July 5th Daily Entry -- Without Meaning

"Of course it does," said Other Jane. "You must be looking at it wrong."

"It started so predictably," said Jane. "It started like all the other stories. There was a house and a family, and it all made sense. But then it led to nothing. And then the house fell apart. And one after another the people in the family died. And that's all that happened."

"Well then, it makes sense," said Other Jane. "It is man versus nature, and they family didn't take care of the house, and it all fell apart."

And with that Other Jane walked away, satisfied. The story had an ending. The cause led to the effect. Everyone learned a lesson, and the whole exercise was done.

But the story bothered Jane, because she couldn't figure out why. She had been watching the world a long time, and nothing happened without a reason why. This is how you know what to expect in the world. People get presents because it's their birthday. They pay for their food in the shops because we agree that it is right to pay for things. They love their mothers because their mothers loved them first, and they care for their babies because that's what people do.

The world works on because.

But from that day on, Jane began to notice that many of the becauses seemed to have gone missing.

Things were different now. They just happened. She could enjoy them or endure them, but she could no longer understand them. Things were not as they had been.