A black dog slumbers beneath an old olive tree, its silvery foliage keeping the sun at bay. Yet the sun's warm kiss upon the baked earth slowly edges toward her still body. She shifts, and the scent of crushed wild thyme perfumes the air. One paw twitches, chasing something only she can see, then falls still again. The cicadas hold their long, unbroken note above her, so constant that the ear stops noticing it after a while. An occasional soft breeze carries the faint scent o