Before the meteor could hit, Tonton woke up from his sleep. His alarm clock was whining loudly. He was panting and sweating. He could not even control his trembling hands. He stayed on his bed until he recovered his nerves. Once he had relaxed, Tonton immediately prepared for school.

School was not suspended for the day. It was reported the day before that the team of scientists were almost done investigating the school and that nothing peculiar had been observed or found yet. Only few classrooms had to be checked yet and so classes could resume with some sections to be combined into one.

The school was noisy when the four friends arrived. Almost every student was present, and only a few parents continued to accompany their children. The school seemed to be back to its usual atmosphere - alive, kicking with excitement, and busy like during the first hour in the morning and the final hour in the afternoon.

In fact, Subangdaku was back to its usual self. Businesses which had closed the previous day were now open. People had gone back to their day jobs. Some media men had left, leaving the streets and vacant lots empty of tents. It was sunshiny in the district, as if the villagers had not been terrorized by the mysterious falling star.

In the school, the three sections of the fifth grade level were combined into a single class. They occupied the larger function hall in the campus. Theirs and the six graders' classrooms were still under inspection by the team of scientists. The boys were excited about it, and they sat together in the first row of the class.

"We are finally classmates!" Bogart beamed with happiness as they waited for their first class.

"It sure looks unreal to be with you guys in the same classroom," Kiko said.

"We should be classmates next year," Jamie concluded. "It is more fun this way. Besides, we will not be any more waiting for each other after class."

While the three boys chuckled, Tonton remained quiet.

"Tonton," Jamie finally confronted him, "you have been unusually silent since this morning. Is there any problem?"

The other two boys looked at Tonton. They had also observed his strange behavior but were hesitant to ask him about it.

"Yes," Kiko seconded, "you can tell us about what is bothering you."

Tonton stared at his friends' faces and he knew they were sincerely worried about him. He had been meaning to tell them about his dreams, but he was afraid that they might not believe him, or worse, laugh at him. Yet, he also believed that they were real friends, and they would not take his dreams lightly.

"I think I must be totally honest with you," he began. "I have not been feeling right since the explosion two nights ago -"

"Are you sick?" Bogart interrupted.

"No, it is not that," Tonton clarified. "It is more like -"

Tonton was not able to finish his sentence again as their classmates began racing to take their seats. Since the class had not yet started, the students were just all over the room. So, when the teacher's footsteps were heard coming, they scampered, took their seats, and acted like behaved children.

"Good morning, class!" Alexander Lucero greeted his students as soon as he entered the room. "As you all know, all grade five students will be combined in one class today. Just today only so the team can finish their investigations."

Mr. Lucero, or Sir Alex as fondly called by everyone in the school, was a science teacher for grade four and five students. He was still young, somewhere in his late twenties, a bachelor, and undeniably handsome. Both parents and his co-teachers adored him while some girl students, particularly from grade five and six, had a crush on him.

"For our class today, we will be talking about astronomy."

Everyone's ear picked as they got interested in their lesson. The topic was relevant to the mysterious explosion in the district. Mr. Lucero began with definitions of some important heavenly bodies. As they progressed, they discussed deeper topics which further held the students' attention.

"Sir!" Kiko called his teacher. "Can human live in Mars?"

They were talking about the planets. When Mr. Lucero discussed the similarities between Earth and Mars, Kiko became intrigued with the possibility of life on the red planet.

"Presently, it is not," Mr. Lucero began his explanation. "According to textbooks, the surface of the planet contains minerals toxic not only to humans but to all life forms. It also has plenty of ionizing radiation that is harmful and lethal."

The class was silent as they analyzed his answer. Bogart then also shot his inquiry.

"Sir, has any kind of life existed in Mars?"

"There is currently no concrete evidence or proof that life has existed in the planet. Missions sent to Mars had confirmed that there had been ancient water which made the planet possibly habitable. However, just because its previous condition was habitable, it does not necessarily mean that there had been life on the planet."

"Can other kind of life live in Mars?" It was Jamie's turn to ask.

"Like I said earlier, the current condition in Mars will not likely support life."

"That is life from Earth. What if there is another life? The kind that can endure such conditions, even worse. A life we never encountered and unfamiliar to us."

Mr. Lucero became muted as his mind raced to search for answers. The class was also quiet as they waited for him.

"I can't answer that since the kind of life you are asking is something we know nothing about. However, NASA and other space agencies are still working on it, even on the possibility of an alien life, " The class gasped upon hearing the word 'alien'.

"Teacher," a girl called Mr. Lucero's attention. "Everyone had witnessed that a meteor had fallen to Subangdaku two nights ago. Are meteors dangerous?"

"It depends on the size of the meteor. It matters how large or small it is."

"I did not mean the size. I mean a life force. Can meteors carry some kind of life? "

Mr. Lucero smirked at such witty question.

"That's a wild idea," Mr. Lucero said. "Theoretically, it may not be possible since a meteor can be so hot that it burns anything on its path, including its own content."

