Lake of Time
You must take on Old Man Chronos. The task outrageous, yet. Cards stacked against favor, and still. All in on the insurmountable. All in on lotions and creams. Your mission quite simple: go back, resist. You must furnish a relic—something survived. Place it on your mantle to serve as a guide. Note its fortitude, weathering delayed. You must emulate. Must calibrate to the cause. You must apply lotion. In the morning light. Smooth away wrinkles. Smooth away time. Smooth and smooth until it becomes undeniable: the mission is infeasible. When hope wanes, when consumed by doubt, consider October. We turn back the clocks. This modicum of mastery. How possible it seems. To turn back and then back and then back.
16
Unremarkable in its regular features, on “Lacus Temporis” it is always the third Sunday in ordinary time.