Member-only story
The Lake and the Not-so-Magic Bus
There is a long road.
All buses with passengers on this road can travel only in one direction.
There is a lake at the end of the road. And there is a town on the other side of the lake. All passengers have to go to that town first before they continue their onward journey.
All drivers are driving on this road for the first time.
No bus driver knows about this lake as it just got filled up during the recent rains.
On the first day, the first bus starts traveling.
At some point along the journey, the driver notices a sign on the right side that says “Buy Life Jackets, Boats, Rafts, etc. Here ➜” and there is a narrow unpaved road going somewhere.
The driver, who doesn’t know about the lake ahead yet, decides to ignore the sign and he keeps driving. As he approaches the lake, he realizes that he has to make a choice. The lake looks small to his eyes. Even though he doesn’t know how deep it is, based on his life experiences, he guesses it can’t be terribly deep and also since it’s relatively quiet, he comes up with what he thinks is a safe plan.
He asks all his passengers to get off the bus. He has a few life jackets in the bus, but not enough for all. So, he…
