The Broken Lights

There once was a little boy who lived among many friends and he really enjoyed his life. He took many walks and hikes into the woods and he came across many animals and plants and trees. He loved all that he saw and never wished to harm anything he saw. He was very content with his life and he often had some very special time with his friends. That special time with his friends was shooting his airsoft gun. He really felt a strong desire to get better at shooting then his friends. But he was not sure what he could shoot that would help him get more accurate than his friends.  He thought, if I shoot plants, I could possibly kill the plants and he did not wish to hurt a plant. He thought of shooting a bird, but he was afraid the airsoft pellets could kill the bird and he did not want to harm any living creature. He enjoyed all that he saw in life. So, he questioned what he could shoot that would not harm anything but could improve his skills to win over his friends and show he was the best marksman amongst him.

 Sitting on his balcony, he noticed some lights that were a long way away and he wondered if anyone still used those lights. So, night after night he checked for any sign that the lights were still used by anyone. Each night he checked, he found there was no glow from the lights. So, he went to investigate. Upon arriving at the lights, he not noticed parts of the lamp posts were burned and the paint was old and faded so he thought these lights were old and abandoned. I could use these old things for target practice. Nobody values these old things anymore, he thought. He noticed in the in the center of each pane of glass there was a circle, so he thought this is a perfect target. I could aim for the center of that circle and I will become better than all my friends.

So, each day he practiced, and no one ever mentioned the lights. So, he was very content with his improving his aim and hitting his target. What this boy did not know that each day the owner of the lights trudged up the hill looking down at the ground from the weariness of his day and each night he climbed the hill never turning on the lights because his bills had become so high he could not afford to turn the lights on but these lights were very precious to him. For they were custom made and the creator of the lights were dead and gone. But he often smiled as he trudged up the hill thinking to himself, “one day, I am going to be able to turn the lights on when I go up the hill.”

 But year after year he was unable to afford to turn the lights on. Only using moonlight on some days to climb the hill or the glow of his phone to light his way for his phone was too old to have a flashlight app. One day as the owner climbed the hill, he was feeling a new sense of hope and he thought maybe soon, I will be able to turn these lights on so he looked up at the lights instead of staring at the ground as was his usual practice. To his horror, he saw the glass in his precious lights were all shattered in hundreds of places. He walked his path and found every one of his lights were cracked. Some were cracked as if they were hit by tiny pellets. Some were hit as if a stray pellet hit the glass here or there but the two in the middle were hit over and over again as if someone had purposely shot and destroyed the glass in his very precious lights.

Who could have done such a terrible deed? He thought and then he noticed way off in the distance a balcony and he wondered if anyone stood on that balcony and shot at his lights. He went to the home and asked the boy who lived there if he knew anything about the lights across the way. The boy who no longer was a little boy wondered if the man was talking about the old abandoned lights he had been shooting at for years. He asked if he was talking about the old lights across the valley. “Yes,” the man responded. “It looks as if someone has been shooting at them with an airsoft gun and has shattered the glass to pieces.” The boy thought, no that is not possible that the lights could be damaged for he was only shooting them with an airsoft gun. So, he went straight away with the man to see if it were true. To his dismay, he stood in front of the lights and now that he was close to the lights he could see all the damage he had done through the years to the lights to become the best marksman. He held his head in shame and said, “I am very sorry for it was me that shot your lights. I thought they were old abandoned and worthless, so I used them as my target practice.  I am very sorry is there anything I could do?” Then he learned how priceless these lights were to the old man.

The boy set out to find a replacement and every replacement he found was cheaper but never came close to beauty of the lights he had broken. The only lights that were found was something he could never afford.  So, he went to his mother who was coming to visit him for she had been away for many years while he had done this very deed. With his head down in shame, he told his mother what he had done. To his surprise his mother put her arm around him and said, “I know that whether you meant it on purpose or accident, I will take care of this for you.” Her son said, “I know I can never repay you.” She said with smile, “I will still do this for you.” She paid the debt he could never pay, and his son questioned, “Why would you do this for me?” And she said, “Because you are my son and not a good son or a bad son, you are my son and I love you.” The son was restored to his family. The old man forgave the boy for his deeds and his lights were restored. The old man learned what he needed to know about his life, and he was able to afford to turn on the precious light that lit his way in the darkness.