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 seeing the three nymphs dance around a pillar that a grapevine grew up the side of.
They came and grabbed the Fool 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 and soon 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 cup fulls. The Empress sat at her throne laughing and clapping. She couldn’t drink wine and dance since she was very pregnant.
As the days and nights passed the nymphs never seemed to tire, but the Fool did and begged that he could be allowed to sleep. They allowed him after many days of the Fool’s complaints, but they continued to dance the days and nights away.
The Fool slept hard. To him, he had a dreamless dark sleep. When he awoke he found that the nymphs were simply 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 in her throne nursing a baby. The Fool was immediately moved by the act of motherhood and baby before him. The world around him was full of pollen and everything that flowers were bloomed.
It is another you, the Empress said, we made it 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, but he could see that the baby was in ecstasy drinking the mother’s milk. The nymphs continued their drinking around the pillar. A nymph would take turns holding the baby to their chests and dance 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 and change things a little bit to make you better. Every one of us has 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 things that we work hard for. There are other things that are just pure luck. Everything else is them. 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 and he began to dance as well.
Not like before when he followed the nymphs steps, but 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 the antics. The Fool’s bell rang a song in the pouring rain.
They were all cleansed by the rain. 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 flew from the sky and 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 into the distance.