By Tiya Parmar

Ages and ages ago, three best friends came to an agreement that on the

brightest night of every year, they would unite, no matter what the

circumstances. So every year, they met at their special dugout- a pit in the

ground, open to the starry sky. And they would run wild, burning and

destroying things, having a blast.

Fire was the one who usually came up with the ideas for all their thrilling

(and destructive) adventures; Candle would always have some preventive

measures in place, in case things got too out of hand (which they always

did); and Light would just be there laughing and finding the light in the most

dire situations. They were an exceptional trio of friends, complementing

each other perfectly.

On one such night, just as dawn was breaking, Fire, in a bid to pull the

other's legs, said smugly, “No offense guys, but I think that out of all us I’m

the most important, to the world.”

Candle, offended, replied immediately, “What? Without me, you'd have

destroyed the very world that worships you! Which makes me more

important."

Light, wanting in on the argument, replied "Well, guess what! The world

needs me over you all. They can exist without you guys, but they won't be

able to exist without me. "

And thus, what started out as a joke, became a huge argument. They all

believed that they were more important than the other two, and because

none of them would give in, the three went their separate ways.

The exceptional trio was broken.

People found no use for Candle without Fire and Light. He was just a block

of wax. They couldn't get warmth from him on cold, windy days, and no

light to study or read by. He was stored away in dark attics and closets.

Because Light and Fire weren't exactly on good terms and didn’t want to

support each other, the sun began to dim and grow lonely. Without the sun,

the whole planet was consumed by darkness and grew cold. Everyone

became terrified, plants refused to grow, animals and humans became thin

and frail, and they couldn't turn to Candle to provide them with warmth and

light either.

Fire just caused destruction everywhere he went. Without Candle to

contain him and Light to cheer him up, he became moody and dangerous.

Those who worshipped him earlier, started chasing him with water.

Light wasn't able to exist at all without Fire and Candle. They were the ones

who let him shine. Who let the world see his power. Without them, he had

as good as vanished from the world. And so did the light inside of people.

In the days that went by, each of them wanted to reach out and apologize.

Say they were miserable without each other. But their pride always stopped

them.

A year passed. One year of darkness and coldness and misery. One year

of people being lonely and scared. One whole year and the world was a

ruin. All because of them.

One year before they had had enough.

One year before they met again.

Each of them walked towards the dugout with a broken spirit. Heads hung

low and bodies shivering. Eyes hollow with desperation and sadness.

Unshed tears. Unsaid apologies.

One year of abandonment, destroyed by a moment of silence. Healing

silence.

And then both looked at Fire.

"I know I started the fight, but let’s assume I’ve given my apologies."

"NO!", came Candle's deafening reply.

"FINE!... i'm sorry."

"What!? Speak a little louder, I couldn't hear you!" jested Light.

And that night was the brightest in all of history.