Tall Paul, by Louis Kummerer

After his wife died unexpectedly, Tall Paul put on his hip boots and walked around the world seeking the meaning of life. He waded the Atlantic, dragged his muddy boots across the floors of Europe, stomped through Persia and along the northern edge of India. When he reached Tibet, he found Krishna living in a mountain hut.

Now Tall Paul’s back, sitting on a barstool beside me.

“Krishna showed me a glass bottle that contained the entire universe,” he says.

“Did you find the answer inside?” I ask.

Tall Paul sighs deeply. “No, inside the bottle there was only me.”