Now What?

Read time: 1 min.

Judith sits with her feet on the couch’s headrest and her head propped on an ottoman. She holds a clear, yellow-cored pearl above her face. “You didn’t tell me success would destroy my worth.”

Valencia sits atop her desk, sipping brandy from a conch shell. “Elaborate.”

Judith tosses the pearl to Valencia as evidence. “Our quest ran its course. I’ve got most of what I wanted. What I didn’t get I figured out I didn’t want. As for needs, I never did have to worry about those, per se. I know I learned a lot on the journey, but the last lesson only taught me that the other lessons didn’t mean anything. My work engulfed my entire existence; with nothing further to do, I have no further life.”

“I see.” Valencia drops the pearl in her ash-laden incense tray. “Did success destroy your worth or did apathy?”

Judith tilts her head towards Valencia.

“What?” Valencia asks. “Did you think you had the only quest in the world? Go quest for another.”