DEAR NICA.

"Dear Nica." is a haunting coming-of-age novel about Maegan Alexa, an Ilongga writer raised in Sultan Kudarat by OFW parents working abroad. At twelve, after praying for peace and guidance, she begins dreaming of a girl she calls Nica-a presence so vivid it refuses to fade.

Frightened and confused, Alexa turns to writing not to remember Nica, but to forget her. Through stories and unsent letters, she tries to escape a figure that continues to haunt her dreams and question her sense of reality.

Believing distance might bring freedom, Alexa leaves Mindanao to study at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. Instead of forgetting, she encounters the impossible-Nica exists in real life.

Blending faith, dreams, and identity, "Dear Nica." explores unanswered prayers, the weight of empathy, and the realization that some connections are not meant to be erased-only understood.