When my eyes grew too heavy, I listened.

My contact with the stone made a tiny scraping sound whenever I shifted weight. Small brush and greenery rustled beyond the confines of the climbing road. Above my head what once felt like a claustrophobic cloud b…

At the broken rail, I stopped.

My head spun, it was difficult to focus. I could not stand. My tongue felt like sandpaper in my mouth. Thirst was a constant fire in my chest.

I sat, took off my sandals, crossed my legs, and waited.

From the start, I had…

By the third day, or at least after my third extended rest, I knew something was wrong.

I woke as usual to the appearance of lighter fog, but discarded the idea as wishful thinking. The light never changed here. Slinging my bag, I set my foot upon the ne…

Without confidence, I judged that it was my second day on the stair, and I was running low on food and water. Many of my supplies were sinking somewhere down in the valley mires. I shuddered at the memory of my escape.

When the twilit grey dulled, I rest…

After the Shadowed Valley, at the foothills of Mount Piru, I first saw the Ten Thousand Stares.

That is the literal translation. It is in fact a staircase, older than memory. Starkly simple yet curiously elegant grey slabs of stone, with matching baniste…