The Man in My Dream
Dino opened his eyes to the sound of his alarm clock.
He stretched lazily before finally getting out of bed. A smile found its way onto his face as the rich aroma of adobo drifted through the house from the kitchen, where his mother was already preparing breakfast.
Slipping a towel over his shoulder, he headed downstairs to take a bath.
He had spent several years living in the city and had only recently decided to return to his hometown. He found a job that paid well, and his parents were happy to have him living with them again.
After breakfast, he said goodbye and left for work.
As he passed the corner of the street, he spotted a familiar cluster of neighbors gathered outside. As usual, they were busy exchanging gossip and stories, seemingly with nothing better to do. Dino merely sighed and continued on his way.
Most days, he returned home late in the evening. It was never much of a problem, though. He always managed to catch the last multicab heading toward his home.
“Just two more! We’ll leave as soon as we fill the seats!” a passenger caller shouted one evening as Dino waited for the last multicab home.
Two weeks had passed since Dino started his new job, and he had begun recognizing the faces of the people he often rode home with. Their town was not particularly large, and his workplace was located in the town proper of their municipality.
Dino kept his eyes on the window, though there was little to see outside at that hour. Night had already fallen.
Then he felt someone staring at him.
He quickly turned his head and found himself meeting the gaze of a man seated at the far end of the multicab. The stranger was looking directly at him. The man was wearing a collared shirt and a cap, making it difficult for Dino to see his face clearly.
Dino gave him a nod before turning back to the window.
“Para po.”
The multicab came to a stop.
Dino glanced over to see who was getting off and realized it was the same man he had been noticing earlier. He was surprised when the stranger looked back at him before finally turning away.
The next day, Dino found himself riding home with the man once again. They traveled in silence as the multicab made its way down the road.
“Para po.”
Dino heard the man’s familiar voice again.
Since he was seated near the back of the multicab, he noticed him immediately. Their seats happened to be facing each other. Under the vehicle’s interior light, Dino was finally able to get a better look at his face.
The man was handsome in a quiet sort of way. Not the kind who stood out at first glance, but someone who had a certain presence.
As usual, the man asked to get off at the same stop. But just as he was about to leave, Dino nearly cried out when he suddenly felt the man’s hand grip his arm.
Dino’s eyes widened. He couldn’t understand why, but the man’s grip felt unusually strong. Before he could pull his arm away, the man released him on his own and stepped out of the multicab.
The following day, Dino did not see him.
He simply shrugged it off. It wasn’t as though they knew each other. The man was just someone he often happened to ride home with.
Two more days passed, and he still didn’t see him again.
One evening, Dino ended up going home late once more and chose a seat near the back of the multicab. The ride was quiet as the vehicle followed its usual route. Little by little, passengers got off until only three of them remained. Dino stared out the window, watching the houses and scattered lights along the road.
Then something caught his eye.
A familiar figure stood by the roadside. It was the man he used to see almost every evening.
There was no way Dino could be mistaken. The man was looking directly at him.
Dino frowned and briefly glanced at the other passengers, but none of them seemed to have noticed anything unusual.
The man remained motionless. Yet as the multicab continued down the road, Dino noticed his head move ever so slightly. He was still looking directly at him.
Dino kept watching until the figure finally disappeared from view as the vehicle carried them farther away.
Even after arriving home, he could not stop thinking about the man he had seen by the roadside. He couldn’t explain it, but for some reason, the sight of him left Dino feeling uneasy.
After dinner, he told his parents he was going to rest early since he had work the next morning.
***
Dino blinked and found himself standing in an unfamiliar place.
A dark forest. The only source of light came from the lantern in his hand.
Suddenly, he felt a cold presence beside the right side of his face. His entire body went rigid. Even without turning his head, he knew there was a face beside his ear.
A cold breath brushed against him as a voice whispered—
“Help me...”
Dino woke with a start and sat upright on his bed. He clasped his hands together and realized they were ice cold.
The rest of the day, he couldn’t stop thinking about the dream.
