each life he tried on , he slipped into and it pulled him farther in , farther away from the world he came from ; one by one , existence following existence , rivers of dreams and fields of stars , a hawk with a sparrow clutched in its talons flies low above the grass , and here are tiny intricate people waiting for him to fill their heads with life , and thousands of years pass and he is engaged in strange work of great importance and sharp beauty , and he is loved , and he is honored , and then a pull , a sharp tug , and it 's ... ... it was like coming up from the bottom of the deep end of a swimming pool .