116. The Thinner the Air

Is it possible to have a dream without sleeping? To be lost in a nightmare without actually ever slipping into slumberland?

I’m not sure, but it seems I’ve stepped over into that other place, the place of visions and horror shows. It’s suddenly very, very cold. And pitch black. Not the darkness in my room, where I can still see my alarm clock glowing in the corner. No, I can’t see a thing.

But I can feel something. Something out there in the black. Something watching me.

The night is nearly over.

The voice, speaking as clearly as if she was right in front of me, belongs to Iris. I try to call out, but I can’t.

The day is almost here.

I start running toward the voice, but it sounds all around me. I see a spot of light that seems a million miles away, slowly but surely growing larger.

Do you fear the Lord?

Again I try to call out to her, but I can’t. The light in front of me is growing, and I keep heading for it.

Do you obey His words?

I nod and say yes, but I’m silent. Silent and running.

Let those who walk in the dark, who have no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God.

The light is growing so bright that it burns. Suddenly I have to stop because I can’t breathe. The air is getting thinner as if I’m somewhere high up on a mountain.

Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds.

The light is suddenly slipping away, and I can’t breathe.

I try to scream out to Iris to help, regardless of where I am, in a dream or a vision or my imagination.

See to it that the light within you is not darkness.