“I had a feeling you were new by the way you were trying to run.” She laughed. “I wanted to tell you there are some things you need to know about being a sleeper if you want to stay safe. I was trying to warn you. Someone did it for me, so you need to pass it on when you encounter a novice.”

“I’d appreciate your help.”

“OK, then follow me.” She stood, and leaped in one smooth bound over the hedge behind her.

In her nightgown and robe, she looked like an angel, ascending and falling. For some reason, it made him smile. He slid off the bench and followed her with a bound. He landed in someone else’s backyard. Melody was already moving toward the side of the house. Afraid to run to catch up, he walked quickly, and saw her pass through a gate leading to the front and the street. She waited under a streetlight, and as he caught up, she said, “You know, since you could be called back any time, if that happens, I’ll meet you at the picnic table we just left.”

“Agreed,” said Owen.

“Like I said, being you’re here due to a bump on the head, you may find that one night you’re no longer able to achieve this state. The whole thing works mysteriously. Scientists take MRIs of people experiencing an OBE, and register what the brain does, but they really don’t understand what’s going on. Of course, they don’t heed the spiritual nature of it, and that’s definitely a big part of it—at least from my experience.” She turned and walked, with him beside her.

“How did you acquire the ability to achieve an OBE at will?”

“We’ll get to that, but I want to fill you in about the dangers now, while we have the chance. With your limited experience, you probably think the sum total is running around the night streets of the waking world and playing invisible hide-and-seek.”

“There’s more to it?”

“A lot more,” she said, and stopped. He could tell she was listening intently by her stillness and the position of her head. “This way,” she eventually said. At the corner, they turned again toward the park and cemetery. “There are creatures and entities inhabiting this phase of being, the night world, you need to steer clear of.”

“Entities?”

“Even though it feels like we are walking the streets of the waking world, which we are, in this dimension, or astral plane, or whatever you want to call the reality that accommodates us, there are other players.”

“For instance?”

“Well, have you ever heard of the silver cord?”

“I ran into a discussion of OBEs and such on the internet after I made my first journey the other night. Sort of a silver bungee that tethers you to your body. Right?”