asked to do a favor at the 18th floor of the prison building, the floor collapsed. he falls down the seemingly bottomless abyss.

ted’s passion for love and relationships seems supernatural for a lot of people, thus gaining the moniker- cupid’s illegitimate son. when he loves, he gives it all. he is usually quiet and will seem introvert at first glance but trigger his love button and you will see him lighten up and glow with extraterrestrial light of passion. love, as if deeply embedded in his dna, acts like a wild phoenix that would consume him if he would not share it. a lot of people like him. he’s fuckin lovable; lovable like a teddy bear. but not everyone would love to keep a teddy bear forever. the excessive warmth and power of his love and passion often drowns and overwhelms those who engage in relationships with him. though they don’t intend to do it, they would always push him back either to salvage themselves or to give themselves enough space to breath. he’s a walking fire of love and passion. one day, he was on a trip to a frozen lake with his lover. they embraced, the phoenix was unleashed. he burned the lake. he falls down the seemingly bottomless abyss.

slowly they all fall down the seemingly bottomless abyss that changes colors, patterns, colors and music.

eventually they all reach a point when they see each other. without saying anything, they all hold hands.

they wake up. each from their own deep slumber- anna, juan, ted.