The desert, the stars, the desolation, and the emptiness are not enough to keep them away. I will stare into the fire, the smoke twisting like ghosts rising into the night above. I will wonder. Do the stars know? Does God know? Does the dirt know? What is this place, this life, this brief flash of light before we fall back into the darkness from which we arose? For hours, I will watch the fire dance and the smoke rise. The faces will sit with me. I will feel it. They, too, will wonder about it all. Finally, the fire will burn out, the smoke will stop, and the sun will rise. Two days later I’ll
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