Writing In The Darkness

"My darling,

I'm waiting for you. How long is an hour in the dark? Or a week? The fire is gone and I'm horribly cold. I really should drag myself outside but then there'd be the sun. I'm afraid I waste the light on the paintings, not writing these words. We die. We die rich with lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we've entered and swum up like rivers. Fears we've hidden in - like this wretched cave. I want this all marked on my body. Where the real countries are. Not boundaries drawn on maps with the names of powerful men. I know you'll carry me out to the Palace of Winds. That's what I've wanted: to walk in such a place with you. With friends, on an earth without maps. The lamp has gone out and I'm writing in the darkness..."

*The English Patient