Conditional Reality

Openwound Barkdust kept his feet warm on cold days by sprinkling cayenne pepper in his only pair of shoes. This worked well until his shoes began to wear so thin that holes appeared in the soles. Openwound sprinkled in more generous helpings of cayenne pepper and set out for the cobbler’s shop, taking a shortcut through the cemetery. As he walked, red clouds of cayenne pepper billowed out of his shoes and settled on the grass. Openwound heard a chorus of sneezes from the graves. Oh hush, said Openwound. Go back to sleep all of you. I’m just passing through.