A dimly lit bedtime story...
Once upon a time, there was fine beeswax candle molded into the form of a mighty lion. He had a beautiful golden mane, large powerful front paws, and a long graceful tail, the end of which supported his wick, made of sturdy braided cotton. The lion was the newest addition to a wax menagerie, and he enjoyed being displayed in a place of pride on the mantle, alongside a zebra, an elephant, and a gazelle.
On special occasions, the woman would dim the lights and play soft jazz music. She lit each candle one by one. Then she slipped off her shoes and removed her bra, lay back on her sofa, and enjoyed a bottle of wine by herself. The lion felt no pain when his tail was lit; on the contrary, he rather liked that he was able to provide a beautiful glow against the wall. He observed that he and the other animal candles pleased the woman as she read her book or updated her Facebook status. He beamed with happiness that the glow from lion filling the room with a soothing essence which woman found remarkable and reassuring.
“How lovely we are,” said Lion to the gazelle, “to think how the woman enjoys the sight of us during her alone time. I do believe she loves us. Truly, this is the happiest place in the world.”
Gazelle said nothing in reply, and only looked at the lion with suspicion, for she could not decide if the lion were a friend or a foe. Nor could she decide if she thought herself lovely or not, since she had nothing with which to compare her visage. Nor could she decide anything for herself, because she was unaccustomed to speaking with the other animals and rarely entertained profound thoughts on her own.
The elephant, who was by far the largest and oldest of the wax beasts, spoke up in a wise deliberate voice. “I do not believe it is accurate to say the woman loves us, for we are but inanimate objects. We are designed to be a pleasing sight to the woman, nothing more. I have been here far longer than you, Lion, and I have seen smaller animals come and go. In fact, you replaced our friend the monkey who used to amuse us with his bawdy jokes and witty riddles. Believe me, when our wax has melted and our wicks grow long, our purpose on this mantle will be fulfilled. The woman will replace us with no remorse or regret.”
The Lion was well aware that he was inanimate, but he did not like being reminded of the fact. In his own imagination, he was descended from a long line of noble rulers of the African Savannah. The lion looked at the elephant who slumped slightly to one side where her wax had melted over time; he noticed how the flicker of the elephant’s wick appeared more regular and steady than the others. The lion supposed the elephant had made a valid point.
“Elephant,” said the Lion, “is it sad when the woman throws us away?”
The elephant sighed and took sweet time to thoroughly examine her thoughts before responding. “It is neither sad nor happy. It just is.”
“Bullshit!” interjected the Zebra who had been listening all along.
All eyes turned suddenly to the zebra in a way that made him feel scrutinized and judged. “Oh come on. Really, Elephant? What are you, a philosopher? You would have the lion believe death is neutral? Dying sucks. Nobody wants to be thrown away just because their melting pool has grown too large, or maybe they accidentally dripped a little wax on the hardwood floor. That’s the worst. I don’t know about you, but I kind of like it up here and I for one don’t want to melt away.”
The elephant was silent; she only blinked a few times, allowing a tiny drop of wax to fall from her long beautiful eyelashes.
Zebra continued, “That’s why I blow out my wick when the woman isn’t looking.” And the Zebra puffed a few times until his wick flickered and his flame eventually went out, leaving for a moment, a steady stream of black smoke rising above him into thin air. “I intend to conserve my wax for as long as I can, you know, to stick around as long as possible. That’s the only way to stay alive up here, man. Anyone who says otherwise is stupid or lying to you.”
The lion looked at the Zebra and the Zebra looked at the lion. The lion then looked to the elephant who looked at the zebra and back to the lion. Then the lion looked at the gazelle who looked away.
“You can do that?” asked the lion.
“You bet your whiskers,” replied the zebra. “And it works, too. I am half the size of the elephant, but I’ve been here almost as long.”
The lion looked puzzled for a moment. “But if you blow out your flame, isn’t that contrary to your purpose? Are you not afraid the woman will become displeased with you and discard you anyway for not producing the soothing glow that she likes?”
“She hardly notices,” replied the Zebra in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “And besides, with the rest of you lighting up the room as you do, the woman scarcely even bothers to relight me after my flame is out.”
“If we all did that,” said the elephant, “then the woman would most surely notice, and she would not be happy with us anymore. Tell me Zebra, what’s to keep her from replacing us with LED candles that never melt? Have you have forgotten your purpose.”
“What is our purpose?” asked the lion.
“We are here to bring the woman light and fill her home with happiness,” answered the elephant.
The zebra became upset because he knew the Elephant was right, and he had no other sensible response. “You know what, Elephant? Fuck you, that’s what. Don’t talk to me anymore. I don’t need you. And I’m tired of your judgmental attitude.”
Gazelle blushed and looked away.
The elephant sighed a disappointed sigh, because she knew Zebra would refuse to listen to reason. The elephant believed in her heart the zebra did need her, that in fact all the animals needed one another. But the elephant did not know how to explain that, so she remained quiet and reflected on the answer.
