The Angelus

The temptation came later, a stranger, with the fertile alluvium and the damming of the rivers, then the endless wheat fields, the golden-roofed palaces, the armies that rushed to reap the harvests, the cars, the magic of household appliances and cell phones. All things I would never have needed if I had kept my eyes open. But I became blind, just like them, it's so easy.

There was an extraordinary room in the house, empty, with only an old dead cherry tree in the center. Its branches running across the ceiling like snakes. On the floor, there was a golden cherry leaf, appearing petrified.