Welcome to the ending of this story. The ending is disappointing, so the rest of the story doesn’t really matter. I’ll set it up fast. Then we can get to the disappointing ending, and all get on with our day.
Four travelers set out to find a great treasure at the end of a metaphorical rainbow. The party’s leaders were two hardened explorers, Ralph and Winona. Winona, a wise sage, convinced Ralph to use his vast resources to fund this journey because Ralph desired more treasure. Ralph mostly complained on the trip when he wasn’t describing his other expensive treasures. Winona only talked about her past adventures, never the treasure.
Carla and Tom were teenagers on their first adventure. It was Tom’s recently discovered map, passed down from his grandfather, that started the expedition. Carla was a mysterious young woman who tagged along on the journey. Tom fell for Carla instantly, and it seemed like this would be the start of a great romance.
After facing the dragons, thieves, whistling caves, terrifying forest creatures and almost certain death, Tom and Carla kissed. Then, betrayal—Carla used Tom to find out the treasure’s location and left them all in the dust.
Of course, the wise Winona knew from looking at the map that the location was a little off. There was a final step, a code on the map, that revealed the real treasure. Carla didn’t have this knowledge and was lost in the woods.
I’ve given you far too much detail. I’m sorry. There’s no payoff here. Now we will meet up with the remaining adventurers. They find the location, and there is no treasure.
“This whole journey was for nothing!” Ralph yelled. He took his thousand-dollar binoculars and threw them over the side of the cliff. Winona sat down on a rock overlooking the sunset as Ralph continued with his tantrum.
Tom kept looking at the cave. He went back inside to make sure they hadn’t missed something. There was nothing—no trace of a treasure.
“Tom, come sit down,” Winona yelled to Tom, and he reluctantly walked over to her. She seemed sad but showed no signs of a Ralph-like tantrum.
“I’m sorry,” Tom said, sitting next to Winona. “I led you out here for nothing.”
“Tom, there are two types of explorers,” Winona said. “The Ralphs, who want the prize, and the Winona’s who crave the adventure. We didn’t get the prize this time, but we learned some lessons, gained some stories and had an adventure.”
Tom stared at the setting sun. He felt heartbroken after Carla, and now, no treasure. Ralph interrupted Tom’s thoughts of despair.
“This is it,” Ralph yelled. He took his priceless compass out of his pocket and threw it after his binoculars. “I’m never doing this again.”
“You’ve said that before,” Winona called over.
“You’re such a fool!” Ralph yelled back. He started storming down the hill. “Why did I agree to go on this crazy adventure with you?”
“He says that now,” Winona said to Tom. “But he can’t help it. He’s addicted to the wrong thing. He’s addicted to the prize. He spends the whole time being miserable. Even when he gets the prize, it doesn’t make him feel any better.”
I know that Winona sounds annoying, but that’s because you’ve just been introduced to her. If you’d been along for the whole journey, you’d love her. Anyway, Tom and Winona sat for a long time. The last light of the twilight disappeared.
“I thought this was my grand journey,” Tom said finally, holding back tears.
“It had everything a good adventure does,” Winona agreed. “Challenges, danger, love, heartbreak and a strange musical interlude.”
Tom nodded. There had been a weird night at a tavern of singing and dancing with Carla.
“Just not a happy ending.”
“The good guys don’t always win,” Winona said and then she gestured off towards where Ralph disappeared. “Of course, it’s hard to say if we’re the good guys.”
“What now?” Tom asked.
“You have three choices, I think,” Winona said. “You can go back to your family tavern and use these lessons to live a nice quiet life. It can serve as a cautionary tale about how you shouldn’t chase treasure. Alternatively, you can try to find Carla and win her over with your love. Or you come with me to find Ralph weeping in the woods down there, start a fire and head back with us to Ralph’s ship, where you’ll likely find your next adventure.”
“How do I choose?” Tom asked.
“Well, your heart clearly wants option two. I can’t tell you not to pursue Carla, but betrayal is hard to get over. Your head is going to want the safe option, the nice quiet life. It gives you an ending, but it’s a dissatisfying life after the ending.”
“Isn’t that a lot of story’s endings?”
“It is the hero’s journey,” Winona said.
“Well, three gives me an origin story, right? How did I get into the adventure business? I tell them this tale.”
“No offense, but this story isn’t good enough to tell all the way through,” Winona said. “Plus, origin stories are overrated.”
“Well, how did you get started?”
“I lived in a big house. Ralph was the gardener’s kid. We came across an abandoned shack in the woods behind the house and found a treasure map one day. The rest of the story isn’t important.”
“Did you find the treasure?” Tom asked.
“Ralph would remember. I assume so since he’s been obsessed with these journeys ever since. He’s gained a lot of wealth and lost his temper a lot of times since then,” Winona stared off in the distance. “I do remember that it was an adventure.”