The door closed with a thud that shook the dust from the rafters.

Giles stood in the courtyard.

Snow fell.

It was thick.

It was silent.

He looked at his hands.

They were red.

They were cold.

He pulled the coat tighter.

The coat was wool.

It was gray.

It was heavy.

It fit him.

It always fit him.

It was his skin.

It was his breath.

It was his life.

He turned.

The gate was open.

He walked out.

The world was white.

The world was empty.

He was alone.

He had to be.

He had to go.

He walked.

The snow crunched.

It sounded like bones.

It sounded like teeth.

It sounded like time.

Time was short.

Time was long.

He was old.

He was young.

He was both.

He was neither.

He reached the town.

The tavern was lit.

Warmth spilled out.

Light spilled out.

He pushed the door.

Wood groaned.

He stepped in.

Heat hit him.

It was a blow.

It was a kiss.

It was home.

He sat.

The table was wood.

It was scarred.

It was old.

He put his coat on the chair.

He folded it.

He folded it neatly.

He folded it tight.

He looked at it.

It was there.

It was safe.

It was him.

The barman saw him.

He was a big man.

He was quiet.

He nodded.

He poured ale.

The ale was dark.

The ale was warm.

Giles drank.

It burned.

It felt good.

It felt wrong.

He wiped his mouth.

He looked around.

People talked.

They laughed.

They lived.

He did not.

He was a ghost.

He was a shadow.

He was a thing.

A voice spoke.

It was sharp.

It was close.

"Sit down."

Giles looked up.

It was Master Aldous.

Aldous was old.

Aldous was thin.

Aldous was cruel.

He was also kind.

He was a teacher.

He was a father.

He was a monster.

He sat.

He did not smile.

He did not frown.

He watched.

His eyes were black.

His eyes were deep.

They saw everything.

They saw nothing.

"Giles," he said.

"I am here."

"You left."

"I had to."

"Why?"

"The work."

"The work is done."

"It is not done."

"It is finished."

Aldous leaned in.

He smelled of wine.

He smelled of smoke.

He smelled of death.

"You are a thief," Aldous said.

Giles frowned.

"I am a worker."

"You are a liar."

"I am a servant."

"You are a traitor."

Giles felt the words.

They were knives.

They were cold.

They were true.

He looked at the coat.

The coat was on the chair.

The coat was still.

The coat was waiting.

"I have nothing to hide," Giles said.

"Everything is hidden," Aldous said.

"You know what I know."

"I know nothing."

"You know the secret."

"I do not know secrets."

"You know the time."

"I know the clock."

"The clock is wrong."

"The clock is right."

"The clock is dead."

Giles looked at his watch.

It was gold.

It was old.

It was stopped.

It had stopped years ago.

It had stopped the day his brother died.

He had not wound it.

He had not fixed it.

He had kept it.

He had kept the stop.

He had kept the silence.

Aldous saw it.

Aldous always saw it.

"You carry the dead," Aldous said.

"I carry my self."

"You carry a burden."

"I carry a duty."

"Drop it."

"I cannot."

"You must."

"I will not."

Aldous stood.

He was tall.

He was strong.

He was a shadow.

He walked to the door.

He paused.

He looked back.

"Come back," he said.

"I am coming."

"Before the snow stops."

"I will be here."

Aldous left.

The door closed.

The thud shook the floor.

Giles sat.

He was alone.

He was still.

He was still.

He was still.

He looked at the coat.

The coat was gray.

The coat was wool.

The coat was him.

He touched it.

It was warm.

It was soft.

It was alive.

He pulled it off.

He held it.

It was heavy.

It was light.

It was everything.

It was nothing.

He folded it.

He folded it again.

He folded it tight.

He put it on the table.

He sat back.

He felt empty.

He felt light.

He felt free.

He felt wrong.

He felt lost.

He felt dead.

The snow fell.

The snow fell.

The snow fell.

The night came.

The night was long.

The night was dark.

The night was cold.

He waited.

He waited.

He waited.

The snow stopped.

The silence was loud.

The silence was heavy.

The silence was full.

He stood.

He walked to the door.

He opened it.

The air was cold.

The air was sharp.

The air was new.

He stepped out.

The snow was gone.

The ground was hard.

The ground was black.

The ground was bare.

He looked at his feet.

They were bare.

He had left the coat.

He had left the shoes.

He had left the gloves.

He had left the hat.

He had left the self.

He was naked.

He was cold.

He was free.

He walked.

The town was empty.

The streets were quiet.

The houses were dark.

The windows were closed.

The doors were locked.

He was alone.

He was seen.

He was watched.

He was known.

He was a man.

He was a body.

He was a soul.

He was a shadow.

He walked.

The pain was sharp.

The pain was real.

The pain was true.

He did not stop.

He did not cry.

He did not beg.

He walked.

The sun rose.

The sun was pale.

The sun was weak.

The sun was cold.

It did not warm him.

It did not save him.

It did not judge him.

It watched.

He watched.

He was one.

