Kaem 從沉睡中醒來(lái)，他的肌肉又恢復(fù)了力量。他已經(jīng)能夠不受日出的影響，僅憑習(xí)慣就醒來(lái)。即使在冬天，太陽(yáng)出得晚，他的生物鐘也不會(huì)任由他錯(cuò)過(guò)自己的使命。

他把腿蕩到床外，在站起身之前深呼吸了兩口。時(shí)間不多了。他打開(kāi)壁櫥，抓起工具，走出了他那滿是灰塵、四壁透風(fēng)的棚屋。

寒冷對(duì)他而言并不是問(wèn)題。他馬上就會(huì)在采石場(chǎng)汗流浹背。

當(dāng)啷。

這把鶴嘴鋤鈍了，不過(guò)還能用。

當(dāng)啷。

緩慢地，但又確鑿地，它破開(kāi)了大地。

當(dāng)啷。

Kaem正在開(kāi)鑿一道縫隙。

當(dāng)啷。

這道縫隙最終會(huì)讓整個(gè)島嶼四分五裂。

當(dāng)啷。

而那北峰將會(huì)由Kaem所有。

他從未與島上其他住民有過(guò)什么交流。大多數(shù)時(shí)間里，那些家伙只是從懸崖的頂端望下來(lái)，從它們安全的住所俯瞰著他。上次它們?cè)噲D阻止Kaem挖掘時(shí)，由于它們的腿腳未經(jīng)訓(xùn)練，有的滑倒了，落進(jìn)了下面的云海中。于是現(xiàn)在它們只是看著，當(dāng)Kaem將這塊大地一分為二之時(shí)。

但是這一天，當(dāng)他掘出的峽谷終于、終于快要觸及島嶼的盡頭時(shí)，有位住民抓著被單結(jié)成的粗繩子從上面爬了下來(lái)。是個(gè)孩子。它綠色的腦袋上有一塊擦傷成了灰色，它蹣跚地走到Kaem面前。Kaem只是好奇地瞥了它一眼，就又回到工作上。

“你要走了，不是嗎？”它吱吱地問(wèn)道。

Kaem一直很討厭他們的說(shuō)話方式——如此高頻的聲音簡(jiǎn)直讓他頭疼。不過(guò)，他仍然回答了。 “是的?！?/p>

“而且你要把北峰一起帶走？”

他向周身遼闊的采石場(chǎng)比劃了一下，然后點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭。 “我想要個(gè)僻靜的地方。你們這些家伙卻不讓人安寧。所以我正在鑿出一個(gè)新的島?！?/p>

Kaem的敵意對(duì)面前的家伙沒(méi)有產(chǎn)生什么影響。那孩子還是站在那里。它的眼睛游移不定地掃視著采石場(chǎng)，瞳孔盯著每一個(gè)深到能從下面拉出一縷縷云彩的裂縫，這些裂縫正威脅著他們所站立的地面的完整性。他們的目光順著每一道裂縫移動(dòng)，移動(dòng)到自己的腳下的裂隙。只見(jiàn)冰涼的霧氣冒出，下方的天空清晰可見(jiàn)。然后，他們繼續(xù)行走，目光匯聚到Kaem正在鑿著的最后一塊堅(jiān)固的石頭上。那是Kaem這項(xiàng)行動(dòng)的最后關(guān)鍵。

“只剩下幾米了?！彼^察了一下，說(shuō)道。

他的肌肉猛地收縮了一下，然后鶴嘴鋤有力地鑿進(jìn)石頭里。 “只用再鑿幾個(gè)小時(shí)了。”

“真的嗎？”

“真的?！?/p>

幾分鐘的寂靜，只有Kaem的鶴嘴鋤鑿擊地面的聲音，以及他使勁干活時(shí)克制的咕噥聲。

鑿了幾下后，他停住了。 “你來(lái)這兒干嘛？”

它眨眨眼。

“上一次幾個(gè)下來(lái)的家伙都摔下去了，”他繼續(xù)說(shuō)道，“你應(yīng)該走?！?/p>

“你怎么變得這么強(qiáng)壯的？”

