The way sadness works

The way sadness works

is one of the strange riddles of the world.

If you are stricken with a great sadness,

you may feel as if you have been set aflame,

not only because of the enormous pain,

but also because your sadness may spread over your life,

like smoke from an enormous fire.

You might find it difficult to see anything but your own sadness,

the way smoke can cover a landscape

so that all anyone can see is black.

You may find that if someone pours water all over you,

you are damp and distracted,

but not cured of your sadness,

the way a fire department can douse a fire

but never recover what has been burnt down.

- Lemony Snicket