Lesson Learned

There was only one rule: don’t open the door. The rule is posted on the door in big bold letters. Of course, instead of scaring everyone, it had the opposite effect on curious children. There was one child braver, or more reckless than all the others. He was the one that Marlon, as leader of the commune, had to find a way to make him understand what was at stake. Scolding didn’t work, making him stand in the corner was ineffective, even a swift kick in the butt was only a temporary fix. Within the next day he was poking around the door latch again. As a last resort, Marlon decided to try logic.

“Son, come over here, we need to talk.”

“What did I do this time? I haven’t been near the door all day so you can’t scold me for that.”

“I don’t want to scold you; I want to have a conversation with you the way two adults would. Do you think you’re old enough to do that?”

Standing as tall as he could stretch and puffing out his chest the boy replied, “I’m big for my age and almost an adult. I can have a big people talk with you.”

“That’s what I was hoping you would say son. We need to talk about the door.”

“Again! That boring old door is all you ever want to talk about. I thought you wanted to talk about important stuff like food, not that dumb old door.”

“Young man there is nothing more important to our existence than that door. Do you know you would kill everyone living in our little village if you opened that door? Only a few of us have that kind of power. I’m the leader of our village and I can’t open that door. Your father could do it, but he understood what a dreadful thing it would be if he did. He opened it just a crack once to show me what was on the other side. It was terrifying.”

“Wow, my dad was able to open the door, that’s amazing! And you’re saying I have the same power as him? Can you teach me how to do it?”

“Haven’t you heard a word I said, you will kill us all if you open it.”

“My father did, and everyone is still alive.”

“You don’t see your father here anymore, do you? No! After the humans saw him use his tentacles to lift the latch and let the water start spilling out of the tank, they removed him, and we never saw him again. Is leaving the tank forever what you want to have happen to you?”

“No way, Marlin! I like it in the tank and everyone that lives here. From now on I’m going to guard the door and block anyone that tries to open it with all eight of my arms. You can count on me to keep this tank safe.”

“That a boy, Octo, your dad would be proud.”