the light of the soul

Neruda, the white raven, the black cat

Beginning with seductive thoughts from Neruda's memorias, and brooding over the legends of the Haida people in British Columbia (the white raven) and Italian superstitions (the black cat), the protagonist transports the reader into the world of Canadian immigration post-WW2. On the one hand, there is the memory never wiped from the mind of the protagonist who returns and sees his old hometown as it once was. Additionally, there is the suffering caused by migration. Like the hunter who, after a few years of living in Canada, returns home to enjoy the fruits of a pension -- and realizes the reality that awaits him is no longer his reality. In a moment of despair, he goes into the woods and takes his own life.