She never
knew why Fear came to live with her – but he seemed to be with her constantly,
so much so that she would not venture out of her house or speak to her friends
or strangers.
One day she
decided, “I will go outside and meet with my friends.”
But she only
got to the door and Fear stood in her way, towering over her, laughing and
saying, “You will never go out, just think what people might say. They might
belittle you and make fun of you. Besides see it’s been a long gap and the
world outside has changed. Best not to go.”
The woman
listened, and although she tried to argue, in the end she decided to agree with
Fear. The next day she got up, thinking, ‘Today I will go outside and meet people
around.’ But once again she was stopped in her tracks by Fear. This time she
wrestled with him (the Fear) in an attempt to get to the door. But after hours
of struggling she ended up deciding not to go.
The next
day, she got up thinking, ‘Today I will go out and meet the outside world.’
Fear
was as usual waiting at the door, but this time he didn’t look quite
intimidating and she caught him off the guard. Knocking him (the Fear) off the
balance, she pushed him over and ran through the door. She had a wonderful day
meeting her friends, talking to strangers, buying household necessities,
exploring ideas with people around and making plans about future endeavors. She
gained victory over Fear, indeed Fear seemed to have vanished altogether.
But then on
the fourth day, while walking on the street she saw a street dog snarling and
growling at her. The dog started running straight towards her, she stood for a
moment transfixed with terror. Then apparently out of nowhere, Fear stepped up
and grabbed her by the hand, pulling her along and helping her to run so fast
that eventually she managed to escape.
When they
returned, Fear said, ‘I told you something bad will happen if you went outside.
It will be good for you if you listen to me.’
And the next day morning, when she awoke she saw Fear standing as large and menacing
by the doorway. Somewhat timidly she approached him and said, ‘Fear, why have
you become so large and menacing again?”
Fear replied,
“YOU MUST LEARN TO DEAL WITH ME
EVERYDAY. AND YOU MUST LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHEN YOU NEED ME AND WHEN
YOU DON’T.”
‘Ah now I understand,’
as soon as she uttered these words Fear shrank to the size of a tiny dwarf, she
packed him up and now carries him in her pocket so that she can call him only
when she is in need.