Raz
Bluelighter
Once upon a time there was a little duckling.
This little duckling grew up in a pond with a mother who loved him very much and brothers and sisters who laughed at him and called him names because he was smaller and uglier than them. The little duckling wanted to be one of them, but he was never good enough...and in trying to help the baby she loved so, the mother duck smothered him and kept from him the light of day.
Times change. The little duckling grew older, and he too began to change. He began to grow bigger than his brothers and sisters, and he realised that he was different from them. His feathers were the color of night, his wings large and powerful. He looked at the world outside the pond, and wondered what it might be like out there.
He asked his brothers and sisters and they mocked and scorned him. "We are safe here," they told him. "Do you think you're better than us that you would leave the pond? Stay here where your home is, don't question where you belong." The little duckling knew that his brothers and sisters wouldn't lie to him because they loved him so, but still doubts nagged.
He asked the mother duck, and she wailed in fright. "We are safe here," she told him. "Do you want to worry me that you would leave the pond? Stay here where your home is, don't question where you belong." The little duckling knew that his mother wouldn't lie to him because she loved him so, but still...doubts nagged.
Time went on as time does, and every day the little duckling watched the sun rise and set, and every day he wondered a little more what it was like out there in the world. One day...one day the doubts nagged too much, and he spread his mighty black wings and took flight. His mother cried out to him, but the wind masked her cries. His brothers and sisters cursed him, but the wind masked their curses. And the little duckling left the pond.
...Before too long he found something most peculiar. It was another duck. Another duck who looked just like him! Her feathers weren't golden and sun-blessed, but wrapped in night. She sat in repose upon the water of this new pond with a grace that still seemed somehow sad. Excited, the little duckling descended and approached the stranger shyly. "Who are you?" the little duckling exclaimed. "Why do we seem so similar?"
"I am what you will become," the stranger replied. "Sometimes we grow in waters too poisoned, and can only be sick till we leave. Our feathers grow black from every ray of light that is denied us; our wings grow strong from bearing the weight of being less than we should be. Creatures such as we are beautiful, little one, but our beauty bears a price."
"What price?" the little duckling asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"You will find out later," the stranger continued with that same sad resignation. "Now though, I invite you to stay with me a while and learn more of who we are." The little duckling missed his family, but this new discovery had his curiosity. His eyes gleaming with happiness for the first time in his life, he stayed. And he learned.
One day, the little duckling became a swan. The stranger had been right, he was beautiful, he knew that now. He still didn't know the price, but it didn't matter anymore. He flew home to his mother and his brothers and sisters, and he knew they would be ecstatic for his return. His heart pounded with anticipation, and the miles passed not quickly enough. Soon, he was back. He called for his family, and saw his brothers and sisters fully grown. They did not recognise him at first, until he asked after his mother.
"Our mother died of sadness because her baby was gone," they told him. "You couldn't be happy where your home was, and now you have paid the price." Without another word they spread their wings and flew away, leaving the swan alone in his little empty pond. He watched sadly and remembered the old stranger's words:
Creatures such as we are beautiful, but our beauty bears a price.
The End.
This little duckling grew up in a pond with a mother who loved him very much and brothers and sisters who laughed at him and called him names because he was smaller and uglier than them. The little duckling wanted to be one of them, but he was never good enough...and in trying to help the baby she loved so, the mother duck smothered him and kept from him the light of day.
Times change. The little duckling grew older, and he too began to change. He began to grow bigger than his brothers and sisters, and he realised that he was different from them. His feathers were the color of night, his wings large and powerful. He looked at the world outside the pond, and wondered what it might be like out there.
He asked his brothers and sisters and they mocked and scorned him. "We are safe here," they told him. "Do you think you're better than us that you would leave the pond? Stay here where your home is, don't question where you belong." The little duckling knew that his brothers and sisters wouldn't lie to him because they loved him so, but still doubts nagged.
He asked the mother duck, and she wailed in fright. "We are safe here," she told him. "Do you want to worry me that you would leave the pond? Stay here where your home is, don't question where you belong." The little duckling knew that his mother wouldn't lie to him because she loved him so, but still...doubts nagged.
Time went on as time does, and every day the little duckling watched the sun rise and set, and every day he wondered a little more what it was like out there in the world. One day...one day the doubts nagged too much, and he spread his mighty black wings and took flight. His mother cried out to him, but the wind masked her cries. His brothers and sisters cursed him, but the wind masked their curses. And the little duckling left the pond.
...Before too long he found something most peculiar. It was another duck. Another duck who looked just like him! Her feathers weren't golden and sun-blessed, but wrapped in night. She sat in repose upon the water of this new pond with a grace that still seemed somehow sad. Excited, the little duckling descended and approached the stranger shyly. "Who are you?" the little duckling exclaimed. "Why do we seem so similar?"
"I am what you will become," the stranger replied. "Sometimes we grow in waters too poisoned, and can only be sick till we leave. Our feathers grow black from every ray of light that is denied us; our wings grow strong from bearing the weight of being less than we should be. Creatures such as we are beautiful, little one, but our beauty bears a price."
"What price?" the little duckling asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"You will find out later," the stranger continued with that same sad resignation. "Now though, I invite you to stay with me a while and learn more of who we are." The little duckling missed his family, but this new discovery had his curiosity. His eyes gleaming with happiness for the first time in his life, he stayed. And he learned.
One day, the little duckling became a swan. The stranger had been right, he was beautiful, he knew that now. He still didn't know the price, but it didn't matter anymore. He flew home to his mother and his brothers and sisters, and he knew they would be ecstatic for his return. His heart pounded with anticipation, and the miles passed not quickly enough. Soon, he was back. He called for his family, and saw his brothers and sisters fully grown. They did not recognise him at first, until he asked after his mother.
"Our mother died of sadness because her baby was gone," they told him. "You couldn't be happy where your home was, and now you have paid the price." Without another word they spread their wings and flew away, leaving the swan alone in his little empty pond. He watched sadly and remembered the old stranger's words:
Creatures such as we are beautiful, but our beauty bears a price.
The End.
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