I awoke not to a place, but to a feeling framed in concrete. The world outside the heavy, stone archway was a memory of a sunset, a pale blue sky bleeding into warm hues above distant mountains and a tranquil sea. Tiny figures of people drifted along the sandy shore, their moment captured and held forever in this silent vista. Below me, on the paved stone walkway, shadows stretched long, telling a time I couldn't comprehend. A single chair sat in the still water that had crept in, its feet submerged, its reflection a perfect, wavering twin. It waited for a silent observer, an audience for the end of a day that felt like the end of all days, a tranquil perch on the edge of a forgotten world.
