The rain hits the glass. It is hard. It is cold. You watch it streak down. You count the drops. One. Two. Three. You are alone. The room is small. The walls are close. They press in. You feel the weight. It is heavy. It is thick. You are a scholar. You study old things. You study the past. The past is a trap. It bites. It holds. You have a bowl. It is white. It is ceramic. It is empty. It is waiting. You are waiting. You are tired. Your bones ache. The hunger is a dog. It barks at your feet. It does not let go. You have no food. You have no gold. You have only the bowl. You have only the silence. The silence is loud. It screams. You hear your father. He is not here. He is in the past. He is in the bowl. He is in the shard. You remember. You were a boy. You were strong. You had a hand. You held the bowl. It was whole. It was full. It was warm. Your father gave it to you. He said, "Keep it safe." He said, "Do not break it." He said, "It is life." You nodded. You were young. You did not know. You thought it was just a bowl. You thought it was just clay. You were wrong. You are wrong now. You look at the bowl. It is still empty. It is still whole. But it is not. It is a lie. It is a mask. You see the crack. It is tiny. It is there. It was always there. It is growing. It is spreading. It is eating the white. It is eating the light. You feel a fear. It is cold. It is sharp. You want to hide. You want to run. You cannot. The room is closed. The door is locked. The key is lost. You are trapped. You are the prisoner. You are the guard. You are the key. You are the lock. You are the whole. You are the break. You are the sound. You are the silence. The dog barks. It is louder now. Your stomach twists. It knots. It burns. You have not eaten. It has been days. The water is gone. The cup is dry. You touch the bowl. It is cold. It is smooth. It is hard. It is real. You close your eyes. You see your father. He is smiling. He is kind. He is old. His hands are rough. His eyes are deep. He is looking at you. He is looking through you. He is seeing the crack. He is seeing the end. He opens his mouth. He speaks. The words are wind. They are dust. They are ash. "Let it go," he says. You do not hear. You do not understand. You are angry. You are proud. You are a scholar. You know things. You know the history. You know the myth. You know the curse. The bowl is cursed. It is a gift. It is a burden. It is a cage. You must keep it. You must protect it. You must not let it break. If it breaks, you die. If it breaks, he dies. If it breaks, the world ends. This is what you believe. This is what you are told. This is what you fear. You hold the bowl. You hold it tight. Your hands shake. Your fingers bleed. The bowl does not care. It is cold. It is hard. It is indifferent. It is a stone. It is a tomb. It is a grave. You are burying yourself. You are digging your own hole. The walls press in. The rain hits the glass. It is harder now. It is louder. It is angry. The window is weak. The glass is thin. It is cracking. You hear a sound. It is small. It is sharp. It is a snap. The glass breaks. A shard falls. It hits the floor. It is quiet. It is still. You look at the hole. The air comes in. It is cold. It is wet. It is raw. You feel the wind. It is a ghost. It is a breath. It is a life. You look at the bowl. You look at your hands. You look at the crack. It is bigger now. It is long. It is deep. It is red. It is blood. Your blood. It is yours. It is his. It is the same. You realize it. You see it. You know it. The bowl is not the life. The bowl is not the curse. The bowl is not the bond. The bowl is the break. The bowl is the end. The bowl is the death. Your father did not give you a gift. He gave you a mirror. He gave you a lesson. He gave you a death. He wanted you to break. He wanted you to free. He wanted you to live. You have failed. You have failed him. You have failed yourself. You have failed the world. The dog barks. It is howling now. It is screaming. It is dying. You are dying. The hunger is a fire. It is a flame. It is a light. It is a dark. You look at the bowl. You look at the crack. You look at the shard on the floor. You pick up the shard. It is sharp. It is cold. It is real. You hold it. You hold it tight. You do not let go. You look at the bowl. You raise the shard. You are ready. You are afraid. You are free. You are bound. You are one. You are two. You are whole. You are broken. You swing. You strike. You hit. The sound is loud. The sound is clear. The sound is pure. The bowl breaks. It shatters. It explodes. It dies. The pieces fly. They hit the walls. They hit the floor. They hit the air. They hit your face. They cut you. You do not care. You do not feel. You see the pieces. They are white. They are red. They are black. They are gray. They are you. They are him. They are the rain. They are the wind. They are the life. They are the death. They are the truth. The dog stops. The silence returns. It is deep. It is wide. It is full. It is empty. It is nothing. It is everything. You breathe. You breathe deep. You breathe in. You breathe out. You are here. You are now. You are real. You are free. The hunger is gone. The pain is gone. The fear is gone. The anger is gone. The pride is gone. The shame is gone. The guilt is gone. The past is gone. The present is here. The future is open. The door is open. The key is gone. The lock is broken. The cage is open. The bird is free. The bird flies. The bird sings. The bird is you. The bird is him. The bird is the world. The rain stops. The sky is clear. The stars are out. They are bright. They are cold. They are far. They are near. They are you. They are him. They are the light. They are the dark. They are the truth. They are the lie. They are the end. They are the start. You stand up. You walk to the door. You open it. You step out. You step into the night. You step into the cold. You step into the rain. You step into the wind. You step into the world. You step into the life. You step into the death. You step into the truth. You step into the light. You step into the dark. You step into the silence. You step into the sound. You step into the break. You step into the whole. You step into the one. You step into the two. You step into the many. You step into the nothing. You step into the everything. You step into the now. You step into the forever. You step into the end. You step into the start. You step into the life. You step into the death. You step into the truth. You step into the light. You step into the dark. You step into the silence. You step into the sound. You step into the break. You step into the whole. You step into the one. You step into the two. You step into the many. You step into the nothing. You step into the everything. You step into the now. You step into the forever. You step into the end. You step into the start. You step into the life. You step into the death. You step into the truth. You step into the light. You step into the dark. You step into the silence. You step into the sound. You step into the break. You step into the whole. You step into the one. You step into the two. You step into the many. You step into the nothing. You step into the everything. You step into the now. You step into the forever. You step into the end. You step into the start.