《Short stories - Lessons and Life》 Endurance Endurance Once, a boy found himself lost. But wherever he went, he heard voices telling him where he should be. Soon, as the voices howled him on, he reached a river. The voices spurred him forwards, but he dared not cross Expectation river. Yet soon the voices started howling and he leapt into the deep dark currents. The voices didn¡¯t follow him, staying ashore, but neither did they guide him. The boy didn¡¯t know where to go, seemingly swimming in circles. Soon the boy grew tired and scared, the pressure from the voices pushing him under the river. The boy returned to the shore and while still sore did the voices throw him back into the deep end but this time he tired all the sooner.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Then the boy didn¡¯t dare go back into the river, for third chances were rarely given. The boy didn¡¯t want to drown for all that the voices bit and clawed at him. The boy stood at the edge for ages, the river slowly freezing over as everything turned cold towards him. Even though the river was frozen now, his body was frozen over as well and he dared not move lest he shatter. Eventually, through the clear ice, he started to notice faces on the river bed, drowned dreams that had lost their voice to express themselves, who now could only follow after him. Seeing the voices would eventually manage to bleed him dry even if he didn¡¯t drown or shatter, he gathered all the blood, sweat and tears he had shed and wore them with pride like a suit of armour. Slowly, just before the armour broke apart from the pressure, the boy¡¯s heart cracked open to reveal Endurance, like a shimmering gem. Soon, the voices found their claws scrape dull upon his skin and their teeth break upon his flesh. They couldn¡¯t do anything anymore. Endurance couldn¡¯t help but speak up as the boy once again looked upon Expectation river. ¡°Oh boy, no one can cross Expectation river. The further you swim, the further the opposite side of Expectation river is. There only Suffering lives and Suffering is Enduring without a goal.¡± The boy realised that Expectation river had always been impossible to cross and could only turn his back away from other¡¯s expectations of him. The voices howled as he left but they couldn¡¯t hound him anymore for to follow him they would have to abandon their own dreams. Foresight Foresight Once, a girl lived happily. She had come from the sea of fortune, always had had smooth sailing across it and everyday drank from its sweet water. But soon she grew tired as she didn¡¯t know what to do, the entire calm sea looked the same to her. Discontent started brewing in her heart and one day when drinking from the sea, she accidentally let it spill into the sea of fortune. Quickly the entire sea was spoiled and every time she drank from it, it would only taste bitter. Eventually while she walked so carefreely as she always did, her foot got stuck after a step too far. Bewildered the girl looked up at what had tripped her. Behind her the girl saw a tiny problem pit had caught her foot but it was too small to stop her. Seeing that it was now behind her, she didn¡¯t fix the problem pit and instead just quickly got back on her feet. But as soon as the girl took the next step, she once more fell over. Looking back, she saw that she had again tripped up on a small problem pit. Slightly hurt, the girl could only get back up again and left the problem behind her once more. Falling had hurt and so the girl took extra care to walk around every problem she saw. Yet one moment when the girl blinked, the ground before her had suddenly disappeared. Scared, she flailed as she fell over the cliff, but it was far too late to do anything.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Looking back at the cliff she suddenly noticed that the previously tiny problem pit had grown to the size of a lake. The girl hadn¡¯t realised how big the problem had become until she had gotten hurt again. As the girl laid lamenting there that she was trapped inside the massive problem pit, eventually a one-eyed man heard her cries and came over to look. Seeing the man come near the girl couldn¡¯t help but get worried and shout out. ¡°Careful! You can¡¯t escape the problem pit once you fall in!¡± Having fallen in herself, the girl could now only warn others of her mistake. The man¡¯s one eye flashed a bright light, lighting up all the handholds in the wall that the man could use to get a grip on the problem pit. Before the girl knew it, he had descended the problem pit. First the girl was happy that she had company, but then she quickly grew bitter that he could so easily leave her as that he joined her. ¡°How did you manage to come down?¡± The girl asked tentatively. The one-eyed man laughed, full of confidence, and looked down upon the girl, who was still trapped in the problem pit ¡°I am a king and I come from the land of the blindmen. It is natural that as king, that I must posses Foresight. With Foresight you can surpass any obstacle.¡± He said and tapped his one and only central eye. ¡°Lend me your Foresight, oh king, and let me see out of this pit one more time.¡± The girl asked the king of the blindmen. The king doubted the girl but his heart could only see the sad eyes of the girl. He took out his only eye and gave it to her. The girl laughed as she could now see the way to climb out of pit. Swiftly, she had escaped the problem once again. The girl looked down the pit at the now blind king. ¡°Thank you for Foresight oh king. But eyes are of little use if the heart is blind. Your own foolishness got you into this problem.¡± With Foresight still in her hands, she left the king in the pit behind. Running with the joy of her returned freedom, Foresight couldn¡¯t help but speak up to her. ¡°Oh girl, you may posses me now but Foresight is useless without Caution.¡± Distracted by Foresight, the girl didn¡¯t look ahead and with but a step was sent tumbling down the deepest problem pit she had ever seen. She screamed for help but her voice never even left the pit itself. Seeing her cry again Foresight couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°Oh girl, your problems only increase and grow if you walk around them.¡± Having Foresight rebuke her, she grabbed it in anger and smashed it on the ground. As Foresight laid near shattered it couldn¡¯t help but chuckle with its dying intent. ¡°None so blind as those who won¡¯t see.¡± It said with its last words. The pit was too deep for even light to reach and as she broke Foresight, she was submerged in total darkness, trapped.