noon
His need for love , his neediness , was not so great and from this fact that he was secure in the poundings , he found the inundations somewhat titillating . It was a macabre period in his life but one to be survived intact as the distinct individual that he was . He avoided a pack of Tuk Tuk taxi drivers who were vying hungrily for his patronage and walked along the edge of the road as a cool breeze of the north pressed itself into him . He enjoyed this sensation with the appreciative response to simple pleasures that a small child entertained , the feel of tall and rich , verdant weeds poking the edges of his toes in his leather sandals , and the redolence of the morning air that increased with the rising temperatures of the fire of the sun , though that would be , by noon , over-baked and the air would have nothing in it but dry intensity , and empty space where thought would not grow but was confined like a climbing vine . Despite wistful tendencies to the contrary , he was relieved to be rid of the clutter of recent acquaintances from his thoughts . And if , he postulated , this were true of the Laotian , the nurse , and all of the myriad others , was it not true of Noppawan and Kimberly as well ? Did he not want to get rid of all clutter ?