The wine was red. Thick. Like blood. You held the glass. You watched the light. It caught the rim. It shimmered. You were here. You were one of them. The music played. It was old. It was nice. You smiled. It was a small smile. It was a safe smile.

Margaret stood by the door. She looked at you. She did not look at you. She looked through you. She was watching the room. She was counting. She was waiting. You knew this. You felt it. It was cold. It was in your chest.

The table was long. It was oak. It was dark. The candles flickered. The air smelled of wax. It smelled of meat. It smelled of fear. You did not show it. You did not let it. You were calm. You were still. You were the worker. You were the hand. You were the tool.

Edward sat at the head. He was big. He was loud. He was kind. He was not. He raised his glass. He spoke. He said, "To us." He said, "To the house." He said, "To the work." You drank. You swallowed. It burned. It was hot. It was good. You felt it. You felt the heat. You felt the life.

You looked at the map. It was on the wall. It was old. It was paper. It was yellow. It was cracked. It was the Atlas. You had it. You had held it for years. You had kept it. You had guarded it. It was your thing. It was your secret. It was your truth.

The map was not a map. It was a record. It was a list. It was a count. It was the names. It was the faces. It was the ones who came before. It was the ones who left. It was the ones who stayed. You knew the names. You knew the faces. You knew the pain. You knew the cost.

You looked at Margaret. She was still there. She was watching. She knew. She had always known. She was the witness. She was the eye. She was the judge. She did not speak. She did not need to. Her silence was loud. Her silence was heavy. It pressed on you. It crushed you. You felt it. You felt the weight. You felt the end.

The room was warm. It was too warm. The air was thick. The air was still. The music stopped. It was quiet. It was dead. The silence was bad. The silence was bad. You looked at Edward. He was smiling. He was happy. He was blind. He did not see. He did not know. He was safe. He was free. He was nothing.

You stood up. The chair scraped. It was loud. It was sharp. Heads turned. Eyes opened. They looked at you. They waited. You did not move. You did not speak. You held the glass. You held the map. You held the truth. You felt it. You felt the power. You felt the rage. You felt the choice.

You could stop. You could leave. You could run. You could hide. You could be safe. You could be alone. You could be free. You could be nothing. But you were not nothing. You were something. You were the hand. You were the tool. You were the weapon. You were the fire. You were the end.

You walked to the wall. The steps were short. The steps were fast. The heart was fast. The breath was short. You reached for the map. You touched the paper. It was soft. It was dry. It was fragile. It was yours. You held it. You held it tight. You felt the texture. You felt the history. You felt the weight.

Margaret watched. Her eyes were wide. Her hands were still. Her face was pale. She did not move. She did not blink. She was a statue. She was a ghost. She was the end. She was the beginning. She was the truth.

Edward spoke. He said, "What is it?" He said, "What are you doing?" He said, "Stop." His voice was loud. His voice was angry. His voice was afraid. He did not understand. He did not care. He did not see. He was the king. He was the god. He was the master. He was the fool.

You looked at the map. You looked at the names. You looked at the faces. You looked at the ones who came before. You looked at the ones who left. You looked at the ones who stayed. You looked at the ones who were lost. You looked at the ones who were found. You looked at the ones who were dead. You looked at the ones who were alive. You looked at the ones who were you.

You understood. You finally understood. The map was not a guide. The map was a cage. The map was a chain. The map was a lie. The map was a trap. The map was a mistake. The map was a sin. The map was a death. You held the sin. You held the death. You held the end.

You looked at Margaret. You looked at her eyes. You saw the pain. You saw the love. You saw the hate. You saw the fear. You saw the truth. You saw the end. You saw the beginning. You saw the self. You saw the other. You saw the void. You saw the light. You saw the dark. You saw the fire. You saw the ash. You saw the nothing. You saw the everything.

You held the map. You held it high. You held it up. You held it out. You held it open. You held it to the light. You held it to the air. You held it to the world. You held it to the end. You held it to the death. You held it to the fire. You held it to the flame. You held it to the heat. You held it to the burn. You held it to the pain. You held it to the truth.

You let go.

The map fell. It hit the floor. It was quiet. It was soft. It was gone. It was ash. It was dust. It was nothing. It was everything. It was the end. It was the beginning. It was the self. It was the other. It was the void. It was the light. It was the dark. It was the fire. It was the ash. It was the nothing. It was the everything.

