The Journey

The wind had changed. It was time to leave. She’d worried over
it for months. When? How? Where? But now it was obvious.
One moment she was there, the next she was gone. Utterly
gone.

The King

The king was the wisest ruler in the history of the nation. Kind, fair, open-hearted, direct. His castle gates stood open every day. People from near and far brought their disputes to him, and left as friends. The king had many admirers, yet he never married. At dusk, he ate a simple supper, and retired alone to his chamber, bolting the heavy door behind him.

The Dance

The sense of anticipation grew. It was time. The crowd drew back slightly from the stone, forming a circle of space. And in that space, the dancers. Still. Silent. Ready.

The Plates

Imagine, one day long ago you’d entered a room. And there was an old engineer there. Carefully tweaking the movement of several long poles. He’d been a bit grumpy, apparently you were late. Quickly, he instructed you to continue the work, to keep the plates above spinning. “Whatever you do, don’t let a plate drop.” And he left the room.