Pisces 16. A troll living under a bridge.
Having hiked for many miles along the Iridar River I finally found a stone bridge that would allow me to cross to the other side of the waters. I had been looking for a place narrow enough to ford, so was overjoyed when I came upon this ancient structure.
As I came close to it I saw, sleeping under it a great troll who stirred and awoke when he heard me approach. “I suppose you’re going to prevent my crossing unless I pay you something,” I said. “Nonsense!” said the troll, “You’ve been reading too many fairy tales. Besides, I don’t guard the bridge, I guard the water. Travelers boating down the river find that once their boat is under the bridge they can go no farther, for their boat no longer obeys the currents of the river but lingers, stuck, beneath the bridge.”
“And why is that?” I asked. “Because the river is the flow of time,” he said, “which flows like the succession of moments. I am the troll of the fears of the past and the hopes of the future, which interrupts time’s flow. You meet me often. Many times a day, in fact. Now be on your way. May you eventually forget me forever!”