Last night I had a strange dream with two parts that somehow connected. It started in the world of Hollow Knight and ended in Japan.

Part One: Hollow Knight and Silksong

I was in Dirtmouth, wandering around the familiar gray town, when I noticed something new — bright yellow and orange squares scattered on the ground. They looked out of place in the dark, muted world. When I touched one, it pulsed, and suddenly I was launched upward into Vololest, the Silksong area. Everything glowed a little warmer there, the air thicker and heavier. I realized I could heal, but not just myself. I could heal Hornet too, like a triple heal. My movements felt slightly different, smoother, as if gravity had loosened its grip.

I fought a mini boss that moved side to side across the screen. It wasn’t hard, but the rhythm of dodging back and forth made the whole scene feel hypnotic. When I beat it, I went further and saw Hornet again, but this time she was behind a wall. I could see her moving, but she looked broken, covered in blood, half alive, half something else. I couldn’t reach her no matter what I did. I just stood there watching, unsure if she could see me.

Part Two: The Border Zone

Then the dream shifted. Suddenly I was flying to Japan with my stepmom and my little sister. The flight felt long and heavy, and when we landed, everything around me looked oddly empty. The airport was almost silent. The usual rush of travelers was gone, replaced by the distant hum of vending machines and the soft glow of signs written in Japanese. The whole place felt like it was made of glass and light, with no one really there.

That’s when I realized I didn’t have my passport. My heart sank. I was standing in Japan but couldn’t actually enter it. I told my stepmom I needed to check something on my phone and started wandering through the airport. I passed row after row of vending machines filled with colorful bottles, but I couldn’t bring myself to look up the rules about entering Japan without a passport. I didn’t want to see the answer.

I expected border control near the exit, but when I walked there, it was wide open. No guards, no scanners, just a hallway leading to the outside. I stepped through it and found myself in a strange, quiet city that looked half-built. There were vending machines on every corner and faint neon lights flickering above closed shops. The air felt still, like the world was paused. Someone nearby called it a ghost town. They said you didn’t need a passport to be here, only to leave. It felt like the airport and the city had merged into one huge border zone, and I had somehow wandered into the space between worlds.

The Return

Later I flew back to the United States to get my passport. The ticket back cost about four hundred dollars, and the new flight to Japan was seven hundred sixty-eight on a budget airline called Albert. I thought it was ridiculous to spend that much money just to return, but I did it anyway. When I arrived in Japan again, passport in hand, the airport looked brighter and more alive. The vending machines hummed louder, and people were moving again. It felt like the same place, but this time I was allowed to be there.