The Year One,
In the river east of the foggy forest a silver fish smaller than any other eye could see waited for someone who never arrived on time. The fish swam in small circles, hour by hour, day by day, a spinning top in a world without gravity, until one day it bored a hole into the water itself and therein vanished.
In the river west of the forest an identical silver fish waited in vain for that same someone whom fate would surely delay. The fish swam in small circles, hour by hour, day by day, until it bored a hole into the water itself and therein vanished.