"An Earth life will be burned for sure," Jamie offered his opinion. "But we do not know for an alien life. It might survive the heat."

"Or might not as well," Mr. Lucero objected. "Besides, we do not if there are really aliens or some life outside our world."

"Some superheroes are not from Earth!" somebody shouted.

Immediately, the class laughed at the idea. Mr. Lucero was amused that these kids would be so interested with meteors and aliens. At the same time, he could not really fuel their curiosity. He did not want them to be bothered by the recent event in Subangdaku.

"Are there any more questions?" he asked.

Just then, the school bell rang. It was time for the next class. Mr. Lucero packed up his things and the next teacher occupied his seat. The rest of the day was both fun and exciting for the students. Despite being too crowded in the room; they enjoyed being seated together with new faces or ex-classmates. Almost everyone participated in the class discussions.

"Today was really cool," Kiko concluded. It was already five in the afternoon, and they were about to go home.

"I could not agree more," Bogart concurred. "Will we still be classmates tomorrow?"

"I don't think so," Jamie answered. "All classrooms had been checked already and the scientists had found nothing."

"So, we will be back to our old schedules."

The boys sighed. Slowly, they boarded their bikes and began their ride home.

"You are still quiet, Tonton," Kiko observed. "I don't think you are okay."

"You were about to say something earlier today when Mr. Lucero suddenly showed up and started class," Bogart said.

"And we forgot about it later," Jamie added. "What was it about?"

Tonton stopped pedaling his bike, and so did the other boys. They were already a good distance from the school, and just almost nearing the haunted house. It was another cold afternoon, but their sweat was evident. They looked at Tonton and waited for him to say something.

"I am not actually feeling alright since the explosion two nights ago," Tonton began. "I am not sick but something really awful is bothering me."

Tonton momentarily fell quiet. The silence was broken by the flapping of wings by a passing flock of sparrows. The silhouette of the dark brown birds against the dusky sky was like a classical canvass painting. The three boys looked up and their gaze followed the direction where the birds were heading, leaving Tonton with his contemplation, head bowed and hands shaking.

"Can you still remember what happened to each one of us right after the supposed collision?" he finally continued.

His friends nodded their head. Bogart elaborated, "We lost consciousness. It felt like we were sleeping."

"And then we dreamt," Jamie continued. "They were not really dreams, but more of memories."

"Yes, ours were like memories," Kiko said. "But you said yours was about the future."

"Did Tonton really say that?" Bogart asked.

"Not really like that, but it was something like the future. I heard him say future."

"Yes, I remembered as well," Jamie supported Kiko, then turned to Tonton. "I heard you, but we were really scared that time that we lost track of everything."

"Yes, you are all right," Tonton answered. "I also had memories in my dream but something else appears. It was like somebody else's memories came into my dream."

"That's unbelievable!" Bogart exclaimed. "How can you have someone's memories?"

"I don't know. I kept seeing the same people unfamiliar to me, so I think those memories were owned by another person."

"So where is the future?" Kiko interrupted. "They were still memories, although those were not yours."

"That's the puzzling part," Tonton said. "Apart from those memories, I saw something that may happen in the future. I saw a war, but people were blasting lasers that can cut down trees."

"I also dream of laser beams sometimes," Bogart chuckled. "It's just normal for kids like us to have that kind of dream. We like fighting games."

"But Bogart, this is different. It felt so real, it was like some kind of warning. I can sense they must have meanings. They were not just some random memories or dreams. And they keep coming back. Last night -"

"What?" Jamie cut him. "You dreamt about those things again?"

"Yes."

"I haven't. I only had my dreams two nights ago. And they did not come back."

The other two boys also consented with Jamie.

"But mine has come back. It came to torment me again last night."

Tonton began to sob. Immediately, his friends walked towards him and encircled him with an embrace.

"Tell us about your dreams," Jamie said.

Slowly, Tonton described to them everything he had dreamt about. He did not leave out anything; instead, he provided as many details as he could remember. He narrated the events and conversations of the couple who kept appearing in the dreams, as well as the laser wars, the falling star, and the gigantic jellyfish-like monster.

They must have talked for a long time because when they had finished, it was already dark. The sky was now enveloped with darkness. Only the faint glow of a few cute stars illuminated it. Random sounds from crickets and crawlies were heard everywhere.

The boys thought about the dreams Tonton shared with them. The significance of some events was too vague and difficult to understand, while others were scary, just like the meteor and the monster.

Once again, the sparrows sprang into the night air, filling it with echoes and sounds of their restless wings. The boys could not entirely see them in the darkness, but they knew they were just near them.

"These birds are acting weird," Kiko commented.

When the birds were gone, they looked at Tonton. They could sense their friend's uneasiness and so they tried to comfort him.

While they were in a gloomy mood, a small bright light was seen steadily moving from the top corner of the sky. It was moving towards Subangdaku....