I woke up this morning with a vivid recollection of a dream I had last night. I dreamt about an albino mice which I had as a pet when I was in High School. Though he is way far too different from a Disney cartoon character, we appropriately named him Mickey.
When he was given to me, he was so small he can fit snugly on my clenched hand. He was truly unique for he has a blue dot tattooed on his left ear which stands out of his soft pearly-white fur. Yes, a tattoo…
He lived in luxury. Feeding on left-over food we just ate at the table, he loved eggs in the morning and won’t mind if it is fried, hard-boiled or scrambled.
He lived on a big bird cage, I threw in some pieces of cut-out hem from a denim pants which I converted into a shorts at that time. He chewed some holes on it to act as vents and windows to peep out. He fashioned it into a labyrinth of openings and passageways, and made it his home, a comfortable cocoon to hide.
He doesn't do any tricks like a dog does, but call his name and he will eagerly go out of hiding to answer your call...
He grew up to be a spoiled sedentary mice, he has grown so big, he looked like a big city rat you see around scavenging for foods on garbages strewn on city streets at night, they are so big such that even cats are afraid to hunt them. Thats how big Mickey grew...
I was in my sophomore years at UST when I got a call from Naga and heard the news that Mickey had died. He lived to a ripe old age of four years.
What strikes me most about this dream is that, it’s been more than 20 years ago when Mickey was given to me by an old inmate languishing in jail at that time.
Remember when our High School batch made a Community Outreach Program at the Tinangis Penal Colony? Being a member of the Performing Arts Club at that time, we performed a special dance number for the inmates as part of the activities. We also brought some old clothes to give to the inmates and some foods too!
Anyway, going back to my story, while the program was still going on, different persons took turns standing in front of the makeshift podium to address the group as well as the inmates.
An old inmate approached me and whispered something to my ear. He said, “Son, can you spare me a jacket to keep me warm at night?”
Without hesitation, I stood up and grabbed a thick red jacket sticking out of a box that was beside me. The very boxes we brought where the old clothes were contained and handed it to the old man. The old man eagerly put the jacket on, and it fit him perfectly! Then I saw a smile lit-up from this wrinkled old man.
He raised his hands in a gesture as if to say, “Wait, I’ll be back…” walking as fast as he could he disappear from the crowd… Didn’t know what to expect from him, I continued to watch and listen to the other performers on the makeshift stage.
Then suddenly, I felt a light tap on my back, I turned and there behind me was the old man his face gleaming with happiness and cupped on his frail old hands was a tiny white mice that he handed to me. He said “Take this as a token of my appreciation. Now, I will be warm when I sleep at night…”
Cupping him delicately on my hand was Mickey, I quickly hid him in my jacket vest pocket and he stayed there cozy and warm until the rest of our journey back to school… I thanked the old man and I felt good about it the whole day...
Now you know why Mickey has a blue dot tattooed on his left ear… the rest was history…
I propose that we make the same journey back to the Tinangis Penal Colony as part of our Grand Homecoming Reunion...And touch base with the inmates that we once visited... What do you think Batchmates?