He paces. Stone weeps at the beat of his leathery feet. Overwhelmed by a single thought. All furniture moved against the walls—no obstacles for his mind.

Grapes grow on the vine; such tender fruit tempts the man. He lays his cardigan on the window sill. An extended arm reaches out the window. A handful of ripe grapes retreat indoors. Legs crossed, he eats them. He stares out into the mixture of vines and trees.

A small grey rabbit runs in and out of its holes. He observes as the rabbit hides away from the midday heat. His hand runs along his pale shoulder. The hand raises into the air at the edge of the light. He examined it for blemishes or marks. Content, it returns to the grapes. A single grape lifted into the air. It borders the light and shows no sign of wear.

The man stands and drifts towards a heavy set door; He pulls at the handle, locked. Light steps fall towards the window. A bird sat perched at the edge of his cage. A glance back at the door. A hand grasps a fistful of vines as he lowers himself from the edge.

A thousand soft compressed hugs. Toes wrinkle around the foliage. He places his hands next, then his body. He allows the soft earth, grass and leaves to touch his body. Dirt and crushed grapes cover the man. He sets mark like the sprinters he watched in the summer games—the back foot on the warm stone, front in the cool mud.

He lingers. Ready to bolt at a moments notice. The sun starts to fall from the sky. His eyes lay forward. The maze of vineyards and private gardens. The ears of a rabbit twitch at the sound of creaking metal. Footfalls on stone. Footfalls on dirt. He sprints. Faster than the bugs who sail the wind, turns taken on a whim. Out of the maze into another. A dense forest; he wouldn’t slow, for he knows that it could last forever.

He catches up to the sun before it sets as it dips beneath the open ocean—his toes gripping the edge of a steep drop. Razor stone grazes the fall. Violent waters catch.

A doe walks out from the forest. It grazes at the grass, and its eyes fall on the man. It pauses when he sits. Feet left to dangle at the edge.

The end of the world. No further to run. Dogs chase the rabbits from the homes. They collected his scent and followed it into the forest. Barks pull at the doe’s ears. With a hop and a burst of speed, it disappears.

“Wise.” He says.

The yells of encouragement push the dogs closer to the edge.

A man found a man returned.