Tale of the Sun

There was once a young boy living in a small village at the foot of a mountain. The boy lived happily with his family and friends, but felt as if he was missing something important. One day he went to consult the village elder, high atop the mountain.

"Elder, what must I do to improve my life?"

The elder did not open his eyes, but responded, "Young one, bring me a cup brimming of the sun's warm glow. Then, I shall show you how to make your life fuller."

The child did not understand the elder's message, and went back to playing with his friends. But he did not forget. Occasionally, the villagers would see the boy gazing at the sun, which the boy had cleverly devised tinted glasses to look at.

Years passed. The boy became a young man. A run of bad luck in his family had left him homeless, and his friends had long since moved away. Distraught, he returned to the elder. "Elder," he pleaded, "I asked of you long ago to improve my life and you answered me in riddles. Please, sir, give me now the knowledge to be happy."

The elder, still unblinking, replied just as he had. "Bring me a cup brimming of the sun's warm glow," he said, "and I shall show you how to make your life fuller."

The young man looked down at his feet and left the elder, unfulfilled.

Years passed.

The boy, now a sturdy gentleman, moved to a large city and began his own business. Both friends and rivals recognized him for unrelenting ambition, an endless drive to become the best. His company, Sunbright Acquisitions, succeeded through not only an insatiable hunger for mergers and buyouts, but also in reinvesting in these firms - especially technology firms.

The gentleman, for a long time, felt proud of his success. But a nagging suspicion still lingered in his mind. On a short vacation, he returned to his home village and scaled the mountain.

"Elder," he requested, "I now live a good life, and have improved since we last met. But I still thirst for more. Tell me, what is the secret to greater success?"

As always, the elder responded, "Bring me a cup brimming of the sun's warm glow. Then I shall show you how to make your life fuller."

The gentleman laughed, smiled at the old man, and left. But the nagging suspicion remained.

Years passed. The gentleman became a powerful statesman. He used his clout in both the business and political worlds to embark on endeavors most would scoff at. He ordered construction of the tallest skyscrapers, the deepest resource mines, artificial islands, even flight craft. Some questioned his almost rabid motives, but they were rarely heard of, and rarely for long.

Then things began to go sour. Unkind words erupted in a government meeting. Newspaper stories on unfair employmee treatment and practices scared the investors. His workers went on strike, and his voters turned against him. He was shattered. With no more source of income and no more power, the man took what money he could scrounge up and wandered the world, searching for something he didn't know.

Eventually he found himself back at his old home. All the faces in the village had changed, and being isolated from the rest of the world, no one there knew his misfortune. The man took up residence in the village and began to live a quiet life, making a living through petty labor and tasks. But during this time the man's ambition returned, and he thirsted to become more than the tiny village could afford him.

One day he went to the village elder again.

"Elder, I have asked many times now what it takes to be happy. You give me the same answer every time, as if it were simple, yet I am no closer to it than I was many years ago. Please, guide me."

The elder, seemingly the same age as when the man first saw him, had not altered his reply. "Bring me a cup brimming of the sun's warm glow, and I shall show you how to make your life fuller."

The man was angered now. He began to lash out against the elder, but soon realized the folly and futility of this and sat down. He thought for a moment, then stormed back down the mountain.

With his remaining assets and all his charisma, the man brought the village to his side. He told them of his dream: to fly from the world, and to the sun; to achieve technological and explorational goals never before imagined in the realm of man. He scouted out all the materials he would need, and asked the villagers to travel, and recruit more people for his cause, promising untold riches.

Many years passed.

The man, now an old man, finally saw his vision completed. Where once was his quiet little village now stood the center of a bustling metropolis, all orchestrated of his doing. No one ever questioned where the money came from, but only one man knew, and he was not willing to let those horrible skeletons out of his closet.

On the outskirts of town was a launching pad and a craft which, by virtue of exhaustive calculation and testing, was thought to be able to travel close to the sun. A device and container on the craft were designed to capture and transport some of the sun's essence.

With a small crew, the old man himself flew and operated the craft. Every stage of the mission, from takeoff to capture to landing, was widely celebrated. When they returned, the man held the sun container aloft triumphantly. He then handed it over to his engineering team for study.

Unbeknownst to all, he hid in his suit another, smaller container with the sun's essence. Late that night, he went to see the village elder.

The man sat in front of the elder. "Old man," he started, "though I am now one myself.... You know I have always desired for a better life. And I know that you are able to answer my question. Whether you need this for it or you were simply testing my worth, I can now give you what you seek."

He put the small container in his hand and presented it to the elder. The top of the mountain was lit as clear as day.

The man saw the elder's eyes for the first time. They widened at the sight of the sun's essence.

"You say you sacrificed your life for this?"

The man, startled by new words from the elder, awkwardly responded "Y-yes, I so much as did."

The elder looked down at the ground for a moment. Then he raised his arm and punched the man in the face. "You fool," he fumed, "do you even know what a figure of speech is?"

The man, even more startled, rubbed his cheek and looked at the elder, confused.

"The warm glow of the sun was symbolic! You were supposed to cup your hands toward the sun, making them warm, and enjoy the simple things in life! You were supposed to learn to make the most of your situations!

"You had great ambition and talent! But you've wasted it all! Now you are an old fool. Begone!"

The old man, now too angered by his plight to reflect on the elder's words, struck back. He forgot that he still held the sun's essence in his hand. The blow wounded his arm, and vaporized much of the elder, killing him instantly. The old man fell to his knees and cried.

That night, the man buried what remained of the elder in a cave on the side of the mountain. He then went back up and rooted himself in the same place the elder had lived, surviving off the offerings the villagers had given him. When asked what happened to the former elder, he only said that "the torch had been passed. Now I am here for your guidance."