Margaret moved. She stepped forward. She stepped close. She reached out. She touched your face. Her hand was cold. Her hand was soft. Her hand was real. Her hand was true. She looked at you. She spoke. She said, "It is done." She said, "It is over." She said, "It is free." She said, "It is you." She said, "It is us." She said, "It is the end." She said, "It is the start." She said, "It is the life." She said, "It is the death." She said, "It is the truth." She said, "It is the lie." She said, "It is the nothing." She said, "It is the everything."

You felt it. You felt the heat. You felt the light. You felt the air. You felt the space. You felt the room. You felt the people. You felt the silence. You felt the sound. You felt the pain. You felt the joy. You felt the fear. You felt the love. You felt the hate. You felt the truth. You felt the lie. You felt the nothing. You felt the everything. You felt the self. You felt the other. You felt the void. You felt the light. You felt the dark. You felt the fire. You felt the ash. You felt the nothing. You felt the everything.

Edward stood up. He was shaking. He was pale. He was afraid. He was angry. He was confused. He was lost. He was alone. He was nothing. He was the fool. He was the king. He was the god. He was the master. He was the slave. He was the tool. He was the hand. He was the weapon. He was the fire. He was the end.

You looked at him. You did not speak. You did not move. You did not feel. You did not think. You did not care. You did not love. You did not hate. You did not fear. You did not hope. You did not believe. You did not doubt. You did not know. You did not see. You did not hear. You did not feel. You did not exist. You did not live. You did not die. You did not be. You did not have. You did not want. You did not need. You did not wish. You did not dream. You did not wake. You did not sleep. You did not rest. You did not work. You did not play. You did not laugh. You did not cry. You did not smile. You did not frown. You did not talk. You did not listen. You did not look. You did not look away. You did not look back. You did not look forward. You did not look up. You did not look down. You did not look left. You did not look right. You did not look here. You did not look there. You did not look now. You did not look then. You did not look ever. You did not look never. You did not look at all. You did not look at nothing. You did not look at everything. You did not look at the map. You did not look at the fire. You did not look at the ash. You did not look at the dust. You did not look at the floor. You did not look at the wall. You did not look at the door. You did not look at the window. You did not look at the sky. You did not look at the stars. You did not look at the moon. You did not look at the sun. You did not look at the light. You did not look at the dark. You did not look at the shadow. You did not look at the shape. You did not look at the form. You did not look at the color. You did not look at the sound. You did not look at the silence. You did not look at the noise. You did not look at the music. You did not look at the song. You did not look at the word. You did not look at the letter. You did not look at the line. You did not look at the page. You did not look at the book. You did not look at the story. You did not look at the tale. You did not look at the myth. You did not look at the legend. You did not look at the history. You did not look at the future. You did not look at the past. You did not look at the present. You did not look at the moment. You did not look at the instant. You did not look at the second. You did not look at the minute. You did not look at the hour. You did not look at the day. You did not look at the night. You did not look at the week. You did not look at the month. You did not look at the year. You did not look at the decade. You did not look at the century. You did not look at the millennium. You did not look at the eternity. You did not look at the infinity. You did not look at the zero. You did not look at the one. You did not look at the two. You did not look at the three. You did not look at the four. You did not look at the five. You did not look at the six. You did not look at the seven. You did not look at the eight. You did not look at the nine. You did not look at the ten. You did not look at the number. You did not look at the count. You did not look at the total. You did not look at the sum. You did not look at the result. You did not look at the answer. You did not look at the question. You did not look at the problem. You did not look at the solution. You did not look at the cause. You did not look at the effect. You did not look at the reason. You did not look at the purpose. You did not look at the meaning. You did not look at the sense. You did not look at the nonsense. You did not look at the truth. You did not look at the lie. You did not look at the fact. You did not look at the fiction. You did not look at the reality. You did not look at the illusion. You did not look at the dream. You did not look at the nightmare. You did not look at the vision. You did not look at the hallucination. You did not look at the madness. You did not look at the sanity. You did not look at the mind. You did not look at the brain. You did not look at the soul. You did not look at the spirit. You did not look at the ghost. You did not look at the demon. You did not look at the angel. You did not look at the god. You did not look at the devil. You did not look at the saint. You did not look at the sinner. You did not look at the hero. You did not look at the villain. You did not look at the victim. You did not look at the killer. You did not look at the lover. You did not look at the hater. You did not look at the friend. You did not look at the enemy. You did not look