the forest was huge , and the further in he went , the larger the animals got . he found a clearing and started to gather wood . when he piled the sticks neatly and prepared the squirrel to cook he sat down and thought . he needed something to spark a flame with . he pointed his index finger at the pile and concentrated on the thought of fire

death looked up angrily , and found himself staring into eyes that were black as the inside of a cat and full of distant stars that had no counterpart among the familiar constellations of the realtime universe . death and fate looked at each other . death grinned - he had no alternative , of course , being made of implacable bone . the whetstone sang rhythmically along the blade as he continued his task . '' i have a task for you , '' said fate

'' well , '' she started , eyeing his expensively tailored suit and crisp , white shirt with an obviously costly silk tie and imported italian loafers , '' if you want to fit in with the rest of the crowd about to show up , you 'll have to relax slightly , '' she said . sid followed her eyes and looked down at his suit

'' i have no one that i know of . '' '' then you are alone ? '' '' i 'm with friends . '' '' ah yes , the tinker and the storyteller . '' mica had not mentioned that her uncle was a storyteller . how did this man know that ? '' it has been a real pleasure talking to you ,
mica