Joy

A woman carried a jar of rare perfume—fragrant, treasured, and believed to last forever.

One day, it slipped and shattered. The scent rose, then faded. She wept, gathering the shards.

Others told her to forget. Some mocked her pain. But she chose to wander, empty-handed.

Seasons passed.

One spring, by a stream, wildflowers bloomed where the jar’s pieces had settled. Their scent—familiar and new—rose on the wind.

She smiled. Not because the jar returned, but because joy had grown from sorrow.