The Chair and
The Lamp, A short story
The chair
twirled around on its axis, ready for work. It loved to give support, but this
seemed different. Being moved to another room? Going through two doors and into
a dark room filled with boxes all around and an odd musty smell, “Where am I?”
the Chair wondered. It was lonely here
and the chair thought about all that was given to the family that just now put
him outside in a cold, dark room.
His thoughts
wondered back to the first time he met his new home. It was a time of
celebration and he remembered being in a box. A young girl had opened the box
he was in. He was in parts but was put together so lovingly. At that moment he
knew that he was going to be in a special place. He was rolled into a room and
placed up to a desk. The desk had held a computer, a lamp, and all sorts of
writing utensils. And the books, there were so many which all seemed to change
as the young girl grew up.
As he was
thinking of the past, he recalled Lamp. He did not like Lamp at first, as he
was rather arrogant, or so the chair thought. Lamp would go on bragging about
how he was the “light” and he was so much more important than all the other
helpers the little girl had. Lamp illuminated everything! But Chair knew he gave
the little girl support and was always there when she needed to rest and sit,
to just relax or to do all her schoolwork. Chair knew he was important, but he
could never get Lamp to admit it. Until one day …
The little
girl was growing up and learning to use her mind in many ways. One day, as she
was studying, she rubbed her head, and then closed her eyes, leaned back on
Chair, rested her head against the back, and then reached over and … turned
Lamp off.
Chair had
sensed that the girl was a bit troubled and just gave her the support, helping
her gently and letting the girl release all of her tension into the leather.
The Chair just let the tension and energy flow through and out onto the floor.
Once Lamp was turned back on, he demanded to know what Chair had done. Chair
explained that people, though the light is what they seek, once in while they
need to calm and quiet their minds and go inside, in the dark, with strong and
gently support so that the light can once again shine. Lamp realized then that
the Chair had knowledge and a purpose just as important. From that day forward,
they talked about what each was sensing and experiencing.
Chair was
brought back to his awareness of his surroundings. Having dozed off, he had not
realized that there had been movement under him and he was once again in a room
at the desk he remembered and then he heard Lamp say, “I was wondering when you
were going to wake up.”
Chair looked
up and saw familiar pictures on the wall, the desk, and his friend. There were
changes, they always seemed to happen, but this particular time it was a big
change. He had fallen asleep while focusing on his past and had missed what had currently happened. They had changed the location and were now in an unfamiliar place, but
the little girl, now grown, walked into the room, turned the chair, sat down
and twirled around just like she used to when she was small. Joy filled the
room.
