Celestial

The Sun Reluctantly Sets

A very long time ago, somewhere between the beginning of time and its end, a bright mind came to the world just like the sun does after a long-lasting darkness: suddenly, with deliberation, and without drawing the attention of anyone.

This bright mind came in the form of a man, and not simply any man, for he was an inventor. And his existence did truly grace his village where dense brains were intolerably common and thinking a rare occurrence that never resulted in anything useful.

Therefore, the inventor became not the brightest of his peers, for he had none in his village, but far more brilliant than his inferiors, who were countless.

But should he be compared with the sun, in every aspect the two proved to be equals. And despite their ego, neither the sun nor the inventor minded this equality. In fact, they had never noticed it before.

But as the time wore on, the people of the village grew used to the magnificence of the inventor's brain, even though it was as matchless as ever. And this was the problem: the inventor was there, always there, and would remain so forever.

And indeed, this ignited the inventor's arrogance which was as blazing as the sun's own haughtiness. She wasn't at all pleased with what had become of herself. The people too became used to its light, even though it had never faltered. And this was the problem: the sun was there, always there, and would remain so forever.

Then one dull afternoon the inventor went walking in the meadows with the hope it would help him feel better. With his hands in his pockets, he paced forwards to no particular destination. He spoke angrily under his breath, and although his muttering was too low for even himself to decipher, it was loud enough for the sun to hear. They looked at each other and saw the same thing reflected in each other's eyes. They both understood.

Then without further ado, the sun and the inventor agreed on a plan to bring back their prior glory: they would both disappear – the inventor in his house, and the sun where suns usually hide – and await the people of the village who would surely acknowledge their importance and beg them to come back.

And it happened; the night arrived, but never left. Instead it remained an unwanted guest upon the sky whose courtesy prevented her from complaining.

At that moment the sun was watching the villagers in contempt mingled with curiosity. The inventor, too, did the same thing: he looked from his window, and to his delight, he saw nothing. All he could sense was turmoil, and all he could hear was a frenzied shout that went –

"The sun is gone! The sun is gone!"

Here the inventor's anger rose so that its flames almost lit the darkness. "The sun is gone, the accursed sun is gone! And where am I? Why does no one ask for me? Am I not like the sun, nay, better?"

With that he burst the door open, and marched into the street holding high a lantern from which emanated a dazzling light. And how triumphant he felt when people gathered around him and implored him to make more lanterns for them. The inventor didn't hesitate to agree.

"Behold the savior! Behold the savior!" the villagers said in jubilation.

But this irritated the sun immensely. "Behold the savior, behold the accursed savior! And where am I? Why does no one ask for me? Am I not like the inventor, nay, better?"

The sun didn't calm down until she had returned to her place in the sky. But this time her light glowed more ardently so that it almost blinded the inventor's eyes, just like his fury had previously done. And as expected the people shouted, "The sun is back! The sun back!"

But also as expected the people soon forgot all about this incident. Then after a while they grew used to the sun and the inventor, who were, yet again, equals. However, since that day neither agreed on anything, and neither spoke a word to the other.