I steered west leaving behind the desert from which the distant clamour of battles could still be heard from time to time. Certainly it would not be long before the lagoon appeared on the horizon, suggested by the slight breeze that perfumed the afternoon with the sweetness of fruits. I anticipated the picture of animals standing by the stream and the promise of coolness offered by the orange trees’ shadow. I thought, “Tonight I’ll sleep deeply, without nightmares, ignoring for once the haughty outline of the Mountain of Fire that from the beginning grew at me shaking its smoke tentacles…”