Aglow in the Moment

Aglow in the Moment

by Rick Pritchett

It took only eight minutes to first reach the room. Silently passing through the window, pausing first on a chair used by VIPs and "regular folk", the movement steady, regular. The chair received its transient glow, warmed by its touch. Onward it moved, drifting next toward the large, L-shaped desk, each area of the dark mahogany highlighted by the presence and then dimmed at its passing. It continued its trek, reaching out, the important papers at rest on the desktop, spreadsheets with sales figures and budget numbers, letters to potential clients all lit up by its touch then vanquished to shadows as the progress continued.

Climbing the white, sterile walls, it rested momentarily on the picture of a young girl, dressed in her soccer outfit, smiling, holding onto the trophy. Her eternal happiness and joy beaming in the moment, never extinguished even as the journey moved onward. Slowly, predictably it moved, covering everything it touched. Finally overtaking the picture of the happy girl, it almost simultaneously rests on the crisp sheet of paper hung on the corkboard by one, small pushpin. In time its effect will extend to the paper, yellowing it, fading the print. Now, however, the goal attained, the writing stands out:

"Only the individual, free in mind, free to choose, driven by purpose, shines as brightly as the sunshine!"

Passing on, the beam sets, its task complete.

Author's note: This story was submitted as part of the March 2005 contest in the Writer's Workshop and was limited to 250 words.

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