Scintilla, Born to Achieve
The Analogy

Brilliant amidst the darkness,
Perfect within its creation,
The light at the end of the tunnel, Scintilla.
Stands on the threshold of a new beginning.
She is the existence that endures
Beyond space and time.

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Scintilla reminds what life was meant to be:
The desire to achieve, the urge to embrace life,
One achievement leading to another
Before the culmination of its purpose.
Yet well she knows - and helps us know:
Success lies not always in the goal of victory,
But in the struggle and the hardships.

There lies the real strength.

Only the darkness helps us to understand
The real Scintilla,
Who was and is and will be ever
The promised beam of help we seek.

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Each of us needs a prop to lean upon,
A presence whence we draw our strength.
The unassuming pillar that selflessly supports
Unpraised the heavier structure.
There lies the moral of its story
The pillar’s oblivion is its glory.
 

The Prologue

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Twilight was Ayden’s favourite time of day. As the sun set in beautiful shades of orange and purple over the sea, he would sit cosily in his pyjamas and gaze at the glittering sparks of white light across the gentle undulation of the water. As the sky darkened, the myriad pinpoints of stars sharpened. Their beauty made him content, and he would take a deep breath, stretch, yawn and drift off to dream of playing at Superheroes with his friends.

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For all that he was almost five years old; he knew that he was lucky to be surrounded by happiness and excitement. He had seen other children who did not seem to share the happiness he felt, and, from time to time, he wondered why this might be so. It did not seem fair that he should feel so happy when others could not. It did not seem fair that not every child could find the way to be a superhero in their dreams or to have nice clothes to wear or be warm and happy and healthy all the time.

Ayden gazed out of the window at the bright evening star, willing her help. He stared at her. Then he scrunched up his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Starlight, starlight". He hoped he might be heard. The curtains billowed gently. The strings of fairy light in his room swayed. He became aware of the presence of a softer glow within his room. He smiled.

"I was waiting for you."

The voice of Scintilla was calm. "I told you I would return when you reached your fifth birthday.

I am here now, and you can see me. But I have always been near you."

"I called to you often. You never came."

"Did I not? And when you called out that time when you could not work out how to build your Lego bricks, who was it that whispered the words "perseverance and persistence" in your ear. And did you
not discover that those words helped you to discover the way to achieve what you wanted? I was always there, inside you, guiding you towards the discovery of your own light and strength and
beauty." Ayden nodded. His face was serious.

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"I have been with you always, as I am for all children. And now, I need your help. Just as when you make a garden that can grow and sparkle just like the stars, so every child needs to find the beauty and strength that lies within each of them. You know well that light now. I want you to share your garden of light so that every child can close their eyes and see their own garden, sense its possibilities and understand that each one of them has the resources to resolve all fear and hesitation. Your garden, the Garden of Ayden, can be their garden too. It can help them to find the strength and light within them. You can show them how to smile and see the sparkle of the stars upon the sea." She looked at Ayden and smiled. He smiled back and light was everywhere.