The Parable of the Cave and the Deer
There was a girl who fled from her abuser. She found a cave deep in the forest and found refuge there. In the cave she discovered her ability to light a fire.
She loved that fire, it warmed her, provided light, and fed her. She tended to the fire dutifully and believed it was the meaning of life, yet she remained in the cave. She drew on the walls all the beautiful ways she imaged the world outside could be. Sometimes she made figures out of dirt and clay and would tell stories using the shadows they cast on the wall. While this world made the girl strong she began to fear the loss of her beloved fire. She felt a longing to leave the cave, to seek the world she began to know in her stories, but her fear kept her tending to the fire.
Soon a deer wondered into the cave. The girl was captivated by this graceful doe and the deer was inspired by the stories of the girl. The deer told the girl that her stories were true and that she should come out and see the world. Dazed by the beauty and love of this doe the girl gladly ran outside with the deer, longing for the truth she had only imagined. Once outside the cave, the fire of the sun was blinding. The girl was in momentary awe and amazement of what she had kept from herself but she looked around and noticed the deer was gone. The deer, being as radiant as the sun, had melted into the light of the forest.
The girl ran back in the cave and the deer saw her and followed. When the deer asked what was wrong the girl ignored her and focused on tending to the fire. The deer waited patiently for the girl to notice her. Once the fire was strong again, the girl looked up and asked the deer to stay with her, in the cave where it was safe. The deer looked at the girl with great sadness and the girl knew the answer. As the deer left, the girl shivered, cold in her loneliness. The strength that fire once brought her was now just part of her imaginary stories.
The girl made a deer out of rocks and clay, dancing its shadow across the rocky cave wall.