I stood solemnly before the inquisitor of life as he read quietly from his book of truths.

He was dressed in a long blue satin robe, his noble head partially hidden in the hood.

His white wavy beard rested upon his chest, and his long gnarled fingers

gripped the edges of the book in his lap. He sat in a large straight back chair

hollowed out in the roots of a huge oak tree.  His feet rested upon a foot stool of solid granite.

He drew a deep sigh as he looked up from his book, staring at me now with his icy blue eyes. 

Then he laughed.