276 lines
6.1 KiB
TeX
276 lines
6.1 KiB
TeX
\herosection{The Life of a Rock}{chapters/2025.11.10-TheLifeOfARock/image/the-life-of-a-rock.jpg}
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\DROPCAP{../../dropcap_c/dropO.png}nce upon a time there was a great rock \\
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in the middle of nowhere.\\
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For timeless time it sat.\\
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And sat some more.\\
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And still more.\\
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For a timeless time.
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Until, one day, humans arrived.
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\subsection*{The Wanderers}
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They were wanderers who stayed nowhere long,\\
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but when they found the rock, \\
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they paused.
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They built fires beside it.\\
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They sang songs that echoed across the plain.\\
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They placed feathers and beads upon the stone\\
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and pressed their foreheads against its cool, rough surface.\\
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No one said what the rock was — \\
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but they felt something in its weighty presence,\\
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something older than their words,\\
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Mystery with a shape.
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For them, \\
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the rock was where the world felt deeper.
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In time, the wanderers moved on.\\
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Wind scattered the ashes of their fires.\\
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Rains washed the stone clean.\\
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All their traces vanished.
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The rock remained unchanged.
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More timeless time passed.
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\subsection*{The Village}
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Another people arrived and built a village around it.\\
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They raised families and grew old in the rock's shadow.
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On festival days \\
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they attached ribbons of bright cloth to it.\\
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They painted suns, moons, and harvest symbols.\\
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When a child was born, \\
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their name was spoken to The Rock first.\\
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When someone died, \\
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their family mourned beside The Rock \\
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until morning light.\\
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On warm nights, \\
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young men played flutes \\
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while women danced around it.\\
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Children climbed the stone and laughed.
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For them, The Rock was part of their family.
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In time, the village emptied.\\
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The huts fell.\\
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Paths faded.\\
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Ribbons shredded.\\
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Paint washed away.\\
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Storms and sunlight\\
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erased every mark.
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The rock remained unchanged.
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More timeless time passed.
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\subsection*{The Kingdom}
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A kingdom rose across the plain.\\
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Maps were drawn.\\
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Borders declared.\\
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And the rock stood on the very edge of the king's land.
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Soldiers were sent to guard the border it marked.\\
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They camped beside the stone through long cold nights,\\
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and the equally long hot days.\\
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They sharpened their blades in its shadow,\\
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told stories to stay awake,\\
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and wrote letters home — \\
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promising to return.
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When battles came, \\
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men fought and bled to hold the boundary it marked.\\
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Some died leaning against the rock,\\
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as if the stone itself\\
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were embracing them.
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For families far away, \\
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the rock became a place of dread.
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In time, \\
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the kingdom crumbled.\\
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The border meant nothing.\\
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The soldiers left — \\
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those who still lived.\\
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Their letters scattered.\\
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Their fires extinguished.\\
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Storms erased every footprint.
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The rock remained unchanged.
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More timeless time passed.
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\subsection*{The Pilgrims}
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Long after the kingdom vanished,\\
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pilgrims heard stories \\
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of a stone touched by ancient spirits.
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They knelt and lay prostrate before it.\\
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Some left flowers and incense.\\
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Some brought gifts of honey or grain.\\
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Some wept quietly,\\
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hoping the rock would carry their prayers.\\
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Others came in joy — \\
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to give thanks for healing\\
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or to ask for a good harvest,\\
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or for a child.\\
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They attached small charms to it\\
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and sang gentle chants at twilight.
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For them, \\
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the rock was holy.
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In time, pilgrims dwindled.\\
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Footpaths faded.\\
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Wind blew away the last petals.\\
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Rain cleaned the stone.
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The rock remained unchanged.
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More timeless time passed.
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\subsection*{The Merchants}
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Caravans crossed the land,\\
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laden with salt, \\
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silk, \\
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and spices.
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The rock marked a crossroads \\
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where two trade routes met,\\
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a landmark on their maps.\\
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Merchants rested beside it\\
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after long days trudging beneath the sun.\\
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They shared food, \\
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traded rumors,\\
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and entrusted secrets to each other — \\
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secrets meant only for fellow merchants.
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Some traced messages on the stone with charcoal — \\
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promises to loved ones far away,\\
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prayers for safe return,\\
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words they were afraid to speak aloud.
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For them, \\
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the rock was a companion \\
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and signpost on the road — \\
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steady, \\
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silent, \\
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always there.
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In time,\\
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trade routes shifted.\\
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The caravans ceased.\\
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Grass covered the old roads.\\
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Wind and rain erased every trace.
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The rock remained unchanged.
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More timeless time passed.
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\subsection*{The Tourists}
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Timeless time later, \\
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tourists arrived.
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They came in bright clothes \\
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with snacks and cameras.\\
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Children scrambled up the rock and shouted,\\
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``Look at me!''\\
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Couples kissed beneath it.\\
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Families argued, \\
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then made peace,\\
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then posed for pictures.
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Someone played music.\\
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Someone proposed marriage.\\
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Someone spread out a blanket\\
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and sang their favorite song.
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People rested in its shade.
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For them, \\
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the rock was an attraction — \\
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a backdrop for laughter and day-to-day life.
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In time, \\
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the tourists stopped coming.\\
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The road cracked,\\
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and grass swallowed it whole.\\
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Balloons burst.\\
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Glitter blew away.\\
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Weather washed every surface clean.
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The rock remained unchanged.
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More timeless time passed.
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\subsection*{The Scientists}
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Then the scientists came.
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They camped beside the stone for weeks,\\
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measuring every angle and face.\\
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They dusted it with chalk lines,\\
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tied strings to mark axes and planes,\\
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and argued late into the night \\
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about its age and composition.
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Some were excited.\\
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Some were disappointed.\\
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Some wondered if anything in the universe\\
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was more than what could be weighed and named.
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They wrote in their notebooks:\\
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``Granite.\\
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Formed deep underground.\\
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Shaped by wind and rain.\\
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There is nothing special here.\\
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Just a rock.''
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When the project ended,\\
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they packed their equipment\\
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and drove away.
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Rain washed the chalk from the stone.\\
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Wind wiped their site clean.\\
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The plain was silent again.
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The rock remained unchanged.
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More timeless time passed.
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\subsection*{And Then...}
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The humans were gone.
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No footsteps.\\
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No voices.\\
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No charcoal words.\\
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No photographs.\\
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No prayers.\\
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No tears.\\
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No maps.\\
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No memories.
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Nothing leaned on the rock.\\
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Nothing whispered to it.\\
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No one believed \\
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or even thought anything about it.
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Without anyone to say otherwise,\\
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it was not sacred,\\
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not a landmark,\\
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not a companion,\\
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not a boundary,\\
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not an attraction,\\
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not a specimen,\\
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not even ``just a rock.''
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It simply was. |