Ars poetica

'Do you ever wonder what life would have been like if you'd said yes?' said Ridcully.
'No.'
'I suppose we'd settled down, had children, grandchildren, that sort of thing...'
Granny shrugged. It was the sort of thing romantic idiots said. But there was something in the air tonight...
'What about the fire?' she said.
'What fire?'
'Swept through our house just after we were married. Killed us both.'
'What fire? I don't know anything about any fire?'
Granny turned around.
'Of course not! It didn't happen. But the point is, it might have happened. You can't say "if this didn't happen then that would have happened" because you don't know everything that might have happened. You might think something'd be good, but for all you know it could have turned out horrible. You can't say "If only I'd..." because you could be wishing for anything. The point is, you'll never know. You've gone past. So there's no use thinking about it. So I don't.'