after a bedtime storytelling, Isagani, a 9-year-old boy, plays a paper doll with his friend, Leslie, inside an abandoned house. as the two kids continue to play along, Isagani looks at Leslie with a desire to tell a story. he then did not control the itch to tell her friend the folklore his mother had told him. the story revolves around a paper doll boy and a masculine "tikbalang' who became friends in an abandoned backyard. soon, a golden magical hair from tikbalang was given to the paper doll boy that eventually symbolizes their deep friendship.suddenly, in a sunny afternoon, the rain starts pouring. Isagani and Leslie was forced to stop the story and decided to leave the abandoned house. a street sorrounded with sexualized men posters, Isagani was triggered to enter his dark, tragic past. friendship that will lead to horrifying death of a boy, he soon reveals the traumas and dark secrets with an enstraged abuser. as he reaches the end of the folklore, he realizes that he left his paper doll. he went back to the abandoned house and an unexpected meeting with the paper doll boy in his story happened. two world meets with a realization that reality and folklore mirror the same person.