Regrets
My train of thought started on a rather dull case we had handled, ordinary save for an offhand remark it prompted Holmes to make.
"Regrets are so often rooted not in what has been done, but in what has not been done."
From there the thought preyed upon my mind, until one day I was finally compelled to act upon it, in hopes of silencing it once and for all.
"Holmes, this question may seem out of the blue, and yet I have been pondering it for quite some time… tell me, is there anything you've done that you regret?"
He cheerfully shook his head. "My dear fellow, what have I to regret?" Wryly, he added, "Aside from being a victim of Lestrade's driving skills, that is."
"It would appear that I was unclear. I did not mean if you regret anything in this life, but rather in your last life."
A quirked eyebrow. " 'My last life'? Honestly, Watson, you make it sound as if I've been reincarnated."
And that was all he said on the subject. Holmes, while never the most upfront of chaps, rarely takes occasion to lie to me, instead preferring to leave my questions unanswered.
And yet in a way I did get my answer, for later that night as Holmes played, the tune he composed slowly descended into a deep, sonorous lament.
Yes.