Kaem嘆了口氣。除了它們想聽(tīng)到的事情之外，你講什么它們都聽(tīng)不見(jiàn)。 “當(dāng)別無(wú)選擇時(shí)，你才能變得強(qiáng)壯。”他帶著幾分怨憤說(shuō)道， “我是被訓(xùn)練出來(lái)的?！?/p>

“被誰(shuí)訓(xùn)練？”

“我父親?！?/p>

“噢。”孩子說(shuō)。Kaem只愿這孩子的好奇心已經(jīng)得到了滿足，但它又問(wèn)道：“那他在哪？”

Kaem更加用勁地握住了鶴嘴鋤。他扭過(guò)頭不看孩子，然后敲了石頭一下，就一下。敲擊聲響徹在采石場(chǎng)的石頭和瓦礫間，直到最終消散。一切又變得冰冷寂靜，像是那從破裂的地表冒出的霧氣。 “他被殺了。被你們這些家伙殺了?！?/p>

在寂靜無(wú)聲中Kaem試圖聆聽(tīng)到腳步后退的聲音或攀爬繩索的聲音，但是只有寂靜持續(xù)著。

“這是你要離開(kāi)的原因嗎？”

他一動(dòng)不動(dòng)。 “回家問(wèn)問(wèn)你的家人們?nèi)??！?/p>

這招奏效了。孩子回到繩索旁，開(kāi)始慢慢地向上攀爬。當(dāng)它爬到一半時(shí)，它回過(guò)頭俯視Kaem，然后喊道：“我要變得像你一樣強(qiáng)壯！”

Kaem 停下來(lái)，看著那孩子順著繩子往回奔去。一確定孩子不再能看清他的細(xì)節(jié)，他就讓自己露出了一絲微笑。壓低了嗓音，他輕聲說(shuō)道。

“不可能的?！?/p>

他回頭俯瞰那最后剩下的連接著北峰和更大島嶼的結(jié)構(gòu)。只要再工作十分鐘，十五分鐘，他就會(huì)擁有他自己的一方樂(lè)園。有那么一會(huì)兒，他抬頭望向天空。很冷，但太陽(yáng)正沖破云層升起，而他能夠感受到太陽(yáng)正試圖推開(kāi)稀薄的大氣前來(lái)溫暖他。晃悠著肩上的鶴嘴鋤，他呼吸著，體驗(yàn)著，只是為了體驗(yàn)本身。抓住這一刻，這最后的一刻，在目標(biāo)完成之前。

然而這一刻無(wú)比短暫。

因?yàn)檫€有工作要做。

他最后的一擊在空中回響，時(shí)間靜止了，此時(shí)那孩子正坐在懸崖頂端，坐在采石場(chǎng)邊緣，看著島嶼分為兩塊，采石場(chǎng)冰冷的灰色石頭與巖壁分離，發(fā)出一陣轟隆巨響與幾下崩裂聲。Kaem輕輕地漂移后墜，他抬頭看，看到懸崖正面，床單結(jié)成的繩子正在被拉起，他看到那孩子的眼睛。但這一刻只持續(xù)了一剎那。轉(zhuǎn)眼間他看到了一些更為逼人的東西。

身下翻滾的云海。

然后一切開(kāi)始崩塌。采石場(chǎng)，島嶼，還有他的樂(lè)園，從一塊變成兩塊三塊再變成最細(xì)微的小顆粒。一旦大地不再比血液更加堅(jiān)實(shí)——那些血液此時(shí)正以創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的速度流過(guò)Kaem的心臟——他和他的世界就開(kāi)始?jí)嬄洌淙肷钌畹脑茖?，落入天空，落入那霧蒙蒙的極樂(lè)深淵。

Kaem rose from his slumber, his muscles restored. He had beaten the sunrise, waking from habit alone. His internal clock would not let him miss his duties even when winter made the sun late to the morning.

He slung his legs out of his bed, and took two deep breaths before standing. There was no time to waste. He opened his closet, grabbed his tools, and walked out the door of his dusty, pocked shack.

The cold didn't bother him. He would sweat soon enough at the quarry.

Clank.

The pickaxe was dull, but it did the job.

Clank.