He had experienced bad dreams before, and most of the time he forgot them soon after waking up. But this one was different. The memory remained clear in his mind, as though it had happened only moments ago.
He found it difficult to focus at work. Worse, he couldn’t understand why he kept getting chills for no apparent reason.
Because of the backlog they were trying to clear, Dino ended up working overtime once again. As expected, he rode home with the same familiar faces he had been seeing every evening. But the strange man was nowhere to be found. There was a heaviness weighing on Dino, though he couldn’t explain where it was coming from.
That night, he went to bed with the same uneasy feeling lingering in his chest.
Once again, Dino found himself inside a dream.
This time, he wasn’t carrying a lantern. Even so, he could tell he was back in the forest. Tall trees surrounded him on all sides, their shadows stretching across the ground beneath the light of the full moon.
His brows furrowed when he noticed a faint glow in the distance.
Slowly, he moved closer. Then his eyes widened.
He quickly covered his mouth.
A man stood ahead, gripping what looked like a piece of wood. Again and again, he brought it down on something in front of him. Dino followed the movement of the makeshift club.
The light from a lantern resting on the ground illuminated the scene just enough for him to see a body slumped against a tree.
Motionless.
Dino took a step back, but his foot landed on a dry branch. The sharp crack made him instinctively glance down. When he looked up again, a chill ran through his body.
The man holding the piece of wood was now looking at him.
A bonnet covered most of his head, but Dino could feel the man’s gaze fixed on him. The stranger took a few steps forward before suddenly breaking into a run.
The moment Dino realized what was happening, he turned and ran.
He didn’t know where he was going. He only knew that he had to get away. As he desperately searched for a way out of the forest, he could hear rapid footsteps chasing after him.
“AHHH!”
Dino jolted awake and sat upright on his bed. His heart pounded so hard that he could hear it in his ears. He ran a hand across his face and noticed that his hands were trembling.
Tok! Tok! Tok!
“Who is it?” he called out.
“Anak?”
It was his mother’s voice.
The door opened, and the light in his room flickered on. Dino immediately saw the concern on her face.
“What happened?”
“Nothing, Ma,” he said. “I just had a bad dream.”
His mother walked over and gently rubbed his back.
“You’re drenched in sweat. Why don’t you change your clothes first?”
Dino nodded. He got to his feet and changed while his mother went to get him a glass of water.
A dull ache throbbed in his head. He pressed a hand against his forehead before lying back down, but sleep no longer came easily. It was Friday, and since he wasn’t feeling well, he sent a message to his coworker early that morning to let them know he wouldn’t be coming in.
Dino thought that would be the end of it.
But the following night, he found himself walking through the darkness once again. A lantern hung from his hand. He didn’t know where he was going. He only knew that he was following something.
When he lifted his eyes, he saw the figure of a man standing ahead of him with his back turned.
“Who are you?” he asked.
The man didn’t answer and simply continued walking.
A few moments later, he stopped.
Before Dino could speak again, something heavy slammed into the side of his head.
He instinctively reached up and touched the spot. His fingers came away wet. The liquid felt warm against his palm, and a foul smell filled the air.
Dino’s vision began to darken. He looked at the man again and froze. His eyes widened as he recognized the face.
It was the same man he always rode home with.
The stranger stood a short distance away, watching silently as Dino’s body slowly collapsed to the ground.
***
Dino had no idea what to do anymore.
For several nights now, he had been plagued by terrifying dreams. He considered the possibility that he was simply stressed from work, but deep down, he knew that wasn’t the real reason.
He stayed inside his room for most of the day and even had his meals there. With nothing else to do, he opened his laptop and started searching for possible interpretations of his dreams.
He browsed through countless videos and websites, but none of the explanations he found convinced him.
Then he came across a link on an online forum.
Curious, he clicked on it and was redirected to a webpage with a black background. Along one side was an image of three lit candles beside a bundle of white flowers. Other than that, the website was completely empty.
There was only a single page. At the center was a textbox for a message, an email address and a send button. There were no instructions.
Dino frowned.
