Sobs And Snores

I don't recall how it all started in the dream. But I remember how the dream ended. A duet of intermittent sobs and snore that were coming from different directions pulled me out of the temporary dream world I was in. It was at the point when I was about to cross a bamboo bridge over a shallow brook infested with snakes and giant lizards when I woke up. Half-awake, I could still see on the other end of the bridge the small group of children cheering in chorus. The cheering was a push for me to cross the bridge. I made the first step; however, before my forward foot landed on the bamboo bridge in front of me, the sobs and the snore had woken me up. The sobs came from the middle-aged woman beside me. The snore, it turned out, came from the bus driver. I looked around the inside of the bus: almost everyone was slouched on his or her seat. Some were half-asleep. I looked at my watch to find out that the bus we were on had been caught in a heavy traffic for already (more than) 20 minutes. I got on the bus (more or less) 30 minutes earlier. I looked around outside the bus only to find out that the bus was still on the same spot as when I rode on it 30 minutes earlier.

The middle-aged woman beside me continued letting out her throttled sobs. She was talking on the phone. I didn't make out what she was saying to whoever she was talking to on the receiving line until she ended the conversation with these words: Hindi ko na talaga kaya. Sapat na ang maga panahong sinayang ko. Babalikan ko na lang mga anak ko. Sob. Looked like I was in a melodramatic scene in a teleserye.

I never noticed when the snoring stopped. The middle-aged woman threw the phone into her bag, then took out a black pouch that turned out to be a kikay kit. She took out what looked like a makeup and retouched her face. Then the bus started to move. I closed my eyes and pretended to be sleeping on my seat. Eyes closed, I could feel the bus moving fast. At this time I had no idea what the middle-aged woman was doing. Then I heard the snoring again. It was my snore. It woke me up. The bus was already climbing up from NLEX/Balintawak to EDSA.