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"But..." my voice faded to a whisper as the realization dawned upon me:
They were my smudges.
My house. My windows. My smudges.
Wordlessly, I filled a bucket and picked up a sponge. Painfully, I dipped into the warm, soapy water and began to scrub. May no one ever know what it cost me to clean that first window! I felt the dirt, the grease, and the mold scrub off as though the filth was torn fom my very soul. I cried unrestrainedly, finding it necessary to stop my work every few minutes to exchange foul-smelling black water for fresh, clear water from the tap.
But as I finished that first window, as the light came pouring in with greater beauty than I could ever remember, I caught my first glimpse of life beyond the pane. Beautiful world! The second window was cleaned so quickly, I didn't even have time to remember how each smudge it held had come into existence. I wanted to see again! I wanted the dirt gone! I wanted others to come and marvel at the view with me! The smudges were nothing, compared to the glorious light and immaculate sight that clean windows offered!
...I was there, I must confess, for hours. Never before, and never since, have my windows seen such thickly-laid smudges. A few times, I came upon a smear so big, so hard to eradicate, so vivid in the memory of how it came to be, that I almost gave up. But then I would hear the musical "Keep going! You are only just beginning to really see!" from the pure, untainted light shining beside me, and I knew I couldn't stop.
Now, when the sun rises each morning, it finds me sitting before my windows, waiting. As it pierces through the crystal-clear panes, my joy knows no bounds. Yes, smudges still come, often daily, but now I know the truth. The effort to clean my windows is nothing compared to the glorious light I see through spotless panes. If I scrub them faithfully, immediately, never leaving a single smudge through the night, I receive the greatest of rewards:
...I was there, I must confess, for hours. Never before, and never since, have my windows seen such thickly-laid smudges. A few times, I came upon a smear so big, so hard to eradicate, so vivid in the memory of how it came to be, that I almost gave up. But then I would hear the musical "Keep going! You are only just beginning to really see!" from the pure, untainted light shining beside me, and I knew I couldn't stop.
Now, when the sun rises each morning, it finds me sitting before my windows, waiting. As it pierces through the crystal-clear panes, my joy knows no bounds. Yes, smudges still come, often daily, but now I know the truth. The effort to clean my windows is nothing compared to the glorious light I see through spotless panes. If I scrub them faithfully, immediately, never leaving a single smudge through the night, I receive the greatest of rewards:
Pure.
Undefiled.
LIGHT.
Thank you, Sarah Jayne, for letting me use your short story! I love it!
(http://lordslass.blogspot.com/search/label/windows)
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