In a hole.
In the dark.
In a room not too far from here- there lived a boy. The boy was alone, always alone. The boy would often wonder to himself what life outside this dark hole, in this nearby room could be like. “In the world beyond my hole,” he thought, “life could be just swell. Sunlight could warm my face, the way it does in the movies. Or, perhaps, rain could ruin my day; for now, as I reside in a hole, weather plays no role in my reality.” Day after day the boy would listen in on the world outside his hole. He would hear the sounds of laughter and the smell the aroma of spring. The boy fantasized daily of how wonderful life outside his hole must be.

Oh, what a delight it would be for the boy to leave his hole. Yes, what a delight it would be for the boy to be released from his dark world of empty soda cans and rotting baby teeth. Only, the idea of escape was yet another notion of fiction in the boys psyche. For, this little boy in a hole, in the dark, in a room not too far from here possessed a secret; a secret much deeper than his hole and far darker than his room. This secret plagued his mind and ached at the very heart of his being. The boy understood that the secret was holding him captive to this hole, in the dark, in the room- but the secret was much stronger than the boy. The boy was helpless.

“Today, though the boy. “Today I will take on the secret. Today I will put an end to the existence of my greatest enemy. Today, I will become a winner.” Now, this little boy in the hole, in the dark, in the nearby room had grown wise over the years. The boy understood that true reality was just beyond the walls of this deep, black, cavern he was currently held captive to. The boy also understood that by allowing himself so much time in the hole, he had lost a certain sense of what exactly reality was. Many times before the boy had attempted to plot against the secret. Many time before the boy had thought to himself that the day he was living in would be his last day in a hole. Many times before the boy had given up hope of escape.

The boy would no longer allow this day to become another day added to his list of “many times.”

In order for the boy to conquer his enemy the boy would have to outwit the secret. The boy would have to finally prove himself stronger than the secret. The boy would have to prove himself wiser. However, the problem was that everyone knows how secrets are. Secrets have the ability to bring out the worst in even the most noble of men. Secrets have the ability to test ones character and leave even the most clever guessing. Secrets have the ability to control, initiate, and deceive- secrets take reality to a whole new level.

The boy sat in silence for hours, plotting and conspiring against the secret. Daylight passed and night followed. Today had turned into tomorrow and the boy had made little progress. Oh, what the boy would give to have a greater mind. “If I had the mind of Einstein or Shakespeare or Picasso; then I could surely conquer the secret,” thought the boy to himself. The boy knew he needed a mindset that leaked creativity, for defeating a secret cannot be done by any means in a traditional way.
After many long hours of sitting and thinking the boy reached a new personal level of enlightenment. “I’ve got it, “ exclaimed the boy as he jolted from his weathered love seat. “I shall write a letter! A letter addressed to the world.” The boy figured that if he could only admit his secret to world beyond his hole, maybe, the world beyond his hole could set him free. If only the boy could come in contact with the world beyond his hole, maybe the boy could become a part of that reality. He reasoned that, Shakespeare had stirred our emotions with his tragedies, Picasso had intrigued our minds with his paintings, and Einstein had tested our intelligence with his knowledge- maybe, just maybe- the boy could follow in their footsteps.

Maybe, just maybe, could the boy become somebody more than just a boy in a hole, by setting himself free?

The hope of escape had never been so real to the boy as it now was. The desire to become someone other than just a boy in a hole had never so aching. The boy could not rationally prove this at the time, but he knew he was one step closer to independence.
He could feel it.
His whole life the boy yearned for nothing more than freedom; however, paradoxically the boy feared nothing more than escape.

He had no choice though.
The boy knew what he needed to do.

After the letter was written, the boy folded it more carefully than ever into a perfectly designed paper airplane. (He had read a book on paper-airplanes once) As the boy folded each crease, he took a moment to take in the certainty of what he was about to do. Just as the sun was beginning to set and darkness was beginning to take over- the boy set his letter free. It read:

Reality,
It has been years since we have last spoken.
I wish dearly that I could have remained a part of you longer,
But, life has a tendency to take that which you wish most for
And turn it into something you fear.
For a long time I did feared you,
I am afraid that I still do.
Though your aromas, sounds, and sights do intrigue me-
I am safe where I am.
However, safety does not always bring with it happiness.
I no longer wish to be held captive to this false world I am a part of-
But, I no loner wish to yearn for you either.
Today, I set myself free.
Forever.

-Always,



The boy in the hole.