I will go west. West, to the tall towers and the sea. Then, then I'll sit, curled up on a ledge, and look out at the water, lit by the last rays of a setting sun. I will jump off. Because there are things to be done. I will form into a dive...and go into the water, without a sound. Go in, deeper, down to where it is dim... Stay until my lungs ache...and then swim up, taking a glorious breath of relief when my head break the surface. I will look at the stars... I will breathe in the sandalwood. And climb onto shore...leave the sand and the forest away...go onto the cold stones. There are things to be done. Walk in the shadows of the emerald-jade towers. Damn them for their lies. Damn her for her deception. Damn me for my perceptions. A couple waltzes by, absorbed in the others eyes... Damn them for dancing like that. Like nothing will ever be wrong.

I realize that I have, in my dark reverie, wandered off the city limits...I am back, back by the river whence I came. I pause - I have a duty. I look up. I smell the sand, I smell the palms. And I see the stars. And I see the river. I walk towards the river, and dive in. For a moment, I am free - soon, I will have to find her, and tell her everything, and sate my mind. Soon, I will have to. But as my legs propel me once again towards the sea, towards the mountains and the beaches and the sandalwood paths, I know this - at this moment, I am free.