Julianne looked at the empty, immense room. Then, she looked at the text.
She walked to the dining room—a space large enough to hold a town council meeting—and sat alone. A team of people had prepared a three-course meal, yet she felt no hunger. The exquisite food felt… heavy. She thought of a story she’d read, the "paradox of affluence," where having too many rewards eventually steals the capacity to enjoy them. affluence
Her phone chimed. It was an email from her brother, offering to meet for coffee at a small cafe in the city, the kind that didn't have valet parking. He often talked about "time affluence," the idea that real wealth was having the freedom to choose how to spend one's day, rather than just filling it with obligations. Julianne looked at the empty, immense room