Dungeon

CHAPTER 10 - CIUDAD CONDAL

Bryan was unaware of where he was at the moment. The atmosphere around him was warm, cozy, and welcoming. The air smelled of a fusion of freshly ground coffee and blooming lavender. His vision started clearing up slowly, and he found himself inside the confines of a warm, cozy home. Where am I?

Suddenly, the giggles of a woman caught his attention. The voice was sweet and felt like pure honey flowing through a piece of rock. He moved slowly to the origin of the voice and found himself on the doorstep of an adjacent room down the corridor. The vision he saw was ethereal, almost lifelike.

There stood a woman, one of indescribable beauty, dressing up her newborn. She had an olive-tan skin tone; her eyes were brown like pure dark chocolate; but most of all, her smile was heavenly and appeared ethereal in all its forms. She held her newborn in her hands, fumbling with his clothes. "Naughty one, aren't you?", she giggled and patted her child.

Bryan felt happy for the first time. Something about the woman elated the long-lost sense of happiness and cheerfulness in him. But he wasn't sure where he was, and he approached with slow steps towards the lady. "Ma'am, may I know where I am? I feel a bit lost". His voice seemed to echo back towards him as the lady appeared to not have heard what he just said.

Before he could ask further, a doorbell rang, and on cue, the woman happily picked up her child and ran towards the door. The door opened up to show a familiar man, whom Bryan recognized immediately. "Dad!", he screamed, but his voice ricocheted back to him once more as his dad walked right through him as if he were nothing but air.

"Hon, could you please take this suitcase over to our room? I'm way too tired to walk there." Lily groaned but gave a playful smile and took the suitcase while handing over her newborn to him. "Then why don't Daddy play with you till Mummy puts up Daddy's new suitcase since he is too lazy?" She giggled and turned around, but stopped short.

"Adams, what's up with the suitcase? You look like you haven't had a sip of coffee in a week!" Adams groaned and played with his newborn as if the kid were like an elixir of life. "Hon, what did I tell you before marrying you, your highness?" He gave a childish smile, to which the lady rolled her eyes and walked towards the room. "Some secrets are better left undisturbed."

Suddenly, a loud thumping on the door shook the calmness of the house, which made the kid cry. Adams cooed in the child's ear softly, his eyes filled with fear. "Bryan....promise me that no matter what, you will always be true to your heart. Never be a failure like me..." He bent down and placed a small, soft kiss on the wailing child's cheek, knowing that it would be the last kiss he could give.

Adams placed the child softly on the sofa and went to open the door. Lily came running from the room and was clueless about what was happening. Bryan tried to stop his dad, but his dad walked right through him. Before he opened the door, Bryan shouted at the top of his lungs. "DAD, PLEASE, NO!"

The vision started blurring, and he felt something pulling him away from his home. Something was shaking him vigorously, but he tried to resist as he wanted to stop his dad. He heard a faint voice, bringing him back to reality. "Bryan...Bryan wake up! Bryan?"

Just like how a dead man is brought to life, he took up huge gasps of air and felt himself drenched in sweat. The plunge of fresh oxygen awakened his sleeping cells, and his vision cleared, but it was the pilots and Jessica before him, not his family. I was dreaming again!

"How long have I passed out?" Jessica pulled out a bunch of tissues and wiped the sweat from his face. "Approximately 15 minutes. You were dreaming, I believe."He took the tissues from her hand and gave her a thankful smile. "Nothing to worry about. Did we reach? How long till we reach Barcelona?"