There, within the interstellar depths, they’ll lead me through the life that was lived all above my head and give me all of the spoilers for the one below. They’ll reveal the secrets they throw to the bottom of the oceans and the ones they leave to suffer on mountaintops, and I’ll ask them what I am to them. They’ll tell me to look down, at the place my 昀氀esh is anchored. They’ll tell me about a great man who once lived beside me whilst sharing their native tongue, and with kind eyes they’ll say, You would have been proof enough for him. And in one year, I’ll understand what they meant as I collapse in on myself, cradling a bottle beneath an exhausted sun and clouded skin, not a star to be seen. PLAINS PARADOX ■ 12