The Compass

On a hill in the middle of a forest, stands a lone compass. The hill this compass is located on is taller than all the trees around it, so it has a view for as far as the eye can see. This compass is a magical compass. As all normal compasses point north, this one is different in the fact that it shows the way to whatever you ask it to.

Now this compass gets quite a few visitors. The compass has answered so many questions, that most of them boil down to "where is the best place to dig for gold, where do I go from here to be successful,"and other greedy, or prideful questions. But there is one day that stands out that the compass really remembers.

In the fall one day, right when the leaves are at it's peak, a teenager is out walking through the woods searching for the compass that he has heard so much about. Eventually he finds it and when he gets there, he asked it, "I could ask you, what am I going to be doing in my life...Or how to be successful. But the thing is, I want to do something different. But instead, I want my future education to have a purpose to help something, someone, out. I want to be a difference. Now the compass has never heard this one before. Usually with these teenagers, it's "where do I go from here" and the compass would point to a university that is on the horizon, or if they are carrying it, some books. The compass thinks for a while and points off in the distance. In the distance, a giant globe located on top of a library is slowly turning. When the compass points, it is showing the continent of Africa. The boy looks up, inspired, thanks the compass and runs off into the woods.

Later that day, a couple come strolling about. These are newly-weds that are deeply in love with each other. A couple hours earlier they decided to take a walk through the woods to admire the beauty, and each other. Eventually they reach the hill with the compass. They walk up to the compass and the man asks, "what should I always love?" The compass thinks this is a great question because the compass loves love. But usually the question is from a young adult or teen, "who should I pursue?". The compass has gotten sick of people always relying on it for things that they should find out for themselves. The compass instantly points at the man's wife. The man and the wife quite pleased with this answer walk off in the woods, hand-in-hand.

Eventually the evening comes. The compass loves the evening because of the beauty of the setting sun. With where it's located on the hill, the compass can see how the sky looks like it's burning, and how the sun is so red, and awe-inspiring. But he hears something. A crying sound. Soon the compass sees a little boy running out of the woods. The little boy had just been at his mom's funeral. She had died two days ago to cancer. The boy left alone without a mother had taken it hard. And that evening after the funeral he went in search of the compass for answers. When the boy got to the compass, wiping tears off his eyes, he asked it, "compass, where is my mother." The compass stood still. When it get's asked a question, it knows the answers and what has happened instantly. He knew how the boy felt. He knew how grieved he was. The compass has never been asked this question as well. He knew the answer to the boys question. But it's different to answer the question that doesn't relate to death. The compass still has to answer the boys question, so even though it didn't want to do this, it slowly points up into the sky, right above the beauty of the setting sun. The little boy looks up where the compass points, and in a small voice says, "I am going to miss you mom."