Michael The Tiny Dot

Page 1

2006-10-14T00:14:00.000-07:00

One day, a dot started to think and became conscious of his being. He was lying in what seemed to be a whole field of dots and he noticed that not a single dot moved about.

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2006-10-14T00:11:00.000-07:00

Many had perfectly round shape and some were shiny. Others, like him, had eyes. But nobody was moving even a tiny bit. Those who had eyes just kept blinking or staring at nothing. While the others would not even take a peek at the world around them and seemed to be fine with their eyes closed.

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2006-10-14T00:10:00.000-07:00

The tiny dot moved and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. This must be the place where he belongs. And yet, he did not feel it was right to stay and become another "lifeless" ordinary dot. He thought that he could not remain just an ordinary dot. That he can be something else.

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2006-10-14T00:09:00.000-07:00

His name is Michael. He is a tiny dot who realized that he wanted to fit snuggly in a place he really belongs to and have a happy and meaningful life.

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2006-10-14T00:08:00.000-07:00

So off he went trying to find himself... a better self.

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2006-10-14T00:07:00.001-07:00

He rolled under the heat of the sun and he felt like the rays were trying to melt him down.

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2006-10-14T00:07:00.000-07:00

He rolled under the rain and each drop tried to drown him.

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2006-10-14T00:05:00.000-07:00

But he kept rolling. With a purpose.... but aimlessly, it seemed.

“There must be something in store for me,” he said to himself. “I want to find the place where I can fit in, be happy, and maybe, have a meaningful life.”

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2006-10-14T00:04:00.000-07:00

So he kept on rolling and thinking and trying places and things he could fit in and find happiness.

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2006-10-14T00:02:00.000-07:00

At one point, he met a black, round rock. “Good morning,” said the rock. The dot became interested at the big rock and he said, “What a huge dot you are. May I know where you came from?”

“Ha, ha, ha.... I’m not a dot. I’m a rock!,” said the big guy. “And I just rolled down from that mountain.”

“How is it like up there?” asked the dot.

Page 11

2006-10-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

“Its great there and you can consider yourself on top of the world.”

“Can I have a place to fit in there?” the dot again asked the rock.

“Yeah,” affirmed the rock. “In fact, its peak is a very small space that only a tiny dot like you could fit in,” he continued.

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2006-10-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

The dot excitedly went up the mountain and before he got so exhausted and at the point of passing out, he reached the peak.

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2006-10-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

And there laid before his eyes was a very tiny space that only a dot like him could fit in.

So he slowly eased himself and bathed at the happiness he found.

It was already dusk and the sky was showing off its golden hue. The sun was setting down.

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2006-10-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

It was cold that night but the dot didn’t mind. He was happy looking at the stars and counting them. “...28, 29, 30....there’s so much shining dots!” he smilingly said to himself.

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2006-10-13T23:57:00.000-07:00

Then a shower of lights came, hundreds of falling stars showed their bright glories for the dot. “Wow,” was all he could say.

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2006-10-13T23:56:00.000-07:00

Dawn came and the dot, the mountain, the valleys and the plains down below were again enshrouded in warm light. “I’m really on top of the world!”

That time, it was not the stars anymore that kept him smiling. They were the birds, the clouds and the animals below that entertained him. “I’m really on top of the world.” he said again to himself.

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2006-10-13T23:55:00.000-07:00

Night time came and he again saw the stars and tried to count them.

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2006-10-13T23:54:00.000-07:00

Daybreak took over and he saw the same views of the day before.

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2006-10-13T23:53:00.000-07:00

On the third night, for the first time on the mountain peak, he felt cold and started shivering. Then he noticed one thing. He felt lonely.

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2006-10-13T23:52:00.000-07:00

When dawn came, he started going down the valley. “I can’t stay here forever,” he muttered to himself.

So he was walking again in search of his place and happiness.

Page 21

2006-10-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

Then he met a speck of dust that floated freely in the air.

“Hello there, floating dot!” said the dot to the dust. “You seem to be happy just floating around. Can you tell me about the places you’ve seen?”

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2006-10-13T23:49:00.000-07:00

“You wouldn’t believe this,” answered the dust. “I’ve been to the edge of the earth! I mean,” the dust continued, way up there where you can see the ocean and large islands!”

“Really?” the dot said in awe and widened eyes. “I wish I could see what you’re talking about.”

Page 23

2006-10-13T23:48:00.000-07:00

“Oh, there’s always a way if you really want something.” the dust cheeringly answered. About a kilometer from here is a rocketship that’s about to take off. At the tip of that rocketship is a tiny, tiny space that only a dot like you could fit into. So, if I were you, I’ll go strap myself into that rocke....”

The dot was off and rushing before the dust could finish his sentence.

