Comes now the story of Muriel.
Muriel became an orphan at a very young age. As she grew up she was moved from one home to another in the foster care system. Muriel was never adopted and so she never knew nor came to value a stable home life. She also developed a peculiar habit of hoarding objects whether it was dish ware, pens and pencils, decorative trinkets, hair bands and other minutiae.
The sun visited Muriel and told her that while she would always have a hard time finding stability, she would find it in her own way eventually and she would be happy. Muriel found comfort in the sun’s words. She did not believe it, but she felt that at least she had something to work towards.
When she was of age, Muriel attended college and while taking courses she found a part time job working as a personal assistant for a corporate office. Muriel didn’t enjoy the work but it was income and she had never had financial control over her life. So she quit school when her boss asked if she’d be willing to work full time.
Muriel worked many years in that position but she eventually grew to loathe the job and her boss. Her company was a large one and she sought a different job in a different division and was transferred. But eventually that position lost its luster as well and she transferred again years later. The corporation didn’t seem to mind her transient nature. The situation allowed Muriel to have stability with the constant state of flux.
While Muriel was never able to experience a steady home life, she had always craved the idea of it. She knew that she could never find a partner and settle into a marriage. But there was a part of her that fantasized about a domestic equilibrium. But it was hard to focus the fantasy because she could not build nostalgia on memories that didn’t exist.
True to her nature and upbringing, Muriel moved from one apartment to the next. She never was comfortable in one place for too long a time. Muriel carried on her childhood habit of hoarding and would build up a collection of home goods only to leave them behind when she moved to her next place.
When her hoard-and-heave habit became too costly to maintain, Muriel discovered a way of collecting without going bankrupt. She began visiting estate sales, when families unload possessions of their recently departed loved ones.
Muriel enjoyed walking through the homes with the cast-aside objects that were once prized by those who were dead. Muriel loved to look at things and imagine how the previous owner used it and treasured it. She especially liked going through the dish sets and noticing how each home had different types of plates, saucers, teacups, flatware and cutlery. Often she would buy dish ware at the sales and take them home.
Once a week Muriel developed a ritual where she would take out her most recently-purchased dish set. She would cook an elaborate meal and dine using the parts of each set. Muriel fantasize about how the previous owners used their dishes for family meals, dinner parties and holidays. She felt some semblance of stability that she never had before as an orphan.
When she used a particular set a few times she would throw them out. It didn’t cost her much and she would just go and buy another set. This constant transition replaced her urge to move perpetually. Muriel stayed in the same apartment after that and instead settled in changing her surroundings. Much like her job, she could sit still with a shifting view.
Mariel didn’t know whether the way she lived her life was good or bad and if she was happy. She just knew that she felt like she was where she was supposed to be and that was enough.