I fear my explanation will do little to soothe him. After all I’ve been through – testing out the shark’s fabulous devices, the attack by the snail army, the shark’s rescue and our plummeting near-destruction following shortly thereafter, and that followed by near consumption by a formerly friendly spider who then faded into nothingness – after all that, should one more existential twist show itself as shocking as the cat evidently expected it would?

I feel nothing about it. I will allow myself to feel nothing about it.

Truly, how does it affect me, one way or the other? I have no control over anything. The universe will do as it wills, and asks no permission from me. It is simply another event.

Bradley feels differently, obviously, but he will learn. Only the path of least resistance – that is, no resistance whatsoever – leads one to where the universe desires to take us. You can fight it, of course, but in the end, you merely add to the amount of suffering extant, and remove not a single stone from your path thereby.

I breathe deeply, and exhale, and feel nothing.