POEM: Making A Point

[pert -5]

Making A Point
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Once upon a time there were three Points that formed a triangle which held up a big part of their joy in this world. All things in the world were not perfect, but the Points were able to make the best with what they had.

Suddenly, two of the Points were erased, leaving only a single Point behind. This one Point was unable to maintain the balance needed to hold up the joy, and so that joy fell away. This remaining Point, feeling weak in its helplessness without the other two Points, began to sink deeper and deeper into loneliness and despair.

One day a Demon came upon the Point. As you may or may not know, some demons feed upon individuals who are lacking certain qualities or aspects in their lives. The Point was so full of loneliness and despair at this time that it was the perfect feeding ground for demons. Also, is it not strange that the Point was unafraid of demons?

Anyway, the Demon spoke to the Point and said that it could return the joy that had fallen away. Not only this, the Demon said that all it asked for in return was the Point's memory of the Pen that created it. The Point was quite uncertain of this though, and voiced his concern to the Demon. To this the Demon said that the Point could sample the joy, and that if it was satisfactory, then the Point would be given the Key to that joy.

The Point saw no harm in the Demon's stipulation, and so agreed that he should experience a sample of the Demon's joy. Right away the Point noticed that this joy was quite different from the joy he had before, but in some inexplainable way it felt superior. It was so good to have the loneliness and despair go away that the Point felt compelled to make the trade with the Demon without further question.

What a relief it was to have a seemingly endless supply of joy. But as time went on, things began to change as things do. The Key to the joy started to deteriorate, and now required several turns to open the door that it used to open with one turn. The Point became concerned and called to the Demon. The Point asked the Demon why its Key no longer worked as consistently as it once did. The Demon replied that he never told the Point that the Key would not wear out. The Demon said that his only duty was to continue urging the Point into using the Key. A crafty, clever demon indeed...

The Point had found joy again, but it came with the price of having to rely upon a failing Key to remain afloat amidst a sea of loneliness and despair. That is the moral of this story.