Without Pain

Without Pain

This is a story about a man who loved his daughter very much. He loved her so much that he wished her never to have to experience pain. So he moved her into a mansion far up a hill, away from other houses or people. He forbade her to leave the mansion and never let her hear of any suffering.

One day when the little girl was ten she was playing in the grounds when, through the gates, she saw a boy with sad eyes.

“Hello,” she said. She had never seen a child or another human besides her nanny and her father before.

“Hello,” he said back and smiled at her.

She blinked and smiled too. Her father saw her talking to the boy and shooed him away as the girl ate her dinner. He told the boy he must never speak to his daughter again, for friends … could cause pain.

One day his little girl was sitting in his library reading a book called, Life. When the little girl was taking her bath he burned the book, it spoke of life, it spoke of sorrow, which … caused pain.

One day the little girl found a butterfly and wished to keep it as a pet in her greenhouse. Her father gently told her that the butterfly couldn’t stay. She never saw another bug or creature again, for pets … could cause pain.

One day the little girl wished to paint a picture of the sun. She never found any paint or paper, but her father filled the house with many portraits of smiling faces. He was afraid she would paint badly and disappointment … could cause pain.

One day the girl stood in the hall surrounded by the smiling faces, not one looked real. The girl looked out the window through her father’s telescope that he used to look at the stars, and saw far down the hill children playing, women reading, butterflies flying and painters painting. She saw a child cry, a woman wipe her eye, a butterfly die and a painter sigh. Her father sold the telescope, it … could show pain.

One day the girl awoke to find her father had passed away in the night. She found out from her nurse that her father had been sick for a long time, but had hid it from her, sickness … caused pain.

The girl stood in front of her mirror and stared at her reflection. She touched her cheek, it was wet with tears. She had never cried before … She had never laughed either …

The moral of this story is; without pain … what is happiness?