Once upon time there was a town full of people, in a far away place. The town was not that big, neither was it really that small. As towns go, it was quite the perfect size. The town was full of people, young and old, of dogs and cats, and houses of all shapes, sizes, and colors. People in that town far away were generally happy, and it was a good place to be.
Sometimes in the town it was summer and the sun was shining, the hills would have green grass and trees that kissed the sunlight. The rivers would flow with clear, cold water and people, young and old, would play in the long, summer days. Sometimes in the town it was fall and there was a strong wind that seemed to constantly blow. The hills around the city would be colored yellow, copper, and orange, and everything would be changing. Sometimes in the town it was winter and everything was white, covered with a fine layer of packed snow that would crunch under your feet as you walked. The sun would take frequent naps and was seldom seen, the moon taking its place as the giver of light. Sometimes in the town it was spring, the sun would return, and its heat would melt the snow. The grass would grow, leaves would sprout, and flowers would bloom in all their glory. The days would grow brighter; and smiles would return to the faces of everyone in the town, as they passed each other and said a friendly hello.
No matter the weather, people worked hard in the town and, young or old, found ways to occupy their time. There were people in the town who built things, great things, small things and things that were built for no reason other than to have been built. There were people who painted and made great works of art that would line the city streets, or great monuments that stood in the center of town on a hill for all to see. There were people who were doctors, people who were fought fires, police officers, people who worked with their hands, people who made all kinds of food the townspeople would eat, and people who worked at nothing all day. Everyone had something they would do that made life in that town a little bit better.
As towns go, this was a good town, but one day something changed...People in the town started acting differently. It seemed as though there was a dark cloud that had moved in, and every day it seemed to grow larger, casting a bigger shadow down on this once sunny place. People who used to smile didn't smile anymore. People who used to laugh seemed sad. People forgot to say hello and everyone seemed to be afraid. Many people were lured into the darkness, and those who weren't, left.
As the time passed, the people in the town forgot the changing of the seasons, and they forgot that theirs' was once a perfect town that was neither too quiet nor too loud, with not too much mischief and not too much boredom.
The great works of art that lined the shops and cottages fell to ruin. The music from the music makers stopped, as the darkness crept in. Everything in the town was just a bit more forgotten and a little more broken.
One day a very average person looked around at the town, and the people in the town, and saw how dark the place had become, and how unhappy everyone was. They remembered when the town was a place of beauty and love, where there was hope and happiness. Every day they would walk through town and see the bad people doing bad things. Every day they saw it get worse and worse and every day the dark cloud grew. This made that person very sad and made them want to do something about it. But what could an ordinary, and very typical person, do to try and change things? The people that lived under a dark cloud, who liked to hurt and steal, were dangerous and powerful, and there was many of them in that town. This one person was alone, or so they thought.
That night, A plan was hatched to try and bring back some of the light, and make the dark cloud go away. The next day things started to change. A lone voice began to speak...It spoke about the town, about the way that people used to greet each other, about how a neighbor was a friend, and not a stranger. A voice spoke about how the sun used to shine and how children used to play in the grass that was withered and faded. It spoke about the sounds of music and laughter that had been replaced by the sound of something sinister, and dark, that no pen can best describe. And it spoke about love and peace. Every day that lone voice spoke, and every day there were more listeners.
One day that voice brought a microphone, so that even more of the townspeople would be able to hear this message of hope. That voice would tell people to think happy thoughts, and to stay away from the bad people, and the things that caused harm to each other. Sometimes it was just a simple encouragement, someone saying 'I believe in you'. Sometimes it was a voice that said 'it will be alright'. Sometimes there was no talking, only the quiet embrace of a comforting hug, wrapped like a bandage around a hurting soul.
Slowly the townspeople began to heal. The things the bad people were doing, the towns people stopped doing altogether. The dark cloud passed, and soon the sun was shining again. Now that is not to say that life in this town was perfect or that there were no problems, but on the whole, life was quiet, peaceful and just the way that one solitary, and very ordinary, person remembered...
Copyright Roxx Hunter 2018.