The world seemed full of strange contradictions to Eddie.  For instance, he realized that the closer he was to the light, the less he could see.  Holding the candle up close to his face was utterly blinding. 

    He carefully set the candle down on the floor, and took a couple of steps back.  It was better.  Once his eyes adjusted, he could see the arcing paths of the occasional moths as they swooped past the flame.

    He turned his back on the candle, walked a few paces further into the darkness and faced the light again, letting his eyes adjust.  This was too far away.  Eddie was surrounded by darkness, and the candle light seemed a distant pool of safety. 

    He spend several minutes experimenting with different distances; three half paces towards, two small steps back, one large hop forward, letting his eyes acclimate each time.  After this exercise, Eddie found himself at the perfect distance away.  He seemed to be halfway in the circle of light, and halfway out of it. 

    If there was some grand mathematical equation that explained the functions of the entire universe, Eddie thought to himself, this exact distance must somehow be a relevant number.  Just then, a speeding brown moth flew into Eddie's eye.  It's fuzzy little bug legs were twitching against his wet eyeball.  In a panic, Eddie ran wildly into the darkness, blinking and crying, trying to wipe the insect away from his face.

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