Reaching Out

It was a humid afternoon; the sun was starting to set. People are gathering quickly in the venue - a large rectangle open area, sandy for it is not concretized. The place is so dry that a handful of trees, mostly palms, are there. Patches of brown-green grass cover the ground. In front is an old adobe structure. Miniature dust tornadoes appear every now and then.

The crowd is made up mostly of children. They're sweaty and dirty, prolly due to playing all day under the sun. They seem not to mind the heat, for they were all smiles as they see us approach (‘dust angels’ as my companion described them). I was with a female companion, both in awe with the number of people gathered in the venue. I was thinking out loud about where the parents of these children are, and a kid shouted "They're in the farm!" My heart sank for these kids, but their smiles made it light again. I smiled at them, played with them for a while, and they told me that they are excited for what will happen later. Their enthusiasm got me excited, too.

We entered the adobe structure, walking along the old corridors that seem to have seen a number too many incidents that led to the present situation of the location where we were in. People, dressed the same way as the children, are everywhere. As I walk to my destination, I met an old friend (my companion disappeared). The last time I saw her was in sixth grade, and even though she was one of my closest buddies when we were still younger, competition in school drew us apart. She lives across my grandparents' house, and yet I don't get to see her whenever I visit there.

We were both surprised to see each other there. I was dumbfounded for a few minutes, then I asked her how she was, and what was she doing there, of all places. She smiled, said she was ok, then suddenly cried. She seemed to be carrying this huge burden all these years and it was just then that she got to tell it. I listen to her until she was ok, and assured her everything is going to be ok. She smiled, and we parted ways. Told her I have a meeting to go to.

I arrived at the venue, people still crowding the area. I saw another companion, told me to rush for the meeting has already started. Before I entered, the girl at the door asked me to get a Bible. There were different versions on the rack; I took one and entered the room. It was an air-conditioned room. I went inside, and saw familiar faces. I sat on the only space available, on the floor, beside him. And the meeting began. Our leader was teaching something that’s related to what we are about to do, related to the gathering outside. He read a verse from his Bible; his version is the same as mine. He then asked for someone with another version to read the same verse. He happened to have another version and read out loud. He saw that I have a different book so he shared his Bible with me. I read. I can’t see the letters that well, for it was so small that I moved closer to him. Since I was smaller than him, my head was resting on his shoulder while I was reading. He then leaned his head on mine, while we read and listened to our leader. I was surprised with that move, but I’ve gotten comfy with it right away – and so did he. The people around us didn’t seem to mind us. And we remained that way until the end of the meeting. Then we stood up. He helped me up, smiled at me and said

“It’s show time.”

Our leader opened two big oak doors, bright lights shone on our faces, for it was already dark outside, and we went out on stage, welcomed by wild cheers from the crowd.

* The following was a dream I had last night. The scenes were so vivid that I was compelled to write it down, so that I won’t forget it.