Page 67 of Gifted & Talented

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There is another ending. There’s one where Philippa only gets terribly injured, where perhaps she is visited in the hospital by Gillian Yadav Wren, who points out that Philippa’s apparent financial destitution is not the worst thing that has ever happened, given that it occurs with great frequency in media of all kinds. In this version of the story, Philippa might rewrite her selfish behaviors and her narrow concern for the mere aesthetics of life in favor of seeking real redemption and accountability, having been suitably visited by the ghosts of Christmas past and/or a mental health professional. Which isn’t to say that Gillian has to be cast in this role, necessarily, but of all the Wrens, Gillian does know a fixable problem when she sees one. In this case, she could use an assistant, and what Philippa needs is a job.

But if I allow you to believe in this ending, you might forget that life is short and meaningless, a narrative left incomplete. So you’ll just have to hold it in your head as something equally true and nonexistent, like Schrodinger’s cat, or Riot Wren, or unrequited love.