Page 24

2006-10-13T23:47:00.000-07:00

True enough, there was the rocketship and that tiny, tiny space meant only for him.

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2006-10-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

“4, 3, 2, 1.. we have a lift off!”

The dot closed his eyes during the violent take-off. And when things started to calm down did he slowly had the courage to look around.

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2006-10-13T23:45:00.000-07:00

And there it was. The ocean and the huge, huge islands that got smaller and smaller before his very eyes.

“Wait! The ocean and the island!” he shouted out loud. “they’re turning into a giant marble!”

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2006-10-13T23:43:00.000-07:00

He took a hard look at the marble and slowly frowned.

“It looks more like a blue dot here in space.”
“Yes! That must be it!” the dot said affirmingly. “I have been living inside a huge, blue dot, afterall!”

Page 28

2006-10-13T23:42:00.000-07:00

Amazed and impressed with his discovery, he transfixed his eyes on the blue dot as the rocket ship made numerous passes around the globe. With a very pleased thought, the dot uttered, “I guess I could stay here forever.”

Page 29

2006-10-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

But alas! The time came for the rocket ship to return to earth. As it plunged back, the dot felt the intense heat and held on for his dear life. The dot never felt so much fear. The wind that touched the rocket ship’s surface seemed to turn into a wall of fire. Michael felt his grip slipping and he was sure that a great force was trying to eject him from the place.

Page 30

2006-10-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

About ten kilometers before the ship plunged into the ocean, the tiny dot was thrown out of the rocket ship and floated slowly through the air as he watched the giant metal he thought was home made a gigantic splash into the water below.

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2006-10-13T23:38:00.000-07:00

Michael was still in mild pain from the heat he felt when the wind brought him towards a great colony of dust dots floating in the air. He remembered the first dust dot he encountered and noticed that this colony was as happy as the first guy. He heard them singing and laughing while dancing and floating in the freedom of the air.

One of the dust dots noticed Michael and urged him to join them in their happy moment. He was starting to say something but suddenly the wind became cold.

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2006-10-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

“Uh oh…” said one of the dust dots. “I think it’s going to rain.”

“So, what’s the matter if it’s going to rain?” Michael asked.

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2006-10-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

As he spoke, he saw all the worried faces in all of the dusts. “If it rains, those raindrops up there will come down by the millions and they will try to bring us all down to the ground. And we cannot do anything! They are so many and we have no place to hide!”

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2006-10-13T23:31:00.000-07:00

“Oh my, oh my!” came the collective, worried shout.

Michael was puzzled and became a bit alarmed by all the fear he saw all around him.

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2006-10-13T23:28:00.000-07:00

“Don’t you get it?!” one dust shouted at the stunned Michael. “If those raindrops hit us, they will surely bring us to the ground and then we are free no more! We will fall on the roof, on the road, on the soil! Then we will become part of a puddle or the sea! We will become heavy and sticky and we cannot float anymore!” We will need many, many months for a chance to dry up and wait for the wind to pick us up before we can become happy floating dusts again.”

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2006-10-13T23:27:00.000-07:00

“But,” Michael, “then you will be happy again.”

“Nooooo!…..” we want to be happy forever! Not happy then sad, then happy then sad! We want to be happy forever!”

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2006-10-13T23:25:00.000-07:00

As soon as the dust uttered the last words, a huge raindrop suddenly hit him and five other dust dots around him. It was like a slow-motion movie. The shouts of the six dust dots filled Michael’s ears as they were slowly engulfed by the raindrop and brought down to the ground.

Page 38

2006-10-13T23:24:00.000-07:00

After that instance, the whole place turned into a pandemonium. He saw all the dust dots trying to flee but they went nowhere and in circles while the great number of raindrops seemed to methodically erase all the dust dots. Michael could not utter a word and was transfixed to the whole scene.

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2006-10-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

Then he felt a huge shadowy figure above him and he looked up. To his horror, he saw a giant raindrop about to engulf him. Michael closed his eyes and he felt the extreme cold water and he spun so fast as the raindrop brought him down.

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2006-10-13T23:22:00.000-07:00

And.... Splassshh! The raindrop landed in the middle of the ocean and the dot started floating. For many hours, he just floated and floated and wondered whatever happened to the dust dusts whose happiness was stopped by the raindrops. He also pondered at his life inside the giant blue dot.

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2006-10-13T23:21:00.000-07:00

As he floated in the cold ocean, the dot encountered numerous tiny planktons. In fact, he discovered that he was surrounded by perhaps a million planktons!

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2006-10-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

Although a bit frightened, the dot asked one shiny, diatom plankton, “how come there are many of your kind of dot here?” But the plankton talked in a language that the dot could not understand. It uttered sing-song lines that seemed to accompany the gentle wisps of the wind.

