The Fire

The Fire

2 mins
230


All children, in their dreams, visit an old lady. They walk up to her with eyes shut and wait for the lady to drop a lump of burning coal in their outstretched hand.

"Take care of it," the lady says out of routine, "you only get it once."

At this, the children turn around and sleepwalk back to their beds.

But there was once a little boy who opened his eyes and asked the lady, "Why only once?"


The old lady looked at his illuminated face and said, "Because it is limited. And I must distribute one to every child."

The little boy crouched by the lady and asked, "What should I do with it?"

"This is the fire of passion," she said, "You will know what to do with yours. But be careful, most children lose it by the time they grow up."

"How do I keep mine safe?" the boy asked turning the coal in hand.

"That's for you to find out," she whispered.


The boy pleaded with the lady to tell him the secret. He said he couldn't leave otherwise. The lady looked at the other children waiting in the queue, looked back at the pleading boy and then closed her eyes to think. Then she breathed out, opened her eyes and said, "Your heart is the safest place to keep the coal. Let your passion set you on fire. Let your soul burn with it. And then you will never lose it."

The boy thanked the lady and left. When he woke up in the morning, he had forgotten about his dream.


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