PROLOGUE

‘No one knows me by name but I have been given many. I know everything about you and every mind who has ever looked up and wondered, Why? I know your darkest secrets and every truth and lie you’ve told. I know your worst thoughts and the cruellest words you have ever uttered. I was there when you stole, when you cheated, when you hurt the ones who considered you family and friend. I know everything about the life you have led and everything you think and feel. I even know the feelings you do not recognise or try so hard to hide. I’ve been there from the beginning, whispering from the shadows of your mind. Many before you have tried to ignore me, but everyone regrets it.

‘I was with the man who lost all hope; I was with the woman before and after her dying breath. I’m behind every questioning face, and you might try to drown out my voice with other thoughts, but no one has ever truly seen me before death’s door. I have watched the creation and destruction of worlds, the rise and fall of civilisations. I’ve travelled amongst the stars for billions of years and parts of my power are scattered throughout the universe.’

I gazed at the being before me and realisation unfolded within me. Slowly at first, like a light rain trickling down my back, but then it cascaded exponentially into a deluge of understanding. This being was not a stranger to me, or even separate from me. He was me.