Manumit

manumit\man-yuh-MIT\, verb;

To free from slavery or servitude.

There once was a boy who lived at home and although all the doors and windows were open, he couldn't leave. Instead he would wander the rooms, keeping everything in place. And there were a lot of things to keep. Stacks and piles of things, all of which he would try to keep in neat, little towers. He had to do this because often there was a wind. A wind that would rush through the windows and doors and if the boy was not careful, the wind would knock everything down.


The boy had parents but it was almost as if they were not there. The mother would continually walk in and out of the doors, bringing in more and more stuff, placing it on the floor, before going out again to bring in more. It did not matter what it was. Whatever was outdoors she brought inside and the boy would pick up the things that she put down and place them in a pile which he found appropriate. In this way, they were in constant motion. She bringing in and he putting away.


Now the father - the father did something different. From time to time when the boy's stacks would get rather high, and the wind would blow, some of the items would slip and slide and fall from the top to the bottom and clatter to the floor. And if the boy was not quick enough to pick this thing up and place it neatly back upon the pile, the father, hearing the noise, would get up from his chair, upon which he always sat, pick up the item and, without emotion, throw it out one of the many open windows. Upon watching it fly out of the house, the father would then laugh loudly for just a moment before turning and returning to his chair which waited for him.

The boy did not always see this when it happened, but if he did, he would slouch and shake his head and sometimes even a tear would escape his eye, but he would not blink. And then his mother would come through the door and place another item on the floor at his feet, prompting him to resume.