Slowly, but surely, it broke into the earth.

Clank.

Kaem was working on a fissure.

Clank.

A crack that would eventually fracture this island.

Clank.

And the north peak would become Kaem's.

He never interacted much with the other denizens of the island. Much of the time, they simply watched from the top of their cliff, peering down at him from their safe haven. The last time they'd tried to stop Kaem from digging, their untrained feet had caused some to slip and fall into the sea of clouds below. All they did now was stare as he cracked the land in two.

But this day, as the canyon he was carving was finally finally nearing the final stretch of the island, one of them descended from above on a thick rope made of bedsheets. A child. A spot on its green head was bruised grey, and it stumbled over to Kaem, who simply gave it a curious glance before getting back to his work.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" It squeaked.

Kaem always hated how they talked — the high frequencies always made his head pound. Still, he replied. "Yes."

"And you're taking the north peak with you?"

He gestured to the great quarry around him and nodded. "I'd like somewhere quiet and secluded. Your kind make it difficult. So I am making a new island."

Kaem's hostility had no noticeable effect. The child stood as close as ever. Its eyes wandered across the quarry, its pupils fixating on each and every crevice that struck deep enough to pull wispy puffs of cloud from below, threatening the integrity of the ground on which they stood. They followed each such crevice along the path, until their eyes met with their feet, where that cold mist came through, tangible sky from the heavens below. Then, they moved on, their eyes coming to the last sturdy rocks that Kaem was working on. The last keystones of Kaem's operation.

"You only have a few meters left," it observed.

His muscles suddenly surged, and he struck into the rock forcefully. "A few more hours of work."

"Really?"

"Really."

There were a few minutes of silence, only filled by the sound of Kaem's pickaxe clanking against the earth and his disciplined grunts of exertion.

After some strikes, he stopped. "Why are you here?"

It blinked.

"Last time someone came down here, they fell," he continued. "You should leave."

"How did you get so strong?"

Kaem sighed. They never listened unless it was something they wanted to hear. "You get strong when you have no other choice," he said with some spite. "I was trained."

"By who?"

"My father."

"Oh." Kaem briefly had hope that the child's curiosity was satisfied, but: "Where is he?"

Kaem's grip on the pickaxe tightened. He turned from the child, and struck the rock just once. The hit rang and echoed across the boulders and rubble of the quarry, before it finally dissipated, cold and silent like the vapors coming from the cracked ground. "Killed. By?your?people."

There was a silence in which Kaem listened for retreating footsteps or the scaling of a rope, but only silence endured.

"Is that why you're leaving?"

He didn't move. "Go back to your family and ask them."

That did the trick. The child went back to his rope, and began to slowly climb upwards. When it was halfway up the rope, it looked back down at Kaem, and it shouted: "I'm gonna be strong like you!"

Kaem stopped, watching as the child scampered back up the rope. Once he was sure the child couldn't see the finer details, he let a small smile work its way onto his face. Under his breath, he whispered.

"You won't."

He looked back down at the last remaining structures connecting the north peak to the greater island. With another ten, fifteen minutes of work, he'd have his own piece of paradise. For a moment, he looked up to the sky. It was cold, but the sun was coming up above the clouds, and he could feel its attempts to push through the thin atmosphere and warm him. With the pickaxe swung over his shoulder, he breathed, and experienced, only for the sake of experiencing. Holding this one, final moment before his goal.

But it was brief.

Because there was work to be done.

His final strike echoed in the air, and time froze to a standstill as the child sat on the top of the cliff, the quarry's edge, watching as the island split in two, the cold gray stone of the quarry separating from the rock wall with a loud grumble and several cracks. As Kaem drifted ever so gently backwards, he looked up, up at the cliff face from which the bedsheet rope was being pulled in, making eye contact with the child. But it only lasted a split-second. Soon he was looking at something more pressing.

The billowing clouds below.

And then it started the crumble. The quarry, the island, his paradise, turning from one piece into two into three into only the most particulate parts. And once the ground had no more cohesion than the blood pumping at record speeds through Kaem's heart, he and his world began to fall, deep into the clouds, into the sky, into the smoky and blissful abyss.