
I was asked a question on social media the other day. The question probably deserves a longer answer than the one I gave, which is this (and I quote):
“Yup.”
Not much of an answer, I admit. Lacks nuance, you might say. Lacks emotional resonance. “Yup” is what you say when you don’t want to take on the added expense of a two-syllable answer like “mmm hmm.”
But sometimes the question itself is so big as to make any answer seem too small. So you might as well go as small as possible and hope you’ll get an opportunity to revise and expand your remarks at some future date. Or … maybe that’s just me being pretentious. I’ve lost track.
Anyway, the question was this: “Are you still looking for Pedestrio?”
Now if you’re just joining us, the question refers to my novel The Legend of Pedestrio, which is a quirky, offbeat tale about tracking down a mysterious traveler called Pedestrio, who is said to walk the Earth by day and the sky at night. The book is fiction, which to me just means the truth of it is measured in a different way than books that aren’t labeled fiction. And one of the characters in the book is also named Abner, which is a coincidence I can’t rightly account for.
(Actually, I can. It’s just a topic for another day. Point is, we’re not the same person, but there is some overlap. Let’s move on.)
So: am I still looking for Pedestrio?
Well, yeah! Of course!
Folks, I’ll tell this story to anybody who’ll listen. I’ll tell them about how Pedestrio is older than the mountains, and how he’s seen the world change over countless millennia, and yeah, when I tell the tale, I might embellish a bit. That’s what storytellers do. I might tell you about things that happened so long ago, even the rocks have no memory of it. I might tell you for a fact about things I couldn’t possibly know. And that’s why the Fools in the White Tower Up on the Hill have decided to call The Legend of Pedestrio fiction.
But to me, Pedestrio is real. And he’s still out there, walking the Earth by day and the sky at night. So yeah, I’m still looking for him.
Maybe another time, if anybody is interested, I’ll tell you more about who Pedestrio is and how to recognize him. For now, I’ll just say the times I’ve seen him (or come close to seeing him), I was way out beyond the bounds of civilization. I suspect he prefers to roam the wild spaces out beyond where the last trail ends. So I don’t reckon I’ll see him on this trip — I mean, I’ll be on the road most of the time, and never far from a town or village or settlement. But the truth is, I honestly don’t know if that’s really the way of it. For all I know, Pedestrio could be spotted tomorrow walking down Main Street.
So of course I’ll keep my eyes open. This story is bigger than any tale I’ve ever told, and what a coup it would be to meet Pedestrio — while I’m on a book tour to promote The Legend of Pedestrio! You think I wouldn’t love to tack that onto the tale?
Oh.
But then … oh.
Oh!
Why would Pedestrio be walking down Main Street? Unless …
He wouldn’t. Would he? I mean, would a guy like Pedestrio take time out of his busy day to write his own autobiography?

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