There were a score of them sitting in a circle in the middle of a small clearing in the woods. The sun just set, but the darkness gathered fast. The trees they felled during the day lined the clearing in a fading circle. “I may be wrong about this,” an elderly man broke the silence, “but it seems that Tlön returns only when there is trouble.” A few people nodded and everyone looked toward the sky. “The last two times,” a youngster nodded after a long pause, “this was certainly the case.” Most people in the circle looked toward the sky once again. An owl hooted from close by, and many of them smiled to themselves. “The only thing I cannot say for sure,” sighed another elderly man and looked around the circle as if for assurance, “is whether Tlön returns just before or just after the trouble starts.” The owl hooted again, this time from farther away. A few people in the circle laughed out loud while others nodded and grinned. The stars were already quite bright in the sky above.