As I sit here beside the idol at the ruins, I wonder if things have changed for the worse.

The temple is my home, and in it I found solace. Always I sit beside the idol and his child, staring out ahead between the red poppy flowers.

But as of late I find that is has become busy. Deer pass through often, fill its walls, and sit in the place beside the idol.

All I can do is look on as I find the place where I once found peace in gone. Even as I finally rest beside the idol, the fawns come and sit with me. Other deer come and stand beside me. Somehow I feel as if they know that beneath this thick skull, I like company, and at the same time how much I miss the quiet of my home.

How selfish I am. The temple belongs to all, not just me. How I wish it was mine so I could make them all go away.

Perhaps I have been alone for so long that my ache for friends is making me drive the others away.

I see a deer just like me, sleeping in the cage. Perhaps it is a sign that I am trapped, but in what, exactly? My own skin, this world?

Not even the rain can wash away my woes today.
_

I can swear it has gotten darker. I can't see the light anymore in a world gone black.