by Tina Chan
She was a bird again. A dove, to be precise. Like in her previous dream, all species of flamboyant birds flocked around her, screeching, cawing, and squawking. The noise was not the least bit euphonious.
She knew she was dreaming, but that didn’t make the dream seem any less surreal.
The other birds continued to barrage her with claws and talons and beaks. She simply spread open her wings and took flight. Soon, she was coasting over the highest mountain peaks on Earth.
She kept on ascending and saw the thin layers of the Earth’s atmosphere come into view. She was flying at a speed faster than the speed of light. No longer was she bound to the Earth’s gravitational pull; she was floating in space.
She gracefully flew her way around stars, planets and moons. She circled the sun three times and then left the Milky Way. She flew through stellar nebulas, asteroid belts and black holes. She experienced vertigo when she spiraled through dark matter. She shadowed a shooting star, flying faster than she had ever dared. Faster. Faster. She was a mere speck in the universe. Then she was nothing.
Her eyelids flashed open. She sat upright, appraising her surroundings. Where am I? she wondered, then, Who am I?
chapter fifty-three
[ Troop ]