pringing from a restless sleep, I quickly opened my eyes to find a startling presence hovering before me. At first its clarity frightened me; maybe because I thought I knew what I was seeing. But before I could clearly understand its offer, it faded back into the night's darkness. For the next few seconds I questioned myself. I thought maybe I was still asleep, or maybe I was seeing what an abandoned dream looks like as it lingers inside ones mind. But I knew I was not asleep, and what I saw was not a dream. Even though I was mournfully afraid, I laid down to go back to sleep; and as I clutched my pillow with a knuckling grip, I closed my eyes only to see that image staring back at me from its silent keep.
     It was a striking vision indeed. It was a transparent figure that took on a human-like form, minus a featureless face and a clarity of distinction—no fingers or toes. Its glistening exterior pulsed like a calm beating heart. Slow, but always in motion. Its left leg and right arm appeared to be twisted or mangled as if to cause pain, while its other extremities looked whole and strong. Its most frightening feature was its raven like eyes that stared right through me. It was as though my deepest secrets were revealed. From those hollow holes streamed strands of light to the rest of its being, as if to connect or bind itself together. Within the darkness there seemed to be constant motion—a perpetual swirl circling its black nucleus. Inside the streams of light were hundreds, maybe thousands, of bright and dark spots that had no particular pattern or apparent aim; they were peppered throughout, leaving me to only guess their purpose. Then I sensed the dark spots once had substance or goodness, but were removed to cause shame, while the light spots bared essence and commanded praise. As I laid curled up memorizing its wonder, it once again left me as quickly as it came, but this time its message remained—our souls are the preserver of our actions, whether good or bad, and after we progress from this life to the next, our souls will become the vessels for these deeds as testimony of our lives.