A journey.

I looked up at the ceiling...there was a reddish pattern/stain on one of the tiles. It looked like a circular saw cutting into a person. He was pinned up against a wall, with no way of avoiding it, and the saw just kept cutting deeper and deeper into him. It was at least two feet tall. I could hear the anger in his voice.

We went outside and looked at the stars. They were all moving around, but not fluidly. It was manic, and random, like they were flickering. When I looked at the ground, I could see them falling, making tiny little imprints where they collided with the snow. I looked back up at the trees and bushes surrounding us, and saw similar flickering lights. But they weren't stars, they were red. They were eyes, pairs of red eyes, flickering and watching and waiting for us to approach them, to go somewhere that they could reach us. But we weren't moving, so they merely sat on the border and waited.

When I closed my eyes and looked at everything through my shut eyelids, it was like having my vision enhanced. Everything was covered in a green pattern and illuminated. The pattern was like an italicized diamond with curved corners and a black dot in the center. Everything was covered in this pattern; the ground, the people, the trees, the skies, everything. But when my eyes were closed, the ones on the edge of the border were also able to speak to me. I couldn't comprehend exactly what they were saying, but I understood their emotions, their intents. And they made it very clear to me that because I would not venture past the line, they were going to lash out. And they made sure that I knew she was the target. Immediately after this, the two of them walked off to frolic around in the snow, while I stood there contemplating what I'd been told.

One returned, but she did not. We were talking for about 3 minutes before the rest of them realized that she wasn't present. I'd been constantly checking for her the entire time, but didn't make it known because I didn't want to start a panic of any sort. We called to her, and heard her voice...from a higher altitude. It turns out that she had climbed the tree from her youth. It was pitch black, so I couldn't see her, but knew from her voice that she was high enough where it would cause some damage should the worst come to pass. It was at this moment of realization that they communicated with me again, as if to confirm my worst fears. At this point, doing my best to avoid making the others aware of the situation, I suggested that we all go inside, and that she come down from the tree. There was some reluctance, but eventually, they agreed. The two of them went in, and I was left waiting for her to come down, still unable to see her. The longer she took, the more panicked I became. I started to walk over towards her with the intention of catching her/breaking her fall should anything come to pass, but luckily she was able to make it down. At this point the amount of stars colliding with the ground increased tenfold and once again I suggested that we join the other two inside. I could sense the frustration in their voices that they were unable to strike at us.

Once inside, we decided to venture into the basement, using only a candle for light. The four of us stood in a circle around the flame. But every time I closed my eyes to view things through my green filter, something called out to me. It wasn't human, it wasn't the things from outside, this was something new. I turned away from them and walked towards the darkness, unsure of what I was looking for. Looking through closed eyes, it seemed as though the path was open, but upon opening my eyes and extending my hand, I discovered a wall. I also became aware of the fact that the same beings from outside were with us again. They were surrounding the edge of the light, waiting for it to go out, knowing that they could not come to us as long as we were illuminated. At this point I spun around and spotted a small window at the other end of the basement. Closing my eyes again, I got my first glimpse of it as it called out to me again. It wasn't a sound that I can describe easily. It was a combination of a hawk's cry and an elephant's trumpet. Shrill and high pitched, it was difficult to identify the emotion behind it. At the window, I saw its head moving down into position, and one gigantic eye peered in. The actual eyeball was bright pink, and the eye itself was a ring of blue surrounding a ring of gold, with a black pupil. It stared at me unblinking, and then the others called me to head upstairs. I looked at them, and when I looked back and closed my eyes, it was gone. As I headed upstairs, I knew that even though I couldn't see it, it was still present in some way.

Once upstairs, I closed my eyes and instead of looking for any specific thing, just allowed my mind to lead me. At first I saw blackness, then a green square materialized. Initially it just hovered there in blackness, and then it started to spread, and open up. At that point, I realized that it was a gateway, and looking through it allowed me to view the entire universe. I could see stars, planets, galaxies, all covered in the same vibrant green pattern. In order to take the gateway and bring it into my world, I formed a triangle with my hands and peered through it. I was mesmerized by what I saw on the other side. Everything so bright, so alive, so indescribable. And then, it flew past my line of sight. I didn't know what it was at first, I only saw its colors. A large body, an incredibly long tail with streaks of blue and green and yellow. And then it flew past again, and I realized that it was Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god. And I realized that it meant no harm, it was actually following and watching over us to protect us from the others.

I placed my hands on the floor, still in the shape of a triangle, then knelt before it and bowed my head directly onto it, praying. Showing my gratitude for its protection and watchful eye. For the first time all night, I no longer felt or sensed the negative spirits around us; they were gone, and Quetzalcoatl was the reason for that.

I went into the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. I saw my eyes and looked at them. Stared at them. And stared into them. Through that reflection, I could see within myself and beyond myself, with the ability to view so much more than what I could comprehend. I was in there for about 10 minutes, just gazing, until they realized I was missing and came to find me. I returned to the room, laid down, closed my eyes, and resumed my journey through the universe.