Moth & Flame
A moth wanders aimlessly out in the cold. His wings flap furiously as he struggles to stay afloat. This moth is not particularly beautiful. It is an average moth just trying to find warmth in this sub-zero world. Racing through the air he finds a small crack of light in a church doorway that hasn't been closed all the way. Veering his way in, he finally finds warmth within this temple. He is not welcome, though nobody denies his stay. Across the room, a luminous shrine of candles catches the moth's attention. The candles are so beautiful, so radiant, but one holds his attention more than all the others. All of them are just candles, but this one seems brighter and the moth is captivated completely. As the moth glides closer, the frost begins to dissolve from his wings. His near frozen body is thawing. Finally, he is at the edge of the candle. The wax is soothing beneath his feet. The flame flickers like wildfire in front of him. Though the moth is finally warm, his emptiness is not filled. He knows that he will get burned if he get's closer, but something in him will not feel complete unless he knows he has tried. The moth sits, contemplating his next action. After a long span of pondering, the moth finally builds the nerve to try something out. "Perhaps I could just hover above the beautiful light and gather the heat there." the moth says to himself. So valiantly, the little moth raises up from the edge of wax and floats above the candle. The heat fills him with joy and he feels a sense of contentment after a long search in the cold. Suddenly, the fire cracks like a whip as the door across the room is opened. The moth, sedated in his delight, fails to notice because his eyes are off of the flame. One wing begins to feel lighter than the other. A surge of pain fills the moth's body. His left wing has been set ablaze. He panics and tries to fly away, but his current situation has left him disoriented. He twists and winds through the air, but in his misfortune, only succeeds to find himself in a new inferno. Now, as the moth's body is burning, he reflects back on the fire. Instead of a deep regret for getting burned, this moth is glad that he lived to say "at least I tried." His carcass now drifts off into the air in the form of tiny cinders. The cinders flow out the door and brush by a moth outside. This moth feels the warmth of the air inside the church and can't help but to enter. "Finally, an escape from this everlasting cold"