As the Fool sat at the maternal feet of the Empress, laughter echoed into their little glade. Three women danced into the clearing, holding cups and baskets full of produce. They were in different states of dress, with one almost completely nude. The Empress clapped her hands in joy as the three nymphs danced around a pillar that a grapevine grew up the side of.
The trio came and grabbed the Fool’s hands and brought him to his feet and made him skip around the pillar. At first, he felt awkward, but as they kept dancing around in a circle, he felt a part of things, and soon he was laughing from having fun. He was given a chalice full of wine.
The party went on for many days. They ate fresh fruits and vegetables and drank wine by the cupsful. The Empress sat at her throne, laughing and clapping. She didn’t want to drink wine or dance, since she was very pregnant.
As the days and nights passed, the nymphs never seemed to tire, but the Fool did, and soon enough he begged that he be allowed to sleep. They allowed him to, after many days of the Fool’s complaints, but even as he slept they continued to dance the days and nights away.
The Fool slept hard, a dreamless dark sleep. When he awoke the nymphs were drinking wine and eating grapes from the vineyard. They giggled and laughed at the Fool as he sat up from his slumber.
The Empress sat on her throne, nursing a baby. Immediately, the Fool was moved by the act of motherhood and the baby before him. The world around him was full of pollen and everything that caused flowers to bloom.
It is another you, the Empress said, a you made from you as you slept. In a few years, this child will begin his own journey, like yours. You will be on opposite sides of the world, or you will cross paths. You have already crossed paths with many others like you.
He isn’t a son, the Empress went on, he is you.
The Fool felt a paternal yearning for the child nonetheless, but he could see that the baby was in ecstasy drinking its mother’s milk. The nymphs continued their drinking around the pillar. Occasionally the nymphs would take turns holding the baby to their chests, dancing slowly around with their eyes shut. The baby seemed content.
Every one of us, the Empress continued, has added to your creation. Every time we make you we tweak things and change things a little bit to make you better than you were. Every one of us has put a piece of us inside of you. You are a communal project. You have many parents and many siblings.
When we were making you, the Empress said, I gave you the power to create. You are able to make your own rituals and prayers. You are able to make your own world of paintings and songs.
The three nymphs began dancing again. They twirled around the Fool as they clapped in the air. They were very merry. The air was heavy with humidity. The Fool thought it might rain soon.
They are Charity, the Empress said. Some call them Grace. A god cannot gift a mortal anything without their dances. There are some things that we work hard for. There are other things that we get by pure luck. Everything else is theirs. They are here to bestow my gifts on you and the baby you.
The nymphs twirled and twirled. The sky opened up and rain fell heavy on them. The nymphs didn’t even slow down. They enjoyed the falling rain. It was a warm, heavy, summer rain. The Empress and the baby also started laughing. The Fool caught the joy and started laughing too, and he began to dance as well.
He did not dance like before, when he followed the nymphs’ steps, but in his own way. A goofy, silly way. The Way of the Fool. He made funny faces for the baby to see, and the baby giggled at his antics. The Fool’s bell rang a song in the pouring rain.
They were all cleansed by the rain. Eventually the skies cleared up and the ground began to mist as it warmed up. The Fool’s clothes felt heavy. The three nymphs gathered around the Empress and the baby and used their bodies to warm them. The Fool felt a warm glow emit from the five of them. He felt a joy that caused him to cry.
He wanted to stay here forever, but soon the nymphs picked up their wine and fruit and danced back into the forest. The Fool could hear them for a long time after they disappeared.
A cormorant dove from the sky, picked up the baby, and flew off into the clouds.
The journey of that Fool begins, the Empress said, watching the bird and baby fly away in the distance.