Silence: A Fable

Devil describes how he tormented a man in the Congo in his tale. The man was perched on a rock by a roiling river. Water lilies lined the river's edge and a forest of lethal blossoms encircled it. The man quavered in terror but did not flee the world he was seeing. Then the demon used a spell to make the world violent. Winds were raging. The man continued to tremble despite the Earth shuddering. Then the demon used a quiet spell. The Earth stopped rotating. Both the wind and the water ceased. There was total quiet. The man stood up and listened intently.