Almost A Tragedy

Once there were two brothers. Their names were Creativity and Imagination. When they were born, they inspired awe from anyone in their presence. They were unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. They were beautiful in their innocence.

When Creativity and Imagination were young, they were permitted to roam free and uninhibited. They painted bright, vibrant pictures, with paint that spilled off the canvases. They danced, and spun in circles with unparalled enthusiasm, to songs they created. They tromped through rain puddles, made massive mud cakes, built amazing snow forts, and splashed in the pool until their fingers became pruney. They jumped in huge piles of leaves, chased bubbles as big as their heads, and chased each other through the tall grass in the field behind their home.

They were the kings of make believe. One day, they were pirates, off to search for hidden treasure. The next day, they were lion tamers, performing in the circus. They were happy. They laughed a lot. Life was fun, exciting, and new.

The day came when it was time for Creativity and Imagination to go to school. They were very excited. They couldn't wait to learn everything there was to know about the wonderful world they lived in.

School started out great, but over time it became apparent that Creativity and Imagination were different from the others. Their teacher asked them, "Why can't you just be like everyone else?" Creativity and Imagination couldn't understand this. "Why would we want to do that? How boring!", they exclaimed.

Before long, a horrible bully named Conformity started picking on them. He seemed to follow them everywhere, making comments like, "You're supposed to color in the lines! That's not what a tower of blocks should look like! Why are you dancing like that? You look ridiculous. Why did you make the horse purple? Everyone knows a horse is brown! You don't do anything right!" Conformity beat them down little by little everyday until they started to doubt themselves. They began to lose their enthusiasm and their joy. Their teachers always seemed to side with Conformity, which only made them more and more quiet and lackluster. They began to doubt their worth, and they felt that no one wanted them around.

As they grew older, they began to lose all the wonderful qualities that made them who they were. They stopped growing and flourishing and just retreated into themselves more and more until no one even paid much attention to them.

Their mother, Truth, decided that she could not sit by and watch her children be pushed aside any longer. She went to a meeting held at the school, and when it came time for the parents to voice any concerns or questions they had, she stood. She trembled a bit, at first, because sometimes it was hard for Truth to speak, and often times, people did not want to hear what she had to say. She started softly at first, but her voice grew louder and stronger as she went. By the time she finished, ..."and I think that this school should realize how lucky it is to have Creativity and Imagination in it's classrooms!", the crowd was on its feet. The parents started to applaud, and they reached down to squeeze their children closer to them, finally seeing them for the uniqueness that made them special.

From that day forward, Creativity and Imagination flourished. They affected everyone they knew. People were better having known them. They grew to accomplish many amazing, miraculous things in their lives, and they were loved and worshipped by society. They were heroes, and Truth, who could be said to be a hero herself, was proud. Very, very proud.