In the course of studying story and its component parts- character, thematic armature, bright colors- I found myself quite unexpectedly developing parables.

Parables exist solely to convey a theme or moral truth- plot, setting, everything else is minimized so it doesn't distract from the point of the story. Characters exist only to the degree they're needed to dramatize the theme.

Some schools of thought hold that this is the ultimate embodiment of story, it's highest and purest form. If you grant that stories exist only to convey thematic truth, then they'd be right.

I tend to think otherwise, but exploring this model still proved enlightening. And productive- I wound up discovering a few parables of my own.

And that's really how it felt with these- not like writing, but like finding. Once discovered, it seemed only appropriate to transcribe them- and why not, share them.

So here's my first- the Parable of the Lantern.