To thine own self be true: A Wednesday/Esmeralda Fanfiction of worlds beyond
What dreams may come: Act 1
It has been almost a year since my father passed away, of so many memories we shared and the lives we lived together. Now in 2024, it was just me and my brother who lived in Orlando, though I did not live alone, my brother had his own life to live. It had been decades since I had an adventure and now that I came to experience a sense of freedom that I had never truly known before it was time to move on.
I went to sleep one night after watching Wednesday on Netflix followed by The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Salma Hayek. I dosed off trying to forget the tragedy that befell me almost a year ago. I dreamed that I was in the woods, it was a black forest like the forests in Virginia when my dad and I were on a business trip on our way to New York in 1994. The trees were black with a pale gray sky with misty fog around. Reminiscent of a music video called Deutschland by the heavy metal German rock band, Rammstein.
I saw silhouettes come from behind almost each tree and running through the forest as though I was being pursued and then they came towards me when from behind I heard a familiar voice. It was my father who commanded the shadows, "Leave my son alone and go away!" At his command they faded away and slinking disappeared behind trees and into the mist. I told my father, "I hope this is not where you're spending your eternity!" My father said, "No son, though I can no longer keep you company in the physical world it's only in dreams, what dreams may come, when we shuffle off this mortal coil." A quote he so often quoted from William Shakespeare when he was alive.
My father and I embraced and beckoned me to follow him. I did and we came upon a clearing at what appeared to be a churchyard where there was a neat ring of cobblestones carefully forming a neat circle on the ground. A statue of St. Joan of Arc starred down upon us and the ring. A rainbow shined into the ring which brought color into the scenery other than my father's green and red sports jacket, with his khakis, black cane and his matching khaki Tyrolean hat. A pair of female angels appeared, it was Lucia Dreamweaver with her signature steel grey eyes and dressed in Goth attire which made her look like Ms. Wednesday Addams holding hands with her angelic partner, Sophia Cypher, who suspiciously looked like the Gypsy girl, Esmeralda Agnes from the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
I immediately said, "I love you both and I miss the two of you!". They replied in unison, "We both miss you too Alejandro, We both miss you too!" Still holding hands they both stepped out of the ring with Lucia who had raven black wings and Sophia whose wings were rainbow colored with a touch of pink meeting the purple. They both kissed each other and proceeded to kiss me in a tri-kiss. I turned to look at my father to say, "Look at this!" However he was gone. I asked, "Micho, where are you?" Lucia said, "He moved on!". "Just as you must", Sophia added. A disembodied hand called Thing by the angels crawled up my shoulder and tapped. I awoke pondering in my mind what all this meant.
Act 2: A midsummer nights dream
After a long day at the library I went home and rested from a long hectic day, it was Saturday evening and I needed to get ready for church the following morning. I fell asleep and slumbered, this time I dreamed of being at Lake Eola Park at the heart of Downtown Orlando where there was a monument of a woman built into the hilly soil in an area of the park, It was the muse of discovery. Lucia and Sophia appeared again smiling holding hands in the cup of her hand smiling under the brilliant night of the full moon with the moon shining on the dark surface of the lake.
A short distance away there was an amphitheater painted in the colors of the rainbow, it was here where Orlando hosts Pride every year in October, Lucia and Sophia kissed and stepped outside the cusp of the hand of the Muse of Discovery. They then joined hands with me and Lucia said, "Are you ready?". "Ready? Ready for what exactly?", I asked. "For your next adventure!", said Sophia. "OK", I answered, "Where are we going?", I asked. Thing crawled up to shush me lips.
"It's a surprise", Lucia said. "Now close your eyes!", commanded Sophia. I did so as instructed, I awoke except I woke up on December 5, 2022 when my father was still alive. Him and I had gotten up and did much of a routine day, him and I went to the Orlando Public Library in Downtown Orlando next to Lake Eola Park, we went to the Friends of the Library Bookstore where him and I bought some books and hung out enjoying the atmosphere, I always enjoyed libraries and bookstores. After him and I were finished we took a free bus ride on a Lymmo bus heading back to the bus station, on our way as we were passing our church, the Cathedral Church of St. Luke – Episcopal, I spied Lucia and Sophia cosplaying as Ms. Wednesday Addams and Esmeralda Agnes.
I knew it was a now or never moment, my dad and I got off at a nearby stop where we got off and approached my angelic friends. My father captured the moment on my camera phone. Little was I aware though that it would be his very last photo snapped when seven and half almost eight months later he would be gone from this world. It would also be the only tangible evidence of my meeting these two guardian angels who took corporeal form. I would eventually make this photo an iconic relic on all my social media platforms both as profile and cover photos. I fell asleep that night and woke up back in 2024.
I realized I had astral time travelled between the past and present in both my past and present bodies, I was amazed I knew that Lucia and Sophia had made it possible. It was surreal, then everything all made sense and the universe all fell into place. Though I didn't see Lucia nor Sophia in my woken state, I felt their presence and their love radiate. I would often walk and go places feeling both their presence as well as my dad's. I always knew that I was being watched over.
