corpsified 7 : attack of the whatnot

Arjuna, having had plenty of time to ruminate upon the mouth-droppings of the Disenlightened One, replied, "Pray tell, Master, are you telling me that I should not look with wistful sadness to the roles that the shortness of life prevents me from ever playing, because, in my great fortune, I am better off than some for whom life provides few opportunties?"

The Master smiled, and said, "You are a fast student, quick of mind and sharp of insight."

"Well fuck that," said Arjuna. "That's a fat steaming load, right there."

The master blinked, and a strange look came over his face, a crooked mask of midlife horror with blank eyes staring at a million invisible, rotting opportunities missed in a life too short to ever live fully; eyes wide with regret, staring at the never-lived other halves of a lifetime's collection of decisions and choices.

"Quick of mind," the master whispered, "and sharp of insight."