It was a Thursday night. The clock read 10:58 P.M.

With some prodding and negotiating I was able to secure a riding visa (from my wife) for the next day. Expiration is 10 A.M.

As it was late I sent a text message to a friend who I know would most likely be available to ride on a weekday, Keelo of Philmofo. Him confirming will also guarantee another rider to the group, Kurt. I told him our meet-up time should be at 7 A.M. Enough time to give me some sleep and do a quick ride around the Malipay trails.

In my message I informed him of my visa expiration. I needed to be home by 10 A.M.

After preparing my stuff for the ride I went to sleep.

Then I was awaken from my slumber by the bed moving. My woke up and wife got out of bed then proceeded to the computer, continuing to do some work.

I decided to check on my cellphone, Keelo should already have replied. He did.

In his message he told me he could only ride until 9:30 A.M. That would be enough time, I thought to myself. I responded saying we’d be finished long before that and he would be home with more than 30 minutes to deadline. I checked my watch. It read 2:37 A.M. Yes! More sleep!

I returned my phone and covered my head with the blanket. Then sleep came back.

5:30 A.M. my phone’s alarm went off. I reached out, turned it off, and got off the bed. I slowly started getting ready since I still had enough time before the 7 A.M. meet-up. Then I thought of double-checking Keelo’s message just to make sure about his 9:30 A.M. visa expiration.

I got my phone, opened the inbox, and didn’t see his message. WTF, I thought. I NEVER delete messages like that right away. I exited then went back to my phone’s inbox. Still no message from Keelo. I started to panic.

Did I just dream of reading his message? Did I just dream of replying to his text? What the hell…?!

I started texting him. The 7 A.M. meet-up is fast approaching. I didn’t know whether to start preparing for the ride or not.

Still no reply from him. It’s possible they’re pedaling to the police outpost in Daang Hari, our usual meeting place. I call his phone. No answer. They could be in transit now, I thought. I decided to call a few more times, hoping he’ll sense some kind of urgency in the non-stop attempts at calling him. Still no luck. Not even a reply to one of my text messages asking him if I only had the dream of him confirming of the morning ride.

This sucks. My panic is starting to subside. I felt tired. I felt hot, but I also felt cold. I started sweating… from my body cooling down from excitement, to bewilderment, to disappointment, to surrender… I still can’t believe, can’t grasp, the “reality” of dreaming this…

A little past 9 A.M. my phone beeped. I just received a text message. Were they waiting for me? I checked immediately. It was Keelo.

Pre ngayn k lng nabasa mga txt m. Aga k kse nakatulog kagabi. (Text-speak removed: Pare ngayon ko lang nabasa mga text mo. Aga ko kasi nakatulog kagabi; Translation: Dude I just read your messages now. I fell asleep early last night.)

Sweet dream turned sour. LOL!

Do you have similar experiences? Please share it with us and we’ll all laugh at ourselves!