Standing on the terrace of the muntanyeta, Archduke Peter John was deeply concerned about the myotragus. In the early hours of the previous day an animal had jumped out in front of him while he was walking to the cliffs. It was still dark, but the archduke was in the habit of taking his constitutional before sunrise, and was even able to make his way with his eyes closed without straying onto the paths of the land adjoining Son Moragues, such as the one that offered a view of the sea below. He’d honed his night vision and enjoyed practicing the skill when the sky was overcast and there was no moon. In such conditions he would sometimes make out strange movements in the bark of trees: the furrows moved laterally to form cracks he never found the courage to inspect up close. He knew that those cracks didn’t contain smooth wood, that they weren’t the live flesh of the trunk, but deep chasms that would swallow him whole. The movements of the bark made him think of armies of marching ants. Suddenly, the forest was overrun by every member of the formicidae family found on his travels to wilder, more torrid regions. He would be forced to lower his eyes as there was always a moment when the dance of the trees closed in on him and he felt those perhaps illusory ants surrounding him, ready to crawl up his legs.

But what had happened the day before was different. As he approached a stretch of the path edged with broom, with the tang of salt already in the air, an animal appeared from the undergrowth that bore no resemblance to the irrational sights the archduke had learned to see. This animal was definitely real and, despite the darkness, he realized that it was looking at him. The creature didn’t belong to any known species. It wasn’t a wild boar, a goat, a sheep, or a hare, and definitely not a dog. In addition to its outlandish form, the archduke had been astonished to note that its movements were just as awkward as his own. The animal crossed the path slowly and disappeared into the bushes, giving the archduke time to think that he and the beast must have the same medical condition.