10

9
Walking with the man, you have the illusion of shifting from the center of a crater to its rim. From here, you see into two vast craters. There are many others across a shiftless horizon. Layers of the ground seem to emerge at abrupt angles, showing you more about the depth of the situation than is useful.
Instead of pursuing your line of logic, you decide to probe the man's logic with an open ear. This closeness irritates both of you.
"Cut. It means quit following me. Or get lost." The old man says such things, and you give him no feedback. So the warnings give way to illogical things, like "red is boring. So bound away, before rain turns to shine." Or "ill is this Loch Ness monster. She is disrobed. No peeking in her pond."
In these reproofs, nuances sing the ragged edges of a hard life. The lack of logic amazes you, and entertains you all the way to Lexington.
Meanwhile, the pond seems to surround you. Like a dense mist, the old man's presence is not perceptible through this ancient atmosphere he lives in. This tells you something about your own concerns.
Mario spoke of his wife Maria, and how she wanted to adopt a white man as a child. He thought this was absurd, but apparently Maria was serious. She wanted to teach him how to be a spoke in the wheel of Mexican life. She wanted this for her people, as if the mixture would dissolve their problems.
Perhaps, you think, Mario adopted your friend. This would be good for all, since your friend was undergoing difficult times among his kind. Of course, Mario laughed at the prospect. He could hardly be expected to adopt or suspected of kidnapping your friend.
This kind of introspection was visible to the old man. "Cut!" he would yell each time you thought you had a point.
By the time you reach Lexington, the man has grown quite friendly. This actually distances him from you. He escapes while you urinate behind an abandoned wall. Neon signs dizzy you, so you give up on pursuits for the night and lie behind the wall.
Immediately after falling asleep, you awake. The sun has not quite set. Shadows seem to be covered in confetti as traffic parades before the wall. You are unable to think clearly, and feel uneasy behind your roadside shelter. Sun rays casts lumpy shadows as you skirt Lexington.
In your paranoid state, there is a conspiracy among the old man, the incident of separation, and the sunshine. This plot exposes the conflict between your safety and that of your friend. Despite the confusion, you feel ready to find out where these conspirators are going. Of course, you might fare better after some rest.
[To avoid Mario while looking for the man and your friend, and continue. To go back to sleep, skip to chapter 11]