Cover image from pixabay.
This is my entry for the eleventh edition of the constrained writing contest hosted by @svashta.
The brief was to write a fictional story of 300 words or more from at least two different perspectives.
A Puzzling Situation
I looked at the unsolved Rubik's Cube left on my desk by a friend. I never considered myself academic or smart and such an object wouldn't normally be present in the household. I was expecting a pizza delivery at any moment and for lack of anything better to do, I picked up the contraption and began twiddling with it while I waited.
I felt unfamiliar hands pick me up. Used to being handled by the deft quick movements of my previous owner, these hands felt hesitant and slow. Nevertheless, my well lubricated hinges followed every movement he made, offering silent encouragement to this new user.
I can't say I knew what I was doing. The random assembly of colour on the cube morphed into even more random patterns, until I noticed the blue side of the cube start to line up. I figured I'd focus on this blue part, coaxing it into cohesion.
I felt my user's confidence grow as he noticed my blue parts coming together. He seemed more assured of which way to twist me, as opposed to a few moments ago when he was handling me as if I were some sort of cube shaped fidget spinner.
Finally, with one last turn, the entire blue side of the cube was aligned and complete! Just as I finished creating that one perfect side, the doorbell rang. I walked over to the door with the cube still in my hand to receive the pizza I'd ordered. "Nice one, bro!" said the delivery boy when he saw the completed side on the cube. "Yes, it is rather nice." I thought to myself. I felt proud that I'd solved one side as a novice. One perfectly aligned blue side. I didn't dare disturb it, because what if I couldn't align it again? Don't they say that a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush? Besides, I had hot pizza calling out to me. I set down the cube, solved side facing me, and picked up a slice.
I'm happy that my user managed to solve my blue part, but in my infinite wisdom and experience as a Rubik's Cube, I knew that to solve me completely, my user would have to break apart that one perfect side he created. I wish I could convey to him that sometimes you have to go through the negative to get positive results. I know I'm no comparison to a warm slice of fresh pizza, but I hope my user will find the courage to pick me up again sometime, destroying one blue side so he can get all my sides solved. I know it isn't an easy process, but with enough determination I'm sure my user will get there if only he can see past the temporary beauty of one blue side.
Similarly in life, a bad experience is like the blue side getting destroyed. It may be setting us up for a beautiful moment in the future. With a limited perspective we can't see past the immediate negative, when in fact life is turning a giant Rubik's Cube preparing us for the positive experiences later.
Inspiration
This short story was inspired by an article I came across which had this quote in it,
“I find that life is like a Rubik’s Cube. Sometimes all the squares line up and sometimes they just don’t!”
and also by this comic,
| Source |
Read the whole inspiration article,| Here |
I tried to reformat my story to meet the contest requirements, told from the perspective of the man and the Rubik's Cube. It's perhaps a bit unusual for the cube to have a perspective, but I hope you liked it!
