Sunset

Location: The corner of Ahrens and Briethaupt in Kitchener

Description: The sun is setting in the background as we look down Briethaupt Street. There is a yellow car coming towards us on the road on the right, while we can see an old building on the left with a telephone pole in the middle of the shot.

Story: Sally came over to her mother that evening while she was sewing. "Mom? It didn't work."

Her mother turned around and smiled. "What didn't work Dear?"

"What you said. I helped Janet clean up today, I said nice things about her painting, I was extra nice to my friends even when she wasn't around, but nothing worked."

She hugged her daughter. "I'm really sorry to hear that. Did anything good happen today?"

Sally blushed and nodded slowly. "I helped a lot today, so Ms. Watts gave me a gold star and told the class about what I did and how she was proud of me." She blushed more. "And after, Steven said he liked my bow."

Her mother grinned and nodded. "It is a nice bow." She picked up her daughter and put her on her lap. "Did you see the sun setting tonight?" Sally nodded. "And do you still want to play outside, even though it's dark?"

"Eric asked me if I wanted to play hide-and-seek, but that's no fun if we're just inside."

Her mother nodded. "Not a lot of places to hide. So why don't you make the sun rise again?"

Sally looked at her strangely. "I... don't think I can."

"Why not? What's stopping you?"

She thought about it for moment, looked at the light over her mother's shoulder for a bit, then finally spoke. "Well, I just don't think it works that way. The sun rises when it does and sets when it does; I don't have any control over it. I mean, I tried to make it rise faster on Christmas morning, but I couldn't make it morning or anything." She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know how."

Her mother gave her a squeeze. "That's because you can't; no one can. The sun will come up tomorrow when it comes up. There's no way to make it go faster or slower; it just is. The same is true of Janet you know. You have to give her time to see how wonderful you are, and it can't be rushed. Just keep doing what you're doing, but do it for yourself, not to show Janet. In time, she'll come around, just like the sun."