“I Am Lonely. I Feel Terribly Lonely. I Feel As If I Were Standing Alone On A Lonely Star, Staring

“I am lonely. I feel terribly lonely. I feel as if I were standing alone on a lonely star, staring at the night of the pitch black, cold, empty world. Stars have always made me think of eternity or infinity, so while I cannot avoid looking at the stars, I find it hard to deal with my feelings.”

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Nakajima Atsushi, “On Admiration: Notes by the Monk Wujing” from The Moon over the Mountain and Other Stories