The bell tolled.

It was a low sound.

It shook the dust.

It shook the bones.

Thomas stood still.

He held the chain.

The chain was cold.

It bit his palm.

He did not let go.

The stone was wet.

The stone was old.

The stone remembered.

It remembered blood.

It remembered prayer.

It remembered fear.

Thomas looked up.

The window was high.

The sky was gray.

The sky was dead.

He felt the cold.

The cold was in.

The cold was deep.

It sat in his chest.

It sat in his soul.

He was a guard.

He was a stone.

He was the wall.

The wall did not speak.

The wall did not move.

The wall did not feel.

But Thomas felt.

He felt the pull.

He felt the weight.

He felt the end.

The end was near.

The end was now.

He thought of her.

He thought of Mara.

Her face was bright.

Her eyes were dark.

Her voice was soft.

She had said, *Stay.*

She had said, *Wait.*

She had said, *Come home.*

He had not gone.

He had stayed.

He had waited.

He had not come home.

He was here.

Here in the dark.

Here in the cold.

Here in the stone.

The chain tightened.

It cut the flesh.

It cut the nerve.

It cut the bone.

He did not cry.

He did not shout.

He was the wall.

The wall does not cry.

The wall does not shout.

The wall stands.

The wall breaks.

The wall falls.

But not yet.

Not yet.

The bell tolled again.

One more time.

Two more times.

Three more times.

The sound faded.

The silence grew.

The silence was loud.

The silence was full.

It filled the room.

It filled the mind.

It filled the heart.

Thomas closed his eyes.

He saw the fire.

He saw the hearth.

He saw the table.

He saw the bread.

He saw the wine.

He saw her hand.

He saw her face.

He saw the life.

The life was gone.

The life was lost.

The life was his.

He gave it up.

He gave it all.

He gave his breath.

He gave his blood.

He gave his soul.

He gave his self.

He gave his name.

He gave his past.

He gave his future.

He gave his love.

He gave his hope.

He gave his fear.

He gave his pain.

He gave his joy.

He gave his life.

It was a gift.

It was a curse.

It was a duty.

It was a sin.

It was a truth.

It was a lie.

It was a dream.

It was a wake.

It was a death.

It was a birth.

It was a cycle.

It was a wheel.

It turned.

It turned.

It turned.

Thomas opened his eyes.

The light was back.

The light was weak.

The light was pale.

It touched the stone.

It touched the chain.

It touched his face.

It touched his soul.

He saw the mark.

The mark was new.

The mark was red.

The mark was hot.

It was on his arm.

It was on his skin.

It was on his self.

It was a brand.

It was a seal.

It was a sign.

It was a key.

It was a door.

The door was open.

The door was dark.

The door was deep.

He stepped through.

He stepped in.

He stepped out.

He stepped away.

He stepped from.

He stepped into.

He stepped beyond.

He stepped past.

He stepped into.

The void.

The void was wide.

The void was deep.

The void was cold.

The void was warm.

The void was loud.

The void was quiet.

The void was full.

The void was empty.

The void was him.

The void was her.

The void was us.

The void was all.

The void was nothing.

The void was everything.

He was lost.

He was found.

He was gone.

He was here.

He was nowhere.

He was everywhere.

He was nothing.

He was someone.

He was Thomas.

He was the guard.

He was the wall.

He was the chain.

He was the stone.

He was the bell.

He was the sound.

He was the silence.

He was the dark.

He was the light.

He was the cold.

He was the heat.

He was the life.

He was the death.

He was the end.

He was the start.

He was the middle.

He was the rest.

He was the pause.

He was the breath.

He was the hold.

He was the let go.

He was the drop.

He was the fall.

He was the rise.

He was the stand.

He was the sit.

He was the sleep.

He was the wake.

He was the dream.

He was the truth.

He was the lie.

He was the fact.

He was the myth.

He was the real.

He was the made.

He was the seen.

He was the unseen.

He was the known.

He was the unknown.

He was the said.

He was the unsaid.

He was the written.

He was the unwritten.

He was the read.

He was the unread.

He was the heard.

He was the unheard.

He was the felt.

He was the unfelt.

He was the touched.

He was the untouch.

He was the held.

He was the lost.

He was the found.

He was the kept.

He was the dropped.

He was the held.

He was the released.

He was the bound.

He was the free.

He was the tied.

He was the cut.

He was the whole.

He was the part.

He was the one.

He was the many.

He was the self.

He was the other.

He was the same.

He was the different.

He was the near.

He was the far.

He was the close.

He was the distant.

He was the threshold.

He was the door.

He was the step.

He was the cross.

He was the over.

He was the under.

He was the through.

He was the past.

He was the beyond.

He was the within.

He was the without.

He was the inside.

He was the outside.

He was the center.

He was the edge.

He was the core.

He was the shell.

He was the seed.

He was the tree.

He was the root.

He was the branch.

He was the leaf.

He was the flower.

He was the fruit.

He was the stone.

He was the dust.

He was the earth.

He was the sky.

He was the air.

He was the water.

He was the fire.

He was the light.

He was the dark.

He was the sound.

He was the silence.

He was the time.

He was the space.

He was the moment.

He was the age.

He was the day.

He was the night.

He was the dawn.

He was the dusk.

He was the noon.

He was the midnight.

He was the past.

He was the present.

He was the future.

He was the now.

He was the then.

He was the when.

He was the where.

He was the who.

He was the what.

He was the why.

He was the how.

He was the which.

He was the that.

He was this.

He was it.

He was I.

He was you.

He was we.

He was they.

He was all.

He was none.

He was here.

He was there.

He was everywhere.

He was nowhere.

He was Thomas.

He was the guard.

He was the wall.

The wall stood.

The wall held.

The wall endured.

The wall protected.

The wall saved.

The wall cost.

The wall paid.

The wall died.

The wall lived.

The wall was.

The bell tolled.

The bell tolled.

The bell tolled.

Thomas smiled.

The smile was small.

The smile was sad.

The smile was true.

The smile was his.

The smile was hers.

The smile was ours.

The smile was all.

The chain broke.

The chain fell.

The chain was gone.

The stone cracked.

The stone split.

The stone fell.

The stone was gone.

The window shattered.

The glass flew.

The glass was gone.

The sky opened.

The sky was wide.

The sky was bright.

The sky was free.

Thomas looked up.

He saw the light.

The light was gold.

The light was warm.

The light was soft.

The light was love.

The light was life.

The light was hope.

The light was home.

He stepped forward.

He stepped out.

He stepped into.

He stepped into.

The light.

The light took him.

The light held him.

The light kept him.

The light saved him.

The light freed him.

The light loved him.

The light was her.

The light was Mara.

The light was home.

He was home.

He was free.

He was whole.

He was at peace.

He was at rest.

He was at ease.

He was at home.

He was at last.

He was at last.

He was at last.

He was at last.

He was at last.