The afternoon sun sat heavy over the campus, yet time seemed to drag. Wondering why he even bothered to be early, his gaze roamed over his surroundings, for lack of a better thing to do to pass the time. It was a hot afternoon, which suited him just fine. A cool breeze wound its way through the place, giving him brief relief from the heat.
The campus was alive with activity, like any typical weekday. He stood outside the lecture theatre waiting for his second class of the day. He did not feel like talking to anyone at that moment. He stood apart from his classmates, gathering his thoughts and mentally preparing himself for what was sure to be an interesting lecture. It was a class he looked forward to on some days.
Students shuffled about, going to various classes. Some appeared to be in a hurry, others walked seemingly without a care in the world. What it is to be young, he thought.
He was pulled from his musings by a tap on his shoulder, which startled him slightly. “Hey, Themba!” Jabu shouted, giving him a friendly nudge. He nodded in reply. Jabu was one of his closest friends.
”You seem like a bundle of joy today,” Jabu said sarcastically, noticing how impatient and distracted he was. Before Themba could muster a witty response, he was distracted by the laughter nearby. As Themba turned toward the sound, his eyes met hers: Nomakhwezi. He was disoriented for a moment but quickly regained his composure, though not before Jabu noticed and gave him a suggestive wink.
Themba laughed and aimed a playful punch towards Jabu, but Jabu quickly ducked and ran off, chuckling to join a nearby group of their other classmates.
Themba turned his attention back to her. She was standing with a small group of her friends, all waiting for the same class as he was. Even whilst in a group, she stood out. Sure, she was beautiful, but he knew there was more to her than just her beauty.
She spoke enthusiastically about the things she loved, and they had a lot of things in common. He knew it was too early to base anything solid on it, as they had not spent that much time together. A small smile played on his lips as he thought about how amusing his current situation was. Here he was trying to avoid people, yet he found himself wanting to talk to her, like he always did. Somehow, he always found it easier to be himself around her.
Themba made up his mind. Mentally bracing himself, he made the first step in her direction.
For a brief moment, the world around him felt strangely distant.
That is when he realized he could not move. His legs felt heavy and unresponsive. He momentarily panicked as he tried to figure out what could be wrong with him, why this sudden paralysis.
And then a loud beeping sound started. Surprisingly, he seemed to be the only one who heard it, as everyone else seemed unconcerned. As the beeping grew louder and the world spun around him, the truth hit him.
He groaned and muttered, “This was too good to be true…” as the inevitable happened… His eyes shot open, slowly adjusting to the increasing brightness. The remnants of the dream were still there, though slightly hazy. He looked at his bedside alarm clock. 6:05 am. Time to wake up.
