Storytellers play god with their stories. They bless and they curse. They create and destroy. They let people die, or live, maybe healthy, maybe maimed. It’s all up to the story’s author. There are a few safeguards. First, the storyteller knows the receiver can always choose to put the story down. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stopped a story (book or movie) halfway through because I didn’t want to be left with what was going to come next. I am self-protective that way and glad for the right to be so. And if by chance I miss the opportunity to be surprised...?