What dreams may come

Once a sad king walked the streets to meet the most content person of his kingdom. He soon stood in front of a hermit's hut near a huge tree.

He stepped inside and sat along side the hermit and asked "Are you happy?"

"I most certainly am, my Lord. Why do you ask?" replied the surprised hermit

"Do you seek no riches or wealth?" asked the perplexed king

"A wise man once told me 'Only dream what you can afford', my lord" replied the hermit, "and my heart can afford nothing, as it was broken when my wife died. And the memories of her are the only treasure I house, and I guard them with my life. No one can steal them, nor can anyone sense their true value."

"But you could remarry and live a happier life with your new wife and have kids" the King said.

"As I said my lord, 'Only dream what you can afford' and my heart is full to the brim and it cannot afford any more love."

The king walked out and thought "what a fool the hermit is, he wastes his life on past memories" and inside the hut the hermit mused "The king is wise, he can afford happiness yet he invests in the sadness of his people"

- Sir Adam Atriy, Parables of Fate