More was yet to come…
Act 3: Alejandro, Alejandro & Lilith
I went to church as was my custom every Sunday morning especially with the end of the COVID-19 Pandemic and my father's untimely demise though he was 74 years old. I remembered that day Wednesday, July 26, 2023, a day that will forever be etched in my memory. The following is a chronology of events, as of June of 2023 my father's food stamps were greatly reduced to such a meager amount and though he tried by other means to resolve it. It got to the point that on that fateful day, Before we left, we saw a couple of horror shorts from ACM Official created by Alex Magaña on YouTube, the first one we saw was "Omegle" starring Aris Le Beau as the Magician and Sydney McCarthy as the victim. We then saw "The Serbian Dancing Lady" starring Cat Hamm as the Serbian Dancing Lady and Yaret Lora as her victim. My father was overly emphatic and having no money for Uber we had no other alternative but to take the bus.
Though I was reluctant to leave the house that day, my father was so adamant of having his case appealed. So we took a bus to an intersection and got off at an intersection to take another bus which we had hoped would help us save time. However, as we crossed the intersection there was a blond chic with round sunglasses and khaki top with jeans and loafers. She had nose piercings and said, "If I were you, I'd wait for the walk signal". I answered, "We're trying to catch a bus". My father urged across and I followed him, upon reaching the other side, he lost his balance and fell.
As I struggled to help him up, I shouted and the blond chic just walked by with a smirk on her face. The bus passed and we missed that one. My father had cut the bridge of his nose and was bleeding, after I helped him up I ran to a nearby burger king and got napkins to get him cleaned up. I asked, "Are you sure you can do this?". He said, "Yes" with such a deep baritone voice that sounded more macabre like the voice of Herman Munster from an old TV show called, "The Munsters".
So we proceeded forward to the bus stop, I went ahead of him and when I turned to see, He was lying on the sidewalk unconscious. I initially thought he fainted in a swoon and lost consciousness. Eventually good Samaritans pulled over and offered assistance. 911 was called and fire rescue came to the scene, firefighters came and defibrillated but there was no response. Him and I were loaded up to an ambulance where we were taken to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead. I was in the family room with my brother who caught up to me after I called him from the hospital. Both me and my brother's lives were changed forever.
Later that night, I was watching "Riverdale" but they were just blurred images on the TV screen from the tears and sense of loss and devastation. During commercial break, I saw my father's ghost heading to my bedroom. I got up and gave chase only to find no one there. I was remembering one week before we were watching "Riverdale" together. I told my dad during commercials, "You know Dad if it weren't for you, I'd be one lonely guy since we watch TV together, eat together, go places together and just enjoy life together and I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you." "That's what fathers are for!", He replied. At this point, We were only five episodes away from the end and my father didn't live to see the end of Riverdale though he had seen so many other TV shows come and go. I remembered that Luke Perry the actor who played Archie's father also died both in real life and as a consequence, so did the last character he portrayed. The Season four Riverdale premiere was about the death of Archie's father and it was set around the fourth of July, the same last holiday I would ever observe with my parents.
In the months that followed, Giovanni my brother and I would struggle and our struggle has continued to this day. But while my father was alive, I came out to him and he accepted me unconditionally. He even joined me at Pride when he was alive and took some photos of me before he died. Since then, I observed my first birthday, my first Pride, my first holidays without him. The Serbian Dancing Lady has since produced four more sequels. I had reached out to Cat Hamm who offered comfort and some emotional support via email as well as an autographed photo with a birthday card.
I even posted this prayer request on my social media platforms: This is a prayer request for God to send me two angels in the form of two female friends to keep me constant company. I lost my father last summer and have been dreaming about him often. Please pray for this to happen, I'll keep you posted, thanks.
Sure enough, Jehovah answered my prayers. It was finally time to move on... I thanked Lucia and Sophia in helping me heal and move on with my life and trust in no other than Jehovah for what is now left of my life.
Sophia said, "No matter who you love to thine own self be true". Lucia added, "It's not who you're with that makes you gay, bi nor straight. It's who you love and what's in your heart that defines you as a person and ultimately as a human being". At that, Sophia and Lucia jointly winked at each other and me. They gave me a parting tri-kiss and both said in unison, holding hands, "Until we meet again!" As they stepped into a shining rainbow ring in the cup of the hand of the Muse of Discovery and faded away. They sealed it with the moment of truth.
In loving memory of Alejandro S. Reyes Flores, Sr. (June 30, 1949 - July 26, 2023) R.I.P. May light perpetual shine upon you Micho! Gone but never forgotten! I love you unconditionally, I will always miss you! Thank you for being my father, my friend and my ally. ✡✝ Pronouns: He/Him To thine own self be true!
The End