The People who Stare at the Sun, or reasons for being an optimistic pessimist
A man stands staring at the sun. Seeing nothing but its light and seeing the goodness and beauty that it brings to the world. As the sun sets he does not look away he simple sees the bright orb dim and set. Afraid he stumbles blindly into his hut and lights a candle, a humble replacement for the ball of life that has just sunk bellow that horizon. The next morning the man's younger brother comes to visit him. The man is standing still on his porch watching the sun once again. His brother sees his state, the white puss oozing from his red and burnt eyes. The younger man tries to persuade his brother to look away but is forced away. The brother has not choice. He picks up a peace of wood and hits he beloved brother in the head with it. The the younger man drags his unconscious brother into the hut and delicately tends to his ruined eyes. The man awoke in the darkness of the bandages and fear struck him. His brother forced his hands away from the bandages and bound his arms.
"This is for your own good brother." The man grunted and weeped, the tears of fear for what he thought was to be a life forever in darkness locked away from his beloved sun by his now hated brother. The younger man tended the older for over a month, replacing the bandages regularly, feeding his brother and tending to his crops which were in shambles do to his obsession with the sun. On the night of the new moon the younger man took the bandages off of his older brother. Miraculously his eyes were healed. The younger man lead his brother out into the dark of the night and told him to look up. There the stars burned brightly and the milky way stretched across the sky. The older brother saw it as if for the first time and his breath was taken away. They sat watching the stars the whole night letting the stars gentle beauty caress and fill their souls. As the firmament paled and color burst to life on the heavens the two brother sat in awe. The older took in the colors of the trees and the soil and the flowers and the water.
"You see my brother," the Younger of the two started. "I would rather spend my life in darkness and be able to see the light of the world than to lose myself in the light of the source and never see what it was truly intended for, to revile the beauty of the the world and brightness of the harts of people. I would rather be able to see than blind myself with light." The older brother with a tear in his healed eye put his arm around his brother and thanked him.
"This is for your own good brother." The man grunted and weeped, the tears of fear for what he thought was to be a life forever in darkness locked away from his beloved sun by his now hated brother. The younger man tended the older for over a month, replacing the bandages regularly, feeding his brother and tending to his crops which were in shambles do to his obsession with the sun. On the night of the new moon the younger man took the bandages off of his older brother. Miraculously his eyes were healed. The younger man lead his brother out into the dark of the night and told him to look up. There the stars burned brightly and the milky way stretched across the sky. The older brother saw it as if for the first time and his breath was taken away. They sat watching the stars the whole night letting the stars gentle beauty caress and fill their souls. As the firmament paled and color burst to life on the heavens the two brother sat in awe. The older took in the colors of the trees and the soil and the flowers and the water.
"You see my brother," the Younger of the two started. "I would rather spend my life in darkness and be able to see the light of the world than to lose myself in the light of the source and never see what it was truly intended for, to revile the beauty of the the world and brightness of the harts of people. I would rather be able to see than blind myself with light." The older brother with a tear in his healed eye put his arm around his brother and thanked him.
posted by The Golden Retirver at 11:46
2 Comments:
I wrote a short story about a blind man and the sun a month ago, but it wasn't much good so I scrapped it. I like yours better. I suppose I tend to be a sun-starer; I need other people to redirect me.
The obvious (non-mandatory) question: are you the protagonist? Or his brother?
To your question I think I am neither. I would view myself more as the hut with bother brother living within me. (I'm not really sure where that answer came from or where the story originated from but I think it is fitting)
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