The lion disliked the unpleasant tone of the zebra. He felt the elephant had been unfairly dismissed, but did not feel he had authority to tell the zebra what to do. He did not know whether the elephant or the zebra was correct, so he also sat in reflection and hoped to somehow acquire Elephant’s wisdom by thinking. So the conversation ceased, and animals all sat quietly as their flames flickered and danced – except for zebra, who sat doing nothing at all.
At the end of the evening, the woman brushed her teeth and tweeted "goodnight" to her followers. She blew out the candles, first the elephant, then the gazelle, then the lion, but not the zebra, because he had blown his own flame out hours before. Finally, she went to bed.
But just then something strange happened. The lion’s flame flickered ever so slightly and slowly returned, unnoticed by the woman. Because the wick emerged from his tail behind him, the lion failed to notice. His eyes were closed, so he was completely unaware. The living room was quite dark, except for the gentle glow emanating from the lion.
Gazelle was the first to notice. “Look,” she gasped to the elephant, softly. She could say nothing further however, because the gazelle was so painfully shy.
“Oh my dear!” exclaimed the elephant.
Then the zebra opened his eyes and observed the glow coming from the lion. At first the zebra became concerned, because he knew the woman would never intentionally allow an unattended candle on her mantle as this could be a serious fire hazard. But on second thought, the zebra determined that if the lion’s flame was to burn through the night, it was the lion’s own misfortune, not his. So the zebra said nothing.
Then the lion’s eyes were opened. And he discovered he could see the other animals staring at him. “What?” he asked.
“Your tail,” Elephant indicated gently with her trunk.
The lion, still unaware his flame had never been completely extinguished, continued, “My tail? What about it?”
“You’re still lit, Idiot” chimed the zebra indignantly.
“Oh” Lion finally noticed. “So I am. Ha. That’s never happened before. Is that okay?”
The lion looked at the Zebra and the Zebra looked at the lion. The lion then looked to the elephant who looked at the zebra and back to the lion. Then the lion looked at the gazelle who looked away.
The lion repeated, “What?”
“Well?” hinted the zebra, sarcastically, “are you going to just sit there and let yourself burn like a dummy, or are you going to blow out your flame?”
The lion took notice for just a moment of his own brilliance. He seemed to bathe the entire room in a soft golden light that was quite heavenly, and he thought it beautiful. “Look! My light is powerful enough to light the entire room. Isn’t it amazing?”
Zebra surprised them all with a loaded compliment, “Sure kid, let your amazingness burn bright all night. But if you burn down the house, I will whoop your...”
But then Elephant chastened Lion, “If you allowed yourself to shine all night, your wax will melt and your shape will grow distorted and you will age before your time. Besides, the woman is asleep and she will miss your glow. And all your wick will be wasted.”
Gazelle, in a rare decisive moment, agreed with Elephant.
And so Lion puffed and attempted to blow out his flame, as the zebra had done before. He puffed and puffed and then he puffed some more, but he was unable to gather enough breath to extinguish his flame. He turned to Gazelle, who was closest to him. “Please, can you blow out my flame? I do not want to flicker the night away and end up melted by morning.” Gazelle agreed, but her tiny lungs were no match for the lion’s stubborn flame. Then Lion beseeched Elephant who began to blow through her trunk. “I need you,” implored Lion. “Will you please help me?”
The zebra laughed a cynical laugh. “It isn’t going to work. His wick is too long and his flame is too big.” At the elephant’s suggestion, they all worked in cooperation to puff puff puff at the flame, but it was no use. Even Zebra with his experience extinguishing his own flame, had given a worthy effort, to no avail. Finally, exhausted and out of breath, Zebra spoke. “I hate to tell you, kid, you’re luck has run out. Too bad for you. You’re on your own.”
The lion dripped a clear waxy tear, and he could feel the flame’s warmth against his beautiful mane. “I don’t want to melt away,” he cried. “It’s too soon.”
Gazelle spoke softly, with sadness in her voice “What are you going to do, Lion?”
“Oh please,” scoffed Zebra.
Finally Elephant, who usually tried to remain stoical about such matters began to moan with grief, her long trunk like a trumpet being tuned for performance. “Don’t make me cry too.” And despite his best efforts, Zebra felt himself overwhelmed with sadness as well. So they all shared a moment crying together.
Well, they were all crying so loud, the woman was startled awake. She looked at the crack beneath her bedroom door and noticed dim shadows dancing in the living room. The woman rose at once and went into the living room where the flame of the lion’s tail provided the source of the shadows. For just the slightest moment, she paused as she noticed the beauty of the golden glow of the room. And it was a beautiful sight, she thought. And in that moment, she truly loved the lion.
“Oops. Can’t have that,” said the woman out loud to no one in particular, ever mindful of the danger of an unattended candle. And the woman licked thick little fingers and then snuffed out the lion's flame with in one swift stroke, leaving a steady stream of black smoke rising above him into thin air.
With that, the woman breathed a sigh of relief went returned to her bedroom where she fell fast asleep. And the lion breathed a sigh of relief. And the elephant breathed a sigh of relief, and the gazelle breathed a sigh of relief, and even the zebra, who usually wanted nothing to do with any of the others, joined them and breathed a sigh of relief. And then with all the lights out, they all went back to sleep for the rest of the night.
The End.
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