I was walking through a mountain forest late in the evening. There was snow and it cast that particular ambient light that only snow can do just before dark. A wolf came timidly from the woods and, at a careful distance, trekked parallel from me. She weaved effortlessly through the density of the forest, and kept diligent watch on my clumsy two-footed stumble over the rooted rocky terrain. I wasn't afraid. I felt the cold of the snow and decided to seek shelter. I found the hollow of a fallen decomposing tree and crawled inside. And then the wolf entered the refuge. She spoke to me. She offered me an arrow and told me to kill her so I could take her coat. I speared her through her muzzle but she did not die. Instead she transformed into what I can only describe as the sleep to wake transformation -- the shift of consciousness that brings one back to reality. She became the manifestation of what occurs between sleep and awake, and by doing so, embedded herself deeply in both worlds.