8:121) Aaron Webb 03-FEB-98 16:16

I met my great great great great ... great grandfather. He sat on the ground under the tree, softly munching on the leaves. With a concerned look for one of his lairmates, I know he loves. With a cry of pain brought about by a stinging ant, I know the savage feels. A bow of the head to a leader in the pack demonstrates humility, and a low moan in the morning shows hunger. I know he lives, I can tell that he knows where he is, and the purpose of everything around him. He lives, and he knows it. Do I? My emotions that little warm ball of fluff come out on this cold febuary monday sniff the air peer at the ground before turning with an annoyed grunt and returning to their burrow signifying another lonely Valentines Day

I stare up at the night time sky, letting my eyes slowly adapt to the darkness. Over an hour, I discover the universe, wandering from Ursa major, to Canis Major, down to Leo, over to Auriga, and across Gemini. Suddenly, appearing in the sky somewhere around the Pleiades and shifting through Orion, is a dull red ball. It isn't blinking, so is probably a satelite.

Somewhere, a young woman watches that object with the same amazement- a curious appearance to an untrained eye. But as she does, she wishes that she had someone to share it with her, curled up here under the stars. An extra pair of arms to hold her, an extra body to keep her warm, and a chest containing a rapidly beating heart as a pillow. Maybe she thinks of me.

Who saw it all tonite but just for a second. Hawking, Einstein, Newton all satisfied and smiling While the white rabbit with his watch shakes hands with the Catapillar and his hookah and laughs.

Time, space, and energy all shifted into a simple beautiful picture.

The answer to it all is "How many..."

I roar with rage at the alarm clock's sneering cry. I walk over to it's leering face, hit it once and sink back on the bed. All that remains of my dreams is a heart filled with vast lonliness, and a stomach lined with melancholy.