You count the roots.

One. Two. Three.

They are white.

They are blind.

You hold them in your palm.

They feel like cold bone.

You are a scholar of botany.

You know their names.

You know their uses.

You know their poisons.

You are walking through the moor.

The fog is thick.

The air is wet.

It tastes of iron.

It tastes of rot.

The path is narrow.

It cuts through the heather.

The heather is black.

It is dead.

You are alone.

You have been alone for days.

You are looking for a sample.

A specific sample.

The root of the *Atropa*.

The deadly nightshade.

It grows in the shade.

It grows in the dark.

It grows in the silence.

You need it for your thesis.

Your thesis is on purity.

On the separation of good and evil.

You believe in lines.

You believe in borders.

You believe in walls.

You are wrong.

You do not know this yet.

The sun is low.

It is a pale disc.

It does not warm.

It only shows.

It shows the truth.

You find the plant.

It is tall.

It is slender.

It has no leaves.

It has only a flower.

The flower is purple.

It hangs like a bell.

It hangs like a head.

It is beautiful.

It is lethal.

You kneel.

The ground is soft.

It gives way.

You dig.

The soil is loose.

It is black.

It is rich.

You pull the root.

It comes out easily.

It is long.

It is thick.

It is white.

You hold it.

It is heavy.

It is cold.

You put it in your bag.

The bag is leather.

It smells of oil.

It smells of you.

You stand up.

Your knees ache.

Your back aches.

You are tired.

You are hungry.

You are thirsty.

You are afraid.

You do not know why.

You look around.

The moor is empty.

The fog is rising.

The trees are gone.

The sky is grey.

You are lost.

You have been lost for hours.

You have been lost for days.

You do not remember the time.

You do not remember the date.

You only remember the root.

You only remember the plant.

You only remember the need.

You need to go back.

You need to go home.

You need to explain.

You need to prove.

You need to be right.

You walk.

You walk north.

You walk south.

You walk east.

You walk west.

You do not know which is which.

The compass is broken.

The needle spins.

It does not stop.

It does not point.

It is dead.

You are dead.

You are not dead.

You are walking.

You see a light.

It is small.

It is yellow.

It is far away.

It is close.

It is here.

You run.

Your feet slip.

The mud is deep.

The mud is cold.

It pulls at you.

It holds you.

You struggle.

You gasp.

You cough.

You spit.

The blood is red.

The blood is warm.

You reach the light.

It is a window.

The window is square.

The window is glass.

The glass is dirty.

The glass is cracked.

Behind the glass is a room.

The room is dark.

The room is warm.

There is a table.

The table is wood.

The wood is dark.

On the table is a bowl.

The bowl is stone.

The stone is grey.

In the bowl is a liquid.

The liquid is clear.

The liquid is still.

It is tea.

It is not tea.

It is water.

It is not water.

It is poison.

You know this.

You know this because you see the face.

The face is behind the glass.

The face is old.

The face is kind.

The face is yours.

You are looking at yourself.

You are looking at your future.

You are looking at your past.

The face is smiling.

The smile is sad.

The smile is knowing.

The smile is final.

You knock on the glass.

The glass does not break.

The glass does not move.

The face does not move.

The face is watching.

The face is waiting.

You are waiting.

You are standing.

You are holding the root.

The root is in your hand.

The root is in your bag.

You take it out.

You look at it.

It is white.

It is clean.

It is pure.

You are pure.

You are not pure.

You are dirty.

You are wrong.

You are the poison.

You are the plant.

You are the root.

You are the flower.

You are the bell.

You are the head.

You are the death.

You put the root back in the bag.

You close the bag.

You walk away.

You do not go home.

You do not go back.

You walk into the fog.

The fog is thick.

The fog is white.

The fog is cold.

The fog is sweet.

It smells of flowers.

It smells of rot.

It smells of life.

It smells of death.

You breathe it in.

You breathe it out.

You breathe it in.

You breathe it out.

You do not breathe.

You are still.

You are one.

You are the moor.

You are the fog.

You are the root.

You are the light.

You are the dark.

You are the silence.

You are the sound.

You are the word.

You are the line.

You are the border.

You are the wall.

You are the door.

You are the key.

You are the lock.

You are the prison.

You are the freedom.

You are the choice.

You are the mistake.

You are the truth.

You are the lie.

You are the good.

You are the evil.

You are the middle.

You are the blur.

You are the fade.

You are the end.

You are the beginning.

You are the now.

You are the always.

You are the never.

You are the here.

You are the there.

You are the me.

You are the you.

You are the we.

You are the they.

You are the it.

You are the who.

You are the what.

You are the why.

You are the how.

You are the where.

You are the when.

You are the is.

You are the was.

You are the will.

You are the can.

You are the must.

You are the may.

You are the shall.

You are the should.

You are the would.

You are the could.

You are the might.

You are the ought.

You are the need.

You are the dare.

You are the do.

You are the make.

You are the take.

You are the give.

You are the get.

You are the put.

You are the set.

You are the let.

You are the have.

You are the be.

You are the am.

You are the is.

You are the are.

You are the was.

You are the were.

You are the will be.

You are the would be.

You are the should be.

You are the could be.

You are the may be.

You are the might be.

You are the must be.

You are the need be.

You are the dare be.

You are the do be.

You are the make be.

You are the take be.

You are the give be.

You are the get be.

You are the put be.

You are the set be.

You are the let be.

You are the have be.

You are the be be.

You are the am be.

You are the is be.

You are the are be.

You are the was be.

You are the were be.

You are the will be be.

You are the would be be.

You are the should be be.

You are the could be be.

You are the may be be.

You are the might be be.

You are the must be be.

You are the need be be.

You are the dare be be.

You are the do be be.

You are the make be be.

You are the take be be.

You are the give be be.

You are the get be be.

You are the put be be.

You are the set be be.

You are the let be be.

You are the have be be.