naftakin, the blind            
                                   
                                          
 a  student at the charcoal  guild... his 
 eyes sewn  shut  from  birth... the most 
            successful student            
                                          
 but one day  he fell down into a crystal 
 cavern.  it  was deep in the mountain, a 
 great  hall  with  only  a  single  tiny 
 inlet  for   both   light   and  falling 
                students...               
                                          
 in  the fall, the quartz sliced off  the 
 threads  in his eyes,  opening them  for 
 the   first   time.   before   him,  the 
 crystals  mirrored and refracted the one 
 light  smidge  into  a whole  night sky, 
 and   he  was  struck   down  with   awe 
                                          
 but  also with shame, because  his  eyes 
 had  seen.  hurriedly,  he  used  thread 
 from   his   robe  to  sew   them   back 
 together,  and when help came he did not 
        tell of his transgression.        
                                          
 for  years he studied  at the  guild. he 
 became  a  master, and then  a  pilgrim. 
 yet the image from the  cave  never left 
                   him.                   
                                          
 at  the  end of  his  life, when  at the 
 edge  of the world  he  opened  his eyes 
 for a second  time, stars had hatched in 
                  them...