So?

So there I was, standing on the crossroads amidst the woods, looking at the 4-way sign, wondering which way to go... An old man came walking down the road marked 'Experience', he was all white; hair, brows, clothes. He smiled when he saw me.
I asked, "which way do I go, old man?".


He raised a wizened finger back where he was coming from and said, "Go this way - you'll have wonderful experiences that will enrich your life forever. You may even become a great sage or philosopher."
I asked again "How many have fulfilled their lives on this road?"
"A great many! And they all would swear by this path" He told me with obvious pride in his voice.
"But have they tried all the others?" I inquired.
He offered expansively, "You know when you encounter the best!". He winked at me and left.




I decided to camp there for the night, I was lying down underneath the evening stars, watching wispy clouds drift by... I noticed a distant glinting light coming down the road marked 'Power', I got up to see it clearly, It was a sturdy old man with a lantern, he was wearing gleaming red armour and carried a very ornate sword.

He came near me, hand shifting once on the hilt of the sword, then raised the other hand in greeting.
I greeted him in the same manner and asked, "Can you tell me which way to go?"
"Why this way of course!" He grunted, "Where else can you prove your prowess and attain greatness? Where else can you gain powers that others only dream of? Where else can you command others and lead them to glory?"
He was possibly going to ask me more where-elses but I interrupted, "Do many go this way? Are they happy?"
He looked at me with incredulity in his eyes, "Young man, almost every one I know has gone this way and found their calling in power! And I know a lot many!" He grunted again, which was possibly a laugh.
I asked, "Have they tried the other ways?"
He gave me a snide look and told me before leaving, "They never needed to."




Night came, the sky went darker, the stars became brighter, the crickets were noisier... I was almost dozing off when a very old commoner woke me up,
"Hullo there traveler! Spare any food?"
I shrugged and shared some of my rations with him, he thanked me and began eating.
Inevitably, I asked, "I can't seem to decide which way to go... What do you suggest?"
He looked at me blankly, dusted a few pieces of food from his gray garb and said, "I dunno, I reside that-a way, it's fine by me..."
He pointed at the road marked 'Contentment' and idly began eating again, I asked again, "Do many live like you? Are they happy?"
He shrugged, "Many times many, we don't have any complaints, you can call it a kind of happiness, right?"
I didn't reply, and somehow felt it quite useless to ask if they travel the other roads. He thanked me again and left.




Sleep had left me too. Pacing up and down the tiny clearing around the crossroads, I had no idea how late it was, but there was a definite purple tinge in the East sky and it was growing lighter. I saw a faint shape emerging from the foggy East road, the one that I came from, marked 'Purpose'.
The shape turned into a person, she was slightly younger than me, lightly built, wearing a faded garment and a black sash on her forehead, her smile reached her eyes in greeting when she saw me.

I smiled and waved, she spoke cheerfully, "Hi! Where you going?"
I shrugged, "haven't decided yet. Can't seem to make up my mind."
She laughed and shook her head, "You're doing it wrong! Here, let me help."




She untied the sash from her forehead, revealing an old scar. Then tied my eyes with it before I could ask her anything else, and said, "Spin around thrice and then take it off."
I complied, a bit taken aback by her candor. When I took off the blindfold I found myself facing diagonally between Contentment and Experience, nothing but dense woods in front of me...
She took the sash back and grinned, I was beginning to get what she meant...
"Where will you go?" I asked, grinning, not knowing why...
She shrugged, "No idea, I'll go where I feel like. Currently I feel like watching you make your decision. So what do you choose?"




I looked at the dense forest in front of me. Then at the two roads on either side... It was then that her words hit me... "I choose."
She nodded, her smile softening. I turned to the lighter, more appealing patch of jungle diagonally between two other roads, and pointed "That way!"
She laughed and nodded again. I began to pack my backpack.
She walked up to me and pointed at the knife that was tied on my leg. I gave it to her, then finished packing.
Looking up, I saw her standing, with her back on a tree trunk near where I had pointed earlier. Grinning mischievously.
She moved off, I saw that she'd etched the word 'Curiosity' with an arrow pointing to my chosen direction.
She offered me the knife back, I pointed at my leg which now wore another similar knife that I had kept as a spare. Taking the knife from her hands, I tucked it in her belt.
She grinned again, then kissed my cheek, "Well, what are you waiting for? Catch me! If you can..."
She vanished like a gazelle in the dense green and brown.
I laughed out, and ran...

NesQuarX
This one actually did originate from a single paragraph that I had written in a random reply to a friend who had asked 'So?' My thanks to her. And thanks to SS for providing inputs for the ending.