Apologies

When it all comes down to it, stories and apologies are oftentimes just one and the same. Sometimes stories tell apologies that no other words could potentially convey. Maybe it's shame, maybe disappointment, maybe just fear or despair. But sometimes it's not really possible to say sorry for something.

That's when a story does it best. Stories convey not only the past but also aspects of the present. They reveal details that would be unreasonable to state otherwise. Even while they may not ask for forgiveness, in the end, stories explain why something is one way or another, they give context to what may have otherwise been unreasonable.

So often it is said that each story has a moral, a lesson. But sometimes they don't. Sometimes they just reveal a sequence of past events. Other times they provide explanations and insights into the present. And occasionally, occasionally they provide nothing short of apologies. They lay in the open the things that couldn't just be said. They reveal what those telling them fear the most or try to hide from.

Maybe a tale is simply that, but maybe it isn't. Perhaps behind each story is a complex reasoning and subconscious explanation. Stories provide enough ambiguity for the level of comfort sought, yet at the same time reveal the truth to an extent that was perhaps not otherwise possible.

Do they add anything to life, to a situation, to a question? Maybe, maybe not. That depends on the individual situation and on the context surrounding it. It depends on the person telling the story, and on the person listening. But in the end, a story can be no less than an apology. Sometimes, perhaps that's all it's worth, if only for that bit that could not be said.