This morning by the Rio Juruena, a cat asked me for advice. It wanted to know how to satisfy its hunger for adventure. Before I could even think about a possible answer, the old owl on a branch above me answered with a riddle:
“The years teach much which the days never know.” 1
The cat then pulled a map out of its fur and showed me a hidden path that led under the bridge and straight into the sky. Why the sky? Because, she said, the answers to all questions grow there like cloudberries.
I wanted to follow her, but she slipped between the seconds and left me back in yesterday, where all the clocks ticked in sync with the old owl’s laughter. Juruena murmured softly in the background, a lullaby for lost hours.
In the mirror of the water, I searched for answers, but found only the echo of my own thoughts. Nothing new, really.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson ↩︎