He was two.

He was three.

He was many.

He was one.

He reached the edge.

The edge was the river.

The river was black.

The river was fast.

The river was deep.

The river was alive.

He looked in.

He saw his face.

The face was pale.

The face was old.

The face was new.

The face was his.

The face was not his.

He smiled.

It was a small smile.

It was a sad smile.

It was a real smile.

He stepped back.

He stepped back.

He stepped back.

He sat.

He sat on the bank.

He sat on the stone.

He sat on the ground.

He closed his eyes.

He felt the wind.

The wind was cold.

The wind was warm.

The wind was kind.

The wind was cruel.

The wind was time.

Time was passing.

Time was stopping.

Time was ending.

Time was beginning.

He opened his eyes.

He saw the coat.

The coat was there.

The coat was on the bank.

The coat was gray.

The coat was wool.

The coat was him.

He had not left it.

He had carried it.

He had hidden it.

He had kept it.

He had not dropped it.

He had not lost it.

He had not found it.

He had owned it.

He was the coat.

The coat was him.

They were one.

They were two.

They were nothing.

They were everything.

He looked at the river.

The river flowed.

The river did not stop.

The river did not wait.

The river did not care.

He looked at his hands.

His hands were red.

His hands were cold.

His hands were clean.

His hands were free.

He was free.

He was not free.

He was bound.

He was loose.

He was tied.

He was cut.

He was whole.

He was broken.

He was one.

He was many.

He was none.

He was all.

He stood.

He walked to the water.

The water was cold.

The water was wet.

The water was deep.

The water was dark.

He stepped in.

The cold bit.

The cold stung.

The cold burned.

The cold healed.

He stepped in.

The water rose.

The water rose.

The water rose.

It covered his feet.

It covered his knees.

It covered his waist.

It covered his chest.

It covered his neck.

It covered his face.

He held his breath.

He held his breath.

He held his breath.

He let go.

He let go.

He let go.

He was gone.

He was here.

He was there.

He was everywhere.

He was nowhere.

He was the water.

He was the air.

He was the light.

He was the dark.

He was the snow.

He was the fire.

He was the silence.

He was the sound.

He was the coat.

He was the man.

He was the ghost.

He was the shadow.

He was the truth.

The truth was simple.

The truth was hard.

The truth was soft.

The truth was real.

The truth was fake.

The truth was life.

The truth was death.

The truth was love.

The truth was hate.

The truth was choice.

The choice was his.

The choice was free.

The choice was bound.

The choice was now.

The choice was then.

The choice was never.

The choice was always.

He was the choice.

He was the self.

He was the other.

He was the same.

He was different.

He was one.

He was two.

He was three.

He was four.

He was five.

He was six.

He was seven.

He was eight.

He was nine.

He was ten.

He was all.

He was nothing.

He was enough.

He was too much.

He was too little.

He was just right.

He was perfect.

He was flawed.

He was human.

He was divine.

He was animal.

He was plant.

He was stone.

He was dust.

He was star.

He was earth.

He was sky.

He was sea.

He was land.

He was fire.

He was air.

He was water.

He was wind.

He was storm.

He was calm.

He was noise.

He was quiet.

He was loud.

He was soft.

He was hard.

He was warm.

He was cold.

He was light.

He was dark.

He was up.

He was down.

He was left.

He was right.

He was here.

He was there.

He was now.

He was then.

He was before.

He was after.

He was beginning.

He was end.

He was middle.

He was edge.

He was center.

He was outside.

He was inside.

He was open.

He was closed.

He was full.

He was empty.

He was full.

He was empty.

He was full.

He was empty.

He was full.

The end was here.

The end was now.

The end was real.

The end was true.

The end was him.

The end was the coat.

The end was the snow.

The end was the river.

The end was the silence.

The end was the sound.

The end was the breath.

The end was the stop.

The end was the start.

The end was the choice.

The end was the self.

The end was the shadow.

The end was the light.

The end was the dark.

The end was the life.

The end was the death.

The end was the love.

The end was the hate.

The end was the truth.

The end was the lie.

The end was the fact.

The end was the fiction.

The end was the reality.

The end was the dream.

The end was the waking.

The end was the sleeping.

The end was the being.

The end was the not being.

The end was the is.

The end was the is not.

The end was the yes.

The end was the no.

The end was the maybe.

The end was the never.

The end was the always.

The end was the sometimes.

The end was the often.

The end was the rarely.

The end was the seldom.

The end was the usually.

The end was the always.

The end was the never.

The end was the now.

The end was the then.

The end was the before.

The end was the after.

The end was the here.

The end was the there.

The end was the where.

The end was the when.

The end was the why.

The end was the how.

The end was the who.

The end was the what.

The end was the which.

The end was the whom.

The end was the whose.

The end was the why.

The end was the wherefore.

The end was the wherewithal.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the whereby.

The end was the whereinto.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the whereupon.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wherewith.

The end was the wherewithin.

The end was the wherewithout.

The end was the whereto.

The end was the wher