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...