Dream For An Insomniac

Tilly
Jamaica
free-spirited

For the longest time, Tilly thought that her bouts of sleeplessness had been something inherently chronic, a disorder she had acquired without being fully aware what it was exactly that had caused her to sleep for only 4 hours every night.

Yes, every night.

The answer finally came in a way Tilly never dreamt of: A couple of weeks ago, this daycare teaching assistant was at the beauty salon where her aunt worked as a hairdresser. As her aunt was busy prepping up one customer, Tilly sat around and joined the women for some beauty salon casual talk.

The women begun to talk about their families and communities, and Tilly relayed to the customer about how she had moved from Jamaica to New York at the tender age of 2 with her father. Her mother stayed behind, and Tilly’s last memory of her was that, as her mother bade her goodbye, she promised Tilly she would be following them shortly to New York.

The salon conversation deviated to more random things as the afternoon progressed. Suddenly, Tilly’s aunt, who has been taking care of her since she moved here to Brooklyn, blurted to her customer about how Tilly had been an insomniac over the years.

Without warning, the customer asked offhandedly that what if the reason for all this sleeplessness was that subconsciously, Tilly still awaited her mother’s arrival. It was then that the dam broke.

Tilly recalled that very first night she got to New York wherein she stayed up all night, an eager child awaiting her mom to walk in the door and tuck her to bed. The next night, it was the same. She stayed up into the wee hours of morning, waiting for her mother, until weariness finally made her close her eyes at dawn.

Sadly, Tilly’s mother never arrived to New York. She passed away eight years ago when Tilly was seventeen, and the reunion between mother and daughter never materialized since they last saw each other in Jamaica.

Tilly is truly grateful though to have finally uncovered the real reason behind her sleeping problem, no matter the pain brought about by the revelation. Ever the gracious person that she is, she was chipper when she remarked, “So after the customer said that, I cried and cried at the salon. But it was a good release. At least I know now that it was a lot more than just sleeplessness.”

So after discovering this, everyone around her hopes that Tilly will be able to sleep regularly now. She thinks it will still take awhile for her to do that. But the process to healing is always sidled with a promise that never remains unfulfilled, Tilly believes.

Father’s Days

Dieter
New York, NY
love & trust

Last Sunday’s Fathers’ Day was an exceptional one for Dieter, just like the last three Fathers’ Day celebrations that have come prior to that. After growing up for so long without a father, this annual observance for patriarchs is something Dieter has not really kept for the longest time. How can he, when the one person who was supposed to rear him into manhood had been absent for so long?

And yet, the pain of that prolonged absence never stopped Dieter from reconnecting with his father when opportunity struck. Four years ago, his father resurfaced from a Bohemian lifestyle that had taken him to distant lands, farther and farther away from his family. Dieter had not heard from him in almost fifteen years, and it would have only been natural if the last thing he would have wanted was to talk to his father, much less see him.

Abiding by his tenet of “Love and Trust, the two things that encompass all humanity,” Dieter did the unexpected – he quit his job in New York and moved to Florida, where his father had relocated after contracting an illness that led him to finally stay put at one place. The selfless act not only brought their family closer to each other, it also made Dieter stronger inside, knowing that he was able to let go of all anger and resentment toward his father and accept him back into his life after all that they have been through.

Though it may seem like the perfect ending, Dieter acknowledges that things are far from happily ever after, that each day is still a learning experience, a step for both father and son to work on their relationship. He is very grateful though for the chance to really get to know his father better, no matter how delayed it may seem for most people.

Dieter is now back in New York where he is currently pursuing his dream of becoming a successful filmmaker, and nobody could be prouder of what he is accomplishing little by little, every single day than Dad.