I frowned in concentration. Could I even remember it all? “Until you walked in I didn’t even remember it.” I closed my eyes and tried to conjure up the images. “There was … water. The ocean, maybe? I could feel the pressure of the water all around me, and I wasn’t breathing, but I didn’t have to; I was just … existing.” I took a deep breath, the memory unfolding fast and in such detail I could almost feel the water. “And then it all disappeared—evaporated—because of this heat. And out of the heat came music that was … ” An incredulous laugh bubbled up inside me. “I can’t even explain it; it was music, but not like the music we have, it was different, more than just tones.” I stopped, feeling self-conscious and embarrassed. What must he think of me? But he was listening, or at least doing a good job of faking it. “And the music was talking to me, without words, just … impressions and sensations and thoughts. And then your face was in my mind, and you looked so … sad. And the music was so joyful that I wanted to give it to you, so you wouldn’t be sad anymore.

I stopped talking and opened my eyes. He had left the doorway and taken the seat next to my bed. I looked him in the eyes. “I swear to God I’m not crazy.”

He laughed, leaning back in the chair and running his hand through his hair. “Forgive me if the thought crosses my mind.”

I sighed and rubbed my eyes; this was giving me a headache. “Like I said, I’m just the messenger. I know this really happened, but I also know there’s no way I can convince you of it. You have to decide whether or not to believe it.”

“You keep saying you’re the messenger, but I don’t know what you think the message is.”

I didn’t know how to put it into words and told him so. “I know that doesn’t help. Like I said, there weren’t words, just this overwhelming sense of being so happy, and you being so sad. And I knew if you could just … hear God, I guess … ” I shrugged. “I’m botching this, I know it. Until this year I didn’t even believe in God, so for me to be saying this stuff is bizarre even to me.” I smiled. “I don’t know what else to tell you, other than to say that I was alone, and God took me in, and He’s offering that to you, too. That’s the bottom line, I think. Why He chose me to tell you, and why He chose this way, I don’t know. But there you have it.”