At the Willow School, Bodhi studies international development. His trip to Sodom convinces him that his calling is to serve those most in need. He comes to understand how suffering emerges from poverty, failed governance, lack of services, insecurity, and injustice. But also from acts of hate – carried out by men who claim moral certainty. His teachers offer many pieces to the puzzle, but large sections of the borders remain missing.

During his senior year, with mind in deeper thought, Bodhi returns from dinner and walks into the bathroom. He turns on the sink’s water, peers into the mirror, and thinks to himself:

i am almost done here

much i have achieved

studying history and politics 

learning of people grieved

these classes

plus my field trip

have provided me with

a professional script

i will spend my life

helping those in need

regardless of faith

not creed, but deed

Bodhi looks down at the flowing water and grows pensive. He looks back into mirror, deeply, locking in both sets of eyes. His mind continues: 

so if everything is settled

why the ache, the worry

what is this presence 

why now am i blurry

Bodhi wipes away the thickening mist from the mirror and continues: 

my sadness as a boy

has come back

feeling alone

afraid to crack

i know it has been

hidden with me

although i have tried

its pull to flee

who am i

what do i really know

what does it all mean

where can my mind go

As Bodhi continues to peer into his reflection, his face begins to loosen as if it no longer holds. He cries out:  

my face

it will not stay

what am i seeing

it slips away

who are you

or are you me

am i falling

into a dark sea

Bodhi, sweating with his pulse racing, closes his eyes to break the trance. When he opens and peers back into the mirror, he shouts, shaking:

a stranger

stares back at me

no ground beneath

no one to be

Panicked, Bodhi picks up a ceramic cup and smashes it into the mirror, shattering the glass. He drops to the floor in a daze, then retreats to his bed utterly frightened. The next morning Bodhi awakens to see traces of blood on his sheet. He thinks to himself:

the void in me

the abyss

that doubt and fear

i can’t dismiss

i must understand 

i can no longer run

i must find the source

of why meaning comes undone

this cannot be sin

nor something to hide

something has broken

deep inside 

The room is silent, but something in Bodhi is not.