The Little Boy Discovers His Home Is Gone
By: Jocelyn Soriano
Tags: Flash Fiction, Childrens Books, Short Story, Fiction, Children

There comes a time when after all that you’ve been through, you realize that you’ve accomplished nothing at all. You have kept your hopes up. You have endured the night. You have decided to be strong. But in return for all of your efforts, all you could see is that you have failed. This was exactly how the little boy in our story felt the moment they were able to see what happened to his old home.

“Is this really your home?” the firefly asked.

“It used to be,” the boy sadly replied, for all they could see were the remains of his old house and his old garden. Where there used to be a house, they saw only a big hole. Where there used to be a lovely garden, they saw only dead plants here and there, unable to tell them whatever happened to his home.

“I–I thought I could see Mama again,” cried the boy. “I thought I could hear her say my name.”

The firefly could not think of anything to say. After all, what do you say to someone who has lost his home twice? What do you say to someone who is now left with only a big hole instead of a home?

Speaking of holes, neither the boy nor the firefly was prepared to see big rocks suddenly being thrown down the big hole where there used to be a house. After a few moments, they saw two more coming, and they ducked as they tried to see where the rocks were coming from.

“Look!” exclaimed the firefly.

The little boy turned and saw a very big man holding very large rocks. Without any effort at all, the big man was able to crush the rocks. He was about to throw what was left of the rocks when the little boy suddenly spoke.

“Were you the one who destroyed my home?” asked the little boy, clenching his fist and almost bursting into tears.

The big man, on the other hand, was a bit surprised. You’d think he’d get angry at the boy but he just stopped what he was doing, looking quite puzzled with what he saw and heard. After a while, the big man replied, “No, I was not the one.”

“Then why were you throwing those rocks? And why is there a big hole where there used to be my house?”

“I don’t know. When I came here, there was no house; there was just a big hole.”

With this answer, the little boy clenched his fist even harder. Was the big man telling the truth? If he was, who is now to be blamed?

“I hate you!” cried the little boy. “I just–hate you!”

The big man didn’t know just what to say. He was even more amazed now at the boy.

Meanwhile, the firefly flew about in circles, frantically thinking about what to do. He wanted to convince the boy to just let it go. To forget everything. But he has never seen the boy like this before.

“Why?” the boy suddenly asked. “If you did not destroy our house, why are you here? And why were you trying to destroy everything?”

The big man still didn’t know what to say. For a time, he looked at the sky as though he could see the answer there. Then, he sat, and he looked at the rocks he has just crushed with his hands.

“This was all I could do,” the big man finally said.

“What–what do you mean?” the boy asked.

“This was all I could do,” the big man repeated. “I’m really good at crushing rocks. I’m good at throwing them away. So I do what I can do. I can’t do anything else.”

Although the boy still felt angry, he couldn’t help but see the big man in another way. Somehow, the big man reminded him of himself. He was just someone who wanted to know he was good at something.

“Aren’t you good at anything else?” the little boy asked.

The big man merely shook his head. He was a bit ashamed and a bit sad also.

“But–but even if you’re good at this, are you happy with what you’re doing? I’m sorry that you couldn’t find anything else to do. I guess we’re a bit the same. But even if you’re good at crushing rocks, I think it won’t make you happy. You’re only destroying things. You’re not building anything.”

With this, the little boy and the big man spent some time in silence. It was almost dark when the little boy and the firefly decided to leave the big man, still deep in his thoughts, thinking about what he could possibly do.

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