Seated in a dimly lit café, I watched as an old woman approached, her smile warm yet knowing. She stopped in front of me, studying my face before she said with quiet certainty, her smile still lingering on her weathered lips: “You are a traveler.” But she didn’t specify of which world—inner or outer?

I was on my way to my dad's childhood home on an island in Bicol. There was no boat available to transport me from the shore where I was to the island. I decided to swim instead but I didn't get very far.

There was a demon on the loose and I was trying to banish it. I didn't succeed, so the demon was now after me. Then a married couple arrived, they had been able to banish the demon before. "You need the power of love in order to banish it," they revealed.

Someone had died. While everyone else seemed to be okay with it, I was the only one who understood the gravity of that loss. In my grief, I decided to move near the sea. A resident of the area cautioned me about how difficult it was to live there: unreliable water and electricity supply, poor data signal, lack of internet connection. But I told them that I didn't mind, it felt like that's where I was meant to be.

I was walking home from school with my very close friends from grade school, high school, and college. I was happy. You know how people tend to pair up when walking in a large group? I ended up walking side by side with F. For some reason, we decided to meow whenever we saw a cat. There were so many stray cats in my dream.

In the dream, I was younger. A boy handed my sister a letter for me. In it, he expressed his desire to talk to me about a particular book and asked if I would be interested in meeting at a cafe to discuss it. After that, I saw him multiple times whenever I went out or looked out the window. He was always smiling and playing with stray cats. At one point, we were both in a store, and he smiled at me. I was too shy to smile back or say, "Hello, I received your letter, and I'd like to talk about that book with you."

It was nighttime and everyone in the neighborhood was outside. There seemed to be a festival where stray cats marched through the street and entered every home. People in my dream believed that this would bring good luck. As the cats entered the house next to our family's home, I worried that it might be too tiring for the cats to bless every home on our street.

There was a huge concrete water slide. I was at the top and in front of me was a musician. He seemed sad, but in a "the world is too beautiful and I can't handle it" kind of way. As he was about to go down the slide, I quickly put together a collage with a line from his song and three pieces of magazine cutouts. I wanted to let him know that I appreciated his art. I managed to finish the collage in time. He smiled as I handed it to him, then he went down the slide. I followed him, surprised to discover that the end of the slide was in nearshore waters instead of a swimming pool. The musician was standing not far from where I landed. He transformed into someone I'm in love with in real life.

I was about to attend a prom I had previously declined. Since I hadn’t planned on going, I spent most of my time searching for something to wear. Morning came, and the prom had already ended, but I still hadn’t found a decent dress.