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2006-10-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

In the middle of the crowd, the dot felt very lonely.

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2006-10-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

Lowering eyes, he saw that the ocean was so deep that it became totally dark below.

“Perhaps,” the dot uttered, “my place is down there and perhaps also my happiness.”

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2006-10-13T23:17:00.000-07:00

He doubted his own thoughts, but seeming to find no alternative in this vast ocean, he decided to go down deep, very deep.

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2006-10-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

Just when he was beginning to think that it was pointless, the dot saw tiny specks of pair of lights in the darkness of the ocean. Amused and puzzled, he swam towards the specks of lights and discovered that they were the eyes of flashlight fishes!

“Wonderful!” the dot shouted, which attracted the attention of the nearest fish.

Page 47

2006-10-13T23:13:00.000-07:00

“Wonderful, you said?” the fish asked the dot. “Yes” came the nervous reply

In order to hide his fear, the dot immediately asked the fish, “Why do you have such bright eyes?”

Page 48

2006-10-13T23:11:00.000-07:00

“It’s a simple thing.” the fish said. “We use it to find food. And for the small animals, which are also our food, they get attracted to our bright eyes. And once they’re near us,... yum!” the fish said with its tongue curling up its lips.

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2006-10-13T23:10:00.000-07:00

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to feed myself. Unless you want me to taste you.”

The dot hastily dived deeper and never looked up.

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2006-10-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

Things became monotonous again. Dark, cold, and that pressure was getting heavier.

The dot wanted to reach the bottom of the ocean and maybe find his place and happiness. But the water pressure kept pressing him harder and harder. His body shivered and the total darkness overwhelmed him.

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2006-10-13T23:03:00.000-07:00

Finally, the dot decided to end his dive.

“I don’t belong here,” he said.

Page 52

2006-10-13T23:02:00.000-07:00

Feeling defeated, he floated again and swam the length of the ocean, amidst the planktons who spoke a strange language.

Three days of lonely, continuous swimming made the dot tired and sad. His tears sometimes mixed with the salty ocean.

Page 53

2006-10-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

At last, the shore. The dot slowly crawled up to the sand beach and quietly gazed at the setting sun.

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2006-10-13T22:58:00.000-07:00

Nighttime came and he once again looked at the stars. This time, he did not try to count them. He just looked at the shining dots with empty thoughts.

“I’m so tired.”

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2006-10-13T22:56:00.000-07:00

Then he noticed that a dime was rolling towards him.

“Hey!” the dime shouted with a friendly tone. “Another romantic on the beach!”

The dot wanted the big rolling dot with a strange, old, face to leave him alone. But he felt he had been alone for so long that he decided to have a little conversation with the dime.
“What keeps you busy?” the dot asked the coin.

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2006-10-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

“Well,” the coin started, “I want to tell everybody how great I am!”

Although the dot was startled at the emotional burst of the braggart, he was curious at the same time.
“Why? What makes you so great?” the dot asked.

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2006-10-13T22:53:00.000-07:00

“Well, a little boy used to own me,” said the coin.

The dot thought that he made a mistake talking to the coin and made a big yawn, but the coin continued his predictably boring story.

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2006-10-13T22:51:00.000-07:00

“Well, one night, that boy and his father came to this beach and the father asked the boy to hold me at arm’s length up there, towards the stars. And I remember clearly what the father said to the boy. He said, ‘Son, if you look at that coin,’ that’s me!” The coin interrupted himself. “Okay, to continue my story, the father said ‘that coin covers about 10,000 galaxies!’ Cool, huh?!”

The dot became interested but didn’t know whether to believe the coin or not.

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2006-10-13T22:47:00.000-07:00

“Then,” said the coin, “the boy threw me into the water! I flew into the air and landed three times on the water’s surface before I finally sank towards the bottom!”

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2006-10-13T22:43:00.000-07:00

“That!” the coin, “I could never understand! He owned me, but he threw me away!”

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2006-08-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

Then suddenly, the coin shouted, "But, hey! Try to imagine this, I actually cover 10,000 galaxies! That's how significant I am! That's how significant I am!" The coin shouted as he rolled away from the dot.

"I actually cover 10,000 galaxies! That's how great I am That's how significant I am!"

The shouts faded as the coin rolled away from the dot.

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2006-08-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

"Or how insignificant."

The tiny dot whispered.

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2006-08-04T01:58:00.000-07:00

With a kind of depression that seemed to overwhelm him, Michael started rolling away from the beach.

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2006-08-04T01:55:00.000-07:00

He chanced upon a house where a television set was running. This time, the dot's eyes widened.

Right in front of him on the TV screen were numerous other dots that changed in colors and brightness. And they formed images of people, houses, cars, mountains!

