At night the desert brings a sense of calm like no where else. There is a stillness, and yet, you can feel the world turning and hear its silence.

The nocturnal desert is often described as looking like another planet. In addition, a portal emphasizes the idea that we have arrived on another world or the possibility that we are about to leave. But this is not another planet and the alien presence is human.

In Biblical scripture, a portal is a symbolic doorway that represents a transition between realms or states of being. Penumbra is a man made presence that does not belong, but presents a doorway into this world or the next.