Well, that’s something different

When my eyes are closed in the dark, I usually “see” blotches of dark color floating in blackness. (I was puzzled by a college friend who claimed to see no colors, only black, when his eyes were closed. Was that actually the case, or was he not fully observant?)

However, last night I “saw” something totally new to me. Somewhere around 2:00 AM I rose to consciousness but still had my eyes closed. At that moment, for about two seconds, in sharp detail, I perceived a dense cluster of carbonation bubbles swirling in a clear liquid against a pale gray background. Sort of like this image I created with artificial intelligence:

Now, I know my usual blotches are the product of the vision part of my brain, independent of light coming through my eyes. And I know our brains can create images in dreams, or when we’re imagining or remembering things while awake. But why carbonation bubbles, of all things? And why at that particular moment of transition from sleep? Was my brain saying, “Here’s something to occupy your mind for a while. Enjoy.” For whatever reason (or for no reason) I can still recall that image. And write about it.