He returned to the forum and reread the post. According to the user who had shared the link, they had written down everything strange that had happened to them and sent it through the website.
Someone had asked what happened afterward. The user never replied. Dino let out a sigh and closed the browser.
These days, the internet was full of self-proclaimed experts and so-called spiritualists. More often than not, they were simply looking for ways to make money off desperate people.
“Nak?”
His mother’s voice came from outside his bedroom door.
“What is it, Ma?”
“You have a visitor. Come downstairs for a moment.”
Dino got to his feet and headed downstairs. When he reached the living room, he was surprised to see a familiar face waiting for him.
“Kevin?”
It had been a long time since he had seen his childhood friend, so he hadn’t expected him to suddenly show up.
Kevin stood and quickly hugged him.
“Brother,” he greeted. “I was just passing by.”
“You didn’t even mention that you were back in the province.”
“Sorry. I’ve been busy. How have you been?”
“I’m doing okay.”
Only then did Dino notice the uniform he was wearing.
“So you finally achieved your dream of becoming a police officer,” he said, patting Kevin on the shoulder.
“Thanks. How about you?”
Dino motioned for his friend to sit down before answering.
“I’m doing okay too.”
“If you get the chance, let’s hang out sometime,” Kevin suggested.
“I don’t have a problem with that. You’re the one who’s always busy,” Dino replied.
Dino’s mother arrived and placed some cake and cold juice in front of them.
“Merienda,” she said before leaving them alone again.
“What brings you here?”
“I’m off duty. I’m still handling a missing person case. We got a lead, but the main suspect committed suicide,” Kevin said.
Dino poured juice into their glasses and took a sip before speaking.
“Are you sure it’s okay to tell me about that?”
“I didn’t mention any names,” Kevin replied. “Besides, you’re the only person I’ve told. I feel bad for the family he left behind. They still haven’t found their relative’s body.”
“Can I see a picture of the missing person? I might have seen him before.”
“Or maybe not. There’s a high chance he’s already dead,” Kevin said as he searched for the photo on his phone.
“Did the suspect hate him that much?”
“Tsk. From what I know, the suspect wasn’t mentally stable. It seemed like his ex-girlfriend had feelings for the missing man. When someone becomes obsessive, you can never predict what they’re capable of.”
Kevin handed him the phone. Dino’s mouth fell open when he saw the familiar face on the screen.
He looked at the name.
Grady Agustin.
“Are you sure this is him?”
Kevin paused before nodding.
“Why?”
Dino told his friend about the man he used to see on his way home, including the strange behavior he noticed before the day the man suddenly stopped appearing.
Kevin grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper and wrote down the details Dino provided.
“Is there anything else?”
Dino hesitated before telling Kevin that he had seen the man in his dreams. However, there were details he chose to leave out. He wasn’t sure whether his friend would believe him, so he decided to keep those things to himself.
Kevin listened quietly before giving him a pat on the shoulder.
“Maybe you’re dreaming about him because, the last time you saw him, it felt like he was asking you for help. Besides, buddy you might just be stressed from work. It’s probably a good thing you took the day off.”
Dino let out a sigh and nodded.
“Maybe.”
“Alright, I’ll get going. I’ll let you know the next time I have a day off.”
“Okay.”
***
That night, Dino dreamed again.
He saw the man standing with his back turned toward him.
The forest was brighter than usual beneath the full moon. Dino noticed the polo shirt and pants the man was wearing. But when he looked down, he realized one of the man’s shoes was missing.
“Grady Agustin?” he called out.
The man turned around. Dino froze when he saw the blood covering his face. Grady raised an arm and pointed at something.
Dino followed the direction of his hand and saw an empty lot. What caught his attention, however, was a pair of white shoes resting near the spot Grady was pointing to, faintly illuminated by the moonlight.
He looked back at Grady. But the man was already gone. Instead, Dino felt two hands settle on his shoulders.
At the same time, a cold voice whispered beside his ear.
“Dig me up here.”
When Dino woke up, he immediately rushed to his laptop and searched for the website he had found the day before.
