Alvin Xiao, Period 5, 3/17/21, Day B

Alvin Xiao

3/17/21

Period 5

Modern Mythology 2021

Creativity & Fiction

A Bright Sky

Bernard Morgan came face to face with those big, blue eyes. They returned his menacing glare with an innocent expression, as if her eyes were the gentle embrace of the blue sky. He groaned as he went back into position, holding the little girl’s hand, more fragile than his glass vase at home.

“Hurry and take the picture,” he muttered.

The little girl squeezed his hand tight and smiled the widest smile she could. On the other hand, the older man started straight into the camera with an apparent disdain for the orphan.

---

Bernard Morgan was an unpleasant man. He cared little about others, and much less their wellbeing. He treasured only one thing: money. Through his eyes, money was power and transcended time. He needed no family, he needed no love. All he needed was money.

It was certainly a fitting attitude for the CEO of a multimillion-dollar investment firm. 

Bernard Morgan was a skeptical man. He did not believe in people; they were always subject to change. But he believed that everyone, himself included, was enslaved to the inevitable flow of time and the futile human condition to find meaning that did not exist. The only important thing was to be revered even after death, and the only method to achieve that was to have money.

It was simple. Give a man ten bucks, and he would help change your tire. Give a man a thousand bucks, and he would dare to run past the streets without any clothing. Give a man a million bucks, and he would make sure another person was never seen again.

Morality? Its very existence was nonsense to Bernard Morgan. It had no home in a world of human greed.

And Bernard Morgan was indeed an ambitious man. He yearned to reach the sky. Money was but a means to build the tallest skyscraper that would ever exist, caressed by the passing clouds. He longed to stand at the top, above everyone else, to be a god. His landmark would be remembered.

Unfortunately, he faced a terrible predicament. Just the day before, he was caught criticizing his local charity for its wasteful allocation of money on funding orphanages.

“Who gives a damn about parentless children? Absolutely no one. Stop donating money just to create a false sense of philanthropy and satisfaction. Use your money for something worthwhile!” he cried.

Articles flooded the press, and stocks plummeted. Bernard Morgan’s reputation was trashed for his ignorance, and it gave the man a headache. If he didn’t quickly devise a solution, his money supply would suffer, as well as his dearest wish. Luckily, his cunning secretary proposed an idea that would repair his reputation.

“How about you visit an orphanage….”

---

Click!

The picture was taken, right in front of the local orphanage. Bernard Morgan quickly retracted his hand as if he had touched garbage itself. The little girl was unfazed. She continued smiling, and looked up to her new father. She asked a lot of questions, some normal, some weird, some plain obvious. He responded unenthusiastically, with one to two words every time. But the little girl kept chatting away.

“Mister… what’s above us?”

The man looked up, tired with her endless supply of questions. All he saw was the bright blue sky. He thought about it. He thought about standing up there above the people, above the world. He thought about becoming the richest man, renowned for his skyscraper.

But all he said was, “The sky.” 

The little girl blinked twice. 

“What’s above the sky?”

The man thought about it again. What was above all that wealth and power? Was there even meaning to existing after death? He thought long and hard.

But all he said was, “Nothing important.” 

He looked over to his secretary and said, “Silence the media by tonight and spread the picture. Now take her away. I don’t care how she lives as long as she’s alive.”

Bernard Morgan started to walk away. He turned his head back one last time, making eye contact with the little girl and her big blue eyes. She smiled back, but it was a wistful smile. And he left, without saying goodbye to his new daughter.

---

Seven years later, Bernard Morgan found himself in a similar scandal after denouncing the existence of the same local charity and its support for orphans. His attempts at bribery failed, with the press labeling him as “shameless”. He looked up to the sky, exasperated. In the long run, nothing would matter. No one would remain standing after a millennium. Only his tower to the sky would.

As he stared at the sky, he was reminded of the little girl’s eyes, big, bright, and blue. Since the day of adoption five years ago, she sent letters to him every day, detailing the little and big things of her life. But he never replied. He figured she would eventually give up. But his daughter persevered.

Why did she struggle when she would get hurt anyways? Bernard Morgan was puzzled, and for once, sentimental. The girl kept reaching out for her father, despite the meaninglessness in doing so.

As such a small, fragile child fought to find love and meaning in her life, Bernard Morgan reevaluated his own journey. In the great span of time, he considered all to be meaningless but money. Yet after witnessing his child’s efforts, he was ready for something a little different. He called for his secretary.

“Free up my schedule so I have time to meet my daughter Helen later,” he said. “Before the sky darkens.”