Astral Travel

Punta, Santa Ana, Manila

I was crossing a newly-opened road bridge. Below was a narrow creek notorious for swallowing entire neighborhoods when day-long downpour occurs. I remember getting upset for I had hoped the walk would be longer, more eventful, and once I cross to the other side, I'd see sights never captured on digital maps or in my wildest imagination. But the discovery was a letdown, I've had better walking expeditions. 

The rest of the details have now become opaque, like puddles of water slowly disappearing under a screaming sun. I remember walking in a corridor inside a tenement, looking through windows that glimpses the living rooms of humbled homes. And then at a bend, (or was it a dead end) I could see a river and some trees. They say, beyond those trees is wide open space, a big abandoned lot, which I hardly see from my spot.

When I checked Google Map after many hours of wakefulness, I tried to pinpoint the exact spot where the dream took place. I still remember the vacant lot, the big river and the tenement where I found myself exploring. I also knew what bridge I crossed and so was the place I tried to explore.

After all, such discovery belongs to one of my aspirations.

The map did reveal something; a real-life location that puts everything in perspective. One day, when my tired feet find itself in front of the green-roofed structure. When the building turns out to be an old tenement just like what it was in my dream, weird as it may sound but I guess, some people do journey in their sleep.