He didn’t know who to turn to. He didn’t even know what his dreams meant. He simply typed a message, describing his first dream, and sent it.
Several minutes passed but nothing happened. Dino closed his eyes and shook his head. He was about to stand up when a notification sound suddenly rang out.
A new message.
He quickly opened his email and blinked in surprise at what he saw.
There was no explanation.
No message.
Only an address.
Dino let out another sigh and immediately deleted the email. He had been right all along. The website was just messing with him. He had wasted his time for nothing.
Days passed, but the dreams only grew worse.
One night, he found himself leaning against a tree. His vision was blurry as he stared at the back of a man walking away from him.
He tried to speak, but no sound came out.
At the same time, he could feel a sharp pain in his head.
***
One Friday night, Dino opened the trash folder of his email and searched for the message containing the address. He tried looking it up online, but no matter how many times he clicked around the map, nothing appeared. There were no photos, no landmarks, and no information connected to the location.
Only a single point indicating that the place existed.
Dino stared at the address for a moment before picking up his phone and calling Kevin.
“You called, bro?” Kevin answered from the other end of the line.
“When’s your next day off? Can I ask a favor?”
“I’m off tomorrow.”
“Good. I need to go somewhere, but I don’t have a ride.”
“Alright, bro. I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”
That night, before going to sleep, Dino prayed earnestly. For the first time in days, he wasn’t visited by a nightmare.
The next morning, Kevin arrived on his motorcycle, and Dino climbed in behind him. Together, they searched for the address from the email. It took them nearly an hour to track down the exact location. After asking several people for directions, they finally managed to find it.
However, they had already been riding along the road pointed out by the last person they spoke to for almost fifteen minutes, and there was still nothing in sight.
All they could see was a vast, quiet rice field stretching into the distance. A few minutes later, they spotted an old concrete arch in the distance. As they got closer, Dino read the words written across it.
San Teodoro Extension.
“Brad, are you sure this place isn’t abandoned?” Kevin asked.
Dino wasn’t sure how to answer that.
After entering San Teodoro Extension, he noticed a handful of concrete houses scattered along the road. Most of them, however, looked deserted.
Then something caught his eye. A wide open space stretched along one side of the road. Dino’s mouth parted slightly when he realized what he was looking at.
Rows of tombs.
“There’s a cemetery here?”
Dino heard Kevin’s question, but he remained silent.
They continued until they reached the end of the road. A tall white wall stood there, surrounding what appeared to be a house. According to the map, it was their destination.
Kevin pulled the motorcycle over near the gate, and both of them got off.
“Hello? Anybody home?” Kevin called out.
Several seconds passed before they heard a response.
“Come in.”
A man’s voice came from inside.
They slowly pushed the gate open and stepped onto the property.
The first thing Dino noticed was the man standing in front of them. He was tall, with slightly wavy hair that reached the nape of his neck. Dino guessed he was in his mid-thirties. A faint mustache lined his upper lip, but it did little to hide his striking features. He wore a simple T-shirt, jeans, and a pair of house slippers.
Behind him stood a white bungalow with a red roof.
Blag!
Both Dino and Kevin turned when the gate suddenly swung shut behind them. When they looked back, the man was still standing there.
“Did you have trouble finding this place?”
Dino gave a slight smile.
“A little, sir,” he admitted.
The man smiled back.
“Follow me.”
He turned and led them toward the back of the property. There, they found another bungalow. The man gestured for them to enter.
The interior was surprisingly spacious. Aside from a low table at the center and several cushions arranged around it, the room was completely bare.
“Have a seat.”
Both of them sat down. Almost immediately, Dino noticed that the man’s attention was fixed on him.
“I’m Dino, sir. This is my friend, Kevin.”
The man nodded.
“Trevin Yatco.”
“Wait here. I’ll get something to drink.”
A few moments later, Trevin returned with hot tea and bottled water.
“I don’t get visitors very often. Sorry about that.”
“It’s alright, sir. Sorry for bothering you.”
“So you’re the one who’s been having recurring dreams?”
