He waited impatiently
He couldn’t tell
If eight seconds had passed
Or eight hours
Or eight lifetimes

Darkness kept tugging inside his pocket
Asking him to withdraw
Withdraw from the insanity

The boy stood firm
With Hope by his side

But Hope didn’t stay for long
Through the same open window
She flew out

The boy closed the window
Tightly shut this time
So that nothing more could fly in
And nothing more could fly out

“You’re unforgivable,” gloated Darkness.
The boy said nothing in reply

He turned around to go back
To his little corner on the floor
But something unusual caught his eye
Something bright

It was Light

The boy stood half a step away from the window
Half afraid, half excited
Half regretful, half hopeful

A few minutes passed
But he could not decide what to do
He was so eager to see Light again
Feel her brightness again
But something was holding him back
He had always been loyal to his friend
This would tantamount to his first act of defiance
Would he be seen as a disloyal friend?
Would their friendship ever remain the same?
What if Light doesn’t come back?
He would have lost both of them then
He pondered more

A few more minutes passed

He asked his heart
And, in an instant,
It was clear to him
As if his mind was always made up
He opened up the window
To let Light in

But no Light flew in
Darkness was relieved
The boy was disappointed

Before Darkness could come out
And dance about
He shut him in his pocket
And closed his eyes
And tried to picture her
Her face — he was too blinded to see it
Her voice — yes, he remembered that
It was the only thing of hers left with him

In front of him
For the first time
Was an open window
Displaying all the beauties of the world
Yet he stood there
With his eyes closed
Trying to picture something more beautiful

Long after she had gone
The boy kept staring at the window
Quietly, regretfully
Biting his lip to keep the anguish within
Anguish at having let go of something
So beautiful and mystic
Darkness, on the other hand,
Was supremely glad
Having seen Light’s tail fly out the window

“Will she ever come back?” the boy asked

“Don’t keep staring there. It’s over.” Darkness replied

The boy spoke nothing. He did not even react to Darkness’ words, almost as if he didn’t hear them

“Quit staring at the window. No more of this drama now.” Darkness urged

Defiantly, the boy got up and headed for the window

It took me thousand of years to be born
Another 8 minutes and 20 seconds
To get to you
From the place where I was born
To the place where we now stand
Only to light up your heart
Only to bright up your path
Without asking anything in return
Without expecting anything from you
Yet you ask me to leave

I will grant you your wish
I will take my leave now
Never to bother you again
Never to intrude again
But if you wish, just for once
To see me again
To let me help you
All you have to do is open up the door
Crack the window a little
And you will find me here
I will be here

She stood there looking at him
Startled by his question
Wondering if he was joking
His frightened manners spoke otherwise
As he sat in a corner
Hiding his face between his knees
She wondered if she did something
To frighten him so
Should she have knocked first?
She had never knocked before

Darkness, from his pocket, whispered
“Tell her to leave. Now.”
With a mumble and a fumble
The boy uttered, “Go.”
With his finger pointing towards the door
His face still planted between his knees
She became still, more puzzled
She wanted to laugh

When his words had no effect
He repeated them
Firmly and bolder this time

“Go away,” he said

Her cheer disappeared
She looked at him closely and realised
He had meant what he had said

Once a cold, cold winter night
Like Sun hadn’t come up for days
The boy was sleeping cozily
Wrapped up in a warm blanket
With Darkness in his pocket

The rough winds rattling the window
Was the only sound they heard
On such cold, cold winter nights
The sound was harsh and cracking
Still they slept comfortable, accustomed

Tonight it was unusually quieter
The boy slept sound
But Darkness was awake
Darkness was alert
Sensing danger in the calm
Like he was to come
Face to face with his biggest fear
Sun was about to rise

He was right
He tapped the boy
Asking him to wake up
His manners were frightening and firm
The boy woke up
To a radiance
Like the one he had never seen before
The glow ignited his bones
But blinded his eyes
Covering his eyes with his hand
He asked, “Who are you?”

He knew Light could harm him not
For he had seen and heard,
Through the faintest opening
Of an untouched window,
Other kids’ merriment
Playing under Light’s cover
Yet Darkness was adamant
That he cannot be friends with them

“Keep away,” warned Darkness
“Lest you become one of them
They are ignorant, foolish
They welcome Day
And shun the Night
They do not know the gains
Of having Darkness as a friend
Do you wish to be like them?”

The little boy hesitated, “But we have no new games to play.”

Darkness replied, “We shall see.”
…
She went through her list
Of places she had to go
People she had to meet
Corners she had to light up

“Sunshine, don’t you tire
Of running around here and there?”

“Tire?” she chuckled
“Whatever does that mean?
How can one grow tired
Of doing what one loves best?
A candle never grows tired
Of eliminating Darkness.”

“But the brighter it glows
The faster it fades
Don’t you think you ought
To take a little rest?”

With a glistening smile
She said, “We shall see.”

There was a little boy
Who carried Darkness in his pocket
For Darkness was
The only friend he had ever known
The boy never stepped out
Of a dingy little unlit room
In the middle of a serene green field
All he ever did with Darkness
Was play Hide and Seek
Darkness was unwilling
To play any other game
And he was unwilling
To hurt his friend
For Darkness was
The only friend he had ever known
Though he wasn’t happy;
For the sake of his friend
He was content
…
There was a little girl
Carved out of Light
Who spread love wherever she went
For she was born for no other cause
All the folks beamed
At the very sight of her
For they knew the purpose of her visit
Some called her Sunflower
For bright flowers blossomed in her trail
Some others called her Sunshine
As she cheered birds to sing
She, though, liked Sparkles the most
She kept herself quite busy
For she had a lot of places to go
And a lot of love to spread
But she never grew tired
For she was born for no other cause
And she was happy