Even the purest of intentions can end up having detrimental effects. A young child catching fireflies in a jar to keep for his own and take care of may not survive in a glassy world. Sometimes things just don't turn out the way we imagine, sometimes they turn out worse than our gravest nightmares.
Neil Weaver grew up in an old house. The only child of an upstanding veteran firefighter and a young math teacher, he was well cared for and had no real worries as a child, other than where he and his friends would play after school. His father led the training program and was an expert at controlled burns on old structures. As Neil came of age, one force in his life was beginning to wear on his character - his overly strict father. Due to his commitment to to the firehouse and training, Neil rarely saw him. In fact, sometimes he would be gone for days. But when returned, he was overbearing on his son - demanding chores be done, homework be done, and a strange penchant for drumming being pushed on Neil. What's more, Neil hated playing the drums. Behind his father's back, he took up computer programming in his free time.
By the age of 16, he had developed several applications - one of which his school utilized to allocate a student's study time, based on data of performance in individual class performance. The application would automatically generate a study schedule for each student, suggesting more time and specific lessons for students based upon which subjects they struggled with. It was a marvel, and everyone thought of him as the "wiz kid." Unfortunately, for Neil, his father was enraged by his son's focus on computing rather than playing the drums like he suggested.
In the middle of the night, his father returned from the firehouse and destroyed Neil's computer. He began shouting in a drunken rage, blaming them both for not listening to his wishes. The sound woke Neil and his mother up. They fled the house out of fear for what may come next and ended up at Neil's grandparents' house temporarily. Weeks went by without any word from his father. His mother would stop by the house, but her husband was never there. She figured he had grown tired of her and their son and wanted nothing to do with them. She moved their belongings out of the house and took Neil to a new house, where she nurtured her son and allowed him to continue with his computer programming.
Years went by. Neil continued to college, where he majored in computer science and went on to found his own software company. His mother continued teaching and watching her son's career grow like wildfire before her eyes. His company released award-winning products, and Neil found success leading the company as CEO.
One day Neil asked about his father, to which his mother said she would never speak to him again. In fact, neither of them had heard from the father since the violent night he destroyed Neil's computer. They both wanted closure, so they decided to return to the house.
What they saw left them in a state of shock.
The house was completely gone, all that remained were the stairs that once led to the front door. They now led to nothing.
