Another illustration for the book “Transparent”
The Sandman
Chapter 10
I had a dream — a lucid dream, almost right after my transformation was complete.
I dreamed that I was sitting on a rock, facing a cliff. Beyond it, nothing could be seen — only a dim, overcast sky with a late sunset, a thin red line of dusk barely visible on the horizon.
A strong, relentless wind was blowing. I sat at the edge of the cliff on a flat stone in the lotus position, and beside me was a yellow being that glowed, illuminating the space around us.
Behind us rose a sheer wall of rock; we were sitting on a narrow ledge. The yellow, luminous being sat with its legs folded beneath it. Its eyes were closed, and it had no mouth. I looked at it and realized — it was the Sand Man. He sat quietly beside me, radiating calm.
I looked at my hands — they were glowing too, but with white light. I could see thin tattoo-like patterns wrapping around my wrists, my elbows, and running upward. My hands were almost transparent, and the patterns seemed to be inside them — alive, moving lines with depth. Each time I looked, I felt as though I were falling into those designs, as if they were expanding to fill all the space around me.
Everything faded away — there was no longer me, or the yellow figure, or the cliff — only the patterns, surrounding everything.
That dream gave me incredible confidence. After it, I was no longer afraid to sleep at night. In fact, after it, I wasn’t afraid of anything at all.