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...