"Gosh! This is fun!" said the Michael.

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2006-08-04T01:52:00.000-07:00

He rolled fast towards the corner of the TV set and talked to the nearest dots.

"Hey, guys!" the dot shouted. "Do you still have a space for me there? I would really want to belong there!"

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2006-08-04T01:48:00.000-07:00

All the TV dots heard him and looked at Michael. "Sorry." they all replied. "But we don't have an extra space even for a tiny dot like you."

"But...." the tiny dot tried to reason.

"Sorry," they all said again. "But you have to go now. We're busy entertaining people."

Page 67

2006-08-04T01:45:00.000-07:00

This time, Michael did not know where to go. He felt that he had been to every place possible trying to to find his purpose and happiness. But every time he thought he found his place, he ended more lost and unhappy.

So with a very heavy feeling, he again readied himself to roll aimlessly in search of his place and happiness.

Page 68

2006-08-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

"Psssst!" Michael heard somebody trying to get his attention.

Not really knowing where the sound came from, he rolled towards the people watching the TV.

"Psssst! Over here!" The call was very clear.

"Where?" Michael asked, still wondering where the source of the voice came from.

Page 69

2006-08-04T01:40:00.000-07:00

"Here! at the child's eyes!"

"What?!" the tired dot asked with great frustration and puzzlement.

"Okay," said the voice. "Just come over to the child's eyes and you'll see us!"

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2006-08-04T01:37:00.000-07:00

True enough, Michael saw quite a number of dark dots forming a dark, round mass in the middle of the child's eyes. And he noticed that they shrank and enlarged as the TV became bright and dim.

"Hello," Michael tentatively said. He asked them, "What kind of dots are you?"

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2006-08-04T01:33:00.000-07:00

One of them cheeringly told him that they were the pupil dots. And that they are the ones that give sight to the child. SO that she can watch TV, see the birds flying, marvel at the mountains, wonder at the clouds, and count the stars.

"By the way," the pupil dot said, "these are our close friends, the iris dots. They help us give vision to the child.

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2006-08-04T01:30:00.000-07:00

Not knowing whether he likes the place where the pupil was stying, Michael asked, "Is it a nice place in there?"

"Let me put it this way," the pupil dot said. "We are, what we shall say, living dots. And I can safely say that we have a purpose."

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2006-08-04T01:27:00.000-07:00

The words struck Michael. He thought, "Can this be the place that I have been looking for?"

But he immediately dismissed the idea, thinking that just like the TV dots, the eye dots will not take him in.

Slowly, Michael, the tiny dot turned and started to roll away.

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2006-08-04T01:24:00.000-07:00

"Wait!" the pupil dot. "Where are you going?!"

"I guess you don't have a place for me. So I'll go now before I find out more about you and become more unhappy knowing that I could never fit in there."

"Ha ha ha!..." came the reply from the pupil dot.

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2006-08-04T01:22:00.000-07:00

"Then let me tell you more about us! You see, I told you that we are living dots. And as living dots, we also feel what the child feels. We cry when she is sad. We're also filled with joy when she is happy."

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2006-08-04T01:20:00.000-07:00

"Now," the pupil dot "if its okay with you, we would like you to take the place of somebody here who just retired. Its that place near our iris friend."

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2006-08-04T01:16:00.000-07:00

Still unsure, Michael took the hand of the pupil dot and he was ushered to the space he can occupy. It fitted him snuggly. He also discovered that he grew and shrank as the TV brightened and dimmed. He felt his heart thumping and his goose bumps rising to no end.

"This is it!"

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2006-08-04T01:10:00.000-07:00

"Shhh..." said the pupil dot. "Here's another surprise!"

They felt that the child was brought to the bedroom and she slowly closed her eyes.

Everything became dark.

"Now we can rest," the pupil dot.

Page 79

2006-08-04T01:07:00.000-07:00

"Rest?" Michael did not know the meaning of the word. He looked around and he saw everybody was sleeping.

"You can rest now and see another surprise tomorrow." The pupil dot assured Michael.

Page 80

2006-08-04T01:04:00.000-07:00

For the first time since he set out to find his happiness, the tiny dot got a taste of rest. He didn't know it, but his lips formed a smile that entire night.

Page 81

2006-08-03T04:03:00.000-07:00

Morning came and everybody felt the warmth of sunlight into the child's eyes. The pupil dot beside Michael woke him up and motioned him to where the child was looking.

It was a beautiful and smiling woman who looked at the child with love and care.

Page 82

2006-08-03T03:45:00.000-07:00

While Staring at the woman and feeling the love enveloping him, he remembered his journey and the pain, fear and happy memories. He breathed deeply and made a happy sigh. He knew that perhaps, he has found a home.