Guided by the Eye

The sound hung in the air, a question.

It was not a sound of defiance, but of curiosity.

The apprentice, Talan, looked from the vibrating string to the child, whose head was tilted, listening.

To him, the line was a tool for imposing order.

To the child, it was a source of music.

Valerius, observing from a distance, said nothing.

He watched as Talan, after a moment of hesitation, relaxed the tension on the string, allowing it to go slack.

He did not remove it, but he did not use it.

Instead, he picked up the second stone and, guided only by his eye, placed it next to the first.

It was not a perfect fit.

A small, irregular gap remained between them, an imperfection that seemed to invite the wildness of the Garden in.