Good , he thought.
He lay back. The clouds began to break. One star appeared, then two, then a scatter of ancient light. They had been there the whole time, burning behind the veil. Lost in the Night
He didn’t find his way back that night. He didn’t find answers. But when the first gray edge of dawn touched the horizon, he was still there—still breathing, still watching—lost, but no longer alone with it. Good , he thought
He walked until the road was a guess behind him. The darkness pressed against his eyes like a blindfold. He stumbled over a root, caught himself on a trunk, and kept going. No destination. No map. Every step felt like falling upward into something vast and indifferent. he was still there—still breathing