Jake found himself in a forest. Suddenly, all his fears and anxiety was replaced with a calmness and peace he had never felt before. He was...happy. As he looked around him, he noticed the coconut trees were all a very bright light blue, almost blending with the clear sky, the rocks were all black, as he walked on path that felt like soil but looked like water. He heard water flowing from a nearby stream but as soon as he walked towards it, there was no water. And yet, he can see his reflection: a silhouette of white.
He felt a presence approaching and as he looked up, he saw another glowing translucent figure walking towards him as it began to speak:
"Jake, I am Andres. I am your brother. I'm glad you got my message. I was afraid you couldn't see me because you're normal."
"You? You were the black figure?" Jake asked in disbelief.
"Yes. What you see here appears differently from what you see out there", Andres replied. "Here at home, there are only 5 elements: Light, Dark, Earth, Water, and Air. That's all that matters. We are all one and the same. There are no people, plants, things, there just is."
"I don't understand", Jake replied, confused.
"You will, soon", Andres said firmly. "I am here to assure you that everything will be okay so that you don't get scared of everything you see from here on out. We have a long road ahead and we don't need you having a panic attack every so often."
Jake managed to let out a chuckle, when he felt someone pulling his arm, "Jake are you awake?"
And in the blink of an eye, he was back in the car with Caryn. "Looks like you were having a good dream. I didn't wake you up so atleast one of us gets to rest. But we're already here", Caryn said, as they parked on the curb. It was a winding road surrounded by trees with no houses in sight. Jake was about to tell Caryn about his dream, when a lady dressed in black emerged from the forest.
"Lita?" Caryn asked, as they approached the petite 50 year old lady.
"Yes. And you must be Caryn and Jake. The house is about 50 meters away. Follow me", Lita replied, as she hurriedly led the way.
Minutes later, they arrived at a small shack made of leaves and bamboo. Inside, there was no floor. Instead, it was the same soil they walked on going there. In the far corner was an old man, sitting silently by the window. Lita walked towards him and gestured Caryn and Jake to follow.
"Mahal, you have visitors. This is Caryn and Jake", Lita said. The old man continued staring out the window, sometimes twitching while fidgetting his hands. "Sit, sit!" She then ordered her guests.
"He's been like this for several years now. I should have listened to him when he told me that a Kapre was out to get him", Lita narrated sobbingly. "One morning I just found him here, on this same spot, speechless. I thought he had a stroke, but the doctors found nothing wrong with him. We don't have money to bring him to Manila or other doctors. But it's all good now, right?" Lita wiping her tears and mustering a faint smile. "Everything will be alright?" She said, looking at Jake. Then, while holding Caryn and Jake's hands, she said, "You will be taking care of Andres now?"