You spoil it with too much poking!’ Lao Tzu ~ * ~ 1 It was morning but his body was telling him midnight. That’s why he was trying to siphon the Jack Daniels into the can of Coke. It was only the rattle of the van making his fingers shake. The task complete, Brough held the can up into the flickering sunlight to toast the dawn. Flashing by to the west were the mountains, same as yesterday: a vertical rock face without snow or vegetation, emitting silence into the landscape. The low sun was making bits of rubble cast long points of shadow across the earth, which was the colour of cigarette ash. “Helan Shan mountain range famous for excellent feng-shui!” Chun-li’s voice startled him. She’d been asleep the moment before, like everybody else except the driver.
