Chapter 3: Mai

Mai woke up from her sleep, her body was sweating and her breath was panting. That dream again. The dream that haunted her since she was little almost every night. The girl wiped her sweaty face, also the tear marks on her cheeks. Yes, she cries in her sleep. Even though before going to bed she had prayed, but why did she still have bad dreams and then she remembered something, Maibe because she didn't take the medicine. She thought she didn't need to take the pill because she was tired and sleepy last night, tired from preparing her needs for the day so late.

She only took the pills when she had trouble sleeping. The girl sighed. Every time she missed the pill, she must have had a bad dream. She doesn't want to be dependent on drugs like a patient but that's the life she's had to live these past few years. At least she was grateful that her mom and dad didn't hear her terrified screams last night or this morning. The nightmare usually made Mai scream and cry hysterically, her mother and father were usually in her room to calm her down. This time they weren't around but fine. Mai didn't want to bother them.

She glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand next to her bed. It's bad... She's late. Mai immediately jumped and got up, she couldn't be late on her first day of college. Oh no, it's the first day of orientation at the campus. Ah, Maibe that's also why she can have bad dreams. Mai felt restless, pounding waiting for this new experience. It is said that when we feel anxious, we can have bad dreams because our subconscious responds to the discomfort. Come to think of it, the nightmares she experiences often come when Mai feels uncomfortable.

The girl grabbed the towel draped over her desk chair, ran to the bathroom before tripping over her wardrobe a little. Mai grimaced when the pain was felt from her big toe. The girl immediately froze, took a deep breath, and glanced timidly down.

Don't bleed... Don't bleed... please...

Her tense face turned relieved when she saw that her big toe just turned red. Thank God... Don't let there be an incident on an important morning like this. Mai doesn't want to be punished by her senior for being late.

A few minutes passed, Mai was ready to go to campus. Her hair is braided in two with colorful ribbons, a white short-sleeved shirt, and a black skirt, her dress code during speak. Do not forget the black shoes and socks with different colors between the right and left feet. Yes, she is aware that her appearance is already like an insane person, this is the orientation period. Enjoy it, it's only three days. Mai grabbed her bag and rushed downstairs, her mother and father must be waiting in the dining room.

"Hi, honey..." Rose said to her daughter, smiling at her.

"Today is your first day of college, I didn't expect my daughter to be big now, she's already a college student," said Rose.

Mai smiled, her cheeks flushed, she knew her mother was teasing her.

"Not going to college, mother, just starting ospek. Hehe." She said.

"Learn thing, don't mess around. Learn, not dating." Said Harry, her father reminded her.

Mai also pouted. Her father was one of the most protective people in the whole world. Mai is 17 years old but she has never been in a relationship. Never mind dating, never even approached a man. Where there is a man who dares to approach her. Her father took Mai wherever she went, including to school. If a man came to the house, even if it was just for group work, they would immediately glare at him and ask him various questions. The men immediately gave up when they played at Mai's house. Her father's interrogation of her male friends surpassed that of the police on criminal suspects.

"Dad, don't be like that. If you keep being mean like that every time a boy comes to our house, I might always be alone. Do you want your daughter to be a spinster?" Rose said with a reminder. Sometimes she feels her husband's attitude is too much.

"Well, it's not my fault, if they're all cowards. So the guy has to be brave. If they face me they've already run away, how can they protect and take care of Mai. I don't need boys like them," said Harry casually.

Mai could only grin. Why isn't there a boy who dares to face her father, if she continues like this, Maibe her mother is right, she will be single for life. sob.

"Just like your friends, they always avoid meeting me," said Harry.

"You mean it's Thomas and Eddo? You're fierce to them anyway, so they're scared." Mai said.

Thomas and Eddo are Mai's best friends since middle school.

"If I'm not mistaken, why are you afraid. But you guys are just friends, right? Nothing weird right?" Harry said probingly.

"Nothing... We're friends forever." Mai said by quoting one of the song titles from the famous cartoon from the neighboring country.

Mai has 4 best friends, two girls, and two boys. They have been friends since middle school now. They can even study at the same campus. Rarely isn't it. Some say men and women can't be friends because love usually grows between them but that's not the case between Mai and her friends. The five of them had promised that there would be no love between them.

Actually, Mai has harbored feelings for Thomas since they were in middle school, but Mai is a shy type, so far she has only kept those feelings to herself. The reason is not only because of the agreement between them but because Mai knows that Thomas is in love with another girl named Linda, a beautiful model. How could Mai be able to compete with Linda?

"Mai, why are you daydreaming. Finish the food, you'll be late. You don't have to think about men anymore." said Rose.

"Gosh, I don't think about men," Mai said embarrassed because Rose could always guess her thoughts. Her father glanced at her suspiciously. Oops, bad. Change topic... Change topic and Mai remembered her dream last night.

"Mmm... I had another nightmare. Same dream. That kid again, that swing again. He fell and his head was bleeding." Mai said with a shudder, the terrible image flashed through her mind again making her heart race faster. Her parents were silent, as usual. That's their reaction every time Mai tells about her dream.

"You didn't take the medicine, did you?" her mother asked.

"I fell asleep right away last night, tired from cleaning up," Mai said.

"I know you're nervous about the prospect. You always have bad dreams when you're nervous. It's just a dream, honey... Forget it," said Rose.

"I'm tired of taking medicine every time I'm nervous, every time I feel anxious. What am I doing, mom?" Mai said.

"It's okay. You just have trouble sleeping, insomnia." Harry said this time he answered.

That's right, Mai is sometimes afraid to sleep, she is afraid of bad dreams. That's why she's having trouble sleeping and needs medicine so she can rest. As a daughter, her mother's hug was enough to calm her down but as she got older especially when she was feeling depressed in her middle school days, she started to need the pills. The disease comes and goes at will. Sometimes the pills aren't needed but sometimes it's like an addiction. She was bored, tired.

"But... Why do I always have the same dream, like a story over and over again? It's a dream or not. The dream looks real and it scares me even more." Mai said.

Rose and Harry glanced at each other, neither of them commenting on Mai's words.

"It's... already... You're done, right? Let's go, I also have a meeting this morning," asked her father, then seemed to no longer want to talk about dreams.

Mai sighed and then walked after her father out after first saying goodbye to Rose. She wished her parents could help her but it seemed that whenever she told them about her dream, her parents just thought it was passing wind, just an insignificant dream. Mai felt this wasn't just a dream, this was different, this was like a memory she couldn't remember.

Mai is not a child anymore. She used to believe, she was just having trouble sleeping but the more she came here the more certain she became that something was wrong. There is something her parents are hiding. What causes sleep disturbances? The dream... Was it a dream or reality? Mai was determined to find out. It was time she knew, she was old enough to know what had happened to herself.

On the way-campus, Mai kept thinking about her dream last night. Who is that kid? Why did she dream of the child so often, in fact in the past few weeks it was becoming more and more frequent. How could Mai be so evil that she pushed the child to the ground? Yes, in her dream, Mai and the child were playing together, pushing each other on a swing in the playground. Everything was fine, they were joking and laughing until it was Mai's turn to push the child's swing, the child instead fell, his head hit the ground, bleeding and his body didn't move.