Dino nodded and began telling him everything.
For some reason, he felt compelled to share every detail. Even he couldn’t explain why. By the time he finished, he could feel Kevin’s gaze on him, but his attention remained on the man sitting across from them.
As Trevin listened, Dino noticed him lightly tapping his fingers against the table.
“The man’s name is Grady Agustin, correct?”
“Yes,” Dino replied. “Why is he appearing in my dreams?”
“Based on what you’ve told me, the last day you saw Grady was also the last day he was alive.”
Dino fell silent.
“For most people, their strongest memories before death are tied to the last person they saw.”
Trevin paused.
“And in many crimes, that’s the person who killed them.”
Dino’s body stiffened at those words, but Trevin simply smiled.
“But that’s not the case here.”
“You were the last person he saw who didn’t leave a negative impression on him. That’s why he chose to ask you for help.”
“Then there’s a high chance he’s really dead?”
“Of course.”
Trevin smiled again.
“Hasn’t he already shown you how he was killed?”
He paused briefly before continuing.
“And didn’t he also show you where he’s buried?”
A chill ran through Dino as he listened.
“What should I do, sir?”
Trevin let out a sigh.
“If your conscience can live with it, you can choose not to get involved.”
“But if you want to help, that’s your decision.”
He continued speaking.
“The world of people like him is no longer the same as the world of the living. But because their souls cannot find peace, they disturb those who had a strong connection to them before their death.”
Trevin placed something on the table, drawing Dino’s attention to it.
It was a simple bracelet made of transparent beads.
“If you don’t want to be disturbed anymore, wear that and forget about your dreams.”
Trevin glanced at him.
“But if you want to help him, like I said, the choice is yours.”
Dino picked up the bracelet and gave a slight bow of his head.
“Thank you very much, sir.”
Trevin shrugged.
The three of them got to their feet, and he accompanied them to the gate.
“Sir, do we need to pay any fee?” Dino asked.
Trevin raised an eyebrow and waved a hand dismissively.
“If it’s not too much trouble, you can offer a prayer or light a candle at the cemetery you passed earlier.”
The two friends nodded before leaving the place behind.
Trevin watched as the two rode away on the motorcycle.
“I think I should start stocking food for living visitors too,” he said.
A few moments later, the gate slowly closed on its own despite no one touching it.
Trevin smiled before turning around and heading back inside.
***
That same day, Kevin called his colleagues and told them that he had a lead on Grady Agustin’s case.
A search operation was organized immediately. When the officers met Dino, Kevin explained that he was one of the witnesses who had seen the missing man before his disappearance.
They began searching for the place that frequently appeared in Dino’s dreams—the same information he had shared with Kevin. Eventually, they found a forest near the route regularly traveled by the multicab Dino rode home.
The officers entered the forest, and Dino blinked.
The place felt familiar. This was where he often found himself in his dreams.
Dino stopped at the edge of the forest.
The surroundings were quiet. The only sound was the gentle breeze moving through the trees. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the place Grady had shown him. Then he started walking, with Kevin silently following behind.
Several minutes passed.
Then Dino spotted a patch of ground that looked as though it had been covered recently. Not far from it, he saw a familiar shoe. Dino and Kevin exchanged a glance before slowly approaching the disturbed patch of earth.
Dino hesitated for a moment.
The officers collected the white shoe and placed it inside an evidence bag.
Dino caught Kevin’s attention and gave him a signal.
Kevin nodded before turning to the other officers.
“This patch of ground looks recently disturbed. Let’s dig here.”
The officers began digging.
Several minutes later, a foul smell greeted them.
As the soil was cleared away, the body of a man was revealed beneath it. The corpse had already begun to decompose. He was wearing a polo shirt and jeans, and one of his shoes was missing.
After the authorities confirmed the victim’s identity, they immediately informed the family. He was later given a proper burial.
Once the case was closed, the man stopped appearing in Dino’s dreams. Dino also stopped by a church, lit a candle, and prayed for the peace of his soul.
[The End]
