“You think? Well, let’s see.” He hurried to the farthest, darkest corner of the room. But the darkness was no more, naturally. It was now the brightest part of the room.

“Is the light threatened here?” Eli asked, turning back.

“No,” I said. “But—”

“More darkness, then,” Eli cried. “Bigger darkness!” He rushed from the room, calling over his shoulder, “We must find bigger darkness!” I’d never seen him so excited as he rushed down the stairs with the ball hovering above one hand.

“Eli!” I hurried to catch him, but he was already down and around the corner. “Be careful!”

I followed the light, naturally. It couldn’t be hidden. It illuminated every dark space and danced across surfaces that had been cast in deep shadow. Through the kitchen, across the main room, and into what looked to be a storeroom. Windowless.

He stood in the center of the room, a couple feet from me. Slowly he extended the ball of light toward me, and as he did, the light grew. It reached out with long wispy fingers around us, then spread to all four corners. All traces of darkness were gone in its brilliance.

A room that had been encapsulated in darkness was now fully illuminated, and all from the sphere in Eli’s palm.

“There can be no darkness where this light is,” Eli said. “And its source is infinite, with no limit or end. What can possibly threaten that light?”

“Nothing,” I said, my eyes fixated on the light still dancing in Eli’s hands.

“Nothing. When you don’t see the light, you feel threatened. Close your eyes.”

I looked at him, then closed my eyes.

“Keep them closed,” he said. “What do you see?”

“Darkness.” Fear began to creep back into my chest, but I kept my eyes closed.

“You’re blind to the light,” he said with a small chuckle. “That’s all. So you see darkness and feel fear, and so goes the whole world, lost in darkness. But the darkness isn’t actually threatening you. Your blindness is.” A beat. “Open your eyes.”

I did, and light flooded my vision. I blinked, staring at the sphere. Tears sprang to my eyes. How beautiful the light was in that moment of seeing.

“The biggest lie is that fear will keep you safe in the darkness, but fear is the darkness. So round and round you go, fighting darkness with darkness. Better to open your eyes and see the light. In that light, there is no darkness. So you’ve always been safe. You just don’t know it because you’re blind to who you are as the light.”

I stood there for a long moment, his words ringing in my ears. They defied all I believed about the world. About my identity. Could it be so simple? No, I thought, it didn’t make sense.

But there stood a boy who seemed to know no fear.