at the stranger. You did not look at the neighbor. You did not look at the family. You did not look at the community. You did not look at the society. You did not look at the world. You did not look at the earth. You did not look at the sky. You did not look at the space. You did not look at the time. You did not look at the matter. You did not look at the energy. You did not look at the force. You did not look at the field. You did not look at the particle. You did not look at the wave. You did not look at the atom. You did not look at the molecule. You did not look at the cell. You did not look at the body. You did not look at the mind. You did not look at the self. You did not look at the other. You did not look at the nothing. You did not look at the everything. You did not look at the end. You did not look at the beginning. You did not look at the middle. You did not look at the start. You did not look at the finish. You did not look at the journey. You did not look at the destination. You did not look at the path. You did not look at the road. You did not look at the way. You did not look at the direction. You did not look at the compass. You did not look at the map. You did not look at the chart. You did not look at the guide. You did not look at the leader. You did not look at the follower. You did not look at the master. You did not look at the slave. You did not look at the king. You did not look at the queen. You did not look at the prince. You did not look at the princess. You did not look at the lord. You did not look at the lady. You did not look at the knight. You did not look at the squire. You did not look at the servant. You did not look at the master. You did not look at the owner. You did not look at the tenant. You did not look at the house. You did not look at the home. You did not look at the room. You did not look at the wall. You did not look at the floor. You did not look at the ceiling. You did not look at the door. You did not look at the window. You did not look at the glass. You did not look at the light. You did not look at the dark. You did not look at the shadow. You did not look at the shape. You did not look at the form. You did not look at the color. You did not look at the sound. You did not look at the silence. You did not look at the noise. You did not look at the music. You did not look at the song. You did not look at the word. You did not look at the letter. You did not look at the line. You did not look at the page. You did not look at the book. You did not look at the story. You did not look at the tale. You did not look at the myth. You did not look at the legend. You did not look at the history. You did not look at the future. You did not look at the past. You did not look at the present. You did not look at the moment. You did not look at the instant. You did not look at the second. You did not look at the minute. You did not look at the hour. You did not look at the day. You did not look at the night. You did not look at the week. You did not look at the month. You did not look at the year. You did not look at the decade. You did not look at the century. You did not look at the millennium. You did not look at the eternity. You did not look at the infinity. You did not look at the zero. You did not look at the one. You did not look at the two. You did not look at the three. You did not look at the four. You did not look at the five. You did not look at the six. You did not look at the seven. You did not look at the eight. You did not look at the nine. You did not look at the ten. You did not look at the number. You did not look at the count. You did not look at the total. You did not look at the sum. You did not look at the result. You did not look at the answer. You did not look at the question. You did not look at the problem. You did not look at the solution. You did not look at the cause. You did not look at the effect. You did not look at the reason. You did not look at the purpose. You did not look at the meaning. You did not look at the sense. You did not look at the nonsense. You did not look at the truth. You did not look at the lie. You did not look at the fact. You did not look at the fiction. You did not look at the reality. You did not look at the illusion. You did not look at the dream. You did not look at the nightmare. You did not look at the vision. You did not look at the hallucination. You did not look at the madness. You did not look at the sanity. You did not look at the mind. You did not look at the brain. You did not look at the soul. You did not look at the spirit. You did not look at the ghost. You did not look at the demon. You did not look at the angel. You did not look at the god. You did not look at the devil. You did not look at the saint. You did not look at the sinner. You did not look at the hero. You did not look at the villain. You did not look at the victim. You did not look at the killer. You did not look at the lover. You did not look at the hater. You did not look at the friend. You did not look at the enemy. You did not look at the stranger. You did not look at the neighbor. You did not look at the family. You did not look at the community. You did not look at the society. You did not look at the world. You did not look at the earth. You did not look at the sky. You did not look at the space. You did not look at the time. You did not look at the matter. You did not look at the energy. You did not look at the force. You did not look at the field. You did not look at the particle. You did not look at the wave. You did not look at the atom. You did not look at the molecule. You did not look at the cell. You did not look at the body. You did not look at the mind. You did not look at the self. You did not look at the other. You did not look at the nothing. You did not look at the everything.