The new guards were curious to see their counterparts wish me well. Nonetheless, they kept their distance.They explained that they would not allow me to leave the island unless it was permitted by the officials of the City.
Next, they showed me to my quarters-a small hut of mud and stone. They gave me a few chickens and a goat for milk, some fishing line, seeds, and a hoe for weeding.This was how I began the next nine years.
The water around the island was deep and wide. The bridge was guarded day and night. Winters were mild and summers bright. For the first year I spoke to no one. I did not even know if there were others like myself.
I took walks on the beach. I tended the animals, caught fish, and grew vegetables. I tracked the sun in the sky, and the patterns of the weather. I watched the stars and the moon at night. There was nothing to read. No one to talk to, so I spoke to the goat so I would not lose my mind. We had many fine conversations and I considered her a friend.
One night the old man I had met on the road came to me in a dream. He spoke to me as before, saying, “Do not be afraid. Your circumstances may be difficult for a while, but in the end you will emerge from them changed for the better. Stay with the silence and let it teach you.”
“The silence of each thing, whether living or inanimate, is the beginning of the possibility of knowledge of that thing. This is also true of the larger silence, the silence of the world around you, of the air, stars, and sky.”
The old man smiled. His eyes were like two suns. Before he disappeared he spoke these words: “This island is the right place for you. Remember that, regardless of what comes.”
Then he faded and disappeared, and I saw around me a garden of many flowers. I walked through the garden until I came to a grave. Out of it, with no warning, my own, long dead body rose up to greet me with an empty grin. I woke up suddenly, and was terrified.