What would it be like to meet the Endless? I guess it would depend on which one you crossed paths with. I met one of them once, in a dream. Or was it? When it comes to Lord Morpheus one can never be sure.

They say if you die in a dream you'll never wake up. Maybe that's why we wake up from nightmares screaming: because on a subconscious level we knew how close we were to the end. Death was on the outskirts, hiding in the shadows and lurking in her brother's world.

Sometimes, when you wake covered in sweat, bolting upright from a heart stopping nightmare, you swear you see a fleeting shadow. You see a figure moving in your peripheral vision, but when you look in earnest she's gone. That was Death, leaving to reap somewhere else.

And you thank Dream for keeping his sister at bay.

I find myself walking through a building. It looks like a mall or an office building and there are people everywhere. But something is wrong; people are running and trying to get away from something. I run too, though I'm not sure what the danger is.

Then I see the cloaked figure, the writhe in black that is coming for the people. It moves on metal legs, its claws making no sound on the floor. When it touches someone their whole body is sucked into the dark hood, as if it's a vacuum hose.

There's a man leaning against a wall. He has long, straight, back hair pulled back into a ponytail and his clothing is anachronistic. He looks like he came out of the middle ages.

"It's alright," he tells me. "Nothing will hurt you."

His words are not comforting. I run from him, getting caught up in the crowd. But they don't like me. They want to get away from me because I will harm them somehow. I see my roommate in the crowd.

"Becky!" I call. "Becky!"

But she doesn't hear me. Or, if she does, she ignores me. Instead she runs around a corner, disappearing from view.

Suddenly I'm scared and overcome with sadness. I slide down a wall and start to cry. Then someone sits down next to me. He is tall and dressed all in black, but his skin is chalk white. His short hair is a tangle black and his eyes are dark, though I can't gage the color.

He wraps his arms around me, holding me close and giving me comfort.

"I don't want to die," I tell him.

He does something then, but what I'm not sure. He doesn't speak but suddenly I'm floating above the floor. I see my body inert and splayed on the ground, but the man is gone and there is no one else around.

The next thing I know I'm in a house and there are three other women there. Everyone is laughing and it's like we've known each other forever. We're happy.

That was when I woke up.

So what happens when dreams shift suddenly? When one moment you're scared and crying and the next moment you're laughing? I think there's someone looking out for you, and if it's not your destiny to die, even in a dream, the Lord Shaper will send you somewhere else- somewhere safe.

But maybe, just maybe, you'll be lucky enough to meet Dream face to face. It's not something I'll take for granted, nor is it something I'll soon forget.