Another Dream

I went to a visit a friend who now lives in a student accommodation. Somehow I was in Singapore. This friend, let’s call him T*, hails from a rich family but unfortunately they didn’t get along.

I drove to the hostel by myself, there were 18, five-storey hostels altogether in one huge plot of land, and he was at number 14. The hostels were built around a huge basketball cement court, with parking lots around it. I felt like a stranger as they were all much younger than I, except for him. I wanted to find out what he was doing studying college all over again.

I found parking and then it started to rain. Just a few drops, so it was ok.

There were many stairs leading to the one hostel, all the stairs were twisted and unfinished. I couldn’t get myself to walk on the unfinished spiralled metal stairs, as they were at least 3 stories high and they had a gap in between. (There were lifts to the higher storeys). The college administrators called it ‘art’. You see, before being allowed to enter the hostel area we had to be briefed. I remember the old professor saying something along the lines of ‘you will only reach the desired destination walking on a pathway that encourages you to be yourself’. Oh whatever. I walked up tens of stairs just to find the one I was comfortable with walking on to finally reach his hostel. Some stairs were disjointed mid-air at ten feet above the ground and some looked like they were about to fall underneath my legs!

Number 14 it was. I reached it after an hour of looking for the right stairs, and parking lot. Thank God Joyce was with me, although she didn’t know directions too it was great company. But that was as far as I had her for. She went off to visit another friend at number 5. I tried to remember that I parked my car right opposite Hostel 14.

I made it! Room 7, Hostel 14. But to my surprise, he wasn’t in! His two sisters and a friend were chatting away on his bed. It was a tiny room that had no sofas or room for entertainment, the only place guests could be offered to sit on was the bed. They were talking about the latest rock bands and their plans for the weekend, and I soon joined in. I suddenly had hayfever allergies that I usually don’t suffer from. Hmm...maybe I was allergic to something in the room.
Against the window was 2 large glass tanks. They looked like fish tanks but they had 2 dollhouses each in them.

“Wanna try Hillary Duff Axe Oil?” One of his sisters walked towards the glass tank.

“Are you for real? Hillary Duff?”

“Here! Try it! It’s her latest invention and it’s so cool!!” She put her hand in the tank and grabbed a tiny rubber doll dipped in some sticky looking liquid and put it right under my nose.
It was revolting! Smelt like a combination of Hillary Duff perfume mixed with axe oil. And this guy had a whole dollhouse of it!

“Oh this one smells better!” the other sister got up and did the same thing with the other doll house.

“It’s Buttered Axe Oil, good for your runny nose!” Yea ok. I give credit to that one. But not to the fact that this guy had two dollhouses sitting in two separate fishtanks running with Hillary Duff scent and axe oil.

“Oh oops can I borrow a tissue?” my nose started to run like a tap.

“We don’t have tissues. Oh no! Oh well I guess you can use this pillowcase. Or this blanket.”
I accepted it out of lack of choice.

“Do you want more HD axe oil?”
You bet I did...NOT!! Anything but that.

Approximately fifteen minutes and a drenched pillowcase later, my nose stopped. I offered to take the sticky pillowcase home to wash.

On my way down the stairs , it looked like it was break time or something. Like Waktu Rehat in high school. Except that everyone was walking towards one direction. Maybe it was a perhimpunan? A gorgeous looking tall, slim girl walked past and flung her hair as she did. I wished I had her legs! Anyway, that was beside the point.

It started to rain and pour and pour even more as I walked to my car. But I had taken a different set of stairs which looked exactly the same as the one I took on my way up to Room 7. Oh no. I was lost! I had to be at work in half an hour and I couldn’t find my car! I bumped into so many people I hadn’t seen in ages, but it just wasn’t a good time to catch up. I hope they didn’t think I was trying to avoid them or something. Two hours of walking aimlessly around the campus finally paid off when I saw my beloved car sitting where it was parked before.

And then I woke up...drenched in sweat.