Wondering - Imagine This

Inspired by my friend Kirk

Once upon a time there was a little girl who lived in a box. The box had four sides and everything was perfectly black or perfectly white. There were no shades of grey in the box. The little girl wasn't alone in the box by any means. About 40000 people lived in the box, most of them very happily but if you lived at the bottom of the box as this little girl did you'd know that there were cracks in the box. Not that you ever mentioned them. Cracks were things which were only spoken about in hushed tones behind closed doors if at all. In fact cracks were so unmentionable that most of the people who didn't live at the bottom of the box were blissfully unaware of their existence. All this even though some of the cracks were big enough for whole families of people to fall through.

Now look over there. See that little girl? Look what she's doing. It's something forbidden. She's looking out of the box!

That little girl grew curious as the years went by. Every day she was told never to look outside the box. "There's only blackness out there" she was told, "And black is dangerous." but often she didn't even hear. Her mind was wandering, wondering and questioning. She longed to know what was outside the box. When she hoped no one was looking she'd gaze out of the box and look at all the people outside. Sometimes people would even stop and talk to her.

"Come out here little girl."

"No," she replies, "It's black out there and black is dangerous."  

"What's black?" asks a boy one day. "This is grey."

Now the little girl had never even heard of grey. She'd always been told that things are either black or white. She looked more intently into the wilderness outside the box and realised that the boy was right. It was very frightening at first looking out into the blackness but eventually she got used to the fact that if she looked long and hard enough, things she thought were black were in fact a shade of grey. Some spots were a darker grey than others but still not black like she'd been told.

Now she is torn. Look at her! "Who is right?" she's wondering. Is it the people in the box who see nothing but black and white or the people outside the box who see nothing but grey? As we speak she sits on the edge of the box looking from left to right. One leg in and one leg out.... wondering.

 

Author's Note

Allegorical.
Feedback? Comments? :)

Reviews

[Jacob Clifford]

Wonderful tale! It's true that there exists much gray. In fact, one could say there is no such thing as black or white. Everything has exceptions and everything can give way to something else. I love how you chose to center the story around a child, as they're told how the world works in very black and white terms. As we grow older, we learn that nothing is so simple.

P.S. I was going to make a "thinking outside the box" joke, but I see it's already been done in the reviews. Darn.

[Stan Lee]

Thanks for your review Clifford. I'm glad you enjoyed the tale. I agree with your comments 100%. :) Nothing is so simple.

[Beccy]

A wonderfully creative and thought provoking write. A child's mind is so open and they should always be encouraged to look outside the 'box'; and every question they ask, should be given an answer.

Beccy.

[Stan Lee]

Thanks for your review Beccy. Glad you found it thought provoking. :)

[Dr. YumnaKay]

Another one of your out of the box stories. I read your 'Je suis Nombris' too. Both inspired me a lot.

[Stan Lee]

Oops. Must have missed this review. :) Thanks Yumna. Glad you were inspired.
Ps. Remind me if I forgot to return the favor?

[Dr. YumnaKay]

Hey, Andronicus! To me it doesn't work that way.. I don't expect anyone to review my work just because I reviewed theirs.. I am inspired still ☺
You are welcome! 😊

[Stan Lee]

No worries. I like to reciprocate though :)

[Dr. YumnaKay]

Cool! Feel free 😊

[Lorry]

I remember this one from my previous incarnation and it is still one of my favourites of yours. Maybe one day we can all escape the box and see what this thing I keep hearing about really is, colour :)

[Stan Lee]

Thank you Nemo. (:

[Lorry]

You're welcome :)

[Doodley]

A very nice allegorical write.

Life is just not all black and white, but also a billion shades of grey. The story questions the need for blinkered and narrow minded thinking and persuades the reader to open themselves up to all the possibilities of life.

It is the nature of the human mind to question one's surroundings, and that one source of knowledge is not definite. Knowledge is permeable. As your story intimates, it is wise to always look outside the square, or box, as you have written, and embrace all the possibilities of the multi coloured realm.

Once again, interesting and thought provoking. Nicely written.

[Stan Lee]

Thank you for reading & reviewing my story Doodley. I'm glad you liked it & thought provoking is always a good thing. :)
I gather from your comment that you understand the set of all black and all white as well as the shades of grey in between. Like Taylor said below, seeing only grey is just as myopic as only seeing black and white.
Thanks again. :)

[PaintedBirdy]

i like this story, and how you contrast the two worlds (inside the box or outside it). it's interesting to think about. but what i like most about this is that it is a coming-of-age story of the girl. she's growing up and learning more about the world (not just the world she was told about as a child or "little girl"). i think as kids we're told things are "forbidden" but to become adults and individuals we have to break those boundaries (boundaries of childhood), which seems to be what the girl is doing. it's what i did too. at the end of the story i was thinking "just wait till she discovers the world of color!" :)

thanks for sharing this story, Andronicus!

[Stan Lee]

Thank you worldly boy. ;) I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on my story. I enjoy discovering how almost everyone has a different interpretation and/or thoughts of the story. The world of color could be quite mind blowing for this particular character I imagine! Thanks again for your thoughts! :)

[PaintedBirdy]

you're very welcome :)

[Shannon]

The perils of Black and White thinking...You miss a whole beautiful world of grey!

[Stan Lee]

Ah yes, but what about the perils of living in a grey world where there is no black or white?
Thanks for reading S.Mi :)

[Jyoti_Ablaze]

Wow! A profound story, Andrea.
Reminded me of Pandora and the evil box.
Was a fun, intriguing read.
Often we meet such cross roads in our life where both the paths seem equally promising and we are left in the enigma to choose any but one.

[Stan Lee]

Thank you Jyoti. I appreciate you taking the time to read and review. :)

[Jyoti_Ablaze]

You are very welcome, Andrea. I enjoyed this very much.

[Samuel Hardison]

best thing ive read one here, and im not just being kind because you gave me a review, i was just curious on what you write about, far surpasses my abilities

[Stan Lee]

Thank you Samuel. I am flattered by your very generous review. Keep writing & keep smiling. :)

[Taylor]

Now isn't this the challenge of our age? To see beyond extremism. Of course in your wisdom (and indeed you are a wise old soul) you understand that seeing only grey is as myopic as seeing only black and white. Good job.

[Stan Lee]

Thank you Taylor! It makes me so happy when people see the point of what I write! Thanks for taking the time to read and review. Keep smiling. :)