Novel in progress | Pantheism

"Perhaps the words he uses link him to the great vastness. Or perhaps he is seeking a deeper connection by means of his words. But the connection already exists. His inner beast and the great vastness of the universe are made of the same material. They cannot be separated from each other. No different from my tunic and my body, they are one and the same. And even my past, in its dying form, belongs the future of the universe. 

I can hear his breath, soft now, placid, unencumbered by dreams or nightmares. And I observe as his body melts over the bench, his arms dripping on either side. He seems relieved to have walked so long. Even if the shore is far away, he seems to find peace in his total abandonment under the open sky. This leads me to believe the writer belongs everywhere, that he is a native of every land in the world."

--The Striped Tunic