Fate shuffles the cards and passes them dramatically between the players. A card lays face down. Fate’s finger presses down on that card, as if to say that the card, this one seemingly insignificant drawing of chance, may decide the path of your entire life.

The synapse connects and you feel your hand move through the dreamlike reality to grasp the paper corner of the card. You flip it over with the grave expectation of something important, but all that you find is the seven of diamonds. You quickly scan your mind and wonder what secrets the card could reveal about the nonexistent universe that now holds you, but there is nothing.

The cards that fate deals you; you have the strange feeling that the game is fixed. The prickling at the back of your neck surprises you. You wonder whether you are angry or scared of Fate. Then you know.

You have a wife and kids at home. Your daughter is seven years old, and just played you her first real piano piece. She was so proud of herself, and you were proud of her too. Your little boy can ride his bike like none you’ve ever seen. For a nine year old, he’s more impressive than any man in world.

You’re feeling both at once. Fear of losing all of your world, fear of losing the feelings that your wife makes you feel when she looks at you with the curious little smile of pleasure, and you see the love that lies behind her eyes like a flood of water tumultuously bearing down on the wall of the dam.

She’s the only one who’s ever made you feel this way, and you know that it’s love. Even when you two fight, and you feel like stepping out the door and never returning, an hour later all you feel is the need to lie down and hold her for all the world. Your best friend and his wife said they loved each other, but now they’ve split, and you can’t help but wonder if they really do.

Your wife and your son and daughter mean everything to you, and Fate is beginning a game with you. You don’t know what the stakes of the game are, but you have the feeling that you’ll never see those three again.

What Are The Stakes?

You also notice that you’re angry at fate. You can’t explain why. Fate operates the same now as he did a thousand years ago. But how dare he meddle in your life? How dare Fate step into your life, take you away from your family? How does he take control away from you?

These are the thoughts that go through the minds of victims seconds before the bullet tears through skin, and muscle, and finally passes into the nervous tissue. Death is instantaneous.

These are the thoughts of a tenth floor tenant while the fire slips under the door, and the serpent tongue of flame licks at his heals. He looks out the window and decides whether to jump and hope for a soft landing, or to stay and hope for rescue.

All that you can really do when Fate hands you a card is stare at it and wait for the next card to pass from Fate’s possession into yours.