Iris almost sighed. She couldn’t exactly argue with the point that hope did not have tangible effects. You couldn’t prove that hope did anything for you. It was a thing you had, or didn’t.
“I see…..you must think I’m foolish.” Iris watched him as she took another quick drink. “I doubt I could change your mind. All I can say is that while hope may seem like a useless, foolish thing, with no real effects, it carries you until there is something that will change things. It keeps you going so you don’t give up and let the world run over you. There are many people, Jamie, who would just sit down and die if they had no hope. Probably most people. There has to be something that promises things will be better. Let’s say you came to me and said, ‘I can help. I can make things better.’ With hope, I could believe you. Without it, I would have no reason to believe it was true if there was even a slight chance you would fail.” Iris shrugged and set her bottle back down on the table. “Hope is a chance….hope is the chance that the plans you lay down will succeed. That the things you want….” her smile found him again, faintly, “…you will get.”