Dark vs Light

The Ultimate Choice

Somewhere in this world, maybe hidden, maybe in plain sight, there's a prison disguised as any regular building on the outside as you see around, but inside is a different story.

In that dark prison with no way out, there's a little girl who used to be very lively. On a cold stormy night, as she is sleeping soundly in her comfortable bed, she has a nightmare and wake up to the sight of darkness all around.

The ice cold, hard floor greedily eats up all her warmth. Her energy drains quickly by the second; her smile disappears in a blink of an eye. Being trapped in a box with no way out is torturous. Her spirit is slowly dying.

The loneliness aura fills up every inch of the cell; the dead silence persuade negative thoughts to enter her mind. Everything in there destroys the prey's hopes, dreams, and the desire to be happy.

Pretty soon, her heart and body turn cold, so cold that she can't even feel the bitter cold all around her. She then forgets what happiness, warmth, and love are.

Seasons change, and through a small crack in the wall, light shines through. At first, she is scared of that warm, radiant light.

The appearance and disappearance of it seems to be calling to her, "Don't be afraid. Come to me, and I'll heal you."

She gathers up her courage and hesitantly reach out for it. At the moment she makes contact with it, she pulls back her hand quickly. The light leaves a strange feeling on her skin. It feels different but nostalgic at the same time. She is curious yet amazed by it. She wants to experience that feeling again.

On her second try, she let the light touches her a while longer. It traces every part of her hand that she allows access by turning, twisting, and moving her hand. She enjoys the feeling of it. Little by little, her hand becomes a bit warmer. The discovery fascinates her, and she wants to stay like that forever.

However, the sunlight disappears by nightfall. She becomes sad all over again; throughout the night, all she could think about is that thin streak of light coming from the crack to the cold floor.

She grows more and more impatient as darkness freeze. Her feelings and desires grow stronger the more she thinks. She gets frustrated at the feeling that time, too, had freeze. Hopes, desires, frustration all turn into depression.

Finally, the light climbs in and waves good morning to the restless girl; she is overcome with joy at the sight. She jumps up and showers herself in what little light she gets.

Then, that amount no longer satisfies her; she wants more. She tries everything she could think of to get more, but all of her ideas fail.

A thought strikes her. The only thing separating me from this light is this wall.

She tries punching and kicking the wall, but it's too sturdy. However, she won't give up. She continues to hit the wall until she gets tired; then she rests and gets back to work upon waking up. She repeats this routine everyday until at last, all her hard work knocks down the thick wall with only bare hands and feet.

Blinding light flashes her eyes, making her unable to see. The scorching heat melts her heart and warms her body so fast that pain flows through her body. It's a painful experience. Now that she really sees the true nature of the sunlight, she wants to go back to the darkness.

She regrets trying so hard to break down the wall that protects her from the cruel sun that disguises as being good.

The sun protests, "Living in darkness and isolation made you sad. You were cold, lonely, and soulless. I showed you what warmth is. I gave you happiness. I taught you how to desire, hope, and love. You were able to have courage and determination. What more do you want?"

In anger, darkness replies, "You hurt her. Because of you, she once again learns what happiness is as well as sadness. Things like love only ruins her in the end. The more she is happy and opens up, the more broken she will be. If she has no feelings, then she won't be in pain."

"How could you ever know what it's like to be happy? You're always depressed. Don't talk bad about something so special to everyone else."

"I, too, once fell in love deeply, and because of that, I was hurt deeply by the one I love the most. Don't you realize? Some people become scared of happiness and love because they were victims. You're too ignorant to realize when you hurt others. I'm only protecting her."

"Your protection is unneeded. Love makes one stronger!"

"Love breaks people and tear their hearts to pieces!"

Their argument goes on and on. Every word pierces through the little girl and lingers in her mind, making her head spins and throbs. She doesn't know what to think or who to listen. Suddenly, she collapses, and everything goes dark. All sounds fade out. Only dead silence remains.