The Ladies in the Sky

 Once upon a time there were three Ladies who lived in the sky. One was very old, one was very young, and one was the age that everyone thinks of when they think about their mother. There were three things to know about these Ladies. First, they were very wise. Second, they were very bossy. And third, they were very kind.

    What they did in the sky all day was anybody's business. In fact, it was everybody's business, for the decisions that they made up there concerned the whole of everyone: for they decided when it was that a person was going to die.

    Now, that might sound scary. But remember that third thing about the Ladies; they were very kind. How they went about a person dying, then, was done with kindness. For they knew, as do all of their sort, that death in this world is nothing more than a stepping stone to another adventure. To the Ladies, the age or the wealth or the impression of a person didn't matter so much, but each one of the people below them mattered. It didn't matter who they were, exactly; it mattered that they were. In this vein, the Ladies took delicate care of those in their charge. And since everyone was in their charge, they took care of everyone. But it was for those who didn't fear death at all really, that things seemed to work out the best, in the end.

    So the next time that you worry about the end of things, about the timing or the strangeness of it, remember the Ladies in the sky. Remember that they are very wise. Remember that they are very bossy. And remember, most importantly, that they are very kind — and they know that the next stepping stone is a wondrously grand adventure.

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