the sky was empty.
the king walked slowly down the road.
nobody knew he was a king, because there was nobody left to know he was a king.
he was already weary, although he had hardly walked a hundred miles.
the crown was no longer heavy on his head, because he was not wearing it.
he wondered idly where the crown was, and who was making what use of it.
he wished he had an apple.
he had always been quite fond of apples.
nothing was left of his fine royal orchards.
the king felt sad, and his feet were sore.
if he could not have an apple, he would have settled for a kumquat.
he wished a genie would appear, and grant him three wishes, or even one wish.
how exhausting it was, no longer being a king, and walking down the road alone.
he would have liked to turn to the left or right, but the road ran on perfectly straight.
you see, this is a sad story, because once he had something - a kingdom - and now he had nothing.
he walked along under the sky.
which still contained no clouds.
if he had never had anything, this would just be a plain unvarnished account of one of the millions of creatures in the earth walking upon it.
and if he had never been a king, he would have been told to quit his bellyaching.
and to remember all the poor souls who had trodden the dust before him.
finally, a cloud appeared on the horizon.
and the king wept at the unexpected sight.
but the cloud disappeared as swiftly as it had arrived.
i know you care deeply about the poor king’s plight.
which, like yours and mine, will finally be resolved on judgment day.
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